Just finished Tricky's autobiography, which concludes with the most horrible gut-punch: Tricky's daughter killed herself earlier this year. There's nothing I can say or do for him,
so I just cried. Not much gets to me lately; this sure did. Rest in peace Mazy Mina. Take care, Tricky. My heart bleeds for you.
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Monday, November 4, 2019
11/19
Far-reaching interview about Hungary's unusual metamorphosis. Actually read this last month, but the link wasn't working, so here it is now!
This year's Radical Bookfair in Baltimore introduced me to many new writers and scholars, as well as giving me the chance to meet a few whose work I'd been following.* One impressive speaker was Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, whose new book How to Be an Anti-Racist sounds like a clear-eyed approach to an endlessly complex problem. At the end of his talk, he discussed the premature passing of Elijah Cummings and how it related to his own father's health troubles. The connections he draws are best experienced for yourself, but even from this essay, you can tell that Dr. Kendi digs deep into himself and his ideas for this work.
*One of whom is Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, who also has a new book out (Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership). This new book has a simple thesis with vast implications: private property will always be at odds with the human right to affordable, public housing. Taylor's book looks at the 'predatory inclusion' practices that sold decrepit houses to low-income black people, then profited on the inevitable foreclosures. Her talk was very impressive, and though I was tempted to buy the new book, ultimately I bought a previous one she edited (How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective) that I'd been meaning to buy for a longer time.
From Hong Kong to Chile. This is a strong summary of Chile's post-Allende history, and Lili Loofbourow writes from a helpfully personal perspective. There's also this Bloomberg article whose panicky tone is amusing, but which does contain some useful findings (like the near-certainty of riots over transit fare raises).
The early history of 'segrenomics.'
Learning a little more about Lupita Nyong'o.
I've been wavering a bit on whether I'd want to see Soderbergh-collaborator Scott Z. Burns' THE REPORT, but this Intercept article digs into a weird preoccupation it has about avoiding partisanship, forgoing journalistic pugilism for the self-evident higher purpose of 'official process.' As if the country that perpetrated these crimes against humanity would be amenable to such a reckoning. While the titular report did eventually make it out to the public, it seems basically to have been a fluke, far from an actionable path a concerned whistleblower ought to take. For a film meant to critique power, it appears oblivious to the real dangers faced by people like Daniel Jones.
What Brody's onto here with THE LAUNDROMAT is what got me excited about it as well, flaws and all.
I used to like THE PRINCESS BRIDE a lot as a teenager, but an unexpected recent viewing ended up quite a slog. So Brody's right again: remake everything, because who knows what you'll get. This article of his ends with an observation also made recently by Nick Pinkerton, that studios lately have a vested interest in denying audiences access to classic movies so that there are no points of comparison for newer ones. Very pernicious.
Racism in health-care algorithms.
Homo sapiens originated from Botswana. Charles Mudede has some poetic thoughts on how this helps re-conceptualize human history.
And really Mudede's been on a tear recently. I've always admired his writing, but the breadth of it is remarkable when juxtaposed: here he is on lunar living (with more on human evolution too, as an aside); Malaysia's rat-eating macaques (bring them to Baltimore!); Africa and globalization; and most head-spinning of all, Spinoza vs. Leibniz on free will and memory.
Another: the emotional power of soul music reveals its philosophical dimensions as well.
Last one: to my understanding, capitalism's eternal crisis is over-abundance, which is controlled through forced scarcity, which then necessitates the production of more things, a cycle predicated on irrationally avoiding low-growth/no-growth for the appearance of profit.
The DPRK continues its fight against US sanctions.
Marx's gothic imagery.
Excellent autopsy from John Semley on the cyberpunk aesthetic, which has well and truly met its end. I also like the elevation of TETSUO: THE IRON MAN as a possible alternative for the classic cyberpunk preoccupations.
Convenience isn't so much an end in itself as it is the by-product of technological evolution you're given as a compromise for accepting new forms of control.
Perpetually, algorithmically out-performing your under-performing baseline self. This one chilled me.
Corbynism may end up outlasting Corbyn (which is the best outcome anyhow). Momentum certainly seems to be evolving into its own thing, so I imagine the Corbyn movement's lasting effects will be best measured in the more distant future.
Fairly astounding situation in regards to the recent Nobel Prize for Literature. It appears that two jurors fell prey to the same selectively-sourced conspiracy theory, one which even the slightest bit of contextual understanding can immediately unravel. And so a long-marginalized and -discredited movement reignites. Now, with that said, one of the hardest things about evaluating information is trying to figure out what you don't know, because, by definition, you don't know what you don't know. But that doesn't mean we should have sympathy for the jurors, who seemed prone to believing this alternative history even before happening across it. That's the really insidious part: all it takes a little nudge in the direction you're already leaning. And when you're in a considerable position of power, tasked with granting distinction to a body of work that will soon be amplified worldwide...
Baltimore is unlikely to get safe drug consumption sites under our awful Republican governor, but maybe in the future...
Plenty of luxury apartments in Baltimore. They don't seem to be filling up, to my relief. But that does raise the question of what will happen when this bubble pops.
China's Belt and Road project continues -- with some alterations. From a distance these measures seem worthwhile; I'd like to dig into those References at the bottom of the article, but I'm running out of free Bloomberg articles for the month.
Said it before and I'll say it again: kill Vice (and the Fader now too).
Four things uniting most recent mass shooters.
So many older US adults get news from TV, as I was reminded on my recent trip to see my parents for the holiday break. It's worse than useless; it's actively harmful, as can be deduced from boomer antipathy toward anything that hints at a better future. TV offers nihilism of the eternal present, oblivious to emerging social currents when it's not hostilely denouncing them. Whatever social media's faults, I'll shed no tears for TV's slow-moving obsolescence.
That said, watching TV with my family did allow me another peek at the dynamic Rob Horning describes here, the behind-the-scenes influencer rebrand. It came from a show on Netflix called Broken, which I inferred was about consumer products with unsavory histories. The make-up industry was in the spotlight, with much time spent discussing the pressures of being an influencer or being influenced by one. Though no one quite delved into the 'really real' play-acting that Horning described, there was enough distance between the scrolling feed and its producers + consumers that I could visualize the mechanics behind projecting a relatable image and making it compelling to social media users.
