Earlier this week, a man on twitter (yes, twitter is still going) posted a video of a Brocken spectre. What looks like a figure below is actually the viewer’s shadow cast on the mist.
The HarperCollins Union is on strike for a fair contract, 48,000 Academic Workers are striking at UC, and part-time faculty at the New School are striking for a reasonable contract. Rail workers are still negotiating contracts, after fighting for better working conditions. Some rail workers have recently called for public ownership of rail infrastructure.
I discovered Hurray for the Riff Raff this week through a Creative Independent interview with frontperson Alynda Segarra. In the interview, Segarra talks about the importance of facing mystery and the gift of failure: “It’s so important to admit, ‘I don’t fucking know. I don’t know and I’m just trying to figure it out just like everybody else.’”
Also this week, I discovered the surreal, ecosystem-blending paintings of Lisa Ericson. Per her website, Ericson says: “I think of the animals in my paintings as simultaneously representing the natural world and also reflecting our own human struggle and emotion.” You can find more on her instagram.
In 6th grade, for reasons I can no longer remember, my school recorded and locally televised a trial involving the characters of Les Misérables. I was stoked when Dr. Byrnes asked me to play the lead character Jean Valjean. All I remember of the performance is looking directly into a television camera, being nervous, and, instead of saying Jean Valjean’s fake name of “Monsieur Madeleine,” introducing my character as “Monsieur Mademoiselle.” Mysterious. The original novel, published by Victor Hugo in 1862, considers injustice, the failures of policing and prison, and poverty, among other things. The musical version first came to the States in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. In 2019, pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong sang a song from the musical.
More than thousand HKers sing Les Miserables' 'Do you hear the people sing?' at HK international airport with their calls for free election and democracy. Here is the Ground Zero in the war against authoritarian rule. That's the reason for us never surrender.This recording was shared by Joshua Wong, who is currently in jail. The same song has recently been used elsewhere, more perplexingly.
Jeff Bezos says he’s going to give away his fortune to charity. I’m sure that this selfless act will be done in a sincere and productive way, and not by creating an ineffective foundation that serves to evade taxes and allows him to maintain complete control over his assets. This probably also doesn’t have anything to do with the recent news of his racist mistreatment of housekeeping staff, or Amazon’s announced layoffs, either. Anyway, if you want to show your support of the world’s foremost Lex Luthor impersonator, you can buy a shirt with his name on it.
The USDA estimates that 89.8 percent (118.5 million) of U.S. households were food secure throughout 2021. With Thanksgiving coming up next week, please consider supporting your neighbors by donating to your local foodbank.
Thanks for reading,
Kate