by Julia
Amanda Marcotte on the history of prayer politics. An excerpt:
The 1979 Energy crisis. Instead of responding to the energy crisis through international political pressure and conservationist policies, President Jimmy Carter prayed in a national address that Jesus redo that trick with the water into wine, but this time to create oil. While it didn’t work in 1979, some suggest that the current transition of the Gulf of Mexico into a big bucket of oil indicates that God finally came around to answering that prayer.”
A visual history of the American Presidency. I wish I could have a 10 foot print out of this on my wall.
“Is Sarah Palin a feminist?” I am beyond sick of this “news” story, but this piece (h/t Johnny) clarifies the phenomenon of pro-life women running for (and winning) elected office by focusing on California’s senatorial race between University of Maryland MBA program grad (ew) Carly Fiorina and 3-term incumbent Barbara Boxer.
The loneliness of modern life through real magazine photos of architecture inhabited by yuppies. Very dystopian, very funny.
Do anti-depressants actually make us more capable of acting and feeling politically, as opposed to the common narrative that medicated folks are the real zombies? (Warning: this piece is the intersection of a lot of things I’m interested in (disability rights, activism, anarchism, anti-capitalism, theory, postmodernism, mental health, etc) – it is theory-heavy, but a really interesting read if even a few of the above items interest you. At any rate, thought I’d warn you 🙂 )
19 of the world’s most complex and dangerous roads. Not tryna drive in Norway. Or Russia. (h/t Paul)
This is a gorgeous cover of Sufjan Stevens’s “Chicago” by Katsby. The ending with the guitar is especially beautiful.
I’ve been late to jump on the Robyn bandwagon, but I’m such a fan of her new(ish) album, Body Talk Pt. 1. Swedish feminist robo-pop? Yes, please. Here is ‘Dance Hall Queen’ with Diplo, but also check out ‘Fembot‘, ‘Dancing on My Own‘, and ‘The Girl and the Robot‘ with Royksopp. Just do yourself a favor and grab the whole album.
Have a lovely weekend, and go USA!
of Heart and Mind 