Monday, 5 August 2019

Stuff I Learned This Week: July 29th-August 4th, 2019


This week, I spent a lot of time on Youtube, but there's still some articles and podcasts in here.

- I didn't realise there was a Nordic Bronze Age, but apparently, there was!

- I wasn't familiar with this specific cult, but even though it's closer to the right-wing, it really demonstrates why I'm deeply leery of any group that eagerly suggests armament, seclusion, and control are the solution to violence.

- I now understand more about how interest rates and inflation work! And it wasn't even boring!

- One guy is mostly responsible for anti-immigration rhetoric's spread in the US, and it's all because he was a racist conservationist...

- Treasured son Daniel Mallory Ortberg has returned to writing nonsense on the internet!

- For those unaware that I have a Youtube channel, well, now you know! It's honestly just a playlist channel, and I sometimes use it for social interactions. I've been considering dabbling with tiny little short films, but I tend to prefer taking pictures. Anyway, if you want to see more of what I'm learning, watching, and listening to, my Youtube playlists are updated pretty regularly.

This song made me feel cool. There's just something about shoegaze (blurred vocals, mostly acoustic-based guitar rock from the 90s) that feels perennially fresh and raw to me. If you like it, the band Lush might be to your liking, as well as Hooverphonic! For a more old-school punk girl band vibe, The Regrettes are fantastic, and Charly Bliss has recently put out an absolutely fantastic album - think Metric, but a little more raw.

More on the relaxed electro-pop side is this song, which isn't that much of a new discovery (I've adored Tove Lo for ages), but which I have been utterly obsessed with this summer. However, another artist I've followed for a while, Robyn, also released a new album that's got the same light, sparing, yet still emotional 80s style.

On the jazzier side is this artist, Corinne Bailey Rae, known for "Let Your Hair Down." I'm a big fan of Motown, swing, and jazz, and she may become a welcome addition to my various playlists. Her voice flows like honey and fresh water.




- I also learned why a rare type of honey, bonsai, and Italian marble are so expensive! And that lobsters are cannibalistic if confined...

- Tiger populations are rebounding - yet another case of a conservation program being wildly successful and effective.

Electric car technology is looking fantastic! Cleaning microplastics from our waterways is another struggle that may have just gotten a solution. Teen activist Greta Thunberg, an amazing inspiration, is bringing her show to the States, part of her push towards a carbon-neutral world. I hope it gets serious traction, and I'm excited to watch the effect on the American election.

- Scientists and anthropologists are pushing back hard on white supremacist myths and misappropriations. And writers are weaving marvelous visions of the future to reflect our complex history, too!

- Fox urine is apparently one of the worst-smelling things on the planet.

- this incredible Youtuber has made some great mini-documentaries about my neck of the woods!



- I finally know what a levee is, and why it's important!

- I also understand why clothing's gotten so cheaply made and crappy in the last few years.

- Black holes are really hard to understand, but now that famous picture makes more sense to me.


***
Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and Max the cat. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people's manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.

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