By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

Chicken Music of the Day

In honor of the tool-using Cockatoo:

White Cockatoo, Julio Enrique Monaga, Bayamón, Puerto Rico. This cockatoo makes an attempt to be melodious after which offers up the unequal battle.

Politics

“However what’s authorities itself, however the best of all reflections on human nature?” –James Madison, Federalist 51

“Right here’s meals for thought, had Ahab time to assume; however Ahab by no means thinks; he solely feels, feels, feels.” –Herman Melville, Moby Dick

“So most of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in actual fact a rational administration of symbolic capital.” –Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles

Biden Administration

“How the temperature of US politics got here down” [Financial Times]. It did? Anyhow: “A couple of issues are serving to to show an acute situation continual. One is Biden himself. White, outdated, non-Ivy League and, with apologies to his hometown of Scranton, non-metropolitan, no Democratic president since Jimmy Carter has been so superficially digestible for conservatives. He additionally offers within the big-government populism that Donald Trump invoked within the summary with out enacting in legislation…. At 80, Biden can solely be a fleeting balm. A extra lasting one is China. The US has the unifying exterior rival now that it has missed for the reason that fall of the Soviet Union. Sure, Republicans fault Biden for taking his time to down a Chinese language balloon over terra Americana. However such tactical bickering is professional forma. The purpose is that each events face the identical means on, bar local weather change, the biggest query of the century. Kevin McCarthy, the Republican Speaker of the Home of Representatives, is untribal when China is the topic. Partisanship feeds on low stakes. The Newt Gingrich congressional Republicans, the strident flip in cable information: it began when the US had nothing exterior to detain it within the Nineteen Nineties. So, we have now a private issue (Biden) and a structural one (China).”

“In Trump probe, US seeks to pierce attorney-client privilege” [Associated Press]. “The privilege protects attorneys from having to inform prosecutors about confidential conversations their purchasers have with them. However prosecutors can get round that privilege if they will persuade a decide that the communications they need details about have been made in furtherance of a criminal offense — a precept referred to as the crime-fraud exception.” • What might go fallacious?

2024

“Who ought to lead? Democrats, Republicans battle to determine” [Associated Press]. “Whereas President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, are making ready for a doable rematch in 2024, a brand new ballot finds a notable lack of enthusiasm inside the events for both man as his social gathering’s chief and a transparent opening for brand new standard-bearers. A couple of third of each Democrats and Republicans are uncertain of who they need main their social gathering, in line with the ballot from The Related Press-NORC Middle for Public Affairs Analysis. No single Democrat captures important help when requested who ought to be their social gathering’s chief; as a substitute, Democrats sprinkle their consideration throughout greater than a dozen politicians. But additionally they really feel extra hopeful than dejected about their social gathering. Some Republicans, in the meantime, coalesce round a few people — Trump included. However a majority stay uncommitted to him regardless of his grip on the social gathering, and Republicans have grown considerably extra pessimistic in regards to the GOP’s future. The findings mirror a deep sense of uncertainty about the way forward for the nation’s political events and the challenges each face in tethering their frayed — and maybe disenchanted — coalitions.” • Good. Nice!

“5 causes DeSantis might not be one other Jeb Bush” [The Hill]. • His appeal of character? Not so unhealthy, really. This: “In contrast to Bush, who had been out of public workplace for practically a decade by the point he introduced his 2016 presidential run, DeSantis nonetheless has the bully pulpit of the Florida governor’s mansion behind him — and he’s taking full benefit of it.”

CA: “California Sen. Feinstein says she gained’t run for reelection” [Associated Press]. • Lastly. Poor girl overstayed her welcome just a bit.

NC: “NC Democratic Get together ousts Richardson and shakes social gathering management” [Local Today (TW)]. “Members of North Carolina’s Democratic Get together ousted their chairman, first vice chairman and second vice chairman on Saturday, as a substitute voting to pick out new candidates for the highest 4 management positions. The overhaul comes three months after the social gathering didn’t win a single nationwide race within the midterm elections. And two months after Meredith Cuomo, who had been the social gathering’s govt director since 2019, introduced her resignation. The social gathering’s govt committee chosen marketing campaign organizer Anderson Clayton, 25, to succeed incumbent chief Bobbie Richardson, who was searching for a second time period after his election in 2021. The victory of Clayton, chairman of Individual County’s Democratic Get together, is seen as an enormous shock. Richardson, 73, ran for re-election with the help of the social gathering’s high elected officers, together with Governor Roy Cooper, Lawyer Basic Josh Stein and US Rep. Wiley Nickel, amongst others. Nonetheless, Richardson turned the primary sitting social gathering chief to lose a re-election bid in at the least a decade.” • Good. Nice!

