Monthly Archives: March 2025

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Bluesky thread on why the Carlisle 52 is the best drinkware in America. I know the Carlisle as “the cups they have at Mr. Gatti’s.”

Students studying at the library… but studying the graffiti they find from previous students.

I had just finished reading A Ghost of Caribou by Alice Henderson when I found this article. A Ghost of Caribou is an eco-thriller about a biologist studying a rare species of caribou. It’s endangered because it can only survive with extremely old lichen that grows in old growth forests. An old growth forest is usually well over a hundred years old. This article is about researchers in the UK asking, “is there a way we can make trees older, faster?” It involves gleefully harming trees, for the greater good!

Profile of the philosopher Martha Nussbaum and some of her work.

How to do something

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I have been feeling so helpless lately, and that’s not usual for me. Being locked into my very effective local DSA chapter, I usually feel like there’s a way I can contribute. Everything now is so overwhelming that nothing feels like it’s enough.

Maybe you feel the same way. Maybe you live in a rural area and can’t even make it down to one of the many Tesla protests. If so, here’s an action you can do from your home. Libraries for the People, a leftist libraries advocacy group, needs volunteers to gather data on library boards around the country. If googling library boards and maybe calling for more information sounds like something you can do, scroll down on this page to Research Support for more information.

You can find other suggestions for things to do ranked from easy to hard in this guide from The Disruption Project.

One of my friends was surprised to hear that there were multiple protests going on around town. He hadn’t heard about them, which seemed like a failure in the advertising of the protests to him. If you’re not on social media—maybe you’re one of the people who recently dumped Instagram and FB after Meta’s increased technofascism—how would you hear about a protest? You’d have to be a deliberate part of a group that’s communicating events to members or have a friend who is doing the research for you as part of a group and then sharing that information directly. This isn’t extremely efficient, especially given the time sensitive nature of many actions. I think more people should leave social media, so this problem of how to learn about mass events is one that I am chewing over.

If you are in Austin, here are some groups you might join to find out about these events:

  • Austin DSA
  • Your workplace union – If you are a worker, you have a modicum of power in capitalism. Don’t leave that power on the table. If you don’t have a union yet, you can get advice and support from the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee.
  • Indivisible Austin – they would not be my first choice because they are only activated during crises and maybe we could have avoided those crises if they were, for instance, preemptively working with Austin DSA to keep Tesla from moving to Texas in the first place. They are extremely active right now, though.
  • Austin Justice Coalition
  • Former council member Jimmy Flannigan has started a mailing list to connect people and was one of the primary promoters of the recent Tesla protest. You can sign up at https://www.jimmyflannigan.com/the-work-2-0/

Recent Links

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From Antarctica with Love – We know the story of Scott’s ill-fated trip to the South Pole, but what about the men who managed the base camp and Terra Nova, the men who had to find the party after it disappeared? This long essay describes their love for each other and the traumas of their less obvious role in the expedition.

The Tyranny of Public Opinion – Peter Shamshiri – evidence that voters change their views on issues based on political campaigns.

Rick Astley covers Pink Pony Club and Chappell Roan sings with Elton John.

The War on Cars creates a “classic” ad for riding bikes

Vitamin Q – Stephen Skolnick – The case for neurotransmitter deficiencies responsible for issues like depression being linked to the guy biome. Contains interesting tidbits like, “Tryptophan, in addition to being the most complex of the protein-coding amino acids, is also the rarest in nature. This is why serotonin is intimately tied to satiety and sleep: if you have enough tryptophan in your belly, it tells your body that you’ve almost definitely got enough of everything else.” Head’s up though that at the end there’s a plug for investments in his experimental vitamins.

Journaling about People in my Life – Drewscape – Just what it says, an idea for journaling about people.

Recent links

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How to Be a Fighter When You Feel Like a Punching Bag An essay about the helplessness we all feel right now and how we might regain a sense of agency by connecting with community.

Trapped in the Mine – Helen Sullivan. A devastating account of miners trapped in an illegal gold mine in South Africa.

My Favorite Etymologies: To Curry Favour – weird medieval guys – Exploring the etymology of the phrase ‘currying favour,’ Olivia introduces us to the most evil horse in history.