Letters, Names of the Lord and Janis Joplin

I’m probably going to send out a letter this week making the environmental case for increased public funding for cultivated-meat research. If you’d like to submit your own writing, feel free to use these newspaper email lists: https://slaughterfreeamerica.substack.com/p/how-to-write-letters-to-newspapers-6eb

Anyway, let’s jump into (Cell)) Culture Talk. Here’s what I’ve been reading, watching, and listening to lately.

Book — Names of the Lord by Eknath Easwaran. Whatever the author’s personal flaws may have been, and I believe we’re all flawed in different ways, I’ve found his work to be immensely helpful. In this text, that I hadn’t read before, but which is quite good, Easwaran reflects on various names for God in the Hindu tradition.

Movie — First Reformed. Columnist Jamelle Bouie listed the Paul Schrader film as one of his favorites of the last 25 years. That sparked my interest. Ethan Hawke stars as a minister dealing with tragedy. It’s a little grim for my taste, which seems typical for the director. I interviewed Schrader way back when.

Music — Janis Joplin’s Greatest Hits by Janis Joplin. I first heard Piece of My Heart during a high school trip to the Plattsburgh, New York mall, that boasted a large music store with listening stations. I was really into the raw sound of grunge and garage rock at the time, so the 1968 song seemed just about perfect. It still does.