NY: The balloon hadn’t popped but:

Right here is an ideal instance of an in any other case moderately balanced, reasonable politician on China now going rogue for what looks like political causes, pondering this can assist her re-election bid. Right here Gillibrand states that China is “bent on a world warfare.”…1/ https://t.co/tu8YkdVrDQ

— Michael D. Swaine (@Dalzell60) February 14, 2023

Republican Funhouse

“Pence Asserts Novel Constitutional Declare to Keep away from Testifying Earlier than Grand Jury” [Jonathan Turley]. “Former Vice President Mike Pence is making a novel constitutional argument in opposing the latest grand jury subpoena for testimony from Particular Counsel Jack Smith. He’s claiming that, as President of the Senate, he falls underneath the protections of the “Speech and Debate Clause” like members of Congress. It’s an unresolved query and he might in the end prevail…. The problem might drive larger readability on the bifurcated function of a vp as a member of each branches. As President of the Senate, Pence does vote and interact in legislative enterprise. That definitely included the deliberations on January sixth when some members have been opposing certification — a transfer that Pence appropriately opposed.” • Dick Cheney, within the good outdated days, really thought he was a fourth department of presidency, as a result of identical “bifurcated function.”

Democrats en Déshabillé

Affected person readers, it appears that evidently individuals are really studying the back-dated publish! However I’ve not up to date it, and there are various updates. So I must try this. –lambert

I’ve moved my standing remarks on the Democrat Get together (“the Democrat Get together is a rotting corpse that may’t bury itself”) to a separate, back-dated publish, to which I’ll periodically add materials, summarizing the addition right here in a “dwell” Water Cooler. (Hopefully, some Bourdieu.) It seems that defining the Democrat Get together is, in actual fact, a tough drawback. I do assume the paragraph that follows is on level all the way in which again to 2016, if not earlier than:

The Democrat Get together is the political expression of the category energy of PMC, their base (lucidly defined by Thomas Frank in Pay attention, Liberal!). ; if the Democrat Get together didn’t exist, the PMC must invent it. . (“PMC” modulo “class expatriates,” in fact.) Second, all of the working elements of the Get together reinforce one another. Go away apart characterizing the relationships between parts of the Get together (ka-ching, however not totally) these parts comprise a community — a Flex Internet? An iron octagon? — of funders, distributors, apparatchiks, electeds, NGOs, and miscellaneous mercenaries, with property within the press and the intelligence group.

Word, in fact, that the category energy of the PMC each expresses and is restricted by different lessons; oligarchs and American gentry (see ‘industrial mannequin’ of Ferguson, Jorgensen, and Jie) and the working class spring to thoughts. Suck up, kick down.

* * *

If the knobs are already at eleven in 2023, what’s going to occur in 2024 [shudder]?

This one appears to be focusing on geeks…

Realignment and Legitimacy

“The Temptations of Carl Schmitt” [The Upheaval]. Fascinating article, nicely value a learn. This factoid caught me eye. “Underneath martial legislation, Bavaria proved a hotbed of political turmoil, with highly effective native socialist and communist factions producing a always looming menace of civil dysfunction. Given his authorized coaching, it was younger Schmitt to whom the overall employees, in 1915, gave the task of preemptively arising with a authorized justification for why the army govt ought to be granted an extension of remarkable powers even after the warfare was over (‘Me of all folks! What else could windfall have in retailer for me,’ he questioned in his diary on the time). By 1916 he had duly carried out as requested, delivering a lecture on the precedents for ‘dictatorship and the state of siege.’ In 1917 he was launched from service and appointed as a civilian member of the army authorities, heading a unit surveilling socialists and different troublemakers.”

#COVID19

Seems to be like “leveling off to a excessive plateau” throughout the board. (I nonetheless assume “One thing Terrible” is coming, nonetheless. I imply, apart from what we already learn about.) Keep protected on the market!

Lambert right here: Final Friday, I reconfigured Covid protection (at the least briefly; we may have to regulate to a different surge). I’ve all the time considered this part as offering readers with not solely pattern knowledge, however early warning about areas (to the county degree) notably in journey season. However now the info is just too gradual and too unhealthy, unsurprisingly, since “Covid is over.” So I’ll revert to a few charts solely: nationwide Case Information (Biobot), state Positivity (Walgreens), and nationwide Deaths (Our World in Information). I additionally really feel that the highest of the #COVID19 part has not been sufficiently structured, and I’m going to create some buckets, like “Indoor Air,” or “Masks” (and “Variants,” if I encounter an excellent hyperlink). This reconfiguration just isn’t a “step again,” as Dima would say; however I do assume I can use the freed-up time to beef up different sections, like Politics and particularly Stats. Reader remark welcome!

