Week 28-26 - Curiosities
Greetings from the Mesa
The air is thick with wildfire smoke and sneezes. We had a fire 40-odd miles to the NW, a worry that is now almost fully contained. To our north the Aspen Acres fire rages outside Pueblo, CO. The SW is on fire. And if you still have your head stuck in the mud about climate change it's way past time to unstuck yourself. It seems like Americans have lost their effing minds. It's been a slow week. Summer doldrums in July. Creative projects are hovering like heat haze. Kitonga went on a new type of insulin, and he's doing much better thankfully. The garden is also mired in the summer doldrums. The temperature has been wildly erratic - 41 to 89 - and some plants are struggling. We do have a bumper crop of cinnamon basil, garlic chives, and mint, so we've been doing a lot of scones and mojito mocktails. Another basil forward fresh pasta dish is in the near future. One good thing about the summer heat is my full on embrace of the afternoon nap in the chilly cave. I think i'm getting old. 😄
Curiosities
- The End of Reading is Here (Atlantic) More like the end of critical thinking. They are predicting that the AI apocalypse will cause a 46% illiteracy rate. I'm skeptical.
- Has America Crossed the Asshole Threshold? Yes, indubitably.
- The Moleskine Style. Songlines was an interesting book (see micro review below), and this is a very interesting relational read. I used to love Moleskine notebooks - now not so much. But I do go through notebook obsessions in a somewhat similar way.
- Locus Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year: Volume 1. Locus Mag is kickstarting an anthology. I'm here for it!
- RIP Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart is classic.
Consuming
Books:
Currently reading: The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
Just finished micro-review:
Songlines by Bruce Chatwin (Nonfiction/Travel):
Songlines is part travel-memoir part commonplace book. The characters Chatwin meets in his quest to discover more about the Songlines of Aboriginal Australians are what makes this book sing. The commonplace ‘chapters’ are mere notes from his travels about his lifelong quest to figure out what makes people wander, why are we nomadic? It is a question that is near and dear to my heart. Chatwin has been criticized for his neocolonial perspective. Having spent only 9 weeks in Australia that becomes clear. The stories and notes are interwoven in a loving and thoughtful way. A fast and compelling read.
TV/Movies: We've been watching a lot of PBS and NMPBS shows.
Music: Jon Batiste on ACL was such a joyful show, he is such a phenomenal musician, and the band is so good... here's my favorite song from the set.