Omnium Gatherum: 10nov2021

An irregular hodgepodge of links gathered together … Omnium Gatherum for November 10, 2021

Here’s a variety of notable things I’ve recently found that you may also be interested in checking out:

More on this, watch “The Incal: A Metaphysical Space Epic“—”An overview of the entire Incal Saga written by Alejandro Jodorowsky and illustrated by Jean Giraud, more commonly known as Moebius. Originally published between 1981 and 1988.” Also, counterpoint, and everyone is awful: “The director who went too far: the shocking truth about the exploitation ‘classic’ El Topo . Animal slaughter, extreme violence, and a very problematic rape scene… As Alejandro Jodorowsky’s bizarrely revered western El Topo returns to cinemas, Helen O’Hara asks.”
Tweet—”Stanislaw Lem had better names for everything: – virtual reality (“phantomatics”) – search engine theory (“ariadnology”, after Ariadne’s thread) – molecular nanotechnology (“molectronics”) – cognitive enhancement (“cerebromatics”) – artificial intelligence (“intellectronics”).” Tweet—”- cybersex (“cyborgy”)
– artificial evolution (“necroevolution”) – supercomputer (“omniac”) – ebook reader (“opton”) – audiobooks (“lectons”) – gpt writing poems (“electropoet”) – swarm of small drones (“smartdust”).”
Tweet—”BONUS EP: Frank Herbert wrote the sci-fi classic Dune in the 60s, an era when uprisings against colonial powers spread across the Middle East and Africa. Historian @hdernity says the book & film have its roots in these complex mid-century politics.” Podcast episode: “Bonus: The Deep History of Dune“—”Rund and Ramtin speak to sci-fi writer and Princeton historian, Haris Durrani, about why the lore of Dune still proves so relevant and the ways in which the 2021 film succeeds and fails to convey its messages. ‘Dreams are messages from the deep.’ Those are the first words that appear on the screen in Denis Villenueve’s 2021 film, Dune, a cinematic adaptation of the iconic 1965 sci-fi book by Frank Herbert. The book contains dreams within dreams. Dreams of a future humanity in all of its flawed complexity. Dune takes place about ten thousand years from now with humanity having spread across the galaxy, populating planets and evolving in myriad mysterious and fascinating ways. But Herbert’s vision isn’t unrecognizable to our contemporary eyes. In fact, unlike many other similar sci-fi stories, Dune projects Islamic belief and philosophy into the future, placing it right at the center of future events. It uses Middle Eastern history to paint a dream of a future which is both futuristic and ancient, exhilarating and full of tension. It is a story about the perils of imperialism, messianic beliefs, and environmental degradation. It is a story about us.” Also, more on that FT piece by the person in this NPR podcast, tweet—”The funniest thing abt that FT piece on why people shouldn’t ‘intellectualize’ DUNE is the main quote he pulls to say ‘this is dumb’—the ‘mystery of life’ line—is Herbert’s paraphrase of Kierkegaard.”
Watch “Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time – Official Trailer | HD | IFC Films”—”Opening in theaters and VOD November 19. Director: Robert B. Weide, Don Argott. Starring: Sam Waterston (voice), Robert B. Weide, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Recounting the extraordinary life of author Kurt Vonnegut and the 25-year friendship with the filmmaker who set out to document it.”