Online advertising has little evidence proving its effectiveness, despite structuring most of the internet as we know it. Really makes me wonder what the internet will look like in 2020, if/when this bubble pops as spectacularly as it ought to. Does Twitter survive? Facebook? Google?
I despair of ever publishing a book.
An introduction to police abolition.
15 years ago rockism got taken apart quite satisfyingly. Yet still it persists.
I never found THE INSIDER to be among Mann's best films, but Bilge Ebiri suggests that the looser, more subjective style of his digital films can be seen developing throughout this last analog one. I'd be interested in revisiting it as a transitional work.
Climate change could end the prevalence of 30-year mortgages. Definitely concerned about this myself. Baltimore seems like a fairly safe area, but who can say for sure? If a hurricane can hit New York...
More flooding everywhere.
From the above link: Indonesia's moving its capital to Borneo and...abandoning Jakarta? Honestly shocking that a major city like this seems doomed to obliteration.
Singapore explores its alternative energy options. Sad to realize that rising sea levels will be a big problem there. It's really a remarkable place.
!!!!!Emergency round blogging (11/10)!!!!!
Where to start with Evo Morales' sudden resignation? At first it was just the recount, and I thought that would be all. But Benjamin Norton has a thorough thread on Twitter attacking the coup from all angles. Morales was allowed to run for president a fourth time, despite reasonable outcry from the opposition. It appears that aspects of the subsequent unrest were predicted, though Morales' ouster happened much more swiftly than mapped out in those posts.
One item of note above: check out the history behind George Eli Birnbaum. He pops up in the WordPress postings above and in this article listing Bolivia's achievements. Birnbaum, for his part, has the (dis)honor of consulting for Netanyahu, Orbán, and (unsuccessfully) Ben Carson. But maybe his greatest success prior to the current coup was his part in demonizing George Soros, that specter haunting right-wing conspiracy theorists across the US.
I researched this node in the Bolivian coup myself, and what I was able to find is symptomatic of how the right coordinates internationally. Any left response needs to be commensurate with the growing power of a global right-wing movement.
Back to Ben Norton's links: here's an interview with ex-President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras. By linking it, I don't endorse everything he says (his opponent being mentally ill; Julian Assange being a hero), but many of his insights are thoughtful and informative. Additionally, Zelaya provides a rare bird's eye view of what happened to the Honduran government after the US sponsored a coup there. In times ahead, Bolivia may face a similar fate.
Yet the situation may be even more multi-faceted than most accounts have claimed. Here are two essays from Bolivian feminists who claim that the election and its aftermath were a chest-puffing contest. Libcom.org provides the links, and several others as well, that complicate the heroic socialist story favored by leftists. I admit, I was swept up in the anti-imperialist fury that accompanied this turn of events, but reflecting with a calmer head allows for contradictions to emerge. It's best, as always, to listen to marginalized people whose voices may not immediately be the most amplified. Thanks to libcom for guiding my analysis.
(11/18) Continuing updates...libcom seems quite critical of the "Grayzone gang." I am fairly new to the collective (excluding Ajit Singh, whom I've Followed for a while now), and while I think the facts above still stand, I'm going to walk back my praise anyhow because this is a good example of hearing what you want to hear in times of chaos. I'd personally started to see some holes in the Grayzone coverage of Bolivia after the previous libcom intervention, but now I'd like to distance myself a little more and keep an eye out for better sources in the future.
This year's Radical Bookfair in Baltimore introduced me to many new writers and scholars, as well as giving me the chance to meet a few whose work I'd been following.* One impressive speaker was Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, whose new book How to Be an Anti-Racist sounds like a clear-eyed approach to an endlessly complex problem. At the end of his talk, he discussed the premature passing of Elijah Cummings and how it related to his own father's health troubles. The connections he draws are best experienced for yourself, but even from this essay, you can tell that Dr. Kendi digs deep into himself and his ideas for this work.
*One of whom is Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, who also has a new book out (Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership). This new book has a simple thesis with vast implications: private property will always be at odds with the human right to affordable, public housing. Taylor's book looks at the 'predatory inclusion' practices that sold decrepit houses to low-income black people, then profited on the inevitable foreclosures. Her talk was very impressive, and though I was tempted to buy the new book, ultimately I bought a previous one she edited (How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective) that I'd been meaning to buy for a longer time.
From Hong Kong to Chile. This is a strong summary of Chile's post-Allende history, and Lili Loofbourow writes from a helpfully personal perspective. There's also this Bloomberg article whose panicky tone is amusing, but which does contain some useful findings (like the near-certainty of riots over transit fare raises).
The early history of 'segrenomics.'
Learning a little more about Lupita Nyong'o.
I've been wavering a bit on whether I'd want to see Soderbergh-collaborator Scott Z. Burns' THE REPORT, but this Intercept article digs into a weird preoccupation it has about avoiding partisanship, forgoing journalistic pugilism for the self-evident higher purpose of 'official process.' As if the country that perpetrated these crimes against humanity would be amenable to such a reckoning. While the titular report did eventually make it out to the public, it seems basically to have been a fluke, far from an actionable path a concerned whistleblower ought to take. For a film meant to critique power, it appears oblivious to the real dangers faced by people like Daniel Jones.
What Brody's onto here with THE LAUNDROMAT is what got me excited about it as well, flaws and all.
I used to like THE PRINCESS BRIDE a lot as a teenager, but an unexpected recent viewing ended up quite a slog. So Brody's right again: remake everything, because who knows what you'll get. This article of his ends with an observation also made recently by Nick Pinkerton, that studios lately have a vested interest in denying audiences access to classic movies so that there are no points of comparison for newer ones. Very pernicious.
Racism in health-care algorithms.
Homo sapiens originated from Botswana. Charles Mudede has some poetic thoughts on how this helps re-conceptualize human history.
And really Mudede's been on a tear recently. I've always admired his writing, but the breadth of it is remarkable when juxtaposed: here he is on lunar living (with more on human evolution too, as an aside); Malaysia's rat-eating macaques (bring them to Baltimore!); Africa and globalization; and most head-spinning of all, Spinoza vs. Leibniz on free will and memory.
Another: the emotional power of soul music reveals its philosophical dimensions as well.
