Out of town, big news, letters, etc
We’re going to be out of town for a couple of weeks, so I’m hoping to send out some letters. My first one will cover the big news from a few days back. Upside Foods’ and Good Meat’s cultivated chicken is legal to sell in the United States! It sounds like they will start offering it in select restaurants, while stocking the product in grocery stores is still a ways off.
There was a disappointing study out of UC Davis which cast some doubt on the environmental claims of cellular agriculture. The industry folks I follow on social media responded by saying this was one study done early in the technology’s development, which seems fair. But I’d love to see some more comprehensive talking points from the Good Food Institute and New Harvest.
Anyway, if you want to write your own letters, give this a read: https://slaughterfreeamerica.substack.com/p/how-to-write-letters-to-newspapers?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web
It’s time for (Cell) Culture Talk. I miss doing this! Here’s what I’ve been watching and reading lately:
Movie — Vengeance. I liked this film. It’s a comedic mystery about a New York podcaster who travels to Texas to investigate a murder. The story starts off in a somewhat cliche manner, focusing on a city-dweller learning to appreciate the value of rural life, but the writer, director and star, B.J. Novak, ultimately manages to complicate the narrative to satisfying degree.
Movie — Air. The film centers on how Nike signed Michael Jordan, which doesn’t sound that interesting, but director Ben Affleck succeeds in making it so. Matt Damon plays the company’s basketball scout. Affleck directs himself as the CEO, and Viola Davis plays Jordan’s mother. The movie reminds me of Moneyball, which is another sports business film I enjoyed.
Movie — A Simple Favor. This is pretty fun. Anna Kendrick stars as a video blogger whose friend, played by Blake Lively, goes missing. It’s reminiscent of Gone Girl in some ways, though this is much more lighthearted. Apparently, a sequel is in development.
TV — Secret Invasion. I had a hard time keeping track of who everybody was and what they were doing. Part of that is purposeful. This is a show about shape-shifting aliens, after all. However, I found myself losing interest because I didn’t understand what was happening. Hopefully, I’ll be able to make better sense of future episodes.
Meditation passage — Even with Your Last Breath by Meera. I haven’t added a new passage in a while and I think my meditation has suffered as a result. I’m already a very distracted meditator, but when all my passages are overly familiar, my mind can really wander. Hopefully, adding this one will help. It’s about the importance of using a mantram.
Various texts — Selections from the work of Eknath Easwaran. I’m still trying to get my head around the concept of reincarnation. Probably my biggest objection is it sounds exhausting! Having to travel through countless lifespans to achieve spiritual perfection and be reunited with God is rough. Isn’t one enough? Can’t God accept us as less than perfect?
I was heartened a little bit, reading the Bhagavad Gita, because it talks about a place where good people stay in between lives, until their “merit is exhausted.” I think that’s the language used. Could that be like having a vacation rental in heaven, before you’ve earned enough money to buy your own spot?
I’m not sure how other Hindus understand the idea, but in his commentary, Easwaran compares this in between place to a cosmic waiting room or a cosmic bus stop, which isn’t the most appealing. I know it’s all silly. We’re talking about ancient mythology. But I’ve been thinking about it more recently.