PicoBlog

The “war of art” is not about genius, it’s about work. We can’t control the level of talent we’ve been given. We have no control over the nature of our gift. We can control how hard and how smart we work. By Steven Pressfield · Launched a year agoNo thanksncG1vNJzZmirpJrDprrPq5ysq5aesq2wjaysm6uklrCsesKopGg%3D

The Daily Mail reported, “From Flamin’ Hot Cheetos to Lucky Charms and even Gatorade: The thousands of everyday snacks that face BANS in multiple states over ingredient links to cancer.” The story said, “Bills advancing in multiple states could see thousands of America’s favorite candies, snacks and sodas banned in their current form. “Last October California approved a historic Skittles ban that outlawed four food additives linked to cancer and fertility issues.

About The Warning There is a very significant, “exhausted majority” of Americans looking to move past this rotten moment in American life. They have lost trust and faith in government, business, media and not-for-profit institutions at a moment of technological, cultural and economic upheaval. Fascism did not rise in the 1930s because it was strong, but rather, because democracy was weak. The cycle is repeating itself with a new extremism rising in 2020s America.

We lived in Indiana for thirteen years before we made our move to Texas, and during that thirteen year period, we felt like we did a lot throughout the state, particularly when it comes to the Indiana state park system. We loved camping as a couple and when we finally started camping with our kids, we tried several new parks. But since moving back to Indianapolis, we’ve become uncomfortably aware of the fact that 1) we didn’t spent nearly as much time visiting our favorite parks as we should have and 2) we missed a lot of parks that should have just been a part of our regular rotation.

The comparisons between today and 1968 have me revisiting some of my favorite documentaries about this time period. “Berkeley in the Sixties,” is a terrific introduction to several student-led liberation movements that grew out of and adjacent to the Free Speech Movement on UC-Berkeley’s campus, including the anti-war movement, the Black Panthers, the women’s movement. This 1990 documentary from director Mark Kitchell features some fabulous archival footage and interviews with people who were there, reflecting back after 20 years or so.

Today, I'm writing just a short personal note to you. Thursday night, we lost my mom. She passed away peacefully in her sleep, after a long struggle following a debilitating stroke. I've now lost the two women who I loved the most in this world following tough illnesses, my mom and my mother-in-law. I am left with an incredible sense of their strength, their grace, and their humor in the face of challenges.

DURING A JOURNEY to the woods and bogs of northern Vermont this week I made the acquaintance of pink: soft pink and hot pink, salmon pink and rose pink. I went to the woods in search of a rare orange butterfly, and to bogs for an even rarer blue damselfly. No matter that I did not find them. During “Pink Season” here in the north I found refuge among moths and orchids.

This is the free edition of Rich Text, a newsletter about cultural obsessions from your Internet BFFs Emma and Claire. If you like what you see and hear, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Our latest podcast was about Jacqueline Novak’s “Get On Your Knees.” Rich Text is a completely reader-supported project — no ads or sponsors! “One Star Romance” by Laura Hankin. So sorry to recommend a book that isn’t out for months and months, but put it on your Goodreads shelf, preorder it, mark your calendar!

White sight is part of the operating system that makes and sustains whiteness: what's it been up to this week? A once-a-week newsletter that extends and develops ideas in my book "White Sight: Visual Politics and Practices of Whiteness" (MIT Press) in 202 By Nicholas Mirzoeff · Launched 2 years agoNo thanksncG1vNJzZmimmZi1sLjArKSiqqqksqeyjaysm6uklrCsesKopGg%3D