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Celerity
Celerity's Journal
Celerity's Journal
July 31, 2023
Enheduana is the first known named author. Her poems of strife and upheaval resonate in our own unstable times
https://aeon.co/essays/ancient-sumerian-poetry-turns-instability-into-cosmic-insight
Two Sumerian female figurines, c2112-2004 BCE. From the collection of the Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin. Photo by Lila Barth/New York Times/Headpress
About 4,200 years ago, the area we now call southern Iraq was rocked by revolts. The once-independent Sumerian city states had been brought under one rule by the legendary king Sargon of Akkad. Over the course of what modern historians call the Old Akkadian period, the reign of Sargon and his successors reshaped the newly conquered cities in countless ways: old nobles were demoted and new men brought to power, old enemies were defeated and new standards of statecraft imposed. The Sumerian world grew much bigger and richer, but also more unstable. Discontent with the new empire festered, provoking a steady stream of uprisings as the cities attempted to regain their independence.
One such revolt is depicted in a fascinating poem known as ‘The Exaltation of Inana’. Besides being a poetic masterpiece in its own right, ‘The Exaltation’ bears the distinction of being the first known work of literature that was attributed to an author whom we can identify in the historical record, rather than to an anonymous tradition or a fictional narrator. The narrator of the poem is Enheduana, the high priestess of the city of Ur and the daughter of Sargon. According to ‘The Exaltation’, she was cast into exile by one of the many revolts that plagued the Old Akkadian Empire.
Tablets inscribed with The Exaltation of Inana in three parts. Old Babylonian period, c1750 BCE. Courtesy of the Yale Babylonian Collection
We do not know for sure whether the poem was written by the historical Enheduana herself, as a literary retelling of a real event, or by a later poet writing in her name, in the ancient version of a historical fiction that was meant to celebrate the famous high priestess. What we do know is that the poem conveys a sense of what it would have been like to live through a period of profound turbulence, whether as a personal account or an echo preserved in the cultural memory of later periods.
That is one reason why the works attributed to Enheduana – which, besides ‘The Exaltation’, comprise four other poems – continue to speak to us, millennia after their composition. As the world grows increasingly unstable, we have much to learn from this ancient priestess. The poems do not merely register the reality of an historic upheaval – they go one step further by turning that instability into a cosmic insight, an occasion to reflect on what the world is really like. They contain, compressed within their often-cryptic verses, the germ of an ancient philosophy of change.
snip
Tablet inscribed with The Hymn to Inana. Courtesy the British Museum, London
Mask of Sargon of Akkad. From Ninevah, c2250 BCE. Courtesy Wikipedia
Akkadian cylinder seal depicting the goddess Inana resting her foot on the back of a lion, while Ninshubur stands in front of her paying obeisance, c2350-2150 BCE. Courtesy Wikipedia
Poet of impermanence: The poems of the first known author
Enheduana is the first known named author. Her poems of strife and upheaval resonate in our own unstable times
https://aeon.co/essays/ancient-sumerian-poetry-turns-instability-into-cosmic-insight
Two Sumerian female figurines, c2112-2004 BCE. From the collection of the Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin. Photo by Lila Barth/New York Times/Headpress
About 4,200 years ago, the area we now call southern Iraq was rocked by revolts. The once-independent Sumerian city states had been brought under one rule by the legendary king Sargon of Akkad. Over the course of what modern historians call the Old Akkadian period, the reign of Sargon and his successors reshaped the newly conquered cities in countless ways: old nobles were demoted and new men brought to power, old enemies were defeated and new standards of statecraft imposed. The Sumerian world grew much bigger and richer, but also more unstable. Discontent with the new empire festered, provoking a steady stream of uprisings as the cities attempted to regain their independence.
One such revolt is depicted in a fascinating poem known as ‘The Exaltation of Inana’. Besides being a poetic masterpiece in its own right, ‘The Exaltation’ bears the distinction of being the first known work of literature that was attributed to an author whom we can identify in the historical record, rather than to an anonymous tradition or a fictional narrator. The narrator of the poem is Enheduana, the high priestess of the city of Ur and the daughter of Sargon. According to ‘The Exaltation’, she was cast into exile by one of the many revolts that plagued the Old Akkadian Empire.
Tablets inscribed with The Exaltation of Inana in three parts. Old Babylonian period, c1750 BCE. Courtesy of the Yale Babylonian Collection
We do not know for sure whether the poem was written by the historical Enheduana herself, as a literary retelling of a real event, or by a later poet writing in her name, in the ancient version of a historical fiction that was meant to celebrate the famous high priestess. What we do know is that the poem conveys a sense of what it would have been like to live through a period of profound turbulence, whether as a personal account or an echo preserved in the cultural memory of later periods.
That is one reason why the works attributed to Enheduana – which, besides ‘The Exaltation’, comprise four other poems – continue to speak to us, millennia after their composition. As the world grows increasingly unstable, we have much to learn from this ancient priestess. The poems do not merely register the reality of an historic upheaval – they go one step further by turning that instability into a cosmic insight, an occasion to reflect on what the world is really like. They contain, compressed within their often-cryptic verses, the germ of an ancient philosophy of change.
snip
Tablet inscribed with The Hymn to Inana. Courtesy the British Museum, London
Mask of Sargon of Akkad. From Ninevah, c2250 BCE. Courtesy Wikipedia
Akkadian cylinder seal depicting the goddess Inana resting her foot on the back of a lion, while Ninshubur stands in front of her paying obeisance, c2350-2150 BCE. Courtesy Wikipedia
July 31, 2023
https://www.thrillist.com/eat/los-angeles/best-restaurants-los-angeles
Photo courtesy of Queen St.
