This appeared in The New York Times last Saturday. It’s written by three scientists: Christopher R. Schwalm, research assistant professor of earth sciences at Northern Arizona University; Christopher A. Williams, assistant professor of geography at Clark University, and Kevin Schaefer, research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center. [I]t is increasingly clear that…
Tag: apocalypse watch
Recommended Reading 19
This week’s recommended links and readings include: a mainstream university economist’s take on why America is economically (and societally) screwed; a classic article/essay about the Rolling Stones and the Altamont tragedy and its defining impact on a generation; a former television writer’s account of what happened when his meeting with Al Franken for a prospective…
Recommended Reading 18
This week’s links, reading, and viewings encompass America’s apocalyptic obsession, the troubled future of America’s electricity situation, the continued rehabilitation of psychedelic research in academic and governmental contexts, the rise of America’s internal surveillance state, a worried critique of art’s monetization, the hijacking of social media by megacorporate interests, a warning from by-God Silicon Valley…
“Metachaos” (SHORT FILM)
For the first of this week’s Cinema Purgatorio offerings, we’ve chosen a short, surreal experimental film that is, hands down, one of the most challenging, engrossing, and overwhelming cinematic experiences on multiple levels — visceral, emotional, aesthetic, philosophical — that we’ve come across in ages. Like so many other items that we’ll be featuring in…
Welcome to the new Teeming Brain
The beast has slouched and the stars are right. Elder gods shudder in their ancient sleep. Ripples spread across the interwebs. The brain has landed. In short, welcome to the new Teeming Brain, also known as The Teeming Brain 2.0. As you’re already noticing from this page’s appearance if you’ve been a visitor at any…
U.S. corn growers “farming in hell” as drought, heat portend another global food price spike
Things are grim if you’re a U.S. corn farmer right now: The worst U.S. drought since Ronald Reagan was president is withering the world’s largest corn crop, and the speed of the damage may spur the government to make a record cut in its July estimate for domestic inventories. Tumbling yields will combine with the…
Recommended Reading 14
This week’s installment of Recommended Reading covers: the cinematic nature of the Book of Revelation’s apocalyptic vision; historical and psychological revelations and reflections on the nature of societal and cultural collapse; the nuttiness of America’s techno-optimistic utopianism; the rise of neuroscience-enhanced psychological/spiritual training for America’s military; the possible future of art as “post art” that…
Recommended Reading 13
This week’s installment of recommended links and readings covers: the psychological, spiritual, and cultural aspects of apocalypse; a bizarre restriction on media coverage of a major event unfolding in America right now; the psychology and spirituality of creativity in art and life; a hopeful statement about the future of books and publishing; a wonderful early…
Recommended Reading 12
This week’s links and readings add up to an exceptionally rich and varied smorgasbord. Topics include: planetary environmental Armageddon plus other modes of doom, along with the American psychology of denial regarding the true direness of our present situation; the authentic rise of an American totalitarian state along the lines of Nuremberg; the egregiously overlooked…
The future of The Teeming Brain
If you can believe it, I have now been writing this blog for six years. Today is The Teeming Brain’s birthday. I launched it on June 13, 2006, and was surprised and gratified to see a sizable audience come together rather rapidly. In the launch post I said, among other things: The expression “teeming brain”…