Indefinite hiatus
The more I look at my family’s proposed schedule for the fall, the more I feel sure there won’t be time to protest. So I think I’m going to put this Substack on an indefinite hiatus. If things start to slow down and I have the energy, I’ll be back. But, otherwise, this has been fun!
I’ve always thought of myself as more of a writer than activist. My main goal here was to inspire actual organizers to focus on advancing cellular agriculture. So far, that’s been a complete failure! But, frankly, I was surprised to get as much of a response from my elected officials as I did. The concept of cultivated meat remains very foreign.
Last December, Meera Zassenhaus wrote in the New Harvest newsletter that she believed I was the first person to engage in a cultivated-meat protest. I have no idea if that’s true. However, it’s still a nice little claim to fame. The number of people that will impress is very small, though, haha.
In case this is my last post here, you can probably find my future writing at CounterPunch or Splice Today. The latter is a libertarian-leaning outlet, the politics of which I don’t share. But they do pay, which is, unfortunately, more than can be said for many leftist publications I contribute to. You can find my books on Amazon.
Anyway, let’s do one last (Cell) Culture Talk for the road. Here’s what I’ve been watching and reading.
Film: Elvis. At the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, this movie is very stylized and I’m not sure if I like the style. Tom Hanks’ accent and prosthetics were distracting. Austin Butler was quite good, and the film has some powerful moments, but I wonder if their power mostly comes from Elvis Presley’s music.
Film: Kimi. This is a flawless technological thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh. Zoë Kravitz is great as an agoraphobic remote worker who comes across evidence of murder and a wider conspiracy. I could be wrong, but I think this is the first movie I’ve seen that takes places in the COVID era.
YouTube: Fathering Autism. I go through phases of following this channel closely and checking in occasionally. I’m in the latter phase now, but as the father of a nonverbal autistic girl, I find the Maass’ channel to be an invaluable resource. While specialists working with our family have already come and gone, Asa, Priscilla, Isaiah and Abbie have been a consistent presence.
Book: The Depths of Life by Duane Olson. This is a short book about Paul Tillich’s conception of God. I’ve mentioned him previously. He was a Christian socialist who believed God wasn’t a being, but the ground of all being. I’m trying to work up to reading Tillich’s writing myself, rather than reading someone else explain it. But, I don’t know. Even this explanation is pretty dense.