The Compost #5
The Compost #5
An apocalyptic mix of links and recommendations intended to inspire and distract
The title for this weekly or bi-weekly or frankly when I can get my act together compendium of links and recommendations comes from "Conscious Uncoupling”:
We strive to take all that is ugly and rotting, and turn it into compost to grow beautiful lives. —KWT
Resources
SRSLY?SRSLY. “There is no wellness at all if it is not a collective wellness.” Jen Nemhauser, a plant biology professor at UW and a close friend, has added to her series of thoughtful and powerful audio meditations about a range of topics for lab scientists seeking to build a more equitable community. I promise that you will find new insight and resources in these her uniquely thoughtful and powerful voice.
Science for Everyone. “ . . .everybody involved agrees that these plans for WVU are about “restructuring” the university. . . How is it okay to simply subtract students from accessing curricular access to a foundational piece of their education? Because they are working to transform what is considered foundational.” Terry McGlynn has moved his long-running beloved blog, Small Pond Science, over to Substack. You can count on Terry for nuanced, well-written takes on various issues in academic science from the perspective of a Cal State ecology professor.
A great Twitter thread by Anna Clemmons on the mistakes PIs make when writing scientific papers with their students. E.g., “Thinking reading the literature will teach writing.”
Reading
Ripe, by Sarah Rose Etter. “Sober, with the screens tucked away, a great ache surfaces. In the awful stillness, I can hear the deafening river of melancholy roaring through the dark red cave of my heart.” I heard about this short novel in The Audacious Book Club, bought the kindle version with Amazon digital credits, and read it feverishly over about 2 days. The protagonist Cassie works in Silicon Valley, followed about by her personal dark hole (literally) as she navigates her soulless job, her vacuous friends, and the inhumanity of living in San Francisco. This story described so much of my past and current feelings about contributing to the widening gulf between the rich and the poor.
The Light Pirate, by Lily Brooks Dalton. “What is magic but science that is not yet understood? What is science but magic with an explanation?”. An apocalyptic novel set in Florida with a bit of magical realism mixed in.
Fear and Boredom at the Hyatt Regency, by Garrett Bucks. One particular take on the Republican debate.