“Sometimes we have to do the work even though we don’t yet see a glimmer on the horizon that it’s actually going to be possible.”
— Angela Davis
Category: Books and Writers
Dolly Parton Likes to Read by the Fire in Her Pajamas – The New York Times
What’s your favorite book no one else has heard of?
Not enough folks know what a great book “Kindred,” by Octavia E. Butler, is. It’s kind of tricky to describe but somehow it all works — it’s about race relations and there’s time travel and romance. It’s powerful.
— Read on www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/books/review/dolly-parton-by-the-book-interview.html
“He had this habit of loitering by the stairs of the garden, almost daring you to walk up or down,” said Maria Hunt, who has lived near the garden for more than a decade and was attacked by Gerald two separate times in 2020. “Gerald was like a winged boogie man, a Cerberus of the rose garden who would have been comical if he hadn’t been so menacing.”
“All we could do was run”: the strange story of Gerald, the turkey who terrorized a city
If I could spend my life taking pictures, especially in the soft bright light of a sunny day in late fall, I would do it.
“Those closest to the pain should be closest to the power.”
-U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley, (D-MA)
Links for The Voracious
A little something from around the internet.
Federally subsidized child care at the equivalent of $7.70 a day? The United States did it during World War II.
Libertarianism apparently doesn’t work in the wild. What black bears, untested political theory and dismantling local government teaches us about the need for fully funded public education.
Undermining the public good has dire consequences in the fight to stop COVID-19.
Milena Marić Einstein was a physicist. So was her husband, Albert. What happened to her?
Black people live everywhere in the United States. Read up on Black life in Appalachia.
Lead Belly “Goodnight Irene”
What You Need to Know About How Covid Spreads
Coronavirus isn’t going away soon. The number of cases are rising across the country. El Pais’ visualizations of the ways COVID-19 is commonly spread is an incredibly important resource as we head into winter.
“At present, health authorities recognize three vehicles of coronavirus transmission: the small droplets from speaking or coughing, which can end up in the eyes, mouth or nose of people standing nearby; contaminated surfaces (fomites), although the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that this is the least likely way to catch the virus, a conclusion backed by the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (ECDC) observation that not a single case of fomite-caused Covid-19 has been observed. Then finally, there is transmission by aerosols – the inhalation of invisible infectious particles exhaled by an infected person that, once leaving the mouth, behave in a similar way to smoke. Without ventilation, aerosols remain suspended in the air and become increasingly dense as time passes.”
“I feel like I’m supposed to be grateful that I got that job. But it’s not enough for me to just be here anymore. I want more, and I don’t care that that upsets people.” -Sohla El-Waylly, chef
Read more about Sohla El-Waylly’s career in food and her next culinary adventure.
Music Feeds The Soul
Chef Alexander Smalls’ playlists for cooking and dining are an inspiration for any culinary experience. We may not be having dinner parties right now (I hope), but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy our meals with great music. Everything is better with music.
“Music is energy, life, love,” Smalls said. “It stimulates my imagination and feeds my spirit, excites the task as well as the sheer pleasure I get from preparing, cooking, and entertaining in my home, especially for friends and family. I couldn’t live, breathe, or eat without music.”
-Alexander Smalls
Happy Birthday, Jimmy!
On October 1, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter celebrated his 96th birthday. In celebration, here’s Jimmy expressing his thanks to The Allman Brothers for their role in helping him become president.
“Gregg Allman was a very close friend of mine. If it hadn’t been for Gregg Allman and the Allman Brothers I never would have been president. Bill Walden got the Allman Brothers to raise money for me. So they would have a concert in Pennsylvania or New York or New Hampshire and charge 15 dollars but the 15 dollars didn’t go to them the 15 dollars went to my campaign fund.”
