It’s a dissonant, stomach-rattling, though not necessarily unpleasant, theme, reflecting the inherent conflict between the influx of Seattle’s growing Big Tech gentrifiers—including Amazon and Microsoft—and the scrappy artists who increasingly struggle to call Seattle home. Allen’s festival rests on a seeming contradiction, sponsored as it is by the same tech money that’s fueling growth and rising living costs in Seattle. It’s not a new tension. His investment company Vulcan Inc. is known locally for its massive real estate holdings, but it also invests in a wide range of projects throughout the Pacific Northwest that exemplify his scientific, social, environmental, and cultural priorities. Aside from space, AI, and energy, a Vulcan pamphlet notes, a “thriving arts and culture scene are essential for strong and diverse communities.” … [Read more...] about A Tech Billionaire Tries to Reboot The “Best Music Scene In The World”
New world erp
The pandemic inspired a new wave of conscious consumerism—but only temporarily
The dark drumbeat of a protracted pandemic, the deafening noise of political propaganda machines, the endless black hole that is social media, all left our country with many questions and few answers. As 2020 dragged along, it became less and less clear what to believe and who to trust. We began to lose patience with social distancing, working from home and putting our lives on perpetual hold. We were burned out and tired of operating in survival mode. Our finances and our mental health were strained and stretched to their limits. The end result is a predictable onset of compassion fatigue. … [Read more...] about The pandemic inspired a new wave of conscious consumerism—but only temporarily
The office as we know it is over—and that’s a good thing
But the pandemic accelerated a transition that was years in the making. As lockdowns went into effect, the proportion of remote workers skyrocketed from 3.4% last February to about 42% in April. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many Americans realized they preferred Zoom meetings to the tyranny of a desk. According to a recent study by FlexJobs, 65% of newly remote workers don’t want to go back to the office. … [Read more...] about The office as we know it is over—and that’s a good thing
How Trump gave rise to the aesthetics of hate
“It is interesting you have all these symbolic elements—Viking symbolism, Pepe the Frog, these things exist in Parler, 4chan—but to me the most amazing thing Trump was able to do was he himself branded himself to be part of the flag,” says Young, pointing out how often Trump spoke in front of an oversize American flag, just like the famous scene in the movie Patton. Trump, once known for his gaudy penchant for gold, became synonymous with red, white, and blue. … [Read more...] about How Trump gave rise to the aesthetics of hate
How easy will it be to update the COVID vaccine if the virus mutates too much?
“It’s probably going to be years before we get vaccines into sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia and South America and in other regions,” Weissman says. “What can happen is that since in those areas the virus is growing freely, it’s going to keep mutating. It’s possible that someday a series of mutations might occur that the vaccine doesn’t work well [against]. And then we have to go back and we have to re-immunize the entire world.” … [Read more...] about How easy will it be to update the COVID vaccine if the virus mutates too much?
