Just some nice things
I could write about the devastating wildfires that have destroyed large parts of Oregon, California and Washington and killed an unknown number of people this week, the poisonous orange skies over the Bay Area and my home of Sonoma County, the ongoing crumbling of American democracy, or the fire that swept through the refugee camp on Lesvos last week. But I don’t think any of us need that right now. So here are some nice things instead.
Incredibly, it’s the 20th anniversary of one of my favorite lo-fi albums, Mirah’s You Think It’s Like This But Really It’s Like This. To celebrate, she has reissued the LP along with a companion album featuring covers of each song. There are a few really nice versions on there, but I really loved Shamir’s cover of “Pollen.” His elastic voice highlights the track’s playfulness but also elevates its beauty.
The way I found out about the reissue was by listening to Triple R a community radio station in Melbourne. The strong culture of community radio is hands down one of the best things about living here. Both Triple R and PBS have been a real lifeline through the lockdown. Listening to the shows we like while making dinner or doing laundry makes you feel connected to a community, even if you can’t see anyone. I DJ’d my first graveyard shift on Triple R at the end of March, before they cancelled overnight broadcasting for the foreseeable future to limit the number of people in the radio station. I really hope to return and play more music at the station again one day.
Folding Ideas aka Dan Olson is a Canadian film guy and underrated Breadtuber. I really enjoyed this (very long) video essay on flat earthers, Qanon and the Evangelical to fascist pipeline. But though there are some important and interesting new perspectives here on conspiracy theories and how they can serve as a cover for pure reaction, I really loved his beautiful footage of Lake Minnewanka in Alberta, Canada, which is now on my list of places to visit when we’re allowed to travel again. Watching the curve of the Earth emerge through Dan’s slow pan down feels like a literal grounding, and a good reminder that we are not the center of the universe.
On Thursday night after work I stumbled upon a YouTube channel where a bunch of Tamil dudes prepare massive quantities of food by hand out in a field. Watching these videos is almost as fun as I’d imagine eating the food would be (if I could tolerate the spice level). Watching tumeric ground by hand with a massive mortar and pestle is spellbinding, as is the old guy who shouts every ingredient (the only captioned part of their videos). It turns out the videos are so well shot because they are filmed by a cameraman who returned from Tollywood to document his farmer father in his home village. Highly recommend if you need to feel better about things.
I still love ContraPoints and I still listen to nearly every Chapo Trap House episode, so just CANCEL ME ALREADY. I actually loved the interview this week on Chapo’s Patreon stream with the makers of the documentary film Feels Good Man. These guys are kind of the anti-Chapo, trying to rescue cartoonist Matt Furie’s creation Pepe from the realm of the irony poisoned alt-right and, in doing so, look at how the internet lost its soul. I’d really like to see it.
I have a busy week coming up, helping to produce a national virtual event at my job. Today I took a nice walk. Tonight I’m gonna make some pasta sauce (not from a jar, don’t worry Nat). There are still some nice things in this world. Sending my love and solidarity out to whoever needs it right now.
Here’s a list of mutual aid groups who need support to help fire victims right now.