Last one: to my understanding, capitalism's eternal crisis is over-abundance, which is controlled through forced scarcity, which then necessitates the production of more things, a cycle predicated on irrationally avoiding low-growth/no-growth for the appearance of profit.
The DPRK continues its fight against US sanctions.
Marx's gothic imagery.
Excellent autopsy from John Semley on the cyberpunk aesthetic, which has well and truly met its end. I also like the elevation of TETSUO: THE IRON MAN as a possible alternative for the classic cyberpunk preoccupations.
Convenience isn't so much an end in itself as it is the by-product of technological evolution you're given as a compromise for accepting new forms of control.
Perpetually, algorithmically out-performing your under-performing baseline self. This one chilled me.
Corbynism may end up outlasting Corbyn (which is the best outcome anyhow). Momentum certainly seems to be evolving into its own thing, so I imagine the Corbyn movement's lasting effects will be best measured in the more distant future.
Fairly astounding situation in regards to the recent Nobel Prize for Literature. It appears that two jurors fell prey to the same selectively-sourced conspiracy theory, one which even the slightest bit of contextual understanding can immediately unravel. And so a long-marginalized and -discredited movement reignites. Now, with that said, one of the hardest things about evaluating information is trying to figure out what you don't know, because, by definition, you don't know what you don't know. But that doesn't mean we should have sympathy for the jurors, who seemed prone to believing this alternative history even before happening across it. That's the really insidious part: all it takes a little nudge in the direction you're already leaning. And when you're in a considerable position of power, tasked with granting distinction to a body of work that will soon be amplified worldwide...
Baltimore is unlikely to get safe drug consumption sites under our awful Republican governor, but maybe in the future...
Plenty of luxury apartments in Baltimore. They don't seem to be filling up, to my relief. But that does raise the question of what will happen when this bubble pops.
China's Belt and Road project continues -- with some alterations. From a distance these measures seem worthwhile; I'd like to dig into those References at the bottom of the article, but I'm running out of free Bloomberg articles for the month.
Said it before and I'll say it again: kill Vice (and the Fader now too).
Four things uniting most recent mass shooters.
So many older US adults get news from TV, as I was reminded on my recent trip to see my parents for the holiday break. It's worse than useless; it's actively harmful, as can be deduced from boomer antipathy toward anything that hints at a better future. TV offers nihilism of the eternal present, oblivious to emerging social currents when it's not hostilely denouncing them. Whatever social media's faults, I'll shed no tears for TV's slow-moving obsolescence.
That said, watching TV with my family did allow me another peek at the dynamic Rob Horning describes here, the behind-the-scenes influencer rebrand. It came from a show on Netflix called Broken, which I inferred was about consumer products with unsavory histories. The make-up industry was in the spotlight, with much time spent discussing the pressures of being an influencer or being influenced by one. Though no one quite delved into the 'really real' play-acting that Horning described, there was enough distance between the scrolling feed and its producers + consumers that I could visualize the mechanics behind projecting a relatable image and making it compelling to social media users.
Online advertising has little evidence proving its effectiveness, despite structuring most of the internet as we know it. Really makes me wonder what the internet will look like in 2020, if/when this bubble pops as spectacularly as it ought to. Does Twitter survive? Facebook? Google?
I despair of ever publishing a book.
An introduction to police abolition.
15 years ago rockism got taken apart quite satisfyingly. Yet still it persists.
I never found THE INSIDER to be among Mann's best films, but Bilge Ebiri suggests that the looser, more subjective style of his digital films can be seen developing throughout this last analog one. I'd be interested in revisiting it as a transitional work.
Climate change could end the prevalence of 30-year mortgages. Definitely concerned about this myself. Baltimore seems like a fairly safe area, but who can say for sure? If a hurricane can hit New York...
More flooding everywhere.
From the above link: Indonesia's moving its capital to Borneo and...abandoning Jakarta? Honestly shocking that a major city like this seems doomed to obliteration.
Singapore explores its alternative energy options. Sad to realize that rising sea levels will be a big problem there. It's really a remarkable place.
!!!!!Emergency round blogging (11/10)!!!!!
Where to start with Evo Morales' sudden resignation? At first it was just the recount, and I thought that would be all. But Benjamin Norton has a thorough thread on Twitter attacking the coup from all angles. Morales was allowed to run for president a fourth time, despite reasonable outcry from the opposition. It appears that aspects of the subsequent unrest were predicted, though Morales' ouster happened much more swiftly than mapped out in those posts.
One item of note above: check out the history behind George Eli Birnbaum. He pops up in the WordPress postings above and in this article listing Bolivia's achievements. Birnbaum, for his part, has the (dis)honor of consulting for Netanyahu, Orbán, and (unsuccessfully) Ben Carson. But maybe his greatest success prior to the current coup was his part in demonizing George Soros, that specter haunting right-wing conspiracy theorists across the US.
I researched this node in the Bolivian coup myself, and what I was able to find is symptomatic of how the right coordinates internationally. Any left response needs to be commensurate with the growing power of a global right-wing movement.
Back to Ben Norton's links: here's an interview with ex-President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras. By linking it, I don't endorse everything he says (his opponent being mentally ill; Julian Assange being a hero), but many of his insights are thoughtful and informative. Additionally, Zelaya provides a rare bird's eye view of what happened to the Honduran government after the US sponsored a coup there. In times ahead, Bolivia may face a similar fate.
Yet the situation may be even more multi-faceted than most accounts have claimed. Here are two essays from Bolivian feminists who claim that the election and its aftermath were a chest-puffing contest. Libcom.org provides the links, and several others as well, that complicate the heroic socialist story favored by leftists. I admit, I was swept up in the anti-imperialist fury that accompanied this turn of events, but reflecting with a calmer head allows for contradictions to emerge. It's best, as always, to listen to marginalized people whose voices may not immediately be the most amplified. Thanks to libcom for guiding my analysis.
(11/18) Continuing updates...libcom seems quite critical of the "Grayzone gang." I am fairly new to the collective (excluding Ajit Singh, whom I've Followed for a while now), and while I think the facts above still stand, I'm going to walk back my praise anyhow because this is a good example of hearing what you want to hear in times of chaos. I'd personally started to see some holes in the Grayzone coverage of Bolivia after the previous libcom intervention, but now I'd like to distance myself a little more and keep an eye out for better sources in the future.