Sources (Nationwide): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC); Variants (CDC; Walgreens).

Sources (Native): NC (Dashboard).

Readers, for the reason that nationwide knowledge techniques are being vandalized, let’s begin gathering hyperlinks state knowledge, too. If readers would ship me hyperlinks (see Plant under) to their favourite State and native dashboards/wastewater websites, that may be nice. Or go away a hyperlink in Feedback. Hat tip to JB for the NC dashboard.

Search for the Helpers

“Covid Meetups” [COVID MEETUPS (JM)]. “A free service to search out people, households and native companies/providers who take COVID precautions in your space.” • I performed round with it some. It appears to be Fb-driven, sadly, however you should use the Listing with out logging in. I get rational hits from the U.S., however not from London, UK, FWIW.

Remedy

“A Essential Group of Covid Medication Has Stopped Working” [Wired]. “The issue with these current monoclonal antibodies is that they bind to a really small piece of the virus referred to as the receptor binding area, a part of the spike protein. All through the pandemic, this half has always mutated, giving approach to new variants and subvariants that present monoclonal antibodies can now not acknowledge and neutralize…. [P]eople who don’t mount an excellent immune response following vaccination are actually just about unprotected in opposition to the virus… The Vanderbilt staff and others are persevering with the seek for highly effective antibodies that could possibly be became new medicine, together with preventive ones like Evusheld. But it surely’s a continuing sport of viral whack-a-mole. ‘The virus has modified so quickly that antibody discovery efforts get stopped mid-track,’ [Robert Carnahan, associate director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center] says. ‘Variants are altering now on a three-month time scale.’ His group would discover an antibody that was efficient in opposition to a present variant, just for it to be rendered ineffective by a brand new variant a number of months later.” • Yikes.

Sequelae

“Lengthy COVID Now Seems to be like a Neurological Illness, Serving to Docs to Focus Remedies” [Scientific American]. “The most typical, persistent and disabling signs of lengthy COVID are neurological…. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is new, however postviral syndromes should not. Analysis on different viruses, and on neurological harm from the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) specifically, is guiding work on lengthy COVID. And the popularity that the syndrome could trigger its many results by means of the mind and the nervous system is starting to form approaches to medical remedy. ‘I now consider COVID as a neurological illness as a lot as I consider it as a pulmonary illness, and that’s positively true in lengthy COVID,’ says William Pittman, a doctor at UCLA Well being in Los Angeles, who treats Ghormley and plenty of related sufferers. Though 16 million U.S. victims is an inexpensive estimate of the situation’s toll, there are different, extra dire assessments. A meta-analysis of 41 research carried out in 2021 concluded that worldwide, 43 p.c of individuals contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 could develop lengthy COVID, with about 30 p.c—translating to roughly 30 million folks—affected within the U.S.”

Elite Malfeasance

“Docs shall be inspired to problem fewer sick notes and as a substitute assist workers keep on working in bid to reverse the rise in staff who keep house as a result of long-term illnesses” [Daily Mail]. “Assist”? “A Authorities supply informed The Every day Telegraph: ‘The psychological well being advantages of labor are well-established. We need to do all we are able to to encourage as many individuals as doable to remain in work with the related help in place.’” • Dude, you’re a Tory.

“Elite” being a relative time period:

The ability imbalance.

The indoctrination into the herd.

There isn’t a “you do you”.

Somebody is all the time in cost, and at present they’re main us to self destruct.

— Dr Noor Bari (@NjbBari3) February 15, 2023

Emotions, nothing greater than emotions:

In case you are infectious, whether or not you select to put on a respirator as a clinician when seeing a affected person just isn’t a matter of whether or not “you are feeling extra comfy”, it’s whether or not your affected person has an hostile consequence, one thing you may be chargeable for as a consequence of your choice.

— pieterpeach@mastodon.social (@DrPieterPeach) February 15, 2023

In fact, Covid is asymptomatic. It follows that clinicians ought to put on masks always.

