Dialogic Cinephilia - April 20, 2020

The Fisherman by John Langan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It slowly lured me in until I took the bait and as Mr Langan set the hook he expertly reeled me in - an amazing book intertwining cosmic horror imagery, old-style layered esoteric occult mythos, filtered through poetic prose and bookended by the story of two friends overcoming separate tragedies through the mundane pleasures of outdoor adventures. Once I was a third of the way in I couldn't put the book down for very long. Highest praise for this one and perfect to distract yourself for awhile.

View all my reviews

-------------------------------------------------------------

Cullen, Art. "Editorial." Storm Lake Times (April 17, 2020) [On the desperate conditions of exploited workers in the meat processing plants in Iowa during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 epidemic.]

Delgado, David Dee. "Millions of Essential Workers Are Being Left Out of COVID-19 Safety Protections." TruthOut (April 20, 2020)

Giovanni, Nikki. "In Her Revolutionary Dream." Los Angeles Review of Books (January 10, 2019) ["Nikki Giovanni — a “queen mother of movements” — whose positions on the issues are just as potent now as they were over half a century ago. Giovanni’s first book, Black Feeling, Black Talk (1968), sold over 10 thousand copies in its first year. She has been dubbed “Poet of the Black Revolution,” and is one of the foremost authors of the Black Arts movement, influenced by the Civil Rights movement and Black Power movement. Since then, she has completed 20 books of poetry, about a dozen children’s books (from Spin a Soft Black Song [1971] to I Am Loved [2018]), and seven recording albums. She has received dozens of awards — honorary doctorates and the keys to cities — and recognition for her social impact on women and African-American communities."]

Kaiser, David. "On Science, Money and Power." Mindscape #90 (March 30, 2020) ["Science costs money. And for a brief, glorious period between the start of the Manhattan Project in 1939 and the cancellation of the Superconducting Super Collider in 1993, physics was awash in it, largely sustained by the Cold War. Things are now different, as physics — and science more broadly — has entered a funding crunch. David Kaiser, who is both a working physicist and an historian of science, talks with me about the fraught relationship between scientists and their funding sources throughout history, from Galileo and his patrons to the current rise of private foundations. It’s an interesting listen for anyone who wonders about the messy reality of how science gets done."]

McNeil, Jr., Donald G. "The Coronavirus in America: The Year Ahead."  The New York Times (April 18, 2020)

Perry, Tod. "Last month was the first March in 18 years without a single school shooting in America." Upworthy (April 15, 2020)

Wilson, Jason. "The rightwing groups behind wave of protests against Covid-19 restrictions." The Guardian (April 17, 2020) ["Protesters in Michigan and other states claim to speak for ordinary citizens, but are also supported by street-fighting far-right groups."]