Sunday, October 6, 2019
10/19
Surviving Amazon.
The finer points of economics go over my head, but this article is fairly clear, and I feel there's value in the conclusions it draws. Because corporations now have the upper hand in bargaining, they don't need to invest in developing countries' infrastructure if they don't want to. Taiwan and South Korea were able to negotiate this in a laxer era of globalization, and it eased their integration into the global economy. Ethiopia, on the other hand, would have to find new ways to entice reluctant corporations:
Typically fine-grained work from Eric Hynes on AMERICAN FACTORY, a film I'm interested in checking out.
I've only seen three films by James Gray (including AD ASTRA), but he's always on my to-do list.
An excerpt from a new book by Matt Stoller, who is always eagle-eyed on Democratic corruption.
Making sense of Bruno Latour and politics. (Reminder to self to read We Have Never Been Modern)
Who JoJo Rabbit is really for.
A topic very near and dear to my heart: dance-pop music, 2009-2012. While some of the words and phrasing used here imply negative value judgment (i.e. nihilism/nihilistic), I'm inclined to give the benefit of the doubt because so much of this analysis dovetails with what these years felt like. In 2009 I was on the cusp of graduating high school (Just Dance/I Gotta Feeling); in 2010 I was watching from Japan while Tik Tok took over the world; and later that year I entered college and began partying in earnest, my head buzzing from the ecstatic interplay of beats, rhythms, sounds and synthesizers. Those times are among my fondest memories, and while I experienced them as a time of endless possibility (hence my objection to the dour overtones of the linked article), I have to admit there were times when it felt like this was it, and not much else was waiting for me on the other side. It was a dream, and adulthood was the reality I hadn't woken up to yet. As I became more politically aware and, inevitably, more focused on actually getting the degree I was in school for, the eternal party started to die down. Years kept passing and passing. Now it's 2019, and I'm a leftist, a graduate, a worker, a mortgage-payer. Funny how short that compulsory present actually ended up being...even though it still feels infinite, in memory.
Free from all constraints, liberalism still has nothing to offer.
Multifaceted deconstruction of mind-body duality.
Too much brain activity could lead to a shorter life. This legitimately terrifies me.
Really really liked this interview with McKenzie Wark.
Against individualistic surveying, this statistical analysis argues that the strongest predictor of an area's support for Trump was growth in overdose deaths.
A lovely introduction to Issue 2 of Chuang, followed by a superb series of conversations between Chuang and the pseudonymous Lao Xie. I strongly, strongly recommend the latter link. It's taught me so much about contemporary China and Xi Jinping's reign, and I expect it will ground much of my understanding from here on out. I hope to delve into the remaining essays soon (not to mention the whole of Issue 1!).
I have to disagree a bit with what's written here. I think most of the constraints on a Warren presidency would be the same for Bernie, and thus the difference between the two is not as wide as the article claims. Yet I think the mainframe of the argument is solid, even as it (inadvertently) points to the fact that hopes shouldn't be pinned on a left-liberal savior to "fix" the US. Ultimately, the best outcome anyone can expect is that Bernie continues to stir up leftist energy that can be deployed through a diversity of tactics for a variety of goals, the effects of which cannot currently be predicted.
Sentences laid out for Catalan separatists. There's no way this will defuse the ongoing independence question.
D. Watkins bids farewell the neighborhood he said he'd never leave, wanting to give his daughter better opportunities than he had. I feel for him, it sounds like an impossible choice to make.
Right-wing shooters are live-streaming their slaughters for internet fans.
Regional dispatches from a suffering Britain. From the other end: the Tories and capital are uncoupling.
Hoarded wealth could fund a welfare state.
Seems there was a big debate this month on the professional-managerial class. The term is new to me but an intuitive one; here's Gabriel Winant on what it is, whether it really exists, where the concept came from, and what it would take to radicalize its nominal members.
The world's first novel (it's from Japan!) gains a new chapter.
The work of building solidarity between Palestinians and Kurds.
43 more accusations of sexual assault against Trump.
Heteropessimism.
Nostalgia is (profitable) poison.
The hypothetical goods of automation can't be realized under capitalism.
How Rosalie Varda helped her mother make movies, and a little on what life is like for her now. Bittersweet interview; I still miss Agnés a lot.
Golden Dawn, one of Europe's most successful fascist parties, is finally on the wane.
This is a helpful aid for me as I try to wrap my head around the concepts in Robin James' next book.
Thoughtful interview with the Dardennes about their risky new film YOUNG AHMED. They're a little too attached to universalism still, but I can recognize their efforts to tackle a tough subject respectfully. (The real problem is I've heard twice now that THE UNKNOWN GIRL has a more racist passage than anything in this new one.)
Centrist-child syndrome, which terrifies us and makes us fear ever raising children.
(Only half joking!)
Not that I consider myself PhD material, but if I ever thought of pursuing one, the idea of applying to hundreds of positions (which would surely require relocation) is an anxiety nightmare that strikes me to the core. And that's before the work even starts.
Women and erotic thrillers.
I thought this was a really honest account of being the older woman in a heterosexual relationship.
The corporate model of fandom.
Mariame Kaba on her history and how to do things together.
Total meltdown at WeWork. I've been following it with horrified fascination, waiting to see what the fallout will be. The end of money-losing monopolies? Too soon to say, but with any luck...
Is eating less red meat worth it? It's anyone's guess, but I had steak twice last week, and I definitely felt concerned about it. I'll probably just keep it minimal out of caution.
I remember encountering this anti-poptimism post like seven years ago when Trevor Link objected to the half-joking implication that his argument had fascist overtones. The Pop Utopianism Manifesto changed my life and I still count myself a poptimist, but out of intellectual honesty I have to admit there are some points made in this counter-argument worth considering. (I don't think anyone ended up taking juke as a liberatory practice though...)
Often say to myself (and others): it's a bubble!
This summer, we encountered something unexpected during our trip to Japan: extreme heat. The last time we visited was June 2017, and nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. We were totally caught off-guard by how hot it was, and it altered our plans for the trip in a fundamental way. Previously we'd planned on being out all day exploring; now we had to limit our excursions to the morning and late afternoon/evening/night, avoiding almost altogether the hours between 11:00 and 4:00. It was a huge setback, and the hindrance only compounded when I stayed my extra two weeks. Long hours were spent indoors listening to music, meditating on my relationship to Japan in a manner far more abstracted than I'd planned for. We know better now, but the rest of the world won't be so savvy next summer. It could be a very big problem.
