Okay, bunch of stuff. Love the video at the end. Zardoz scarred me for life. Star Trek did have cool uniforms! I am not spraying clothes on myself. I can barely put on my dystopian clothes today, much less have the patience to spray myself. Yes, I read the part about they're being automatically sprayed on but I'm sticking with what I first imagined.
I hear you! I mean, there's the assumption that everyone loves skin-tight clothing? I feel that perhaps well over half the world would argue with that, especially folk in extremely hot and humid regions. It feels a little bit "well, we trialled this with a bunch of slim extrovertish highly outdoorsy young people so it must be true for EVERYONE". But I think the potential for clothing *repairs* is incredible.
Zardoz is terrifying, yes. None of us wanted to see that much of Sean Connery.
I HATE wearing clingy clothes. It's the one thing I dislike about doing yoga, is the pants that are practical for use. But repairs -- I can totally see that. I already have strips of iron-on fabric that's used for basic repairs I can't sew. (Also, I can't sew, so it helps.)
The first part of your article reminded me of those shirts that would change color in the sun back in the 80's. And mood rings. Now I've got to go look up how those worked. :D
It would be quite the thing! (Although maybe less of a priority than heat pumps and solar panels, in the general sense - but I hope there's room everywhere for all the things, including the delightful ones that make us feel stuff...)
Yeah, that's a topic that confuses me too! And one where I feel like I should be listening rather than speaking, and giving space to the people who are directly dealing with it and who understand these things in a way I don't, and therefore whose voices need to be heard. (As a middle aged white guy, I'm very much aware I have everything to learn here.)
But the point I was trying to make with the second half of that piece - which I now think I made far too clumsily for such a sensitive subject - is that viewing things "just" as objective science can be hugely problematic. Everyone needs to be let into the room.
When I was an archaeologist, I learned about the early type of archaeology of the 1960s, now called the "processual wave" of theories - based on laws and data and chemistry and physics and most of what everyone would regard as the "hard" sciences. A statistical view of human behaviour that kinda erased the complicated view of individuals. A few decades later, lots of other theories came in to try to correct it (now called "postprocessual" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-processual_archaeology). Because - it's never just about physics and chemistry and geology and so on. These are humans, with all their immensely complicated ideas about identity, belonging, ownership and so on - many of which we're still trying to understand or even *see*. But you can't ignore them. If you ignore them and treat people as mindless drones, you miss all the human meanings that are incredibly important in understanding human behaviour...
So it's never just about the colour of a thing, or the ability to change the colour of a thing. It's about what those colours mean to the people who see and wear them. And understanding that is messy and difficult - but it has to sit alongside the hard science and be given equal attention, or else we lose sight of the human beings who are involved in all this.
So - yes, scientists are started to understand how human skin pigmentation is triggered, specifically related to the study of skin cancer: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210518130720.htm So it might not be long before it's technically possible to change skin colour? Someone will create a way, I feel sure. And when that happens, we're all going to have to understand that just because it's possible to do in a technical sense, that's just the start of things. It's a door that opens into one of the most important discussions about prejudice, discrimination, cultural appropriation and basic human rights that should be had in the 21st Century. I hope that's what happens, anyway...
I think you made your point well- not clumsy at all and I appreciate this continued thought so much. I teach Native American lit to high school students, some of whom are Native. So as a white woman- I also understand the importance of listening and giving other voices the stage. That being said, I never tire of hearing your insights.
On a different note, I had so much trouble with audio yesterday. I will need to make separate audio files and upload them from now on as for some reason Substack kept taking my audio and putting it in hyper speed- it also deleted it twice 🤦🏽♀️ I was writing about our inner monsters and couldn’t help but wonder if mine was trying to sabotage me from putting my work out there. We write about different things, but I also try to find the light, the joy, the laughter - if you have time for a 10 minute listen, I’d love for you to check it out- if you don’t, no worries. Happy Sunday!
Well, I used to think Sean was really hot, but now that I can't unsee that photo....
So many interesting concepts here. The one that really stuck out to me was the possibility of choosing a skin color one day. I can't even imagine what a cluster that will be! We truly will be living as avatars--hello, Ready Player One.
I'm with Michael--I have a difficult enough time shaving my legs and pulling on jeans. I'm not about to spray clothing on myself. Good Lord, can you imagine if I missed a spot?! Especially a Very Important Spot?!
I can’t afford a subscription right now but, Mike, I believe in this thing and I want to see where it can go next. Also, drink less coffee, that’s way too much, yikes.
Zardoz will stay with me for a while... thanks for that. Fascinating stuff, as always. I’ve always been delighted by the workings of iridescence in bird plumage (feathers are an extraordinary subject in themselves), and am intrigued by the whole area of paleocolour – determining the colours of fossil animals from the density and shape of their melanosomes.