The Jackpot

“The Antonine Plague and a clue to the longer term” [Nate Bear, ¡Do Not Panic!]. “Not since 1959 and the nice famine in China has world life expectancy fallen for 2 years in a row. Up till 2020, world life expectancy had dropped one 12 months solely twice for the reason that mid Nineteen Sixties…. Like these dips, the reason for this more-than-a-dip can be a virus. It’s covid. There isn’t a different candidate…. You wouldn’t realize it from media protection of collapsing life expectancy, which is roofed as a curiosity, slightly than as a clue to the longer term, however we’re at a civilisational waypoint…. You wouldn’t realize it from media protection of collapsing life expectancy, which is roofed as a curiosity, slightly than as a clue to the longer term, however we’re at a civilisational waypoint… Historical Rome in 165 AD was at its peak. Roman energy was unfold to its farthest reaches underneath the reign of the final so-called Good Emperor, the warrior-philosopher Marcus Aurelius…. From the East the troopers introduced again most of the spoils of warfare – and likewise smallpox. Many historians see the Antonine Plague as having created the situations for the decline and subsequent finish of the Roman Empire. There have been no extra Good Emperors after Marcus Aurelius and with the Roman Military decimated by illness, conscription was launched, rattling Roman society. Two years after the primary wave of plague, Germanic tribes (who hadn’t suffered practically as a lot from the outbreak) defeated the Roman military and crossed the Rhine for the primary time in additional than 200 years. Tax earnings declined because the inhabitants fell, the loss of life of artisans disrupted native economies and meals shortages turned extra frequent as expert farmers died. Spirituality and religiousness grew as a cathartic response to mass loss of life, creating the situations for the unfold of monotheistic religions, resembling Mithraism and Christianity. A virus performed an enormous function in ending an empire. Like Historical Rome, this plague is hitting the US empire notably laborious.”

“The Antonine Plague and the decline of the Roman Empire” (summary solely; translated) [Le Infezioni in Medicina]. “The extent of the epidemic has been extensively debated: the vast majority of authors agree that the affect of the plague was extreme, influencing army conscription, the agricultural and concrete financial system, and depleting the coffers of the State. The Antonine plague affected historic Roman traditions, additionally leaving a mark on creative expression; a renewal of spirituality and religiousness was recorded. These occasions created the situations for the unfold of monotheistic religions, resembling Mithraism and Christianity. This era, characterised by well being, social and financial crises, paved the way in which for the entry into the Empire of neighbouring barbarian tribes and the recruitment of barbarian troops into the Roman military; these occasions notably favoured the cultural and political development of those populations. The Antonine Plague could nicely have created the situations for the decline of the Roman Empire and, afterwards, for its fall within the West within the fifth century AD.” • Right here is the unique, for these of you who can learn Italian.

Case Information

NOT UPDATED BioBot wastewater knowledge from February 13:

For now, I’m going to make use of this nationwide wastewater knowledge as the perfect proxy for case knowledge (ignoring the scientific case knowledge portion of this chart, which in my opinion “goes unhealthy” after March 2022, for causes as but unexplained). Not less than we are able to spot traits, and evaluate present ranges to equal previous ranges.

Positivity

From the Walgreen’s take a look at positivity tracker, revealed February 14:

0.2%. Nonetheless on the excessive plateau, equal to earlier peaks.

Deaths

Demise charge (Our World in Information):

Complete: 1,140,401 – 1,140,209 – 1,140,017 = 192 (192 * 365 = 70,080 deaths per 12 months, immediately’s YouGenicist™ quantity for “dwelling with” Covid (fairly a bit larger than the minimizers would love, although they will speak themselves into something. If the YouGenicist™ metric retains chugging alongside like this, I may should determine that is what the powers-that-be contemplate “mission achieved” for this specific tranche of loss of life and illness). 192 once more, I did doublecheck. What are the chances?

It’s good that for deaths I’ve a easy, day by day chart that simply retains chugging alongside, not like every thing else CDC and the White Home are screwing up or letting go darkish, good job. (Although CDC could also be jiggering the numbers quickly. Decrease, naturally.)

• The fortunate nation:

Stats Watch

Manufacturing: “United States NY Empire State Manufacturing Index” [Trading Economics]. “The NY Empire State Manufacturing Index climbed 27.1 factors from a month earlier to -5.8 in February 2023, simply beating market expectations of -18.0 and suggesting enterprise exercise in New York State contracted at a softer tempo.”

Manufacturing: “United States Industrial Manufacturing” [Trading Economics]. “Industrial Manufacturing in the US elevated 0.8% year-on-year in January of 2023, the smallest improve for the reason that pandemic restoration began in March of 2021.”