Summer is an optimist’s season. Even when the heat dome parks right on top of your head and refuses to budge, even when your ankles are covered in so many mosquito bites that they could double as the angry red surface of Mars for a guild-approved indie movie, and even when cartoonish villains violate tree law to destroy much-needed shade, it’s hard to get too down. The sun doesn’t set until 8 pm, it’s warm well after dark, and LA feels vibrant and alive in a way that it doesn’t always under cloudy skies. All of that means it’s prime outdoor dining season, the most fun time of year to eat in this town, and the best new restaurants in LA are here to prove it. There are excellent restaurants opening from Highland Park to Santa Monica, designed to serve big groups, quick after-work bites, and everything in between; even our bars have fantastic food these days. So rip off your sleeves like Dom Toretto, embrace the heat, and set out for the best new restaurants in LA this summer.
Poltergeist
Echo Park $$$
If you’ve been following the LA pop-up food scene over the last couple of years, odds are you’ve heard of Estrano, the far-out pasta pop-up from chef Diego Argoti. Estrano events trend toward chaos in the best way, with long lines that wind down barely-lit alleyways, thumping music, last-minute surprises, and a menu of inspired insanity centered on handmade noodles with a feral edge. For his next project, the new Poltergeist, Argoti has stepped indoors to the fun and boldly experimental retro-style bar arcade Button Mash. Armed with a real kitchen instead of a couple of burners on the street, Argoti already has Poltergeist feeling tight even in its very early days, maybe not focused, per se, but cohesive in its eccentricity. There is a Parker House Roll with Miso Honey, Furikake Duqqa, and Fresno Chile Butter that pulls apart just so; the noodles in the Green Curry Bucatino are as good as you’ll find anywhere and come coated in a slick curry that zips with scallion and herbs; and the Coconut Curry Chochoyotes turn out to be a wild flip on fondue, complete with mushrooms three ways and a fondue fork for dipping. Argoti has a penchant for unusual cuts of meat, which dot the menu, but this is also a place where vegetarians and the squeamish can happily eat. And you can always put a beer in their hand and send them over to play Virtua Tennis at the arcade when the Lamb Neck hits the table.
How to book: Reservations are available via Resy.
Fiish
Culver City $$
Dry-aged fish is all the rage in LA right now, but Culver City’s new sushi den is dedicated to sustainable practices and sourcing methods, so you can feel good about ordering everything on its never-frozen seafood menu. With a sleek and moody interior, and a narrow, ivy-filled patio with hanging lanterns and backlit seating, it’s one of your best date night or special occasion options in the area. The menu features your favorite sushi stalwarts like Crispy Rice topped with spicy tuna and steamed and salted Edamame plus plenty of nigiri, but also ventures into new and delicious territory with inventive Maki rolls like the Catch 22, with Kani kama, cucumber, avocado, spicy tuna, kabayaki, and rice pop. Don’t disregard the sashimi where the dry-age program is on full display and there’s even a vegan section, where vegetables are given the same attention to detail, like the Dragon roll with avocado, sweet potato, eggplant, and vegan kabayaki maki. If you’d like to try a little bit of everything, there’s also the option to order a Big Fiish or Little Fiish plate. A selection of shochu, sake, and agave wine-based cocktails are on offer, plus several wines, sake, and shochu by the glass and bottle as well as beer.
How to book: Reservations can be made online.
Meteora
Melrose $$$
Chef Jordan Kahn’s otherworldly restaurant Meteora has been open for almost a year, so it’s a little strange to include it here. But in recent months, they have switched the format to tasting menus: a five-course dinner with lots of optional add-ons or a 16+-course ‘omakase.’ Kahn and the team seem particularly suited to this menu style, and the procession of courses has focused the chef’s wild instincts without caging his imagination. Make no mistake; this is still a far-out, utterly unique experience. Influences come from across the globe, both backward and forward in time, and ingredients are transformed using elemental techniques like hot rocks and lots of live fire. A “ceviche” of compressed melon is topped with a melon seed leche de tigre, then served with an aged spruce tip which is meant to be torn and added by hand; the combination is unusual and alchemical, sharp, and creamy with a hit of high-toned spruce resin that lingers on your fingertips. A scallop topped with longanisa-spiced oil, pineapple, habanero ash, and lime hits almost like al pastor, but a burnt yam topped with smoked trout roe, grilled hazelnuts, papaya, and a butter emulsion is like nothing else. Wine pairings are clever and fun, focusing on natural wine from volcanic soil, and cocktails are complex and unfamiliar in the best way. In the early days, the menu was expansive and beguiling—for better and for worse—but now it feels curated, directed. It is a guided walk through an alien garden instead of bushwhacking through primitive forest.
San Laurel
Downtown $$$
José Andrés returned to LA in dramatic fashion, helming the food and beverage program at the newly opened, Frank Gehry-designed Conrad LA hotel. While the renowned Bazaar Meat has yet to finalize its launch, San Laurel immediately wowed diners, already earning itself Michelin recognition in the brief time that it’s been open. The menu highlights Iberian cuisine through California-fresh ingredients, showcasing the chemistry between the two coasts in shareable plates like a Grilled Romaine salad with manchego espuma, and Gambas Al Aillo, or head-on shrimp that arrive in a rich bath of garlic and olive oil. With an expansive patio that overlooks the stunning Walt Disney Concert Hall, San Laurel positions itself as a tempting pre-theater destination, even offering a two- or three-course dinner option that highlights favorite dishes like the Fennel Soup with crab and manchego foam, and a Rack of Lamb with cumin-carrot puree, plus the option to add a supplement of acorn-fed Jamón Ibérico, before finishing with a Pistachio Cake. Classic and creative cocktails abound on the drink menu, including the Saints G&T with aloe vera liqueur, a Pisco Sour, and a Foggy Hill with Del Maguey Vida mezcal, Yzaguirre 1884 Gran Reserva vermouth, Cynar, Aperol, and topped with an orange-thyme aromatic cloud. A selection of wines by the glass (including some sherry options), beer, and sake are also available.
How to book: Reservations can be made online.
Mr. T
Hollywood $$$
Two years after Hollywood insiders first spotted neon pink signage announcing the imminent arrival of buzzy Parisian bistro Mr. T along a trendy stretch of Sycamore Avenue in Hollywood, the globally inspired restaurant has finally opened. Translating beloved street fare through expert French techniques and California-fresh ingredients is chef Alisa Vannah (Chi Spacca, Tsubaki, and République), who trained with head chef Tsuyoshi Miyazaki in Paris prior to the opening and lent her expertise to a few dishes that only appear on the LA menu, including a Thai-inspired take on Tuna Crudo with Nam Jim vinaigrette, red flame grapes, and jalapeno oil. Whether you choose to cozy up in one of the maroon leather circle booths inside or on the string-lit patio where a row of blooming olive trees provide privacy from sidewalk traffic, you’ll be treated to an unforgettable meal where highlights include vegetarian Croquettes Monsieur with a crunchy, falafel-like exterior, and the Mr. T Mac and Cheese with truffle oil and comte cheese that gets a tableside flambé. The beverage program is just as worldly, with mezcal making its way into the eponymous Mr. T cocktail alongside prickly pear, Cointreau, lime juice, agave, and candied hibiscus, and Japanese gin making an appearance in the Tupac Shakur-inspired Dear Mama, with matcha, almond milk Baileys, vanilla cinnamon syrup, and a pistachio crumble.
snip
The Coolest, Hottest, Newest Places to Eat in Los Angeles
LA’s best new spots include everything from tacos to tasting menus and magnificent kaiseki to South Carolina seafood.https://www.thrillist.com/eat/los-angeles/best-restaurants-los-angeles
Photo courtesy of Queen St.
Summer is an optimist’s season. Even when the heat dome parks right on top of your head and refuses to budge, even when your ankles are covered in so many mosquito bites that they could double as the angry red surface of Mars for a guild-approved indie movie, and even when cartoonish villains violate tree law to destroy much-needed shade, it’s hard to get too down. The sun doesn’t set until 8 pm, it’s warm well after dark, and LA feels vibrant and alive in a way that it doesn’t always under cloudy skies. All of that means it’s prime outdoor dining season, the most fun time of year to eat in this town, and the best new restaurants in LA are here to prove it. There are excellent restaurants opening from Highland Park to Santa Monica, designed to serve big groups, quick after-work bites, and everything in between; even our bars have fantastic food these days. So rip off your sleeves like Dom Toretto, embrace the heat, and set out for the best new restaurants in LA this summer.
Poltergeist
Echo Park $$$
If you’ve been following the LA pop-up food scene over the last couple of years, odds are you’ve heard of Estrano, the far-out pasta pop-up from chef Diego Argoti. Estrano events trend toward chaos in the best way, with long lines that wind down barely-lit alleyways, thumping music, last-minute surprises, and a menu of inspired insanity centered on handmade noodles with a feral edge. For his next project, the new Poltergeist, Argoti has stepped indoors to the fun and boldly experimental retro-style bar arcade Button Mash. Armed with a real kitchen instead of a couple of burners on the street, Argoti already has Poltergeist feeling tight even in its very early days, maybe not focused, per se, but cohesive in its eccentricity. There is a Parker House Roll with Miso Honey, Furikake Duqqa, and Fresno Chile Butter that pulls apart just so; the noodles in the Green Curry Bucatino are as good as you’ll find anywhere and come coated in a slick curry that zips with scallion and herbs; and the Coconut Curry Chochoyotes turn out to be a wild flip on fondue, complete with mushrooms three ways and a fondue fork for dipping. Argoti has a penchant for unusual cuts of meat, which dot the menu, but this is also a place where vegetarians and the squeamish can happily eat. And you can always put a beer in their hand and send them over to play Virtua Tennis at the arcade when the Lamb Neck hits the table.
How to book: Reservations are available via Resy.
Fiish
Culver City $$
Dry-aged fish is all the rage in LA right now, but Culver City’s new sushi den is dedicated to sustainable practices and sourcing methods, so you can feel good about ordering everything on its never-frozen seafood menu. With a sleek and moody interior, and a narrow, ivy-filled patio with hanging lanterns and backlit seating, it’s one of your best date night or special occasion options in the area. The menu features your favorite sushi stalwarts like Crispy Rice topped with spicy tuna and steamed and salted Edamame plus plenty of nigiri, but also ventures into new and delicious territory with inventive Maki rolls like the Catch 22, with Kani kama, cucumber, avocado, spicy tuna, kabayaki, and rice pop. Don’t disregard the sashimi where the dry-age program is on full display and there’s even a vegan section, where vegetables are given the same attention to detail, like the Dragon roll with avocado, sweet potato, eggplant, and vegan kabayaki maki. If you’d like to try a little bit of everything, there’s also the option to order a Big Fiish or Little Fiish plate. A selection of shochu, sake, and agave wine-based cocktails are on offer, plus several wines, sake, and shochu by the glass and bottle as well as beer.
How to book: Reservations can be made online.
Meteora
Melrose $$$
Chef Jordan Kahn’s otherworldly restaurant Meteora has been open for almost a year, so it’s a little strange to include it here. But in recent months, they have switched the format to tasting menus: a five-course dinner with lots of optional add-ons or a 16+-course ‘omakase.’ Kahn and the team seem particularly suited to this menu style, and the procession of courses has focused the chef’s wild instincts without caging his imagination. Make no mistake; this is still a far-out, utterly unique experience. Influences come from across the globe, both backward and forward in time, and ingredients are transformed using elemental techniques like hot rocks and lots of live fire. A “ceviche” of compressed melon is topped with a melon seed leche de tigre, then served with an aged spruce tip which is meant to be torn and added by hand; the combination is unusual and alchemical, sharp, and creamy with a hit of high-toned spruce resin that lingers on your fingertips. A scallop topped with longanisa-spiced oil, pineapple, habanero ash, and lime hits almost like al pastor, but a burnt yam topped with smoked trout roe, grilled hazelnuts, papaya, and a butter emulsion is like nothing else. Wine pairings are clever and fun, focusing on natural wine from volcanic soil, and cocktails are complex and unfamiliar in the best way. In the early days, the menu was expansive and beguiling—for better and for worse—but now it feels curated, directed. It is a guided walk through an alien garden instead of bushwhacking through primitive forest.
San Laurel
Downtown $$$
José Andrés returned to LA in dramatic fashion, helming the food and beverage program at the newly opened, Frank Gehry-designed Conrad LA hotel. While the renowned Bazaar Meat has yet to finalize its launch, San Laurel immediately wowed diners, already earning itself Michelin recognition in the brief time that it’s been open. The menu highlights Iberian cuisine through California-fresh ingredients, showcasing the chemistry between the two coasts in shareable plates like a Grilled Romaine salad with manchego espuma, and Gambas Al Aillo, or head-on shrimp that arrive in a rich bath of garlic and olive oil. With an expansive patio that overlooks the stunning Walt Disney Concert Hall, San Laurel positions itself as a tempting pre-theater destination, even offering a two- or three-course dinner option that highlights favorite dishes like the Fennel Soup with crab and manchego foam, and a Rack of Lamb with cumin-carrot puree, plus the option to add a supplement of acorn-fed Jamón Ibérico, before finishing with a Pistachio Cake. Classic and creative cocktails abound on the drink menu, including the Saints G&T with aloe vera liqueur, a Pisco Sour, and a Foggy Hill with Del Maguey Vida mezcal, Yzaguirre 1884 Gran Reserva vermouth, Cynar, Aperol, and topped with an orange-thyme aromatic cloud. A selection of wines by the glass (including some sherry options), beer, and sake are also available.
How to book: Reservations can be made online.
Mr. T
Hollywood $$$
Two years after Hollywood insiders first spotted neon pink signage announcing the imminent arrival of buzzy Parisian bistro Mr. T along a trendy stretch of Sycamore Avenue in Hollywood, the globally inspired restaurant has finally opened. Translating beloved street fare through expert French techniques and California-fresh ingredients is chef Alisa Vannah (Chi Spacca, Tsubaki, and République), who trained with head chef Tsuyoshi Miyazaki in Paris prior to the opening and lent her expertise to a few dishes that only appear on the LA menu, including a Thai-inspired take on Tuna Crudo with Nam Jim vinaigrette, red flame grapes, and jalapeno oil. Whether you choose to cozy up in one of the maroon leather circle booths inside or on the string-lit patio where a row of blooming olive trees provide privacy from sidewalk traffic, you’ll be treated to an unforgettable meal where highlights include vegetarian Croquettes Monsieur with a crunchy, falafel-like exterior, and the Mr. T Mac and Cheese with truffle oil and comte cheese that gets a tableside flambé. The beverage program is just as worldly, with mezcal making its way into the eponymous Mr. T cocktail alongside prickly pear, Cointreau, lime juice, agave, and candied hibiscus, and Japanese gin making an appearance in the Tupac Shakur-inspired Dear Mama, with matcha, almond milk Baileys, vanilla cinnamon syrup, and a pistachio crumble.
snip
July 31, 2023
https://www.thedailybeast.com/dems-have-an-arizona-strategy-dont-piss-off-kyrsten-sinema
https://archive.li/yGUp3
For months, eager Democratic donors have pressed the chair of the party’s Senate campaign arm, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), about the biggest question mark on the 2024 election map. Asked about the party’s stance on Arizona—where a Democratic candidate is challenging independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema—Peters has consistently given the same answer, according to a donor who has seen him speak at several fundraisers. The party, Peters has said, is currently neutral in the race. Other private signals from the party have confirmed that posture. A recent email to donors from Senate Majority PAC, the outside group aligned with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), made clear their ultimate goal is not necessarily to elect the Democratic nominee in Arizona.
“Despite the current uncertainty, our primary goal still is ensuring a Republican does not win,” reads the email, a copy of which was obtained by The Daily Beast. According to several sources, the party’s donor class is responding accordingly, either limiting their involvement in the race or staying out of it entirely until Sinema announces whether she will seek a second term in 2024. With Rep. Ruben Gallego (D) locking up support among Arizona Democrats and briskly fundraising as the presumptive party nominee, some Democrats see no point to getting on Sinema’s bad side while she remains a key vote in the Senate.