Thank you so much, Lev! And I thought you might already know a thing or two about that optical effect on wings, since I have your upcoming book on preorder...
And yes, me too on palaeocolour! One (fairly superficial, but entertaining to my very small brain) thing that should be fun to see: how Hollywood reacts to breakthroughs in this area. I mean, the Jurassic Park franchise trades heavily on its most savage dinosaurs being terrifyingly grimdark in their colour schemes, battleship-grey and all that, slabs of darkly coloured yikes. But I gather recent evidence points to T.Rex being reddish-brown with a stripey tail and...a few *feathers*, here and there? When that popular aesthetic gets overturned by the evidence, is it going to sink in, or are folk going to invent (or reinforce) a past that didn't quite happen, like we have with the 'pristine, colourless white marble buildings' of Greece and Rome?
Oh yes, feathers very much on the agenda these days for quite a few dinosaurs. I have to say I haven't seen recent JP films, but I know there's been discussion about how the latest ones are an opportunity missed to reflect recent knowledge in their portrayal, specifically wrt featheriness (I think I've got that right...)
Thanks for the pre-order AND for the shout-out. Much appreciated.
Weirdly enough, there seems to be a general opinion that there is quite a lot of a good film in there, with something profound to say? It's just that there's....the rest of the film, sitting alongside it, which frightened a lot of folk off at the time, I gather...
Of all the films due for a remake, maybe this is a rather more urgent one?
I don’t know. The most important film I’ve seen lately is “The Quiet Girl” out of Ireland (read the Keegan book before I saw it) basically because until you move people individually not much really changes. Just my two cents.
I just discovered something called "Mad Matter," a type of kinesthetic clay. It's in colors similar to a mood ring and now I wish my clay would change colors too.
Yes! My hands were in HEAVEN when I first handled it. I was addicted for about an hour. I decided what was so compelling about it is that it is simultaneously smooth with a sticky but not adhesive sensation. It's unlike anything I've ever experienced.
This was so fascinating I'm going to have to read it a bunch more times.
I really liked the show Picard, but was completely taken aback by what the creators made all the androids on that one planet wear, a complete throwback to 1960s Star Trek: TOS AND later TNG of "People on this random planet will honestly be wearing combinations of gauzy, flowy things in cringy pastel colors that are completely impractical and weird and how do they even go to the bathroom?" Were they trying to be retro? Just, *why*?
Okay, bunch of stuff. Love the video at the end. Zardoz scarred me for life. Star Trek did have cool uniforms! I am not spraying clothes on myself. I can barely put on my dystopian clothes today, much less have the patience to spray myself. Yes, I read the part about they're being automatically sprayed on but I'm sticking with what I first imagined.
I hear you! I mean, there's the assumption that everyone loves skin-tight clothing? I feel that perhaps well over half the world would argue with that, especially folk in extremely hot and humid regions. It feels a little bit "well, we trialled this with a bunch of slim extrovertish highly outdoorsy young people so it must be true for EVERYONE". But I think the potential for clothing *repairs* is incredible.
Zardoz is terrifying, yes. None of us wanted to see that much of Sean Connery.
Right now here in very hot SEA I would settle for something that would keep me stinking after just an hour!
I HATE wearing clingy clothes. It's the one thing I dislike about doing yoga, is the pants that are practical for use. But repairs -- I can totally see that. I already have strips of iron-on fabric that's used for basic repairs I can't sew. (Also, I can't sew, so it helps.)
The first part of your article reminded me of those shirts that would change color in the sun back in the 80's. And mood rings. Now I've got to go look up how those worked. :D
I remember those! Yes, fantastic effect, and I was always very envious of folk who were wearing them.
Mood roof. Like a mood ring, but the whole roof. Glad they're working on maybe being able to DO that.
It would be quite the thing! (Although maybe less of a priority than heat pumps and solar panels, in the general sense - but I hope there's room everywhere for all the things, including the delightful ones that make us feel stuff...)
Mike- this is witty and interesting and lovely and funny
And as someone confused by colorism and how it has been repeatedly used throughout history to divide and oppress - definitely food for thought
And I think you nailed your lack of the Pulitzer on the head- 😂
Thank you so much, Mary. :)
Yeah, that's a topic that confuses me too! And one where I feel like I should be listening rather than speaking, and giving space to the people who are directly dealing with it and who understand these things in a way I don't, and therefore whose voices need to be heard. (As a middle aged white guy, I'm very much aware I have everything to learn here.)
