You, dear reader, pay attention. I’m sure of this. So you already know that the. news. is. not. good. (And that’s just cherry picked from the Morning Briefing, or whatever the fuck it’s called now.)
Closer to home, I’m very fortunate to say, things are pretty good. I’ve got an idea for a real “bikes” blog post for the first time in a long time, and Alia has been making cookies like a cookie fiend, and that is delicious. I feel a lot of angst and anxiety about the state of the world. I’m trying to read a lot and keep writing and, you know, do things. This week’s list is a little short, a little under-developed, but nevertheless, there are some things here. I’ve got a backlog from last week (remember last week? It was like a year ago.) that I’ve been meaning to read that isn’t here yet (e.g., this essay about Calvino and Boston that I was super excited about…).
The interview I did with David Leo Rice is now up at Volume 1 Brooklyn. It was a really fun conversation and I learned a lot in the process of taking it from talking to pitching to finalizing the text.
But in other aspects of being alive, here are some other things:
Sherlock Holmes and the case of toxic masculinity: what is behind the detective’s appeal?
by Ashley Morgan
I kind of hated the (sorry) high-school-essay feeling conclusion of this particular essay (I didn’t read the book chapter), but this is a good thing to think about, especially for me who reads Conan Doyle relatively uncritically (OK: not uncritically but you get the idea). Holmes is toxic as fuck, sure. And a lot of the details in the books are… let’s say “dated.” Read in one light they are a fascinating insight into contemporary attitudes towards British Empire (I hate myself for writing that sentence), but, you know, they’re also about a fairly problematic narcissistic drug addict. So, anyway. Something to chew on.
The Painter Subverting Art-World Economics, $100 at a Time
by Nick Marino
This seems like a cool and a good thing. I wish I could afford more art.
The Lab-Leak Hypothesis: For decades, scientists have been hot-wiring viruses in hopes of preventing a pandemic, not causing one. But what if …?
by Nicholson Baker
File this one under “oof.” I’ve linked to it before, but it bears re-linking. I love his books…and he’s a good journalist, too. This one hurt a little bit, but was worth the read. I learned things.