I believe a dear friend of yours once said " The artists are going to save us" - she was right then and she is right now. You both have contributed to my salvation. Love, StacyO
Just yesterday I printed copies of “The Second Coming” and posted them around my home. The center cannot hold. The falcon cannot see the falconer. It may be that civil war is brewing. There is, however, a tiny shard of hope that the beast slouching toward Bethlehem may be our savior. Then again, maybe not.
If the shelf's contribution to the ocean's rising is 4% annually and that contribution rises by 25%, doesn't that make its contribution 5%? Even so, that's scary, horrible, not good, and we should be doing much more to combat global warming.
This is great, Greg. I couldn’t agree more about poetry, it is my salvation. I read it, I write it, I revise, revise, revise. I have been wondering about William Carlos Williams’ relationship w/his wife since : ‘This is Just To Say’… I thought that poem was cruel! She was saving the damned plum for her breakfast! And now he’s confessing his infidelities. Maybe Neruda next time? Sent with love + admiration, Karen
Yours is only the second mention of that ice shelf. The first mention was a short news article. I read about it and posted it, but NO ONE is even talking about it. Shades of "Don't Look Up"! Art and satire again, trying to save us from ourselves. (Sigh) Perhaps we shouldn't worry about the cheeseburger bum. I wonder if he can swim? He's not going to be able to unload that golden palace of cockroaches on anyone - all of Florida will be for sale in five years.
I looked up Thwaites Glacier and western ice shelf of Antarctica - WHICH I follow anyway, and scare people regularly about its melting. GREG!!! This is all true scientific shit. No, we can't believe politicians, but we damn well have learned we can (I always have) believe scientists. Within a decade. I started thinking "Denver...maybe safe," where I live. NOPE. A great post today. Thanks, as always. I'm a huge fan of you, LB, Zev. Keep on keeping on
Of course being an atheistic pessimistic dude, I loved it!
I like William as a poet. So thanks.
Regarding Liz Cheney. Her current activities can be appreciated but one must keep in mind that it’s likely she will run for the position her murderous father once occupied, President of the US. She will not be satisfied being someone else’s brain.
In the essay, De Forest writes that while the Great American Poem will not be written “until democracy . . . has agonized and conquered through centuries,”
Thanks for this, I need to go look up the rest of the poem, and explore the poet’s other works as well.
“Beauty Dearth” is a powerful phrase and I agree we need poetry and art to get us through this madness, at least with any shred of sanity. Those last lines of the poem, referencing “news of something that concerns you,” also made me think about the “Dearth of Truth” we are experiencing, which is a loss of another kind of beauty.
Art has been one of the only available tonics in this pandemic. My husband jokes that I have spent my COVID time buying art and wine online… he’s not exactly wrong. But I also have devoured the analysis and conversation of the thinkers and investigators and dot-connectors who helping shine light on truths obstructed.
So - pass the wine and poetry, I’m all in. And keep bringing truths to light.
Side note: Like Mary B ofPasedena, I also read the news about the ice shelf as meaning its contribution to sea level rise would increase by 25%…. And if it’s already responsible for 4% of ocean rise then that means it would jump up to contribute 5% of the total sea level change. That’s still really significant…. and scary. But it’s not a 25% increase in absolute sea level - THANK HEAVENS - because that would be a Comet Dibiasky level event. (“We really did have everything, didn’t we?” - Dr. Mindy)
As far as Garland and the DoJ go, I am now subscribing to the Rachel Maddow, "watch what they do, not what they say" model. After a year, I have finally given up optimistic hope for insurrrection/Green Bay Sweep accountability--but would LOVE to be proven wrong!!
I've been following your writing for the last year Greg, and have decided to support your Substack page. Like you've mentioned time and time again, it's all too rare for news outlets to 'fill us in' on the bigger picture, reporting snippets at a time and expecting (or not) for us all to fill in the blanks. Kudos to your journalistic integrity and supplying your dear readers with a coherent and fuller picture. Your podcasts are pretty brilliant as well.
As a classically trained musician, I also love how you intersperse poetry into your posts.
And lastly, thank you mightily for exposing me to the sheer brilliance of Station Eleven. It's a truly stunning work. I've been listening to the book AND watching the series unfold. I find it absolutely stunning how good of a job the filmmakers have done. Amazing acting, amazing cinematography, amazing attention to detail in staying true to the original book. Holden Caulfield be damned, I think you would love it.
I believe a dear friend of yours once said " The artists are going to save us" - she was right then and she is right now. You both have contributed to my salvation. Love, StacyO
Your piece today reminded me of this tweet from LB. I agree that art can restore our souls—but it’s also easy to spot those without souls. https://twitter.com/lincolnsbible/status/1475136722035826688?s=21
Just yesterday I printed copies of “The Second Coming” and posted them around my home. The center cannot hold. The falcon cannot see the falconer. It may be that civil war is brewing. There is, however, a tiny shard of hope that the beast slouching toward Bethlehem may be our savior. Then again, maybe not.
