With thanks to @daniel for such an important share:

The threshold for survival in heat is lower than we thought: a Wet Bulb Temperature of 31°C, not 35°C, might kill a healthy young people in a few hours.

This kind of research is essential not only for stimulating info-sharing on survival strategies and other forms of mutualism in society, but also for pushing harder for prevention. We do not have to go gentle into this suffocating coming day.

#ClimateChange #Science

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02422-5

😅 I now have nine books to finish reading this month for review purposes. (Eight to go for a two-part Le Guin short-list round-up, and one other accepted pitch this morning.)

I am not complaining at the gift of work, or the pleasure of good reading.

I'm just laughing aloud at myself, for naively thinking that I'd have more time for fiction of my own this month.

(But I still want two stories in queue soon! Going to try to get one there today! 🤞🏻)

Today we go back to colonial times!

We're on the hunt for the context of Franklin's famous line about Liberty and Security.

In the process, we might just stumble upon some uncanny similarities in our struggle for pluralist democracy, among those who always try to monopolize power and shirk responsibility, if given half a chance.

(And I promise, I tried to make colonial politics fun. It's often a dry read, I know.)

#History #Democracy #Politics #Humanism #Religion #US
https://open.substack.com/pub/mlclark/p/on-the-abuse-of-famous-lines-in-history

As a secular humanist, I am beyond chuffed to see all the folks sharing their different relationships to cosmology on CoSo this morning. There's such a rich wealth of views being held in tension, with no one being attacked for personal views. Love to see it.

(Currently reading up on some 18th-Century Quaker spats for today's newsletter, so switching between those historical tidbits and this gem of a feed is quite the trip!)

The "for rent" sign is down on the door beside me! I'm guessing I'll have new neighbours by the end of the month, to replace the ones with two yappy (overstressed) dogs that moved out a little while back.

What will these new neighbours bring? 🤞🏻 for a nice old local couple, but if it's not *three* yappy dogs (or an unrelenting domestic nightmare, like the couple living above me during the height of pandemic), I'm sure it'll be fine.

For now, though--oh, the anticipation!

And... a morning chuckle.

This clip was shared when talking about a Very Unpleasant Person who got shook last week when UK white supremacists turned on him, even though he's been building a career on hating the same things they do.

No matter what you do to be "one of the gang", if the gang is built on hate, there will never really space for you, except as a useful patsy/megaphone for a bit.

(A lesson that a lot of white women also had to learn, though some never will!)
https://youtu.be/JOza4DPL_II

Morning CoSo!

Still working on rebuilding cardio with the stop-start method - take the breaks I need, but get to the overall distance-run goal no matter what. It's frustrating when you recall how strong you once were (top form when I climbed back in Canada), and how far you have to go to recover stamina and strength.

But! One sunrise at a time. Hoping to cut weight and reform muscle significantly before Navidad, when I'll be dodging natilla and buñuelos to keep it off for a month. 😅

I love being an Old on the internet.

Sometimes I look at a download and think, oh no, 1.63 GB, it's going to take forever... because for a split-second 1998 called and recalibrated how I think about download speeds. 😅 Who needs literal time travel when you can just live long enough to be astonished by everything anew on a whim?

Today for Tough Times Tuesday, we look at the allure of quantifiable data through a new food study. While consumer habits play a significant role in GHG emissions, we have to be cautious about any study or advocacy pathway that tries to present "one quick fix" to climate change through dietary reform. Our issues are as big and complex as we are; our solutions have to take the mess in stride.

#Food #ClimateChange #International #GlobalHumanism #Activism

https://open.substack.com/pub/mlclark/p/planetary-food-plans-arent-quite

I had a professional "first" this morning.

Someone took an email on their work very personally, and immediately intimated that they could publicly disclose the email chain and I'd surely receive severe public blowback for my comments.

Not an atypical threat! A lot of folk really struggle with not seeing professional feedback as personal attack.

And also not one that rattles me in the least, because my emails are fine.

But it's another check on the ol' bingo card for industry interactions! ✅🥳

I promise not to write next week about media making me grumpy, but today we look at The Grab, an "eco-thriller" on food and water security issues that loses the real plot to its narrative choices.

This would have been a much better documentary if its participants hadn't taken such a cynical approach to their audience, and just spoken plainly about the issues faced on US and African land alike, and through climate change.

#Film #Activism #ClimateChange #International

https://open.substack.com/pub/mlclark/p/on-manipulative-astonishment

One of my milder vices is reading advice forums for a lil' boost. It usually helps me keep my own problems in perspective, and reminds me that humans will excuse a lot from those they love/live with: sometimes for lack of financial/mobility options, but often also because people are more afraid of being alone than in toxic scenarios.

Our desperate need to belong does pretty bonkers things to our brain chem, eh?

Here's tonight's reminder. The solution to her problem is a real mystery, I know!

Also, I can't remember with whom I was chatting about different Spanish terms for popcorn a few weeks back. @wolfwoman, maybe?

But here's an hilarious reminder of just how regional language is. Crispetas is the most popular here by a wide margin.

What would you say is a common item in English with a ridiculous amount of regional variance?

I'm drawing a blank beyond the usual: soda/pop, couch/sofa, universal-healthcare/socialist-plot-to-kill-granny.

What comes to mind for you?

#LanguageIsFun

I still giggle every time someone here talks about "invierno". We've been having more rain than usual this Aug, even though "winter" isn't until Oct and Nov, when the rains are super intense in some parts (this year one region is worried because a lot of people are living in temporary/flimsy housing after internal displacement), but still: invierno/winter seems like a silly word for it. It's otoño/autumn at best.

I do love being able to frighten people by talking about life below 0°C, though. 😁

There is one mispronunciation in my video today that definitely led to a facepalm when listening for time-stamping, but I'm comforting myself with this cute reminder that we all goof up sometimes. :) Off now to write, and maybe goof up some more.

https://youtube.com/shorts/GflW9_t7LZk?si=ZJfrg3uY25pO2NUZ

#BookTube time!

Today, I have an SF reading for you, of "The Monsters" by Robert Sheckley, framed by commentary. Before we talk about the text itself, I address unduly rosy perceptions of a different era (1950s) in SF. After I read the story, we talk about some of its themes and major points of contention.

Also, as ever, there are plenty of reflections here on writing practice and industry! Enjoy!

#SFF #ScienceFiction #Reading #BetterWorldsTheory #WritingCommunity
https://youtu.be/MWJLbDiA0Rs

#Soon

45 minutes more for processing locally, then another hour or so for upload to YouTube. Time for a walk before I sit down to some work emails and... *maybe* get a story into a mag queue by day's end? 🤞🏻

😂 I just lost an hour's work to my own incompetence. I didn't realize I'd switched off my external mic while recording Ch 11 & 12, so the sound quality is awful on them. And now that the dogs are out and the highways full, I can't try again today. I'll have to find another quiet moment this week instead. Maybe tomorrow morning, 3 a.m., before my run? Rats. Live and learn.

The noise level is still tolerable for BookTube recording, at least. Onward we go - with a close eye on the mic this time!

Today's running soundtrack was the first ep of Sixteenth Minute (of Fame) with Jamie Loftus, a strong new podcast sitting thoughtfully with the brief intense fame given to people through social media - and what happens next.

The first episode is about Antoine "hide yo kids" Dodson and his sister, the victim of the attack that prompted the internet meme.

This series is *such* a good look at how easily trend cycles dehumanize. Worth a listen for human interest. #Podcasts

https://pca.st/episode/850280fe-2469-44e6-8554-98f502fac050