Congratulations, You’re Already Boycotting Russian Vodka
Novelists on Substack
In Esquire Adrienne Westenfeld reports on "My Own Little Fiefdom": Why Some Famous Novelists Are All About Substack.
With quite a few big names already there:
Substack has created a compelling case for novelists to come aboard, but the jury is still out on whether it's compelling enough to stay.
And, Westenfeld suggests:
The more perfect Internet we all dream of -- one free of misinformation and abuse, one rich in community and meaningful connection -- is a reality on these novelists' Substacks.
REPRODUCTIVE PRIVILEGE: 8,000 YEARS AGO, 17 WOMEN REPRODUCED FOR EVERY ONE MAN. “In more recent history, as a global average, about four or five women reproduced for every one man.”
What If The Internet Is Actually A Living Thing?
Aloneness, Belonging, and the Paradox of Vulnerability, in Love and Creative Work
Wisdom on the elementary particles of our shared humanity from Alain de Botton, Brené Brown, Elizabeth Alexander, and other visionaries across the spectrum of the creative life.
Via Marginal Revolution:
Last night I watched this Ukrainian movie on AppleTV. It was released in 2019 and is set in 2025, in the aftermath of a major war with Russia, which ended the year before. Due to radiation and other post-conflict problems, the eastern half of Ukraine is essentially uninhabitable. Ukraine, however, won the war because Russia underestimated Ukrainian guerrilla warfare, instead preparing for a war that the Ukrainians would fight with tanks (they didn’t). The fundamental Ukrainian activity in this dystopian, apocalyptic postwar order is that of archaeology, uncovering wartime ruins and also corpses of Russian soldiers; I took that to be a stand-in for a broader understanding of Ukrainian history.
Originally this film had been marketed as “science fiction.”
Addendum: I thought the movie was excellent, though not for all tastes. There are of course periodic visual references to Tarkovsky. All the roles in the movie are played by military veterans and volunteers and paramedics, not professional actors. Here is its Wikipedia page. Here is the Variety review.