If the shelf's contribution to the ocean's rising is 4% annually and that contribution rises by 25%, doesn't that make its contribution 5%? Even so, that's scary, horrible, not good, and we should be doing much more to combat global warming.
Sunday Pages restoreth my soul.
This is great, Greg. I couldn’t agree more about poetry, it is my salvation. I read it, I write it, I revise, revise, revise. I have been wondering about William Carlos Williams’ relationship w/his wife since : ‘This is Just To Say’… I thought that poem was cruel! She was saving the damned plum for her breakfast! And now he’s confessing his infidelities. Maybe Neruda next time? Sent with love + admiration, Karen
Excellent point, Greg. Perhaps those latter folk you mentioned need it even more…
Yours is only the second mention of that ice shelf. The first mention was a short news article. I read about it and posted it, but NO ONE is even talking about it. Shades of "Don't Look Up"! Art and satire again, trying to save us from ourselves. (Sigh) Perhaps we shouldn't worry about the cheeseburger bum. I wonder if he can swim? He's not going to be able to unload that golden palace of cockroaches on anyone - all of Florida will be for sale in five years.
I looked up Thwaites Glacier and western ice shelf of Antarctica - WHICH I follow anyway, and scare people regularly about its melting. GREG!!! This is all true scientific shit. No, we can't believe politicians, but we damn well have learned we can (I always have) believe scientists. Within a decade. I started thinking "Denver...maybe safe," where I live. NOPE. A great post today. Thanks, as always. I'm a huge fan of you, LB, Zev. Keep on keeping on
Greg,
Such evil posting on “your soulful” Sunday.
Of course being an atheistic pessimistic dude, I loved it!
I like William as a poet. So thanks.
Regarding Liz Cheney. Her current activities can be appreciated but one must keep in mind that it’s likely she will run for the position her murderous father once occupied, President of the US. She will not be satisfied being someone else’s brain.
In the essay, De Forest writes that while the Great American Poem will not be written “until democracy . . . has agonized and conquered through centuries,”
http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/articles/n2ar39at.html
Thanks for this, I need to go look up the rest of the poem, and explore the poet’s other works as well.
“Beauty Dearth” is a powerful phrase and I agree we need poetry and art to get us through this madness, at least with any shred of sanity. Those last lines of the poem, referencing “news of something that concerns you,” also made me think about the “Dearth of Truth” we are experiencing, which is a loss of another kind of beauty.
Art has been one of the only available tonics in this pandemic. My husband jokes that I have spent my COVID time buying art and wine online… he’s not exactly wrong. But I also have devoured the analysis and conversation of the thinkers and investigators and dot-connectors who helping shine light on truths obstructed.
So - pass the wine and poetry, I’m all in. And keep bringing truths to light.
Side note: Like Mary B ofPasedena, I also read the news about the ice shelf as meaning its contribution to sea level rise would increase by 25%…. And if it’s already responsible for 4% of ocean rise then that means it would jump up to contribute 5% of the total sea level change. That’s still really significant…. and scary. But it’s not a 25% increase in absolute sea level - THANK HEAVENS - because that would be a Comet Dibiasky level event. (“We really did have everything, didn’t we?” - Dr. Mindy)
More art. More poetry. More Biden speeches. More Kamala Harris. More printmakers, hiking, painters, music, photographers and real world.
See how Maricopa County and Arizona decimated Cyber Ninjas.
Truth always works. Always.
As far as Garland and the DoJ go, I am now subscribing to the Rachel Maddow, "watch what they do, not what they say" model. After a year, I have finally given up optimistic hope for insurrrection/Green Bay Sweep accountability--but would LOVE to be proven wrong!!
I've been following your writing for the last year Greg, and have decided to support your Substack page. Like you've mentioned time and time again, it's all too rare for news outlets to 'fill us in' on the bigger picture, reporting snippets at a time and expecting (or not) for us all to fill in the blanks. Kudos to your journalistic integrity and supplying your dear readers with a coherent and fuller picture. Your podcasts are pretty brilliant as well.
As a classically trained musician, I also love how you intersperse poetry into your posts.
And lastly, thank you mightily for exposing me to the sheer brilliance of Station Eleven. It's a truly stunning work. I've been listening to the book AND watching the series unfold. I find it absolutely stunning how good of a job the filmmakers have done. Amazing acting, amazing cinematography, amazing attention to detail in staying true to the original book. Holden Caulfield be damned, I think you would love it.
Greg, Thank you. Again. We know and feel that Your Frustration and Anger is OUR Frustration and Anger, it's just that you are so eloquent. ❤️