The house is on fire, gang

Surfer attacked by 'demonic' sea lion amid toxic algal bloom in California The animal is among hundreds in California that are presumably infected with a harmful toxin.

Stay safe out there and report abnormal animal activity. Great piece by Sam!

Surfer attacked by 'demonic' sea lion amid toxic algal bloom in California www.sfgate.com/bayarea/arti...

Trump administration policies will create worse health care for intersex people like me “It seems the Trump administration is arguing that people like me are neither male nor female but simply ‘disordered,’” writes Kimberly Zieselman.

"Intersex Americans like me can’t be erased by medicine or the government. We aren’t going anywhere, and we deserve better medical care."

Another very important piece from @xoxykz.bsky.social

Rich People Are Firing a Cash Cannon at the US Economy—But at What Cost? Industries get recalibrated, economic signals get crossed and the social fabric begins to fray.

For my latest edition of @bloomberg.com Buying Power, I wrote about the enormous economic and societal risks that come along with this week’s news that the richest 10% of Americans now do fully half of the country’s consumer spending. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Flyer for Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West February 13, 2025, 12-1 pm PST

HUNTINGTON-USC ICW Presents "Writing the Golden State" Join ICW for an engaging discussion with the contributors to "Writing the Golden State," a collection of 25 essays that reimagines California beyond clichés. These essays highlight the state's complexity, diversity, and unique history, exploring the people, communities, and events shaping California.”

“Join the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West for a discussion about California's past and present with Jennifer Carr, Wendy Cheng, David Helps, and David Ulin, contributors to the new book Writing the Golden State: The New Literary Terrain of California. The book explores California through 25 essays that look beyond the clichés of the "California dream," portraying a state that is deviant and recalcitrant, proud and humble, joyful and communal. Join us for a multifaceted and exciting dialogue as we explore the individuals, communities, and events that have made California a richly diverse state.”

WRITING THE GOLDEN STATE: C THE NEW LITERARY - TERRAIN OF CALIFORNIA CARRIBEAN FRAGOZA ROMEO GUZMAN SAMINE JOUDAT About the Speakers Jennifer Carr is a writer from San Pedro, California, and a USC alumna (class of 2001). Her fiction and nonfiction grapple with what life in a globalized, automated world means for union towns like San Pedro, where immigrant families have come to live, work, and stay for generations. Aside from her essay in Writing the Golden State, Carr's work has appeared in Zócalo Public Square, Boom California, and the Baltimore Review, among others. She teaches creative writing at Chapman University.

This Thursday, Feb 13, I’ll be participating in a virtual lunchtime discussion about Writing the Golden State at the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West with the amazing Romeo Guzmán, Wendy Cheng, David Helps, and David Ulin—here’s the link to register: usc.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

More Politically Neutral End Zone Slogans for the NFL "NFL to remove ‘End Racism’ messaging in end zone ahead of Super Bowl. — New York Times - - -We at the NFL have been committed to racial justice ev...

"IT TAKES ALL OF US"
This phrase could mean anything from “It Takes All of Us to Stop Musk from Turning Our Country into a Fascist Broligarchy” to “It Takes All of Us to Stop the Steal, so Let’s Dress Up Like Camo Vikings and Storm the Capitol.”

They Were Waiting for Flights. Then Trump Closed a Door for Afghan Allies. An executive order has halted refugee flights for Afghans who supported the American mission in Afghanistan and had been approved to resettle in the U.S.

They Were Waiting for Flights. Then Trump Closed a Door for Afghan Allies. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/25/w...

Tonight!!

Where I Go: Los Angeles’ Forbidden, Sunken City In the Ruins of Los Angeles' Sunken City That Fell into the Ocean, Magic Teeters Precariously Above the Pacific

So excited to share my essay on Sunken City, now up at Zócalo Public Square:

www.zocalopublicsquare.org/los-angeles-...

Absolutely stunning!

Ooh, thanks for the rec!

(I’d never heard of c-diff before, so now I’m megaphoning awareness about it.)

So glad to hear this but so sorry your aunt went through this! My mom was hospitalized with sepsis in August, and things were really bad. Watch out for the c-diff infection that can follow after sepsis because of all the antibiotics they use…my mom was re-hospitalized 2 weeks later because of it.

Okay, but I actually had this dress

Was so happy to finally show this to my 15yo stepdaughter, & she loved it but was so upset it ended before the beheading (probably my fault since I showed her The Shining at age 8 and she loved it). So I showed her the opening of Napoleon, and as far as she’s concerned, that’s the ending of M.A.^🤦🏼‍♀️

Imagine being Drake and showing up to any US sporting event since June.

Imagine being Drake and having to listen to “Not Like Us” 72 times to try to write your clap back diss track and thinking that’s what the people are waiting for.

Imagine being Drake and having to listen to “Not Like Us” 72 times to try to write your clap back diss track and thinking no one else listened to it that much.

Imagine being Drake and thinking you have a mandate before all the listens are counted up.

Like drawing with Otter Pops.

I generally lean toward alphabetizing but used to have them all color-coordinated, by height and length of title on the spine. Then my partner and I moved in together and shared a huge bookshelf, and alphabetical by genre became the only way. Except the TBR ziggurats next to the bed…

It’s got a great table of contents (the Haslam)

Aww, thanks so much for the order—also, I didn’t know about the Haslam book; I’ll have to check it out!

I have his Shakespeare posters hanging on my wall! I love his work so much.

Nonfiction Holiday Recs

Vroman’s Bookstore has named Writing the Golden State one of its 2024 Nonfiction Holiday Recs. And might I humbly recommend it for your gift-giving needs this season…

vromansbookstore.com/list/2024-ho...

All you had to do was row out to it in a boat and, when you were underneath, prop a ladder against her and scramble up. —Italo Calvino

There were nights when the Moon was full and very, very low, and the tide was so high that the Moon missed a ducking in the sea by a hair’s-breadth; well, let’s say a few yards anyway. Climb up on the moon? Of course we did.

We had her on top of us all the time, that enormous Moon: when she was full—nights as bright as day, but with a butter-colored light—it looked as if she were going to crush us…

Very, very low moon, very orange, like half of the most delectable egg yolk in history, barely rising above the Los Angeles Harbor lights, making it easy to wax poetic about the moon.

Very, very low moon, again, slightly higher, still very orange, like half of the most delectable egg yolk in history, barely rising above the Los Angeles Harbor lights, making it easy to wax poetic about the moon.

A squidge higher shot of the very, very low moon, very orange, like half of the most delectable egg yolk in history, barely rising above the Los Angeles Harbor lights, making it easy to wax poetic about the moon, and inciting poetry found in Italo Calvino’s story, “The Distance of the Moon,” from the collection Cosmicomics, which you should definitely read.

Qfwfq’s moonrise: