Ghost Church: The delightful Jamie Loftus looks at the American spiritualism movement, including its history, and she visits the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp in Florida. Loftus is funny, wise and takes a friendly but skeptical view. www.iheart.com/podcast/1…
Loftus previously did podcasts about joining Mensa for a year and the comic strip Cathy.
Her podcast about Nabokov’s “Lolita” discusses how nearly 70 years of critics and filmmakers completely miss the point of the novel by portraying Humbert Humbert as a victim of a seductress. He’s not the victim—he’s a pedophile who destroys a little girl’s life. www.avclub.com/jamie-lof…
“Majorly” seems to me like it’s just plain wrong. Bad English. Not a real word. But apparently, I’m wrong about that. Majorly is a real word, albeit relatively recent. It was first used in 1955.
However, I think it’s going to be a while before I stop majorly cringing every time I see or hear it.
I am in awe of the mental gymnastics required to conclude that there's any solution to homelessness other than finding housing for people. It's like telling a drowning person that their real problem is they eat fatty foods.
“Housing First” policy does what it says—it attempts to address homelessness by finding housing for homeless people before attempting to solve other problems these people might have.
This common-sense solution has come under fire by critics, mostly Republicans, who claim that it fails to address the real causes of homelessness: Mental health and drug abuse. (And then the Republicans don’t want to do anything about mental health or drug abuse either. Well played, Republicans!)
However, numerous studies show Housing First works.
Two examples of Housing First implemented in San Diego “show that formerly homeless people are remaining housed and may be more open to rehab than if they had stayed on the street,” according to a report by Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune. www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/home…
Out of 400+ tenants in two properties purchased for homeless housing in 2020, most original tenants are still there, and of the 15% who have moved away, nearly all are in other permanent housing or temporary housing.
But what about substance abuse? Some 25% of tenants self-identified as having substance abuse disorders. The actual number may well be higher because people are going to lie about that kind of thing.
Of those self-identifying as having substance abuse disorders, few seek treatment: Just 12%. That’s not much, but if you put these people in housing, more of them will live long enough to get into treatment, because the mortality rate of people on the street is four times higher than the general population.
Moreover, treatment is more likely to work if people are housed. Substance abuse treatment is difficult and painful, and even harder to do if you’re also dealing with the daily traumas of homelessness.
Also: the Voice of San Diego’s Will Huntsberry looks at four common beliefs about homelessness. voiceofsandiego.org/2023/07/2…
One myth is that homeless people are coming to California and San Diego to take advantage of the better weather and more generous social programs. But the reality is that most homeless people aren’t coming to San Diego from elsewhere; their last residence was right here, Huntsberry reports.
That makes sense: If you find yourself homeless, that’s a traumatic event, and you’re not likely to leave your support network of friends and family and go somewhere where you don’t know the neighborhoods, you don’t know where it might be safe to sleep, or how to go about finding work or benefits. www.nytimes.com/2023/07/1…
California has a bigger homeless problem than most places. The state is home to 12% of the country’s total population, but 30% of its homeless, Huntsberry reports.
Another belief is that many homeless don’t want to get off the streets. Even San Diego’s Democratic Mayor Todd Gloria supports that idea. But the reality is that shelters in San Diego are functioning at nearly full capacity every day of the week. “Far more people ask for shelter every day than receive it,” Huntsberry says.
The third belief is that mental health problems and substance abuse cause homelessness. It’s true that mental health problems and substance abuse are prevalent among the homeless–but those conditions don’t cause homelessness. We know this because places like West Virginia, which have high rates of drug use and mental illness, have low homeless rates.
Homelessness is caused by housing that is expensive and hard to find, which describes San Diego. timesofsandiego.com/business/…
Huntsberry cites a book, “Homelessness is a Housing Problem,” by Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern.
In their book, the researchers compare finding housing to a distorted game of musical chairs. In this game, some people have broken ankles and other ailments. These people are the most likely to be left standing when the music stops. So it is with housing. People with mental illness and substance abuse problems are the most likely to have problems getting housing in a tight housing market.
But in places where housing is affordable and abundant, people with mental illness and substance use disorders can usually maintain housing.
Sunday morning comics, Ohio, 1950s. And other things I found on the Internet
Sunday morning comics, Ohio, 1950s. Via www.reddit.com/r/TheWayW…
On Reddit: “My grandparents the night they met (1970).” Via reddit.com/r/OldScho…
Caligula (1979) via reddit.com/r/MoviePo…
Republicans want to pass the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) to suppress LGBTQ+ voices. “Pass it, pass it, pass it, pass it, pass it,” says Biden. www.techdirt.com/2023/07/2…
It’s not just LGBTQ+ voices that are at risk. KOSA gives broad enforcement authority to states’ attorneys general. In blue states, that could mean suppression of conservative views.
