Dungeons and Drag Ons

From bottom to tabletop. And Apocalypse? Not now.

If you're feeling down, conventional wisdom (along with an increasing number of therapists) suggests you get outside, breathe in some fresh air, and get your body moving. That's tired. What's wired, according to Wired, is sitting down at a table and playing some tabletop role-playing games — with a trained therapist. "Role-playing can be especially helpful for people who've experienced trauma and oppression. Cassie Walker, a clinical social worker and trauma specialist, sees games and role-playing as a valuable way to connect with clients and demonstrate that therapy doesn’t have to be serious or painful." How Therapists Are Using Tabletop Games to Help People. When I was a kid, my 3 times-a-week therapist regularly encouraged me to play games with him. The game we played most often was Tiddlywinks. I'd probably feel a lot better if I went back to doing that instead of absorbing and regurgitating news all day.

2. Cataclysmic Drop

"Thanks to astonishing declines in the price of renewables, a truly global political mobilization, a clearer picture of the energy future and serious policy focus from world leaders, we have cut expected warming almost in half in just five years." Almost all of the climate related news you see is bad, and that includes about seven articles I browsed today. But the forecast is not all bad. We're headed for a lot of pain. But things might not get cataclysmic. David Wallace-Wells in the NYT Mag (Gift Article): Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View.

3. The Gates Flu Open

"This is — probably — not the new normal. The US is suffering a shock after the past two years. The population is more vulnerable to various respiratory illnesses now, but it won’t stay that vulnerable forever. People will get sick and develop immunity, and that will put constraints back on these viruses." That's the longterm outlook for the patient. The short term outlook is nothing to sneeze at. Vox: Why everybody you know is sick right now.

+ Some US hospitals report beds are full among increase in respiratory infections in children.

4. Citizens Uninvited

You're stressed about the election. But many of the results that will shape the next few years are happening in small state races that feel beyond your reach. Unless you've got millions to spend. WaPo: Meet the mega-donors pumping millions into the 2022 midterms.

+ It helps if, during the ecommerce boom, you happened to be in the cardboard business. ProPublica: That Cardboard Box in Your Home Is Fueling Election Denial. "Much of the cardboard and paper goods strewn about our homes — the mail-order boxes and grocery store bags — are sold by a single private company, with its name, Uline, stamped on the bottom. Few Americans know that a multibillion-dollar fortune made on those ubiquitous products is now fueling election deniers and other far-right candidates across the country."

5. Extra, Extra

Recessionary Recess: Inflation is still high. Stocks have been slammed. The housing market has taken a massive hit due to soaring interest rates. But there is a positive sign. The US economy returned to growth last quarter, expanding 2.6%.

+ Quick Draw: "In recent weeks, a series of controversies over AI-generated art — mainly in Japan, but also in South Korea — have prompted industry figures and fans to denounce the technology, along with the artists that use it." AI-generated art sparks furious backlash from Japan’s anime community.

+ He's a Little Skech: "Ye showed up unannounced and was escorted out of the building by two executives, the company said." Ye escorted out of Skechers office in Los Angeles after he showed up unannounced. Kanye's antisemitism and being Nazi-curious is nothing new. He once considered naming an album, Hitler. Kanye West has a disturbing history of admiring Hitler. Again, the Kanye angle isn't the big story here. It's that his overt antisemitism is part of national, and global, trend. WaPo: Overt U.S. antisemitism returns with Trump, Kanye West: ‘Something is different’.

+ Lightning Crashes: "'Obviously we’ll have to comply,' Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, said at The Wall Street Journal Tech Live conference on Tuesday." iPhones will get USB-C charging. Good thing I've been collecting lightning cables for years...

6. Bottom of the News

"It was going into the sinus and from the sinus into the throat and into the mouth." It turns out humans are not the only, or the best, nose-picking primates.

+ Think you can call balls and strikes better than today's umpires? Well, give it a shot.