The finer points of economics go over my head, but this article is fairly clear, and I feel there's value in the conclusions it draws. Because corporations now have the upper hand in bargaining, they don't need to invest in developing countries' infrastructure if they don't want to. Taiwan and South Korea were able to negotiate this in a laxer era of globalization, and it eased their integration into the global economy. Ethiopia, on the other hand, would have to find new ways to entice reluctant corporations:
I've only seen three films by James Gray (including AD ASTRA), but he's always on my to-do list.
An excerpt from a new book by Matt Stoller, who is always eagle-eyed on Democratic corruption.
Making sense of Bruno Latour and politics. (Reminder to self to read We Have Never Been Modern)
Who JoJo Rabbit is really for.
A topic very near and dear to my heart: dance-pop music, 2009-2012. While some of the words and phrasing used here imply negative value judgment (i.e. nihilism/nihilistic), I'm inclined to give the benefit of the doubt because so much of this analysis dovetails with what these years felt like. In 2009 I was on the cusp of graduating high school (Just Dance/I Gotta Feeling); in 2010 I was watching from Japan while Tik Tok took over the world; and later that year I entered college and began partying in earnest, my head buzzing from the ecstatic interplay of beats, rhythms, sounds and synthesizers. Those times are among my fondest memories, and while I experienced them as a time of endless possibility (hence my objection to the dour overtones of the linked article), I have to admit there were times when it felt like this was it, and not much else was waiting for me on the other side. It was a dream, and adulthood was the reality I hadn't woken up to yet. As I became more politically aware and, inevitably, more focused on actually getting the degree I was in school for, the eternal party started to die down. Years kept passing and passing. Now it's 2019, and I'm a leftist, a graduate, a worker, a mortgage-payer. Funny how short that compulsory present actually ended up being...even though it still feels infinite, in memory.
Free from all constraints, liberalism still has nothing to offer.
Multifaceted deconstruction of mind-body duality.
Too much brain activity could lead to a shorter life. This legitimately terrifies me.
Really really liked this interview with McKenzie Wark.
Against individualistic surveying, this statistical analysis argues that the strongest predictor of an area's support for Trump was growth in overdose deaths.
A lovely introduction to Issue 2 of Chuang, followed by a superb series of conversations between Chuang and the pseudonymous Lao Xie. I strongly, strongly recommend the latter link. It's taught me so much about contemporary China and Xi Jinping's reign, and I expect it will ground much of my understanding from here on out. I hope to delve into the remaining essays soon (not to mention the whole of Issue 1!).
I have to disagree a bit with what's written here. I think most of the constraints on a Warren presidency would be the same for Bernie, and thus the difference between the two is not as wide as the article claims. Yet I think the mainframe of the argument is solid, even as it (inadvertently) points to the fact that hopes shouldn't be pinned on a left-liberal savior to "fix" the US. Ultimately, the best outcome anyone can expect is that Bernie continues to stir up leftist energy that can be deployed through a diversity of tactics for a variety of goals, the effects of which cannot currently be predicted.
Sentences laid out for Catalan separatists. There's no way this will defuse the ongoing independence question.
D. Watkins bids farewell the neighborhood he said he'd never leave, wanting to give his daughter better opportunities than he had. I feel for him, it sounds like an impossible choice to make.
Right-wing shooters are live-streaming their slaughters for internet fans.
Regional dispatches from a suffering Britain. From the other end: the Tories and capital are uncoupling.
Hoarded wealth could fund a welfare state.
Seems there was a big debate this month on the professional-managerial class. The term is new to me but an intuitive one; here's Gabriel Winant on what it is, whether it really exists, where the concept came from, and what it would take to radicalize its nominal members.
The world's first novel (it's from Japan!) gains a new chapter.
The work of building solidarity between Palestinians and Kurds.
43 more accusations of sexual assault against Trump.
Heteropessimism.
Nostalgia is (profitable) poison.
The hypothetical goods of automation can't be realized under capitalism.
How Rosalie Varda helped her mother make movies, and a little on what life is like for her now. Bittersweet interview; I still miss Agnés a lot.
Golden Dawn, one of Europe's most successful fascist parties, is finally on the wane.
This is a helpful aid for me as I try to wrap my head around the concepts in Robin James' next book.
Thoughtful interview with the Dardennes about their risky new film YOUNG AHMED. They're a little too attached to universalism still, but I can recognize their efforts to tackle a tough subject respectfully. (The real problem is I've heard twice now that THE UNKNOWN GIRL has a more racist passage than anything in this new one.)
Centrist-child syndrome, which terrifies us and makes us fear ever raising children.
(Only half joking!)
Not that I consider myself PhD material, but if I ever thought of pursuing one, the idea of applying to hundreds of positions (which would surely require relocation) is an anxiety nightmare that strikes me to the core. And that's before the work even starts.
Women and erotic thrillers.
I thought this was a really honest account of being the older woman in a heterosexual relationship.
The corporate model of fandom.
Mariame Kaba on her history and how to do things together.
Total meltdown at WeWork. I've been following it with horrified fascination, waiting to see what the fallout will be. The end of money-losing monopolies? Too soon to say, but with any luck...
Is eating less red meat worth it? It's anyone's guess, but I had steak twice last week, and I definitely felt concerned about it. I'll probably just keep it minimal out of caution.
I remember encountering this anti-poptimism post like seven years ago when Trevor Link objected to the half-joking implication that his argument had fascist overtones. The Pop Utopianism Manifesto changed my life and I still count myself a poptimist, but out of intellectual honesty I have to admit there are some points made in this counter-argument worth considering. (I don't think anyone ended up taking juke as a liberatory practice though...)
Often say to myself (and others): it's a bubble!
This summer, we encountered something unexpected during our trip to Japan: extreme heat. The last time we visited was June 2017, and nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. We were totally caught off-guard by how hot it was, and it altered our plans for the trip in a fundamental way. Previously we'd planned on being out all day exploring; now we had to limit our excursions to the morning and late afternoon/evening/night, avoiding almost altogether the hours between 11:00 and 4:00. It was a huge setback, and the hindrance only compounded when I stayed my extra two weeks. Long hours were spent indoors listening to music, meditating on my relationship to Japan in a manner far more abstracted than I'd planned for. We know better now, but the rest of the world won't be so savvy next summer. It could be a very big problem.