The unsettled GOP side of the Arizona race is not adding to any sense of urgency. Kari Lake, the polarizing MAGA star and failed 2022 governor candidate, is likely to run for the seat, and would immediately become the primary favorite over Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, the only declared Republican candidate so far. But Lake is clearly in no rush to announce her decision, and as long as the presumptive GOP frontrunner is on the sidelines, Democratic leaders seem content to let Sinema’s decision run its course. Increasingly, however, some donors and Arizona Democrats are growing impatient with the wait-and-see strategy from Washington.
There is concern that if Sinema does run, Democrats will have missed a window to begin organizing and defining the media narrative against her. There’s also concern that if she sits out, Democrats will have missed a moment to make early investments in the key battleground state. “Democrats are playing a really dangerous game with sitting back and not engaging voters earlier,” said Luis Avila, a longtime progressive operative in Arizona who advises the Replace Sinema PAC, an outside effort that has been actively organizing to defeat Sinema since 2021. “This kind of fear that Democrats have of pissing Sinema off, it’s making it harder for us to actually talk to voters in general,” Avila continued. “They want to know where we stand on Sinema… what Democrats are doing is making it harder for us to make the case for them.”
snip
related
Dems Have an Arizona Strategy: Don't Piss Off Kyrsten Sinema
Democratic leaders are hoping that they can keep Sinema largely on their side as long as they don’t come out in favor of Democratic Senate candidate Ruben Gallego.https://www.thedailybeast.com/dems-have-an-arizona-strategy-dont-piss-off-kyrsten-sinema
https://archive.li/yGUp3
For months, eager Democratic donors have pressed the chair of the party’s Senate campaign arm, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), about the biggest question mark on the 2024 election map. Asked about the party’s stance on Arizona—where a Democratic candidate is challenging independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema—Peters has consistently given the same answer, according to a donor who has seen him speak at several fundraisers. The party, Peters has said, is currently neutral in the race. Other private signals from the party have confirmed that posture. A recent email to donors from Senate Majority PAC, the outside group aligned with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), made clear their ultimate goal is not necessarily to elect the Democratic nominee in Arizona.
“Despite the current uncertainty, our primary goal still is ensuring a Republican does not win,” reads the email, a copy of which was obtained by The Daily Beast. According to several sources, the party’s donor class is responding accordingly, either limiting their involvement in the race or staying out of it entirely until Sinema announces whether she will seek a second term in 2024. With Rep. Ruben Gallego (D) locking up support among Arizona Democrats and briskly fundraising as the presumptive party nominee, some Democrats see no point to getting on Sinema’s bad side while she remains a key vote in the Senate.
The unsettled GOP side of the Arizona race is not adding to any sense of urgency. Kari Lake, the polarizing MAGA star and failed 2022 governor candidate, is likely to run for the seat, and would immediately become the primary favorite over Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, the only declared Republican candidate so far. But Lake is clearly in no rush to announce her decision, and as long as the presumptive GOP frontrunner is on the sidelines, Democratic leaders seem content to let Sinema’s decision run its course. Increasingly, however, some donors and Arizona Democrats are growing impatient with the wait-and-see strategy from Washington.
There is concern that if Sinema does run, Democrats will have missed a window to begin organizing and defining the media narrative against her. There’s also concern that if she sits out, Democrats will have missed a moment to make early investments in the key battleground state. “Democrats are playing a really dangerous game with sitting back and not engaging voters earlier,” said Luis Avila, a longtime progressive operative in Arizona who advises the Replace Sinema PAC, an outside effort that has been actively organizing to defeat Sinema since 2021. “This kind of fear that Democrats have of pissing Sinema off, it’s making it harder for us to actually talk to voters in general,” Avila continued. “They want to know where we stand on Sinema… what Democrats are doing is making it harder for us to make the case for them.”
snip
related
July 31, 2023
https://www.thedailybeast.com/desantis-staff-keep-sharing-twitter-page-that-makes-nazi-memes
https://archive.li/UHRw0
Members of Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign team keep sharing videos from a DeSantis fan account that adds Nazi imagery to clips of the Florida governor. This weekend, DeSantis communications staffer Nate Hochman shared a video from the Twitter account @desantiscams criticizing Donald Trump as insufficiently conservative.
The video, first noted by Republican strategist Luke Thompson, depicted DeSantis as a better alternative, and concluded with an image of DeSantis standing in front of a Nazi-linked symbol called a Sonnenrad while soldiers marched past. The Sonnenrad is an ancient European icon that was co-opted by Nazis and remains popular with modern white supremacist movements.
https://twitter.com/ltthompso/status/1683126430534598656
The @desantiscams account, which makes fancam-style videos of DeSantis, has made similar videos since launching in March. One such clip, reported by the blogger Ettingermentum, played audio of a man calling DeSantis “fascist” and spliced footage of DeSantis alongside footage of Nazis and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, over a backing track of EDM music. Another video from the account features upbeat music over headlines about DeSantis and fascism.
https://twitter.com/ettingermentum/status/1683310706219708417
Hochman, who did not return a request for comment, has repeatedly retweeted the account: at least six times before sharing the Sonnenrad video. He’s not the only member of DeSantis’s team to promote the obscure account, which on Monday had fewer than 800 followers. The DeSantis campaign’s “War Room” Twitter account and the “Never Back Down” super PAC, which supports DeSantis, have also shared videos from the fancam account.
snip
DeSantis Staff Keep Boosting Twitter Account That Makes Nazi Memes
A DeSantis communications staffer is in hot water after sharing a video of his boss superimposed against a Nazi symbol.https://www.thedailybeast.com/desantis-staff-keep-sharing-twitter-page-that-makes-nazi-memes
https://archive.li/UHRw0
Members of Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign team keep sharing videos from a DeSantis fan account that adds Nazi imagery to clips of the Florida governor. This weekend, DeSantis communications staffer Nate Hochman shared a video from the Twitter account @desantiscams criticizing Donald Trump as insufficiently conservative.
The video, first noted by Republican strategist Luke Thompson, depicted DeSantis as a better alternative, and concluded with an image of DeSantis standing in front of a Nazi-linked symbol called a Sonnenrad while soldiers marched past. The Sonnenrad is an ancient European icon that was co-opted by Nazis and remains popular with modern white supremacist movements.
https://twitter.com/ltthompso/status/1683126430534598656
The @desantiscams account, which makes fancam-style videos of DeSantis, has made similar videos since launching in March. One such clip, reported by the blogger Ettingermentum, played audio of a man calling DeSantis “fascist” and spliced footage of DeSantis alongside footage of Nazis and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, over a backing track of EDM music. Another video from the account features upbeat music over headlines about DeSantis and fascism.
https://twitter.com/ettingermentum/status/1683310706219708417
Hochman, who did not return a request for comment, has repeatedly retweeted the account: at least six times before sharing the Sonnenrad video. He’s not the only member of DeSantis’s team to promote the obscure account, which on Monday had fewer than 800 followers. The DeSantis campaign’s “War Room” Twitter account and the “Never Back Down” super PAC, which supports DeSantis, have also shared videos from the fancam account.
snip
July 31, 2023
https://www.socialeurope.eu/the-answer-to-an-anti-green-backlash-is-to-be-redder
The Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, did not rally to the defence of his party’s demonised London mayor, Sadiq Khan (JessicaGirvan/shutterstock.com)
By dawn on Friday July 21st, Britain’s ruling Conservative Party had been routed in parliamentary by-elections in two of its rural English strongholds. In Somerton and Frome in the south-west, where a military-helicopter base sits alongside picturesque villages, the Liberal Democrats overturned a 19,000 majority. In Selby and Ainsty, which covers farmland between Leeds and York in the north, Labour destroyed a 20,000 majority, establishing a 4,000-vote advantage of its own. On any other night this would have registered as a political earthquake. But the headlines were set by a third by-election, in the London suburb of Uxbridge—former seat of the disgraced prime minister Boris Johnson. Here, against the odds, the Tories narrowly won.
Clean-air scheme
Uxbridge stayed Tory because its voters turned out to protest against a London-wide clean-air scheme, the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), imposed by the city’s Labour (and first Muslim) mayor, Sadiq Khan. ULEZ requires cars to comply with strict rules on emissions of nitrous oxide, which causes 4,000 premature deaths a year in the city, according to research. Cars that breach the criteria have to pay a punitive £12.50 per day to enter the zone. ULEZ is already in force in central London, where pollution levels are the equivalent of each adult involuntarily smoking 150 cigarettes a year. But Khan plans to extended the scheme to outer London, whose suburban populations are heavily reliant on car transport and whose workforce includes many embodiments of ‘white van man’—skilled manual workers and delivery drivers whose jobs depend on their ability to drive. Despite only 10 per cent of cars needing to be scrapped under the scheme, according to the mayor, the Tories succeeded in making ULEZ a cause célèbre. They pitted the gritty suburbs against the high-rise city-centre dwellers, Tory local councils against the overweening London state, ‘ordinary Joes’ against the ‘woke’ eco-warriors. Removing their party logo from posters, the Tories turned the by-election into a single-issue referendum on ULEZ—and narrowly won.
‘Green crap’
Though ULEZ is not, technically, a climate-related measure, the lessons were immediately generalised, and indeed catastrophised, on both sides of politics. Suddenly, if only it could get rid of all the ‘green crap’—as the last Conservative prime minister but three, David Cameron, once determined—the flailing government of Rishi Sunak could see a route away from general-election disaster next year. Lord Frost, architect of Johnson’s ‘hard Brexit’ strategy, urged Sunak to abandon the commitment to phasing out petrol and diesel cars by 2030. Most Brits, he argued, would benefit from climate change, as cold killed more people than extreme heat.
Labour, meanwhile, entered self-flagellation mode. Its entire electoral focus—in the context of the United Kingdom’s unreformed, first-past-the-post system, centring on outcomes in a few marginal constituencies—has been on winning in conservative, small-town or suburban working-class communities such as Uxbridge. It allowed its local candidate to oppose the ULEZ extension, while the party leader, Sir Keir Starmer, adopted a neutral position. In the aftermath of defeat, numerous voices—from the energy unions to the former Labour prime minister Tony Blair—suggested the party should avoid asking voters to shoulder the ‘huge burden’ of climate-mitigation measures. For climate campaigners, the fear is that—as with the proverbial butterfly in chaos theory—the votes of 490 people in Uxbridge could tip Britain’s two main parties into practical abandonment of the UK’s legally-binding 2050 net-zero target. Labour has committed to achieving a carbon-free electricity supply by 2030 and to spending £28 billion a year on decarbonising the economy. But it has already pared back that sum on grounds of fiscal risks and, if Sunak makes a bonfire of green commitments, will be under pressure to do likewise.
Extremely committed..................
snip
The answer to an anti-green backlash is to be redder
Labour must not follow the Tories downwards, Paul Mason writes, as they grasp at electoral straws.https://www.socialeurope.eu/the-answer-to-an-anti-green-backlash-is-to-be-redder
The Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, did not rally to the defence of his party’s demonised London mayor, Sadiq Khan (JessicaGirvan/shutterstock.com)
By dawn on Friday July 21st, Britain’s ruling Conservative Party had been routed in parliamentary by-elections in two of its rural English strongholds. In Somerton and Frome in the south-west, where a military-helicopter base sits alongside picturesque villages, the Liberal Democrats overturned a 19,000 majority. In Selby and Ainsty, which covers farmland between Leeds and York in the north, Labour destroyed a 20,000 majority, establishing a 4,000-vote advantage of its own. On any other night this would have registered as a political earthquake. But the headlines were set by a third by-election, in the London suburb of Uxbridge—former seat of the disgraced prime minister Boris Johnson. Here, against the odds, the Tories narrowly won.
Clean-air scheme
Uxbridge stayed Tory because its voters turned out to protest against a London-wide clean-air scheme, the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), imposed by the city’s Labour (and first Muslim) mayor, Sadiq Khan. ULEZ requires cars to comply with strict rules on emissions of nitrous oxide, which causes 4,000 premature deaths a year in the city, according to research. Cars that breach the criteria have to pay a punitive £12.50 per day to enter the zone. ULEZ is already in force in central London, where pollution levels are the equivalent of each adult involuntarily smoking 150 cigarettes a year. But Khan plans to extended the scheme to outer London, whose suburban populations are heavily reliant on car transport and whose workforce includes many embodiments of ‘white van man’—skilled manual workers and delivery drivers whose jobs depend on their ability to drive. Despite only 10 per cent of cars needing to be scrapped under the scheme, according to the mayor, the Tories succeeded in making ULEZ a cause célèbre. They pitted the gritty suburbs against the high-rise city-centre dwellers, Tory local councils against the overweening London state, ‘ordinary Joes’ against the ‘woke’ eco-warriors. Removing their party logo from posters, the Tories turned the by-election into a single-issue referendum on ULEZ—and narrowly won.
‘Green crap’
Though ULEZ is not, technically, a climate-related measure, the lessons were immediately generalised, and indeed catastrophised, on both sides of politics. Suddenly, if only it could get rid of all the ‘green crap’—as the last Conservative prime minister but three, David Cameron, once determined—the flailing government of Rishi Sunak could see a route away from general-election disaster next year. Lord Frost, architect of Johnson’s ‘hard Brexit’ strategy, urged Sunak to abandon the commitment to phasing out petrol and diesel cars by 2030. Most Brits, he argued, would benefit from climate change, as cold killed more people than extreme heat.
Labour, meanwhile, entered self-flagellation mode. Its entire electoral focus—in the context of the United Kingdom’s unreformed, first-past-the-post system, centring on outcomes in a few marginal constituencies—has been on winning in conservative, small-town or suburban working-class communities such as Uxbridge. It allowed its local candidate to oppose the ULEZ extension, while the party leader, Sir Keir Starmer, adopted a neutral position. In the aftermath of defeat, numerous voices—from the energy unions to the former Labour prime minister Tony Blair—suggested the party should avoid asking voters to shoulder the ‘huge burden’ of climate-mitigation measures. For climate campaigners, the fear is that—as with the proverbial butterfly in chaos theory—the votes of 490 people in Uxbridge could tip Britain’s two main parties into practical abandonment of the UK’s legally-binding 2050 net-zero target. Labour has committed to achieving a carbon-free electricity supply by 2030 and to spending £28 billion a year on decarbonising the economy. But it has already pared back that sum on grounds of fiscal risks and, if Sunak makes a bonfire of green commitments, will be under pressure to do likewise.
Extremely committed..................
snip
July 31, 2023
Another one of Michael Phelps' records just got surpassed. Swedish swimmer Sarah Sjöström won her 21st individual medal at the World Aquatics Championship on Sunday, passing Phelps' record of 20.
Sjöström won the gold medal in the women's 50-meter freestyle, clocking in a time of 23.62. She set a world record in the semifinal of the event on Saturday and also won gold in the 50-meter butterfly.
"I'm super happy with that. It was very busy yesterday, with the world record and the gold medal," Sjöström said. It's the second day in a row that one of Phelps' records have been broken.
Katie Ledecky earned gold in the 800-freestyle on Saturday for her 16th overall gold medal, shattering a tie with Phelps for the most golds at the world championship. She became the first swimmer to win six golds at the same event at the worlds.
snip
Swedish swimmer Sarah Sjostrom Breaks Michael Phelps' World Championships Medal Record
https://sports.yahoo.com/sarah-sj-str-m-breaks-174221882.htmlAnother one of Michael Phelps' records just got surpassed. Swedish swimmer Sarah Sjöström won her 21st individual medal at the World Aquatics Championship on Sunday, passing Phelps' record of 20.
Sjöström won the gold medal in the women's 50-meter freestyle, clocking in a time of 23.62. She set a world record in the semifinal of the event on Saturday and also won gold in the 50-meter butterfly.
"I'm super happy with that. It was very busy yesterday, with the world record and the gold medal," Sjöström said. It's the second day in a row that one of Phelps' records have been broken.
Katie Ledecky earned gold in the 800-freestyle on Saturday for her 16th overall gold medal, shattering a tie with Phelps for the most golds at the world championship. She became the first swimmer to win six golds at the same event at the worlds.
snip
July 30, 2023
[REMASTER] Jeff Mills @ Wire2003 (Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo) Masterclass live techno turntablism 🖤
The Wizard live on triple turntables PLUS a Roland TR-909 in front of around 37,000 at the world's biggest (at the time, now 2nd after the Philippine Arena near Manila) indoor arena.🔥Jeff Mills (born June 18, 1963, in Detroit, Michigan) is an American DJ, record producer, and composer. In the late 1980s Mills founded the techno collective Underground Resistance with fellow Detroit techno producers 'Mad' Mike Banks and Robert Hood but left the group to pursue a career as a solo artist in the early 90s. Mills founded the Chicago based Axis Records in 1992, which is responsible for the release of much of his solo work.
Mills has received international recognition for his work as a DJ and producer. He featured in Man From Tomorrow, a documentary about techno music that he produced along with French filmmaker Jacqueline Caux. He continued working in film, releasing Life to Death and Back, a film he shot in the Egyptian wing of the Louvre Museum where he also had a four-month residency. In 2017 the president of the Arab World Institute and former French Minister of Culture Jack Lang awarded Mills the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his services to the arts.
Mills has received international recognition for his work as a DJ and producer. He featured in Man From Tomorrow, a documentary about techno music that he produced along with French filmmaker Jacqueline Caux. He continued working in film, releasing Life to Death and Back, a film he shot in the Egyptian wing of the Louvre Museum where he also had a four-month residency. In 2017 the president of the Arab World Institute and former French Minister of Culture Jack Lang awarded Mills the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his services to the arts.
Jeff Mills: 'These visions aren’t supposed to come from black guys from Detroit'
Techno pioneers Jeff Mills and Derrick May have been expanding the genre’s reach by teaming with orchestras for a decade with little interest from the US. But does a string of new projects mean the tide finally turning?
Tue 22 Sep 2015 13.00 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/sep/22/jeff-mills-these-visions-arent-supposed-to-come-from-black-guys-from-detroit
Techno pioneers Jeff Mills and Derrick May have been expanding the genre’s reach by teaming with orchestras for a decade with little interest from the US. But does a string of new projects mean the tide finally turning?
Tue 22 Sep 2015 13.00 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/sep/22/jeff-mills-these-visions-arent-supposed-to-come-from-black-guys-from-detroit
July 30, 2023
Tracklist
01 00:00 Robotiko Rejekto - Umsturz Jetzt (Razormaid-Mix)
02 04:48 Cetu Javu - Situations (Razormaid-Mix)
03 11:20 Pluuto - Isn't Crazy (Razormaid-Mix)
04 17:01 The Invincible Limit - Push
05 20:13 Axodry - You (Razormaid-Mix)
06 25:57 Tribantura - Lack of Sense (Razormaid-Mix)
07 32:46 Robotiko Rejekto - Rejekto
08 36:16 Bigod 20 - America
09 42:09 20 - Acid to Body
10 45:35 Technodrome - Megamix
11 51:50 Bigod 20 - Body to Body (Razormaid-Mix)
12 57:26 Vomito Negro - Feel the Heat
13 01:00:17 Typis Velgis - Aimless
Label: Galaxis – GLX 9095, Techno Drome International – chapter 1 the collection
Series: Welcome To The Technodrome – 1
Format: CD, Compilation
Country: Germany
Released: 1989
Genre: Electronic
Style: EBM, Techno, Industrial
Welcome To The Technodrome - FULL ALBUM 1989 (EBM, Industrial Dance)
Tracklist
01 00:00 Robotiko Rejekto - Umsturz Jetzt (Razormaid-Mix)
02 04:48 Cetu Javu - Situations (Razormaid-Mix)
03 11:20 Pluuto - Isn't Crazy (Razormaid-Mix)
04 17:01 The Invincible Limit - Push
05 20:13 Axodry - You (Razormaid-Mix)
06 25:57 Tribantura - Lack of Sense (Razormaid-Mix)
07 32:46 Robotiko Rejekto - Rejekto
08 36:16 Bigod 20 - America
09 42:09 20 - Acid to Body
10 45:35 Technodrome - Megamix
11 51:50 Bigod 20 - Body to Body (Razormaid-Mix)
12 57:26 Vomito Negro - Feel the Heat
13 01:00:17 Typis Velgis - Aimless
Label: Galaxis – GLX 9095, Techno Drome International – chapter 1 the collection
Series: Welcome To The Technodrome – 1
Format: CD, Compilation
Country: Germany
Released: 1989
Genre: Electronic
Style: EBM, Techno, Industrial
July 30, 2023
D.A.F. (Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft) - Absolute Body Control (Mix Solid & Mix II) 1985
Label: Illuminated Records – ILL/DEAN 6212
Format: Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Industrial, Synth-pop
Format: Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Industrial, Synth-pop
Label: Dean Records – 601 820
Format: Vinyl, 12", Maxi-Single, 45 RPM
Country: Europe
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Synth-pop
Format: Vinyl, 12", Maxi-Single, 45 RPM
Country: Europe
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Synth-pop
Profile Information
Gender: FemaleHometown: London
Home country: US/UK/Sweden
Current location: Stockholm, Sweden
Member since: Sun Jul 1, 2018, 07:25 PM
Number of posts: 43,462