Capability: “United States Capability Utilization” [Trading Economics]. “Capability utilization in charge within the US fell to 78.3% in January of 2023 from a downwardly revised 78.4% in December and nicely under forecasts of 79%. It’s the lowest charge since September of 2021 and 1.3 proportion factors under its long-run common.”

The Bezzle: “GSK was warned repeatedly about Zantac impurity however performed down dangers: Bloomberg” [Fierce Pharma]. “Going through tens of hundreds of lawsuits over most cancers dangers on the favored heartburn drug Zantac, GSK has argued there’s ‘no constant or dependable proof’ that the drugs causes any most cancers. However a brand new report in Bloomberg Businessweek says GSK’s personal scientists have lengthy identified in regards to the dangers. Wednesday, the publication reported that over the span of a number of a long time, GSK was warned by its personal scientists and impartial researchers about potential cancer-causing impurities within the drug. Over time, GSK supported “flawed analysis” geared toward downplaying dangers, and it opted in opposition to making any modifications to its provide chain or storage procedures which may’ve mitigated the problem, Businessweek reviews. The staff reviewed “hundreds of pages,” together with courtroom filings and research, to report the story.” • Similar to local weather.

Tech: “Are we racing towards AI disaster?” [Vox]. “”It’s vital *NOT* to ‘transfer quick and break issues’ for tech as vital as AI,” [DeepMind founder and leader Demis Hassabis] wrote on Twitter in September. The standard Silicon Valley spirit — strive issues, see how they fail, strive once more — has introduced us some extremely cool shopper expertise and enjoyable web sites. But it surely’s not the way you’d construct a skyscraper or a manned rocket, and highly effective AI techniques are far more within the latter class, the place you need sturdy engineering for reliability.”

Tech: “TikTok’s Talks With U.S. Have an Unofficial Participant: China” [Wall Street Journal]. “Beijing has more and more signaled its need to guard Chinese language expertise. It not too long ago proposed to amend a regulation proscribing the export of Chinese language-created content-recommendation algorithms, which attorneys say is a reminder that Beijing has a hand to play in any deal. TikTok is at a crossroads, as U.S. issues about its Chinese language possession develop. Some officers have explored the thought of forcing a sale to a U.S. firm. In 2020, when the Trump administration pushed for a sale of TikTok’s American operations, China added the algorithms into an export-control record. ByteDance on the time mentioned any sale would wish approval from Chinese language authorities, which it sought however by no means acquired, official data present. The concept of a sale finally fell by the wayside.” • Why not simply outlaw advice algorithms totally? On each social media platform I’m acquainted with — Twitter, YouTube, Fb — the advice algorithm is a clickbait-infested, i.e. revenue-generating, cesspit. Content material from accounts I subscribe to, in reverse chronological order. As far as I do know, the very first instance of social media, the blogosphere, did precisely that (as does it’s ally and comrade, RSS). Not one of the social pathologies of “the platforms” have, to my recollection, ever been attributed to the blogosphere. Why? No advice algorithm.

At the moment’s Concern & Greed Index: 73 Greed (earlier shut: 73 Greed) [CNN]. One week in the past: 73 (Greed). (0 is Excessive Concern; 100 is Excessive Greed). Final up to date Feb 15 at 1:21 PM EST.

The Gallery

She began portray on the age of 78:

Zeitgeist Watch

Yeah, no matter occurred to that?

Our Famously Free Press

“It’s True What They Say In regards to the NYT” [RealClearPolitics]. “This examination, undertaken by Jeff Gerth, a embellished investigative journalist previously with the Instances, was revealed by Columbia Journalism Overview. It’s a tour de drive! Having taken a 12 months and a half to analysis and write, and at a size of 24,000 phrases in 4 installments, Gerth totally destroys no matter is left of the lie that Trump was in league with the Russians, and of the extraordinary lengths the media went to unfold that smear…. there may be the shock of Columbia Journalism Overview because the writer. This small circulation journal, revealed by the Columbia Journalism Faculty, operates on the coronary heart of the media institution. Greater than this, each CJR and the journalism college have many ties with the Instances. The present chairman of CJR, for example, was till not too long ago the deputy managing editor of the Instances. That CJR’s editor/writer, Kyle Pope, would conform to publish such a research elevates him to a form of hero standing that few editors or publishers have attained. … [G]iven that neither the Washington Put up nor the Instances have publicly addressed the gaping gap Gerth’s reporting has torn of their credibility – and the muted response of a lot of the remainder of the company media to Gerth’s exposé, we appear to have entered a brand new period. In immediately’s courageous new journalism world, objectivity and even fact have been deserted in favor of a journalism that merely displays no matter political or ideological narrative is prevalent on the time.” • Yep. Though I might say “hegemonic” slightly than “prevalent,” and add that hegemony, like bread, should be made.