Saturday, September 7, 2019
Grime Note #1: Wiley, Gangsterz
I would not be anywhere near as immersed in grime as I am without Wiley, so I always planned on beginning this process with him. Doubtless I'll be returning to his music over and over; for now, I want to highlight one of the earliest times it astonished me. The song is Gangsterz, about 2/3 through the track's sing-songy call-and-response structure. It's just a small moment really, one of many variations on a theme, but the amount of information in the following two lines alerts the listener to Wiley's gifts as an MC:
"I got stabbed 14 times I can tell you it weren't by (gangsters), my uncle got stabbed like twice and he died, I told you he's one of them (gangsters)"
In these two short lines, Wiley tells us a lot about himself, his life, and the world around him. Violence may be a constant threat, but it manifests differently depending on the recipient. At the start, Wiley brags about surviving his own stabbing, in itself a boast most can't match. You would think being stabbed 14 times is as bad as it gets, but not only does Wiley suggest otherwise, he laughs off the poor technique of his assailants. In contrast, Wiley gives us the example of his uncle, who died from what we infer are two real-deal knife wounds. Not only does this further shame Wiley's unsuccessful attackers, it also demonstrates that Wiley comes from a background of true gangsters, men whose deaths are planned and executed with great skill. In quick succession, Wiley reasserts his legitimacy, delegitimizes his foes, and locates himself as one among London's toughest.
While I wouldn't want to fetishize the violence Wiley narrates, I think it's worth noting the skill with which he shares it. The truth of the matter is more nuanced than the song permits: in his autobiography, Wiley speaks to how his uncle's death deeply affected his mother, possibly to the point of her emotionally withdrawing from his own childhood. So it's not as if Wiley offers us this fact as hero worship. Rather, it's part of a complex method of synthesizing one's own experiences, often adverse, into something meaningful. Drawing again from his autobiography, Wiley doesn't look back fondly on his own stabbings any more than he admires his uncle's. But if such violence can't be avoided altogether, at least he can speak on it and narrativize it into part of his personhood. Better to subjectify oneself than be the object of someone else's violence.
"I got stabbed 14 times I can tell you it weren't by (gangsters), my uncle got stabbed like twice and he died, I told you he's one of them (gangsters)"
In these two short lines, Wiley tells us a lot about himself, his life, and the world around him. Violence may be a constant threat, but it manifests differently depending on the recipient. At the start, Wiley brags about surviving his own stabbing, in itself a boast most can't match. You would think being stabbed 14 times is as bad as it gets, but not only does Wiley suggest otherwise, he laughs off the poor technique of his assailants. In contrast, Wiley gives us the example of his uncle, who died from what we infer are two real-deal knife wounds. Not only does this further shame Wiley's unsuccessful attackers, it also demonstrates that Wiley comes from a background of true gangsters, men whose deaths are planned and executed with great skill. In quick succession, Wiley reasserts his legitimacy, delegitimizes his foes, and locates himself as one among London's toughest.
While I wouldn't want to fetishize the violence Wiley narrates, I think it's worth noting the skill with which he shares it. The truth of the matter is more nuanced than the song permits: in his autobiography, Wiley speaks to how his uncle's death deeply affected his mother, possibly to the point of her emotionally withdrawing from his own childhood. So it's not as if Wiley offers us this fact as hero worship. Rather, it's part of a complex method of synthesizing one's own experiences, often adverse, into something meaningful. Drawing again from his autobiography, Wiley doesn't look back fondly on his own stabbings any more than he admires his uncle's. But if such violence can't be avoided altogether, at least he can speak on it and narrativize it into part of his personhood. Better to subjectify oneself than be the object of someone else's violence.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
09/19
I am new to the recently departed Immanuel Wallerstein, but this article of his was a stupendous introduction. His emphasis on state-aided monopoly can, I feel, be read productively in concert with Nick Srnicek's Platform Capitalism, which also suggests that the goal and outcome of large enterprises is monopoly. Other areas, such as embourgeoisment and the role of rent, are provocative and helpful in understanding the 'new middle class' and what its powers include as something historically distinct from the bourgeoisie of earlier centuries.
Finally, the last section, on human capital, is perfectly descriptive of the higher education scam currently in place, in which the arbitrary selection for employment from a wide pool of competent (and compliant) students is the basis of the predatory student loan market. For the new middle class, with their precarious relation to institutional power, securing educational advantages for their offspring -- who then accrue necessary human capital -- is the only way for their family line to continue 'living in the present.' That is, without the property and privileges of the old bourgeoisie. In the current economic situation, where overworked and underpaid Millennials have only their own human capital to offer, I imagine this fragile consolidation will become ever-more stark in generations to come as fewer Millennials will even be able to afford college for their children at all (in the absence of some grand, transformative change on the lines of mass student debt forgiveness...which I wouldn't bet on). In exploiting the inter-generational transferral of privileges, the student loan market has impoverished boomers and their children alike -- not to mention older adults, who also make up a significant amount of the debtor percentage.
This is something genuinely unprecedented, in my opinion, and the effects of it will be lifelong in so many ways, as I've noted here before.
The problem is not the cure.
No child grows up wanting to be a management consultant.
The pestilence of radical centrism -- which, with luck, will burn itself out.
Of course the immigration crisis is a moral matter above all, but there will be economic consequences to it as well. I'm reminded of The Specificity of Imperialism, an essay in Viewpoint Magazine, which argues that imperialism will sometimes pursue strategies that would seem counterintuitive from an economic perspective. This is what distinguishes it from "mere" capitalism, with its absolute fidelity to the profit motive.
As a former lurker of SomethingAwful I've always regarded 4chan from a wary distance, but I'd actually never heard of 8chan until watching this report. (PS: despite occasionally putting out good stuff like this, I still think VICE needs to die, and soon)
Probably not the only person who considers a new dispatch from Ronan Farrow must-read. Specifically, his writing gives such a clear view of how power operates now.
Interrogating the bullshit job.
Found myself very moved by Shaviro's remembrance of Kathy Acker.
Too often, black genius is treated like a flash in the pan.
As outsourcing and automation decimated the working class, the higher-educated are now the largest left coalition in politics. Apologies for attention paid to the abuser Piketty, but this critique of his book is a helpful summary for those, like me, who haven't read it, and it also generates its own original insights.
I've seen this POW/MIA research take place on Letterboxd thanks to pd187, and now Nathan Smith's written a great summary of the whole wild history.
Climate change is already here in the Florida Keys.
A comprehensive overview of the Hong Kong protests, their achievements, their limitations, and the way they've reshaped the SAR. Highly recommended.
From Fordism to post-Fordism, dancefloor to silent disco. More by Robin James here, on the sadly departed YOLO era and the heinously hegemonic chill one.
Why is white wealth the standard from which lesser wealth is the deviance?
Horrible account of Rob Cohen's sexual abuse. Much love to the women speaking out, his daughter especially.
Good insights on why horror cinema doesn't need to be saved from itself.
I've yet to read Donna Haraway's works, but I really like this impassioned intellectual history of her.
Nice review of a book including essays by Wendy Chun and Hito Steyerl.
Resisting Bolsonaro.
Kid Cudi's debut album turned 10 a few weeks ago, and it's hard not to see his influence all over US rap of this past decade. It's great as ever, and Cudi's continued success is something that gives me a lot of happiness.
And last but not least, an excellent and informative interview with Jesse V. Johnson, whose newest film AVENGEMENT I liked very much, currently streaming on (ugh) Netflix.
Finally, the last section, on human capital, is perfectly descriptive of the higher education scam currently in place, in which the arbitrary selection for employment from a wide pool of competent (and compliant) students is the basis of the predatory student loan market. For the new middle class, with their precarious relation to institutional power, securing educational advantages for their offspring -- who then accrue necessary human capital -- is the only way for their family line to continue 'living in the present.' That is, without the property and privileges of the old bourgeoisie. In the current economic situation, where overworked and underpaid Millennials have only their own human capital to offer, I imagine this fragile consolidation will become ever-more stark in generations to come as fewer Millennials will even be able to afford college for their children at all (in the absence of some grand, transformative change on the lines of mass student debt forgiveness...which I wouldn't bet on). In exploiting the inter-generational transferral of privileges, the student loan market has impoverished boomers and their children alike -- not to mention older adults, who also make up a significant amount of the debtor percentage.
This is something genuinely unprecedented, in my opinion, and the effects of it will be lifelong in so many ways, as I've noted here before.
The problem is not the cure.
No child grows up wanting to be a management consultant.
The pestilence of radical centrism -- which, with luck, will burn itself out.
Of course the immigration crisis is a moral matter above all, but there will be economic consequences to it as well. I'm reminded of The Specificity of Imperialism, an essay in Viewpoint Magazine, which argues that imperialism will sometimes pursue strategies that would seem counterintuitive from an economic perspective. This is what distinguishes it from "mere" capitalism, with its absolute fidelity to the profit motive.
As a former lurker of SomethingAwful I've always regarded 4chan from a wary distance, but I'd actually never heard of 8chan until watching this report. (PS: despite occasionally putting out good stuff like this, I still think VICE needs to die, and soon)
Probably not the only person who considers a new dispatch from Ronan Farrow must-read. Specifically, his writing gives such a clear view of how power operates now.
Interrogating the bullshit job.
Found myself very moved by Shaviro's remembrance of Kathy Acker.
Too often, black genius is treated like a flash in the pan.
As outsourcing and automation decimated the working class, the higher-educated are now the largest left coalition in politics. Apologies for attention paid to the abuser Piketty, but this critique of his book is a helpful summary for those, like me, who haven't read it, and it also generates its own original insights.
I've seen this POW/MIA research take place on Letterboxd thanks to pd187, and now Nathan Smith's written a great summary of the whole wild history.
Climate change is already here in the Florida Keys.
A comprehensive overview of the Hong Kong protests, their achievements, their limitations, and the way they've reshaped the SAR. Highly recommended.
From Fordism to post-Fordism, dancefloor to silent disco. More by Robin James here, on the sadly departed YOLO era and the heinously hegemonic chill one.
Why is white wealth the standard from which lesser wealth is the deviance?
Horrible account of Rob Cohen's sexual abuse. Much love to the women speaking out, his daughter especially.
Good insights on why horror cinema doesn't need to be saved from itself.
I've yet to read Donna Haraway's works, but I really like this impassioned intellectual history of her.
Nice review of a book including essays by Wendy Chun and Hito Steyerl.
Resisting Bolsonaro.
Kid Cudi's debut album turned 10 a few weeks ago, and it's hard not to see his influence all over US rap of this past decade. It's great as ever, and Cudi's continued success is something that gives me a lot of happiness.
And last but not least, an excellent and informative interview with Jesse V. Johnson, whose newest film AVENGEMENT I liked very much, currently streaming on (ugh) Netflix.
Saturday, August 31, 2019
08/19
I find it convincing that our current ways of thinking climate change fail to grasp its hugeness. Here's one way: not only will the use of fossil fuels have to rapidly decrease, but economies must also adapt to large increases in clean energy. It may sound simple, but the linked essay provides lots of details on what will aid or impede the process.
Dangerously close to this.
This article intro by Robin James is very humbling, given that political leadership is definitely a frame that's guided my thinking.
Not sure I totally get this but I do think it's helpful to map out a more precise definition of harm.
Haven't read No Logo, but from what this essay summarizes, the terrain definitely seems to have shifted.
Trump is not an alternative to neoliberalism, but yet another living embodiment of it.
Great, great, great critique of xenofeminism; but, more importantly in my view, accelerationism too. I'm guilty of ignoring the implications for laborers that accelerationism also glosses over, and I think this is a good faith effort to take what's good about xenofeminism and build something new from it. Very exciting stuff.
Nick Pinkerton on mega-movies.
This sounds very unpleasant and one more reason I'm glad I never seriously considered teaching.
Time will tell if the Labour Party can win back disillusioned voters in the north.
I anticipate this likely recession to shape much of my adult life.
Definitely feeling bad about knowing eating meat is bad but doing it anyway.
This critique goes over my head a bit, but what I understand is convincing and disappoints me, because I liked the concept of central planning based on what infrastructure already exists.
This says so many important things, from refusing to treat strangers like reactionary idiots to avoiding the mini-movement of irony-soaked leftism.
Dangerously close to this.
This article intro by Robin James is very humbling, given that political leadership is definitely a frame that's guided my thinking.
Not sure I totally get this but I do think it's helpful to map out a more precise definition of harm.
Haven't read No Logo, but from what this essay summarizes, the terrain definitely seems to have shifted.
Trump is not an alternative to neoliberalism, but yet another living embodiment of it.
Great, great, great critique of xenofeminism; but, more importantly in my view, accelerationism too. I'm guilty of ignoring the implications for laborers that accelerationism also glosses over, and I think this is a good faith effort to take what's good about xenofeminism and build something new from it. Very exciting stuff.
Nick Pinkerton on mega-movies.
This sounds very unpleasant and one more reason I'm glad I never seriously considered teaching.
Time will tell if the Labour Party can win back disillusioned voters in the north.
I anticipate this likely recession to shape much of my adult life.
Definitely feeling bad about knowing eating meat is bad but doing it anyway.
This critique goes over my head a bit, but what I understand is convincing and disappoints me, because I liked the concept of central planning based on what infrastructure already exists.
This says so many important things, from refusing to treat strangers like reactionary idiots to avoiding the mini-movement of irony-soaked leftism.
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
07/19
With Andrea Arnold's work on it butchered, my initial suspicion that BIG LITTLE LIES S2 would be a pointless cash-grab seems to be bearing out.
Generally haven't kept up with Mueller gossip outside a few key moments, but n+1 has an impressive summary of both the report and the sequence of events leading to it. Interesting in the same way that international politics is, with the U.S. verging on rogue state status.
(^I posted the above on 7/23, unaware of the hearings going on today, 7/24)
Nick Pinkerton celebrates Doris Day.
Steven Pinker and the classic "ideology of no ideology."
Break up Disney.
Always interested in the behind-the-scenes work of YouTubing, and the young people who devote their lives to it.
I always think back to Rosenbaum's total shutdown of APOCALYPSE NOW whenever the subject comes up. I used to adore the film, but reading his legitimate grievances against made me feel ashamed that I'd overlooked its ethnocentrism. I don't think I've returned to it since. Here, Phuong Le elaborates on how the metaphysical obsessions of the film are also bound up in Orientalism. The eternal conflict between good and evil -- which itself seems oversimplified -- is not an appropriate topic when it concerns subject matter that is inherently political and tied to a real, specific place. Taking place in a foreigner's misinterpretation of Vietnam, APOCALYPSE NOW balloons with unearned self-confidence, pushing Vietnam and its people out of the frame, favoring US soldiers in fashionable distress.
The terrible story of Keith Davis Jr., the first man shot by BPD after Freddie Gray's death -- and one whose survival has made him a prosecutorial target in the long years afterward. Kelly Davis, his wife, refuses to concede any territory at all on the subject of his incarceration. Through her efforts, she has exposed husband's trials as prominent displays of Baltimore injustice. I dearly hope for both of them that this ordeal ends soon.
The "loveable" Japanese Communist Party.
08/01 BONUS:
This EVA essay, by Willow Maclay, creeps me out plenty without even revisiting the last two episodes -- which, naturally I'm now tempted to do...
Probably always game for a Christopher Doyle interview, whether or not there's much new info in it.
Do the PERSONAL SHOPPER parallels need explication?
Pair this spectacular Ajit Singh chapter on China's well-considered Communism with this essay on the return of economic planning. In the overlap, you see the beginnings of a multipolar world freed from the (un-)free market's totalitarianism, opened up into material abundance with maybe -- just maybe -- the smallest chance of blunting ecological catastrophe. I don't think any of this is inevitable, but these are the trends I'm keeping an eye on if anything's going to get better. Or should we keep hoping the US military will have a change of heart and cease operations in the name of climate justice?
Generally haven't kept up with Mueller gossip outside a few key moments, but n+1 has an impressive summary of both the report and the sequence of events leading to it. Interesting in the same way that international politics is, with the U.S. verging on rogue state status.
(^I posted the above on 7/23, unaware of the hearings going on today, 7/24)
Nick Pinkerton celebrates Doris Day.
Steven Pinker and the classic "ideology of no ideology."
Break up Disney.
Always interested in the behind-the-scenes work of YouTubing, and the young people who devote their lives to it.
I always think back to Rosenbaum's total shutdown of APOCALYPSE NOW whenever the subject comes up. I used to adore the film, but reading his legitimate grievances against made me feel ashamed that I'd overlooked its ethnocentrism. I don't think I've returned to it since. Here, Phuong Le elaborates on how the metaphysical obsessions of the film are also bound up in Orientalism. The eternal conflict between good and evil -- which itself seems oversimplified -- is not an appropriate topic when it concerns subject matter that is inherently political and tied to a real, specific place. Taking place in a foreigner's misinterpretation of Vietnam, APOCALYPSE NOW balloons with unearned self-confidence, pushing Vietnam and its people out of the frame, favoring US soldiers in fashionable distress.
The terrible story of Keith Davis Jr., the first man shot by BPD after Freddie Gray's death -- and one whose survival has made him a prosecutorial target in the long years afterward. Kelly Davis, his wife, refuses to concede any territory at all on the subject of his incarceration. Through her efforts, she has exposed husband's trials as prominent displays of Baltimore injustice. I dearly hope for both of them that this ordeal ends soon.
The "loveable" Japanese Communist Party.
08/01 BONUS:
This EVA essay, by Willow Maclay, creeps me out plenty without even revisiting the last two episodes -- which, naturally I'm now tempted to do...
Probably always game for a Christopher Doyle interview, whether or not there's much new info in it.
Do the PERSONAL SHOPPER parallels need explication?
Pair this spectacular Ajit Singh chapter on China's well-considered Communism with this essay on the return of economic planning. In the overlap, you see the beginnings of a multipolar world freed from the (un-)free market's totalitarianism, opened up into material abundance with maybe -- just maybe -- the smallest chance of blunting ecological catastrophe. I don't think any of this is inevitable, but these are the trends I'm keeping an eye on if anything's going to get better. Or should we keep hoping the US military will have a change of heart and cease operations in the name of climate justice?
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