“Lies I’ve told my 3 year old recently.” Extremely short. Just read it. www.mexicanpictures.com/headingea…
The San Diego Police Department is being scrutinized for reliance on CalGang, a California database that’s been dropped by many state law enforcement agencies. Once added to the database, “You’ve moved out of the human species and into the species of being a gang member,” says Jaime Wilson, co-chair of San Diego’s Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention and the mother of a young man who was added to the database in 2017. voiceofsandiego.org/2023/07/2…
ICYMI: Microsoft and Google reported strong cloud and AI growth in their quarterly financial results. But for both companies, growth is slowing. My latest. www.silverliningsinfo.com/multi-clo…
Today’s ephemera: An “ANIMALS TALKING IN ALL CAPS” throwback
“San Francisco or vicinity circa 1921. ‘Studebaker “Big Six” touring car.’ Cigar-chomping Army brass at the wheel. 5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin.” Via www.shorpy.com/node/2670…
Our Long, National Taco Tuesday Nightmare Is Finally Over. Taco John’s was happy to bully smaller companies with threats of trademark litigation, but when a bigger company—Taco Bell—came along wanting to fight, suddenly Taco John grew principles and decided that litigation would be wrong. www.techdirt.com/2023/07/2…
Influencers are starting to realize that the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is dangerous. It doesn’t protect children online; it’s a threat to everyone. Republicans are openly talking about how they will use it to suppress free speech, and Democrats are on board. www.techdirt.com/2023/07/2…
Republican Counties Had Higher COVID Death Rates After Vaccines Became Available daringfireball.net/linked/20… Republicans will blame this on drag queens and Hunter Biden.
Decoder Ring: What’s really going on inside a mosh pit? The mosh pit is “a violent place where (mostly) white guys vent their aggression.… but it’s also a place bound by camaraderie and—believe it or not—etiquette.… explore the unwritten rules of this 50-year-old live-music phenomenon with punks, concertgoers, and a heavy-metal physicist.” Hosted by Willa Paskin and produced by Paskin and Katie Shepherd.
Virginia Postrel: Gadgets and Gizmos that inspired Adam Smith
Pocket gadgets were all the rage in Adam Smith’s day….
The best known are watches. A pocket timepiece was an 18th century man’s must-have fashion accessory, its presence indicated by a ribbon or bright steel chain hanging from the owner’s waist, bedecked with seals and a watch key. …
… At a coffeehouse, a gentleman might pull out a silver nutmeg grater to add spice to his drink or a pocket globe to make a geographical point. The scientifically inclined might carry a simple microscope, known as a flea glass, to examine flowers and insects while strolling through gardens or fields. He could gaze through a pocket telescope and then, with a few twists, convert it into a mini-microscope. He could improve his observations with a pocket tripod or camera obscura and could pencil notes in a pocket diary or on an erasable sheet of ivory. (Not content with a single sheet, Thomas Jefferson carried ivory pocket notebooks.)
The coolest of all pocket gadgets were what antiquarians call etuis and Smith referred to as “tweezer cases.” A typical 18th century etui looks like a slightly oversized cigarette lighter covered in shagreen, a textured rawhide made from shark or ray skin. The lid opens up to reveal an assortment of miniature tools, each fitting into an appropriately shaped slot…. An etui might contain drawing instruments–a compass, ruler, pencil, and set of pen nibs. It could hold surgeon’s tools or tiny perfume bottles. Many offered a tool set handy for travelers: a tiny knife, two-pronged fork, and snuff spoon; scissors, tweezers, a razor, and an earwax scraper; a pencil holder and pen nib; perhaps a ruler or bodkin. The cap of a cylindrical etui might separate into a spyglass.
Parallels to today’s smartphones and other pocket gadges are obvious. Mike Elgan discusses them in this prescient 2010 column predicting the return of the wristwatch:
www.computerworld.com/article/2…
Five years after Mike published his column, Apple introduced the Apple Watch. I did not wear a wristwatch when Mike published his column, but I do now.
Mike also wrote a column titled “Why Smartwatches Failed” in 2017. Nobody bats 1,000.
David Eagleman: Could you upload your brain to live forever? eagleman.com/podcast/c…
“Wilder” is a limited-series podcast about Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author of the “Little House” books. Wilder lived an amazing life: She traveled cross-country in a covered wagon and lived long enough to see Elvis on TV and fly in a jet plane. Her books have been beloved fixtures of classrooms for generations. But the books are also criticized for their outright racism, and at least one Native American scholar says they should only be taught in context.
Host Glynnis MacNicol loves the “Little House” books, and she travels the country talking with superfans and critics.
Today’s ephemera: Marty Feldman and Ann-Margret, 1977
New York subway, 1980
Marty Feldman and Ann-Margret, 1977. Via www.reddit.com/r/OldScho…
He looks as surprised to be with her as we are to see them as a couple.
Every time I bring in the car to be washed, I end up choosing add-ons at random.
I finally decided to look up which ones to get, and which ones to pass on.
Consumer Reports says get the undercarriage wash at least once a season, “especially if you drive through mud or live in a part of the country where roads are salted in winter.”
Wheel cleaning is good, but spray-on wax is purely cosmetic.
www.consumerreports.org/car-maint…
And here is the theme for the 1976 cinematic classic, “Car Wash.”
Five years ago: At last night’s press reception I mistook another editor for a waiter and tried to take food off his plate. I mean, I literally reached out and was touching his food. This is why they don’t allow me out usually.
New Project Uses AI To Turn Project Gutenberg Texts Into Free Audiobooks With Lifelike Voices — In 30 Seconds www.techdirt.com/2023/07/2…