“The rise of the Trump-Russia revisionists” [Vox]. “[In CJR, Jeff] Gerth argued that main information shops’ Trump-Russia protection “contains critical flaws” and proceeded to put out what he claimed these flaws have been. Trump-Russia revisionism is on the rise.” I assume “revisionism” is what we name reporting nowadays. Heck, although, possibly it’ll catch on! Extra: “the Russian authorities actually did intervene within the 2016 election by hacking main Democrats’ emails and having them leaked.” That is very sloppy writing, and this Prokop dude ought to take some classes from Gerth. who writes: “(The Justice Division, in 2018, charged twelve GRU officers for the Podesta and DNC hacks, however the prices have by no means been litigated.” Prokop, in fact, hyperlinks to a Vox article, little doubt not selecting to interact Gerth instantly, a smart transfer. A tragic excuse for successful job!

Class Warfare

“The plateauing of cognitive capacity amongst high earners” [European Sociological Review]. “[A]lengthy an vital dimension of advantage—cognitive capacity—we discover no proof that these with high jobs that pay extraordinary wages are extra deserving than those that earn solely half these wages. The primary takeaway of our evaluation is thus the identification, each theoretically and empirically, of two regimes of stratification within the labour market. The majority of residents earn regular salaries which are clearly conscious of particular person cognitive capabilities. Above a threshold degree of wage, cognitive-ability ranges are above common however play no function in differentiating wages. With relative incomes of high earners steadily rising in Western international locations (Alvaredo et al., 2017), an growing share of mixture earnings could also be allotted underneath the latter regime.”

Information of the Wired

“Why is the Oldest E book in Europe a Work of Music Criticism? (Half 1 of two)” [Ted Gioia, The Honest Broker]. “A key argument of this guide is that the form of Western society even immediately is the results of a battle in worldviews that occurred 2,500 years in the past. On the one aspect, you had the proponents of logic, rationality, and philosophy, and so they defeated their opponents who put their religion in songs. It looks like an unfair battle. How can music ever be extra highly effective than logic? However Plato—and the opposite main ancients who laid the groundwork for our rational and algorithmic society—feared music for an excellent motive. They noticed the hypnotic impact of the epic and lyric singers on the plenty. For hundreds of years, folks discovered life expertise from songs. They preserved historical past, tradition, and your entire mythos with songs. They tapped into their very own deepest feelings with songs. They celebrated each life milestone and ritual with songs. They reached out to the gods themselves with songs. Above all, they used this music to safe private autonomy and what immediately we might name human rights. So we shouldn’t be stunned that Plato, Aristotle and the opposite originators of Western rationalism needed to displace this dominant worldview of their ancestors—mythic, magical, musical—to ensure that them to create a extra rigorous, disciplined, and analytical society. They gained that battle, and we dwell with the results immediately in our algorithm-driven tradition. Because of this the richest and most influential musicology within the historical past of human society has been principally forgotten. The Derveni papyrus and the custom it represents is rarely taught and even talked about at music colleges. However this different musicology—which we want extra immediately than ever—hasn’t disappeared fully. Removed from it. As we will see, it nonetheless exerts a shocking affect in virtually each sphere of human life, however in hidden methods.” • 

Contact data for vegetation: Readers, be at liberty to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) learn how to ship me a verify in case you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to learn how to ship me photos of vegetation. Greens are advantageous! Fungi and coral are deemed to be honorary vegetation! If you’d like your deal with to look as a credit score, please place it initially of your mail in parentheses: (thus). In any other case, I’ll anonymize by utilizing your initials. See the earlier Water Cooler (with plant) right here. From Angie Neer:

Angie Neer writes: ‘In actual life these are about 1/4″ in diameter.’

Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not coated by the annual NC fundraiser. So for those who see a hyperlink you particularly like, or an merchandise you wouldn’t see wherever else, please don’t hesitate to precise your appreciation in tangible type. Keep in mind, a tip jar is for tipping! Common constructive suggestions each makes me really feel good and lets me know I’m heading in the right direction with protection. After I get no donations for 5 or ten days I get nervous. Extra tangibly, a continuing trickle of donations helps me with bills, and I think about that trickle when setting fundraising objectives: