Last half of “Bleeding Edge” by Thomas Pynchon 01/06/2023 – Done – enjoyable. Checked out “Rising : dispatches from the new American shore” by Elizabeth Rush from the library – good account the present impact of rising seas on a few areas in the world and a cautionary tale about the future. She’s an excellent … [Read more…]
Trump, Musk and Kanye Are Twitter Poisoned The New York Times, Opinion Guest Essay, Jaron Lanier, Nov. 11, 2022 ‘Extinction is on the table’: Jaron Lanier warns of tech’s existential threat to humanity, The Guardian, Edward Helmore, Sun 27 Nov 2022. Jaron Lanier is a computer scientist who pioneered research in virtual reality and whose … [Read more…]
The New York Times obituary of Gwendolyn Midlo Hall tells a fascinating life of someone we should have heard more about when she was alive. Dr. Hall led a colorful early life as a civil rights activist and spent the bulk of her academic career at Rutgers University, where she taught Latin American history. … [Read more…]
In the Guardian, May 7, 2022, an article on hate speech Hate speech online has escalated to unprecedented levels. Matthew Williams, a professor of criminology, is shining a scientific light on who is behind it and why. “It is no coincidence that soaring hate-crime figures are found in countries where the extreme right is rising … [Read more…]
From my indomitable little sister in 2022:
Jason Epstein, Editor and Publishing Innovator, Is Dead at 93 His literary and marketing instincts brought quality paperbacks to American readers and led to the creation of The New York Review of Books. New York Times Christopher Lehmann-Haupt Feb. 4, 2022
In the Guardian: America is now in fascism’s legal phase Jason Stanley is Jacob Urowsky professor of philosophy at Yale University. He is the author of How Fascism Works. Wed 22 Dec 2021 “The history of racism in the US is fertile ground for fascism. Attacks on the courts, education, the right to vote and … [Read more…]
Linda McAlister, Philosopher and Founder of Feminist Journal, Dies at 82 [NY Times Obituary – paywall] She was among a collective of philosophy professors who started Hypatia, the first major scholarly publication to view the discipline from a feminist lens. By Penelope Green Dec. 14, 2021
In SCIENCE NEWS, an informative article on trans-gender health issues contains many things new to me about the current therapies, and the impact of legislation on trans people. One of the takeaways for me was how legislation, even proposed bills which never make to the floor of a state assembly, impact this community, increasing anxiety … [Read more…]
From the New York Times: She Was Music’s Greatest Teacher. And Much More. A festival broadens our understanding of Nadia Boulanger, the pathbreaking composer, conductor and thinker. By William Robin July 30, 2021 Nadia Boulanger on Wikipedia