Watch “Awesome Paper CAT Puppet.” It isn’t entirely clear from the text, but it is mentioned in the video that this puppet is part of preparation for a stage production of Philip Pullman’s The Book of Dust! See “The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage“—”Philip Pullman sets The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage twelve years before his epic His Dark Materials trilogy. Two young people and their dæmons, with everything at stake, find themselves at the centre of a terrifying manhunt. In their care is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and in that child lies the fate of the future. And as the waters rise around them, powerful adversaries conspire for mastery of Dust: salvation to some, the source of infinite corruption to others. Eighteen years after his ground breaking production of His Dark Materials at the National Theatre, Nicholas Hytner returns to Pullman’s parallel universe to direct a gripping adaptation by Bryony Lavery.” Going live in December in London! This is, of course, about The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage [Amazon, Bookshop, Publisher, Local Library] by Philip Pullman, book 1 of The Book of Dust series—”Malcolm Polstead and his daemon, Asta, are used to overhearing news and the occasional scandal at the inn run by his family. But during a winter of unceasing rain, Malcolm finds a mysterious object—and finds himself in grave danger. Inside the object is a cryptic message about something called Dust; and it’s not long before Malcolm is approached by the spy for whom this message was actually intended. When she asks Malcolm to keep his eyes open, he begins to notice suspicious characters everywhere: the explorer Lord Asriel, clearly on the run; enforcement agents from the Magisterium; a gyptian named Coram with warnings just for Malcolm; and a beautiful woman with an evil monkey for a daemon. All are asking about the same thing: a girl—just a baby—named Lyra. Lyra is at the center of a storm, and Malcolm will brave any peril, and make shocking sacrifices, to bring her safely through it.”
“Magmatic thickening of crust in non–plate tectonic settings initiated the subaerial rise of Earth’s first continents 3.3 to 3.2 billion years ago“—”Understanding when and how subaerial continental crust first formed is crucial, as it likely played a critical role in establishing Earth’s habitability. Although debated, the broad consensus is that the subaerial rise of continents began ∼2.5 billion years ago and was driven by plate tectonics. Here, we integrate the igneous and sedimentary history of Archean cratons to demonstrate that stable continental landmasses started to emerge above sea level 3.3 to 3.2 billion years ago (i.e., over 700 million years earlier than most models predict). We also demonstrate that these initial episodes of continental emersion were driven by voluminous granitoid magmatism in non–plate tectonic settings that formed ∼50-km-thick, silica-rich crust, which rose above the oceans due to isostasy.” Also “Cratons, Why Are You Still Here? How have these continental relics from Earth’s early history survived the plate tectonic mixing machine?”
“‘Cold Bone’: New Dinosaur Species Discovered That Lived on Greenland 214 Million Years Ago“—”The two-legged dinosaur Issi saaneq lived about 214 million years ago in what is now Greenland. It was a medium-sized, long-necked herbivore and a predecessor of the sauropods, the largest land animals ever to live. It was discovered by an international team of researchers from Portugal, Denmark, and Germany, including the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). The name of the new dinosaur pays tribute to Greenland’s Inuit language and means ‘cold bone.’ The team reports on its discovery in the journal Diversity. The initial remains of the dinosaur — two well-preserved skulls — were first unearthed in 1994 during an excavation in East Greenland by paleontologists from Harvard University. One of the specimens was originally thought to be from a Plateosaurus, a well-known long-necked dinosaur that lived in Germany, France, and Switzerland during the Triassic Period. Only a few finds from East Greenland have been prepared and thoroughly documented. ‘It is exciting to discover a close relative of the well-known Plateosaurus, hundreds of which have already been found here in Germany,’ says co-author Dr. Oliver Wings from MLU.” Also “Issi saaneq gen. et sp. nov.—A New Sauropodomorph Dinosaur from the Late Triassic (Norian) of Jameson Land, Central East Greenland.” Watch “Issi Saaneq Dinosaur Fossil and 3D Skull Reconstruction.”
“New era of ‘Great Observatories’ may be coming for NASA. The four original Great Observatories, which launched between 1990 to 2003, provide a good example to follow.”—”On Thursday (Nov. 4), the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released its highly anticipated astronomy and astrophysics decadal survey, which lays out scientific priorities and funding recommendations for the next 10 years in those two related fields. One of the top priorities identified in the 614-page report is the establishment of a ‘Great Observatories Mission and Technology Maturation Program,’ which would help NASA get big, powerful space telescopes off the ground more quickly and efficiently.”
“Pompeii’s forbidden erotica – BBC REEL”—”Within the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, in a room known as the ‘Secret Chamber’, is a unique collection of erotic art, found perfectly preserved in the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. For a time this artwork could only be accessed with a special permit for men with ‘proven morality’. Now open to the public, the collection gives an incredible insight into ancient attitudes to sex and eroticism and how these have shifted over the centuries.”
“Finding inspiration in starfish larva. Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a tiny robot that mimics the movement of a starfish larva. It is driven by sound waves and equipped with tiny hairs that direct the fluid around it, just like its natural model. In the future, such microswimmers could deliver drugs to diseased cells with pinpoint accuracy.” Watch “This microrobot mimics a starfish larva.”
“NASA Outlines Challenges, Progress for Artemis Moon Missions”
“Spinlaunch. A New Way To Get To Space. Spinlaunch is an innovative new space technology company that has created an alternative method for putting 200 kilogram class satellites into low earth orbit. Unlike traditional fuel-based rockets, SpinLaunch uses a ground-based, electric powered kinetic launch system that delivers a substantially less expensive and environmentally sustainable approach to space access.”
“Wash-and-wear sensors. University of Utah engineers develop process that turns ordinary clothing into biosensors.”—”They say you are what you wear. New biosensor technology created at the University of Utah’s College of Engineering makes that even more true. Chemical engineering assistant professor Huanan Zhang has developed a process that turns clothing fabric into biosensors which measure a muscle’s electrical activity as it is worn.”
“Can an electroceutical treat rheumatoid arthritis? Study will test whether the nervous system can be used to modulate immune activity and reduce severity of an autoimmune disease.”—”Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s immune system attacks the joints and other organs. It is often painful and can be disabling. There is no cure, but medications can reduce joint pain and swelling and slow progression of joint damage. But many of these drugs have troubling side effects, including suppression of the immune system. In the study, a small electronic device is placed around the left vagus nerve, one of two vagus nerves that travel from brain through the chest and abdomen to connect with many organs, including the heart, lung, and gut. Studies in animals and humans have shown that applying a low-voltage electric current to the vagus can reduce levels of inflammation-provoking proteins, called cytokines, that immune cells produce.”
“COMPASS Pathways announces positive topline results from groundbreaking phase IIb trial of investigational COMP360 psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression. Largest randomised, controlled, double-blind psilocybin therapy study ever completed shows rapid and sustained response for patients receiving a single dose of COMP360 psilocybin with psychological support.”
“Cellular aging: a basic paradox elucidated. A research team at the CRCHUM has shown that cellular aging, which protects against cancer, depends on a mechanism of genomic instability which causes the disease.”—”In a study published in Nucleic Acids Research, the team of cancer researcher Francis Rodier, an Université de Montréal professor, shows for the first time that cellular senescence, which occurs when aging cells stop dividing, is caused by irreversible damage to the genome rather than simply by telomere erosion. This discovery goes against the scientific model most widely adopted in the last 15 years, which is based on one principle: telomeres, caps located at the ends of chromosomes whose purpose is to protect genetic information, erode with each cell division. When they get too short, they tell the cell to stop dividing, thus preventing damage to its DNA. Made dormant, the cell enters senescence. For this model to be valid, the inactivation of a single telomere should be sufficient to activate the senescence program. Rodier’s laboratory and many others had already observed that several dysfunctional telomeres were necessary. ‘What’s most surprising is that, before really entering senescence, the cells divide one last time,’ said Rodier. ‘In fact, the cell division caused by telomere dysfunction is so unstable that it ends up creating genetic defects. Contrary to what was believed, senescent cells have an abnormal genome. That’s what we show in our study.’”
“Heinz ‘Marz Edition’ Ketchup Made Possible by Florida Tech Science. Global Food Giant, Astrobiologist Andrew Palmer Produced Condiment from Tomatoes Grown in Mars-like Conditions.” Watch “Introducing the Heinz Marz Edition“—”Tomatoes from Mars soil conditions? Yes, we have contact… and the mission report to show for it! See how our new Heinz Marz Edition went from being grown under one of the harshest conditions to becoming the first out-of-this-world ketchup of its kind.”
Ugh, not now philosophical zombies! “Why Physicalism Is Failing as the Accepted Approach to Science. The argument that everything in nature can be reduced to physics was killed by the philosophical Zombie, as Prudence Louise explains.”
Podcast episode: “Drone Wars“—”Unseen, they stalk their targets from thousands of feet in the air. Operators are piloting them from military bases halfway across the world. At any moment, they could launch a strike that comes without warning. The attack drone was supposed to be a symbol of the era of precision warfare — a way to wage wars with fewer casualties on both sides. It’s a technology that’s been honed since it was first dreamed up during World War 1. But are drones actually precise enough? Do drones desensitize us to the casualties of civilians caught between us and our enemies? In this episode, we will explore the past, present and future of drone warfare.”
“The Metaverse, The Multiverse, and The End of Your Free Time. In a decade, entertainment will try to be everything.” Also “Meta and Microsoft announce partnership to integrate Workplace and Teams. Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, announced a partnership that will allow customers to integrate Workplace with Microsoft Teams. The partnership between Meta and Microsoft brings together two rivals that compete in the market of enterprise communication software. The partnership could prove most beneficial to Meta, whose Workplace service lags drastically behind its competitors in terms of users.” Also watch “The Real Reason Facebook Wants A Metaverse“—”The Metaverse. It’s a hot topic as of late, which is a shame. VR. Digital Worlds. Wow. Almost every time I see it talked about it’s misunderstood, or simply a word thrown out for investors. This VR living world could be cool, but it probably won’t be, especially if ol Zuck is in charge. So today’s about Facebook. Why are they so eager for all this stuff. Let’s discuss. Or, I’ll discuss. I’m just talking to myself. That’s what YouTube videos are.” “It’s all very corporate. It’s all very cringy.”
Watch “Recreating a 100 year old plan using the REAL CITY PLANS in Cities Skylines (Timelapse)“—”In this video, we’re faithfully recreating John Nolen’s 1926 plan for Venice, Florida. Though it was not fully implemented, what was implemented is considered one of the best examples of a master planned city in the USA.”
“YouTube is removing the dislike count on all videos across its platform“—”The change follows an experiment YouTube ran earlier this year whose goal was to determine if these sorts of changes would reduce dislike attacks and creator harassment. At the time, YouTube explained that public dislike counts can affect creators’ well-being and may motivate targeted campaigns to add dislikes to videos. While that’s true, dislikes can also serve as a signal to others when videos are clickbait, spam or misleading, which can be useful. YouTube said it had also heard from smaller creators and others who were just getting started on the platform that they felt they were being unfairly targeted by dislike attacks. The experiment confirmed this was true — creators with smaller channels were targeted with dislike attacks more than larger creators were.”
“Facebook scraps ad targeting based on politics, race and other ‘sensitive’ topics“—”The parent company of Facebook will no longer let advertisers target people based on how interested the social network thinks they are in “sensitive” topics including health, race and ethnicity, political affiliation, religion and sexual orientation. Meta, which makes most of its $86 billion in annual sales from advertising, said it’s making the ‘difficult decision’ in an effort to stop advertisers from using ad targeting to discriminate against or otherwise harm users.” Yeah, really tough decision there, and we know why they made it now, of course.
“Google loses challenge against EU antitrust ruling, $2.8-bln fine”
“Breakthrough ‘Smoking Gun’ Discovery in Power Consumption in Electronic Devices“—”In a new FLEET theoretical study published recently in Physical Review Letters, the so called ‘smoking gun’ in the search for the topological magnetic monopole — also known as the Berry curvature — has been found. The discovery is a breakthrough in the search for topological effects in non-equilibrium systems. The group, led by UNSW physicist and Associate Professor, Dimi Culcer, identified an unconventional Hall effect, driven by an in-plane magnetic field in semiconductor hole systems that can be traced exclusively to the Berry curvature. Enhanced topological effects will permit low-energy topological electronics to be viable for large-scale, room-temperature operation, and therefore support the IEEE roadmap towards future electronics sustainability.”
“Big Bird’s COVID-19 vaccine criticized by conservatives including Sen. Ted Cruz.” Also “Why the Republicans’ newest fight with Big Bird matters. A quarter of a century after Newt Gingrich went after funds for public broadcasting, some Republicans are apparently ready for Round Two against Big Bird.” Also tweet—”‘Sesame Street was never this contravsial–‘ Yeah it was. It’s original purpose was to teach inner city kids, mostly PoC and poor kids. Conservatives *hated* it and have tried defunding PBS for decades.” Also tweet—”What people don’t understand is that Big Bird is a represenation of Veðrfaðir, who sits atop Yggdrasil, the World Tree of Norse Myth, and quarrels endlessly with Níðhǫggr, the dragon who gnaws at Yggdrasil’s roots. In this essay I will describe the allegorical meaning of 1/256″
“A secret tape made after Columbine shows the NRA’s evolution on school shootings“—”In addition to mapping out their national strategy, NRA leaders can also be heard describing the organization’s more activist members in surprisingly harsh terms, deriding them as ‘hillbillies’ and ‘fruitcakes’ who might go off script after Columbine and embarrass them. And they dismiss conservative politicians and gun industry representatives as largely inconsequential players, saying they will do whatever the NRA proposes. Members of Congress, one participant says, have asked the NRA to ‘secretly provide them with talking points.’” Also tweet—”SCOOP: The day after Columbine shootings, top NRA execs, PR experts, lobbyists scrambled on conference calls to strategize. Over 2.5 hrs they laid out the playbook of the NRA after mass shootings for the next 20+ years. I have the secret tapes.”
“Federal Judge Denies Trump’s Attempt To Use ‘Executive Privilege’ To Hide Jan. 6 Role. Trump is unlikely to succeed on the merits of his claims and cannot show how the release of public documents harms him, the U.S. District Court judge ruled.” “Sharp-Eyed Readers Spot 1 Line In Judge’s Ruling Most Likely To Enrage Trump. ‘Gotta hurt,’ one Trump critic tweeted after spotting the line.”—”Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.”
“After flaws discovered in teacher website, Missouri offering credit monitoring to educators“—”The Post-Dispatch discovered the vulnerability in a web application that allowed the public to search teacher certifications and credentials. The newspaper delayed publishing its report until the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education had removed the affected pages from its website and the state had time to examine other agencies’ web applications for similar vulnerabilities.” “Following the initial report on the state’s vulnerabilities, Gov. Mike Parson accused the newspaper of hacking the website in a ‘crime against Missouri teachers’ and called for an investigation by the Cole County prosecutor and the Missouri Highway Patrol. Parson’s declaration was met with derision from cybersecurity experts and earned national media attention. The investigation is ongoing. Following Parson’s tirade, the governor’s political action committee launched a video highlighting his attacks on the newspaper. The 55-second video by the Uniting Missouri PAC praises Parson for standing up to the state’s ‘fake news factory.’ It also suggests the reporter was ‘digging around’ in personal data about teachers.”
More about milk: “Quartz Weekly Obsession. Oat milk for November 10, 2021″—”Why do we drink so much ? milk? Given that around 65% of the world population has some degree of lactose intolerance, it’s worth asking exactly how milk became such a staple in adult diets—particularly in the US, land of the iconic ‘Got milk?’ ad campaign featuring milk-mustachioed celebrities that began in the 1990s. The answer, it turns out, can be traced back in part to the US government attempting to offload milk surplus on schoolchildren during World War II.” Also, from 2015: “How we got duped into believing milk is necessary for healthy bones.” And interview with Alissa Hamilton, author of Got Milked?: What You Don’t Know About Dairy and the Truth About Calcium [Amazon, Bookshop, Publisher, Local Library]—”Refuting the milk industry’s overwhelmingly popular campaign—“Got Milk?”—which has convinced us that milk is essential, this scientifically based expose proves why we don’t need dairy in our daily diets, how our dependence on it is actually making many people sick, and what we can do to change it. Bolstered by the dairy industry and its successful ‘Got Milk?’ advertising campaign launched in California to help declining milk sales, as well as the government’s recommended dietary guidelines, many Americans view cow’s milk as an essential part of a daily diet, unequaled in providing calcium, protein, and other nutrients and vitamins. Cow’s milk has been promoted as a food without substitute, as being necessary and not interchangeable with foods outside the dairy food group. But as food processing and marketing expert Alissa Hamilton reveals, cow’s milk is far from essential for good health, and for many, including the majority of American adults who can’t properly digest it, milk can actually be harmful. In Got Milked, Hamilton turns a critical eye on the Dairy Food Group and the promotional programs it supports to dispel misconceptions about milk and its crucial role in our health. Interweaving cutting-edge science in a lively narrative, Got Milked opens our eyes to the many ways in which dairy can actually be harmful to our bodies. In addition, the book offers simple and tasty food and drink swaps that deliver the same nutrients found in milk products, without all the sugar, saturated fat and negative side effects. Complete with delicious dairy-free recipes and full meal plans for ‘Making it Without Milk,’ Got Milked is a unique, substantive, and important look into an industry that has hugely impacted our diets and our lives.”
“Conservative thinkers, ideologues announce creation of ‘fiercely independent’ University of Austin alternative college. The conservative-led university says it is dedicated to ‘the fearless pursuit of truth’ and ‘reclaiming a place in higher education.’”
From 2019: “Yes world, there were horses in Native culture before the settlers came. Yvette Running Horse Collin’s recent dissertation, historical documents and oral histories present a compelling new story of the horse in the Americas.”—”Yvette Running Horse Collin’s recent dissertation may have rewritten every natural history book on the shelf. A Lakota/Nakota/Cheyenne scholar, Collin worked within the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Indigenous Studies program to synthesize fossil evidence, historical documents and oral history to present a compelling new story of the horse in the Americas. The horse was here well before the settlers. ‘We have calmly known we’ve always had the horse, way before the settlers came. The Spanish never came through our area, so there’s no way they could have introduced them to us,’ reads one quote from a Blackfoot (Nitsitapi) study participant in Collin’s doctoral study.” “The dissertation posits that the discrepancy between the Spanish “reintroduction” theory and the story reflected by current evidence has to do with a cultural bias that is still present within Western academia. Collin theorizes that because horses were a symbol of status and civilization in Spain during that time, and because conquerors needed to illustrate the Native people as savage and uncivilized to justify their conquest to the Queen of Spain, the truth about the relationship between Native peoples and the horse was purposefully distorted.”
Tweet—”You have to be almost completely lacking in historical awareness to not grasp that the slave trade is the most consequential event of modern world history, 16th century to now. It established the modern world order. There is no event in US history that wasn’t shaped by slavery.”
Watch “Elves | Official Trailer | Netflix”—”Christmas is coming early this year. Just maybe not in the way you’d expected it to be… Elves is on Netflix Nov 28.”
“Tencent’s First ‘Three-Body Problem’ Trailer Sparks Rivalry With Netflix’s Adaptation“—”Tencent nabbed the rights to adapt the story into a TV series way back in 2008. Now, its version is entering a crowded playing field. There are at least two other “Three-Body Problem” adaptations in the works in China, including a film backed by IP rights holder Yoozoo Group that may have fallen permanently to the wayside and an animated take from Gen Z- and anime-leaning platform Bilibili. Netflix struck its own deal with Yoozoo to create an English-language adaptation, announcing the project last September.” Watch “Three Body Problem TV Show Trailer by Tencent.” Of course, this is about The Three-Body Problem [Amazon, Bookshop, Publisher, Local Library] by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu, book 1 of The Three-Body Problem series—”The Three-Body Problem is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience the Hugo Award-winning phenomenon from China’s most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin. Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.”
“Tom Holland Says Spider-Man: No Way Home Is ‘Brutal’, ‘Dark’, and ‘Sad’. ‘What people will be really surprised about is that it’s not fun.’”—”‘What people will be really surprised about is that it’s not fun, this film,’ Holland said. ‘It’s dark and it’s sad, and it’s going to be really affecting. You’re going to see characters that you love go through things that you would never wish for them to go through. And I was just really excited to kind of lean into that side of Peter Parker.’”
“Rescue Kitten With Four Ears Finally Finds A Forever Home“—”But just before you thought having four ears was unique enough, Midas the cat also has a beautiful heart-shaped white patch on her belly.”
Watch “ContraPoints: Natalie Wynn Motivational Speech“—”What kind of mind do you want to live in? Say yes to life.”

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