A new newsletter...

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Travel is like a muscle; if you don’t flex it often enough, it atrophies

Because of COVID-19, I’ve been grounded since March 15, 2020, but I finally managed to haul myself onto a plane last week for a much-needed trip to Eastern Europe. As an ethnographer, my research requires fieldwork, which means talking to people in their own language and in their own country, trying to understand their dynamic worldviews from inside that amorphous and elusive thing that anthropologists used to call “culture.” While some of my more technologically savvy colleagues moved their scholarly research into digital realms during the pandemic, I’m old fashioned. For me there is no replacement for walking the streets of the city, eavesdropping on bits of dialogue as people go about their daily lives, or chatting for hours over coffee, wine, or rakija. 
 
After a delayed flight forced a missed connection, I spent nine hours in Munich airport delirious with sleeplessness before boarding the plane to Bulgaria. Read more…

Le Monde Diplomatique article in Portuguese, Hungarian, and Farci, too!

I just heard from my French editor that my article on global socialist women’s movements appeared in several other languages as part of local editions of Le Monde Diplomatique. So far, I have the full text of the Spanish, Portuguese, German, Farci, and Italian translations, and I am hoping to get link to the Hungarian version soon.

It’s so nice to know that the article has found its way out into the world.

Summer reading: 24/7 by Jonathan Crary

So many thoughts on this book…

“We are now in an era in which there is an overarching prohibition on wishes other than those linked to individual acquisition, accumulations, and power.” page 111

“Everyone, we are told–not just businesses and institutions–needs an ‘online presence,’ needs 24/7 exposure, to avoid social irrelevance or professional failure. But the promotion of these alleged benefits is a cover for conditions in which privacy is impossible, and in which one becomes a permanent site of data-harvesting and surveillance.” page 104

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A nice review in the weirdest of places... →

I honestly have to admit that I never in my life thought anything I wrote (or even co-wrote) would receive a positive review in The American Conservative : Helen Andrews, “Making Sense Of Red Nostalgia” July 13, 2021

Andrews clearly understood the message the of the book and appreciated our critique of the Clinton policies of the 1990s. About the only point where I disagree with is her is her characterization that this is somehow my book. It was fully co-authored with my wonderful colleague at Penn, Mitchell A. Orenstein, with the invaluable help of our research assistant, Nicholas Emery, who is now a Ph.D. student in Political Science at UCLA.

Pretty quote graphics attributed to me...

So these two lovely quote graphics in French and Portuguese were sent to me, but I’m not sure I ever said this. I agree with myself and it is the sort of thing I would say, but I actually can’t find the source of the quote in my book.

“in a polarized world, the persistent demonization of the past experience of state socialism functions as a political coup used to bury the dreams of those trying to imagine a post-capitalist future.”
— Attributed to me
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Egregious example of the pink tax

So I was on the Montblanc website this morning trying to buy refills for a ballpoint pen that was a gift, and I noticed that all of their refills costs $17 except for a “Ladies Edition” which costs $25. Curious, I decided to chat with a Montblanc “ambassador” (that is literally what they call their chat assistants), and I was told that the ink was more expensive because it was considered a “special edition.” When I asked how it was different, I was told that it was the same as all other Montblanc inks, except that it would be a pearlescent pink. So an extra $8 if you want to write in pink. All screen shots below.

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A newsletter for the 4th of July

Independence Day


Today is the 4th of July and the skies around Philadelphia will light up with fireworks to celebrate what has largely become a midsummer holiday about barbeque and beer. Where I grew up in San Diego, I used to love to watch the pyrotechnics at Mission Bay or over the ocean on Pacific Beach. Now that I’m older I find myself less excited about the sometimes-overzealous displays of patriotism associated with this day, especially when the United States feels more like the Divided States of America.

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