Saturday, April 30, 2022

Why People Born 1955–1964 Aren’t Baby Boomers.

From the Archives, 1954: Russian embassy closes as diplomats recalled


Feynman’s Ode to the Wonder of Life

The Magic of Invisible Mending

A father and daughter at a tailoring workshop in Japan have mastered kaketsugi, the art of invisibly mending clothes — that is, repairing holes and tears in fabric so seamlessly and completely that they appear to never have been damaged in the first place. The before and after photos are incredible…you absolutely cannot tell where the repair was made, even under close inspection


 I’M INCLINED TO AGREE WITH THIS: Why People Born 1955–1964 Aren’t Baby Boomers. I had none of the classic Boomer experiences. Didn’t watch Howdy Doody. Wasn’t subject to the draft. Was 6 during the Summer of Love. “Between Woodstock and Lollapalooza, between ‘Turn on, tune in, drop out’ and ‘Just Say No,’ and between Dylan going electric and Nirvana going unplugged, an invisible generation has been silent.”

was there — literally, at the Newport Folk Festival, with my parents and baby brother — when Dylan went electric. I don’t remember much about it except pizza and ice cream, though. I did like Joan Baez, I think.


What Makes The Difference Between A Dialect And A Language? Depends On Who’s Answering The Question

For governments, the quip that "a language is a dialect with an army and navy" is more-or-less true — so Czech and Slovak, Hindi and Urdu, Serbian and Croatian are different languages. For linguists, dialects are mutually intelligible and languages are not. So what of Cantonese — or Ukrainian?...


“Liar” is a powerful accusation, one that closes doors to understanding. Use it carefully Liar  


       Lyudmila Ulitskaya Q & A 

       Among the Russian artists who have left Russia in the past few months is The Big Green Tent-author Lyudmila Ulitskaya, and at Deutsche Welle Sabine Kieselbach now has a Q & A with her, in Russian author Ulitskaya warns of 'terrible' consequences of war
       Among her observations:
100 years ago, many from Russia's cultural elite emigrated. Is history repeating itself ? 

For me, it's mainly an interesting situation: in 1922, Russian Berlin was an extremely exciting cultural phenomenon. I recall Viktor Shklovsky's novel Zoo or Letters Not about Love. Today, exactly 100 years later, one could have written a text entitled Zoo 2. It's intriguing.


       David Peace Q & A 

       At The Guardian Anthony Cummins has a Q & A with David Peace: 'Publishers should be less risk-averse'. (Amen to that.) 
       The only Peace-title under review at the complete reviewis Tokyo Year Zero but I've read several more and am an admirer of his work. 
       Among his responses:
What have you been reading lately ? 

Vladimir Sharov, who won the Russian Booker and passed away in 2018, has been a big revelation for me this past year. His novel Before and During, published by Dedalus and translated by Oliver Ready, is narrative within narrative within narrative; it’s very stimulating in structure, voice, and in how it engages with memory, and Soviet and post-Soviet history. Finding a writer like this is what I live for, to be honest.
       Good to hear ! 


Why Do People Lose Interest In Music When They’re Depressed?

It's a much-commented-on phenomenon, and that lack of pleasure is an important marker for distinguishing depression from plain old sadness. What's going on with that? It's all about the dopamine. - M


Flameout: When Pop Stars’ Careers Suddenly End

The writing on the wall is only easy to read in hindsight. At the time, it’s all a blur. - The Guardian


How A Movie Is Helping Heal Generational Trauma

The writers of Everything Everywhere All at Once wrote that the movie "was a dream about reconciling all of the contradictions, making sense of the largest questions, and imbuing meaning onto the dumbest, most profane parts of humanity." - The New York Times


Workers at Starbucks Roastery second in Seattle — and on Capitol Hill — to unionize Capitol Hill Seattle Blog. Schultz must be chewing the carpet.

 

Amazon’s Union Busting Is Subsidized By The Government Lever News

 

If Wage Growth Is Driving Inflation, Why Is Workers’ Share of Income Falling? Dean Baker, DC Report

 

Atoms with Consciousness: Yo-Yo Ma Performs Richard Feynman’s Ode to the Wonder of Life, Animated The Marginalian


Endemic Pathogens Are Making You Crazy And Then Killing You: Toxoplasmosis Spotlight hard to write. The author.