Questioning the capitalist motivations driving the success of All Quiet on the Western Front, Friedlaender says the novel is an example of “Geldliteratur,” literature for money. Modris Ecksteins verifies Friedlaender’s complaint. Remarque’s novel triumphed, in part, due to a publicity campaign by his publisher. Once Remarque’s book caught fire, exploiting war themes for profit became commonplace both for book publishers and for filmmakers. This symptom of capitalism persists over a century later. Think Top Gun: Maverick, another Best Picture contender.
Don’t know why, There’s no sun up in the sky, Stormy weather…
Faced with the possibility that the ERA might become part of the Constitution, right-wing leaders insisted that the ERA has “just one purpose left,” as the Heritage Foundation put it: “Abortion.” heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-1…
Drugmaker Eli Lilly announced today that it will cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month, bringing costs for people with private insurance and those without insurance who sign up for Lilly’s copay assistance program into line with the $35 cap for Medicare recipients Congress imposed with the Inflation Reduction Act last August.
I have some doubts about this product…
Capitalist picture dictionary: secure 📷
From The Marginalian: How to Survive Hopelessness
You can expect good and bad luck, but good or bad judgment is your prerogative, as is good or bad management.
From the Marginalian: How to Survive Hopelessness
Suddenly, they were a tiny speck in Earth’s largest ocean, enveloped by the vast open emptiness of infinite horizons. With no nautical instruments or charts, powered only by their makeshift sail, they had no hope of reaching land. Their only chance was rescue by a passing vessel. Given the immensity of the Pacific Ocean, it was an improbability bordering on a miracle.
Letters from an American, February 28, 2023
… Colin Kahl, the under secretary of defense for policy, embarrassed Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) in a hearing about aid to Ukraine after the congressman apparently thought he had found a “gotcha” story in the Global Times.
“I’m sorry, is this the Global Times from China?” Kahl asked. Gaetz said no, then checked and said yes, it was, asking if that made it untrustworthy. “As a general matter, I don’t take Beijing’s propaganda at face value,” Kahl answered. Gaetz answered: “Fair enough.”
From this morning’s walk…
We had our first significant snow last night. I woke up in the middle of the night. Our bedroom was filled with a soft dim light. I looked out our window. The landscape was filled with the same light. In the bathroom I could easily see the toilet bowl. Where does it come from?
Viral “Photographer” Reveals His Images Were AI-Generated
“It takes an enormous amount of effort to take AI-generated elements and create something that looks like it was taken by a human photographer,” he told Ars Technica. “The creative process is still very much in the hands of the artist or photographer, not the computer.”
Let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile.
[Bertrand Russel via The Marginalian] (https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/02/21/bertrand-russell-happiness/)
Tonight’s dinner wine and music… thanks to @toddgrotenhuis for the music recommendation. It takes me back to my Williamsburg Brooklyn days for some strange reason.
Well, that’s interesting. Already two (free) subscribers to my new substack… more in a couple of hours than I have had in months of any other format I have pursued. Here is my introductory post:open.substack.com
A writer must be curious, because the readers are. A writer must seek inspiration and mind-expanding experiences, because the readers do. A writer must try to find wisdom, because that’s what readers are after.
—Ted Gioia
Most of what I post there is short form, as befits the platform. Sometimes I post long form. I started this year aspiring to write long form once a week.
I have decided that I would like to have a dedicated place for my long form posts.
What is a saint? A saint is someone who has achieved a remote human possibility. It is impossible to say what that possibility is. I think it has something to do with the energy of love. —Leonard Cohen
I am enough of an artist to draw freely from the imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. —Albert Einstein
From this morning’s walk…
#photography #morningwalk
Books Reading: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Kimmerer, Robin Wall 📚I have three books now I am reading concurrently. I have read this before but wanted to re-read it was so good the first time around and it has a lot to say about indigenous wisdom vs. western science.
