Flashing Palely in the Margins
Friday Diversions: Canada Day
It hasn’t been the easiest week; life comes at you fast, and sometimes, you’re just not prepared to cope with that speed. Between being overwhelmed with things to do, pushing through some triggers with my mental health, and fighting off a cold that’s taking a toll on my stamina and strength, I’ve been a bit glum, maybe even grumpy, over the past four or five days.
Today’s holiday is a good one, not just because it gives me some respite and offers me an excuse to relax, but also because it reminds me that I’m lucky. I’m lucky to have the support I need to get through a tough week, to live in a place where I have access to services that will make my life easier and better, to be surrounded by people who are looking out for my well-being.
Sometimes, a national holiday provides just the kind of perspective you need after a long, rough week. Here’s to holidays, and here’s to Canada, 149 years old today. Cheers!
Random, unrelated miscellany, gathered in short list form:
My undergraduate anthropology thesis was on new forms of governance (democracy, nationalism, etc.) in a world where our baseline of connection is no longer proximity. I wrote it before any of the big social networks existed, and before we had computers in our pockets, so it’s fairly dated now, but I’m glad that issues of eNationalism and eDemocracy are finally mature enough to be debated and discussed.
Lots of gems of wisdom in this recent piece by Ethan Zuckerman: “Many hard problems require you to step back and consider whether you’re solving the right problem. If your solution only mitigates the symptoms of a deeper problem, you may be calcifying that problem and making it harder to change.”
We still don’t know what the far-reaching implications of the #Brexit vote will be, but we do know that, at least in the short term, England just screwed us all.
“Whether for health, the environment, or the economy, nutrition is the dominant issue facing the world today.” Why isn’t food a bigger policy issue in our current election?
I listened to the This American Life episode on fatness and was pretty impressed, but something didn’t feel right. This article by Virgie Tovar encapsulates that discomfort perfectly.
“Our quest for thinness is actually making us far less healthy—even killing us—and not for the reasons you’d think.”
I once got stung by a Western Honey Bee and thought it was one of the most painful stings I’ve ever experienced. I can’t imagine taking the time to classify and write (poetically) about the stings from over 70 different insects.
Humorous, incisive: a Lexus review for Jalopnik. If every single car review was written like this, I’d do nothing but read automotive reporting all day.
“Black noise can easily be dismissed as antagonistic, abrasive, and futile, but it is survival. It forces people to acknowledge black experiences and oppression, and it’s loud even when no one wants to hear it.”
Six million years of human history, explained in 10 minutes. I need to pick up a copy of Sapiens and add it to my reading list:
One day, I’d love to attend Pitti Uomo. I might even buy a new outfit. I’m even more fascinated by the menswear festival now after watching this footage of the fashionably dressed gentlemen attending Pitti Uomo, paired with David Attenborough-esque commentary about peacocks: