- The Future Is Like Pie
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Every degree of flourishing
The Future Is Like Pie #42
Lisa Maria Marquis
May 07, 2024
I kneel and look at one thing
at a time. A white spider on a peony bud.
I have nothing to give, and make a poor servant,
but I can praise the spring. Praise this wildness
that does not heed the hour. The doe that does not
stop at dark but continues to grow all night long.
The beauty in every degree of flourishing.
It’s spring, finally, more or less, here at our urban farm in New England. The birds have been announcing it since February, but temps have stubbornly stayed low all this year, and we only had our last frost a week ago. Today’s warmth won’t stick around; later this week, we’ll be back in coats again.
The only tulip that survived April’s rabbits
I’m trying to do what I can with the sunshine while I have it: starting seeds, sifting compost, preparing raised beds. I moved cranberry plants into pots, away from where they were getting crowded out by blueberry bushes. I thinned daikon and kale sprouts, and severed another batch of raspberry runners (the raspberries were removed last year, and yet!). And just as I was getting ready to curse those neverending roots—oh, god, I saw the mint.
For years, we’ve kept a patch of encroaching mint at bay through a combination of barrier fabric and vigilance and sheer luck. But something’s changed, and, suddenly, it’s everywhere. I kept grabbing handfuls of dirt, shocked to see six or seven runners in my fist, each bright white and thick as a landline. I don’t know if it made a deal with the devil or what, but this mint has a newfound persistence that, frankly, makes me jealous. Girl, aren’t you tired?
May your gardens (whatever they may be) rid themselves of invasives as spring continues.
“The Trouble with Passion”
In a recent Anne Helen Peterson newsletter, Tyler Burgese interviewed Erin A. Cech about her new book, The Trouble with Passion: How Searching for Fulfillment at Work Fosters Inequality. Passion as the driving force behind career choices is not only a function of privilege, but also a tool of capitalism, and can make us complicit in our own exploitation:
We should be asking: How can we shrink the footprint of paid employment in our lives? Work that can be neatly contained into predictable hours, that provides freedom to engage in meaningful activities outside of work, and that allows time for friends, family, and volunteer work may be equally if not more desirable goals than passion-seeking.
“Swearing and Automatic Captions”
Developer Eric Bailey took several automatic transcription tools (like those used during Zoom meetings) for a test drive, and found that too many are censoring language as they go—which is an issue for both accessibility and self-expression:
The inclusion of a swear is a deliberate act. Its removal undoes the speaker’s agency, and dilutes the message they’re trying to communicate. […] This censorship creates a lack of equivalency in experience. Someone who does not use captions is privy to a more accurate interpretation of the spoken content. I don’t know about you, but that feels like some bullshit exclusion.
“You Need to Make This Right”
If you work in UX, you’ve likely heard about UXPA’s recent lapse in judgment in granting its International Lifetime Achievement Award to someone the community widely regards as harmful. Though the award was rescinded, UXPA has failed to take responsibility for their mistake; worse yet, they have been defensive and lashing out in response to criticism, and have worked to silence Chelsea Glasson, who has been calling attention to their lack of accountability. Read the whole story (and sign the open letter):
This story, as it’s emerged, is so much more than a story about a “mistake” made by the UXPA International leadership team. It’s another instance, like many that have made the news in recent years, of behaviors that are insidiously becoming normalized and are rolling back civil rights, including women’s rights.
I think, even more significant, this is also a story of how communities can fight back and heal when these unfortunate things happen.
Lightning round
“Women talking is one key to ending capitalism.” (Mandy Brown)
Our favorite anti-buzzword site is on its way back—add your submissions, and revisit the tragically-still-in-use classics (Unsuck It)
I adore these narrative comics, especially “To The Cashier Who Asked How I Am Today” (Jordan Bolton)
A thoughtful zine for Covid in 2024, to click through or print (Hazel Newlevant)
A quick and dirty breakdown of how to write storybeats for a 12-page comic—with lessons applicable to any kind of storytelling, imho (tumblr)
I’m thrilled to see that the extremely excellent Design for Cognitive Bias is now available as an audiobook! (David Dylan Thomas)
May’s cause
This month I’m donating to MPower Change, a grassroots organization whose purpose is “to empower American Muslims to realize their faith values and translate it into local, state and national policies that safeguard the freedom to move, work, and be Muslim.” I encountered their work through solidarity efforts with the recent student protestors. If you can’t donate right now, consider signing some of their letters to university administrators.
Register for my workshop
There are still some spots available for the last FIX YOUR SITEMAP of the season, happening Thursday, June 13, 2–5 pm eastern. Remember, newsletter subscribers get 15% off with code NEWSLETTER15—I’d love to see you there!