But the point I was trying to make with the second half of that piece - which I now think I made far too clumsily for such a sensitive subject - is that viewing things "just" as objective science can be hugely problematic. Everyone needs to be let into the room.
When I was an archaeologist, I learned about the early type of archaeology of the 1960s, now called the "processual wave" of theories - based on laws and data and chemistry and physics and most of what everyone would regard as the "hard" sciences. A statistical view of human behaviour that kinda erased the complicated view of individuals. A few decades later, lots of other theories came in to try to correct it (now called "postprocessual" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-processual_archaeology). Because - it's never just about physics and chemistry and geology and so on. These are humans, with all their immensely complicated ideas about identity, belonging, ownership and so on - many of which we're still trying to understand or even *see*. But you can't ignore them. If you ignore them and treat people as mindless drones, you miss all the human meanings that are incredibly important in understanding human behaviour...
So it's never just about the colour of a thing, or the ability to change the colour of a thing. It's about what those colours mean to the people who see and wear them. And understanding that is messy and difficult - but it has to sit alongside the hard science and be given equal attention, or else we lose sight of the human beings who are involved in all this.
So - yes, scientists are started to understand how human skin pigmentation is triggered, specifically related to the study of skin cancer: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210518130720.htm So it might not be long before it's technically possible to change skin colour? Someone will create a way, I feel sure. And when that happens, we're all going to have to understand that just because it's possible to do in a technical sense, that's just the start of things. It's a door that opens into one of the most important discussions about prejudice, discrimination, cultural appropriation and basic human rights that should be had in the 21st Century. I hope that's what happens, anyway...
OK, ending Longest Comment Ever. Sorry!
I think you made your point well- not clumsy at all and I appreciate this continued thought so much. I teach Native American lit to high school students, some of whom are Native. So as a white woman- I also understand the importance of listening and giving other voices the stage. That being said, I never tire of hearing your insights.
On a different note, I had so much trouble with audio yesterday. I will need to make separate audio files and upload them from now on as for some reason Substack kept taking my audio and putting it in hyper speed- it also deleted it twice 🤦🏽♀️ I was writing about our inner monsters and couldn’t help but wonder if mine was trying to sabotage me from putting my work out there. We write about different things, but I also try to find the light, the joy, the laughter - if you have time for a 10 minute listen, I’d love for you to check it out- if you don’t, no worries. Happy Sunday!
Well, I used to think Sean was really hot, but now that I can't unsee that photo....
So many interesting concepts here. The one that really stuck out to me was the possibility of choosing a skin color one day. I can't even imagine what a cluster that will be! We truly will be living as avatars--hello, Ready Player One.
I'm with Michael--I have a difficult enough time shaving my legs and pulling on jeans. I'm not about to spray clothing on myself. Good Lord, can you imagine if I missed a spot?! Especially a Very Important Spot?!
MISSING A VERY IMPORTANT SPOT WOULD BE VERY VERY BAD. I hadn't thought of that, and now I am, and - yes, this cannot be allowed to happen.
😂
That would be me!
🤣
I can’t afford a subscription right now but, Mike, I believe in this thing and I want to see where it can go next. Also, drink less coffee, that’s way too much, yikes.
Zardoz will stay with me for a while... thanks for that. Fascinating stuff, as always. I’ve always been delighted by the workings of iridescence in bird plumage (feathers are an extraordinary subject in themselves), and am intrigued by the whole area of paleocolour – determining the colours of fossil animals from the density and shape of their melanosomes.
Thank you so much, Lev! And I thought you might already know a thing or two about that optical effect on wings, since I have your upcoming book on preorder...
And yes, me too on palaeocolour! One (fairly superficial, but entertaining to my very small brain) thing that should be fun to see: how Hollywood reacts to breakthroughs in this area. I mean, the Jurassic Park franchise trades heavily on its most savage dinosaurs being terrifyingly grimdark in their colour schemes, battleship-grey and all that, slabs of darkly coloured yikes. But I gather recent evidence points to T.Rex being reddish-brown with a stripey tail and...a few *feathers*, here and there? When that popular aesthetic gets overturned by the evidence, is it going to sink in, or are folk going to invent (or reinforce) a past that didn't quite happen, like we have with the 'pristine, colourless white marble buildings' of Greece and Rome?
Oh yes, feathers very much on the agenda these days for quite a few dinosaurs. I have to say I haven't seen recent JP films, but I know there's been discussion about how the latest ones are an opportunity missed to reflect recent knowledge in their portrayal, specifically wrt featheriness (I think I've got that right...)
Thanks for the pre-order AND for the shout-out. Much appreciated.
Zardoz
Yes indeed!
Weirdly enough, there seems to be a general opinion that there is quite a lot of a good film in there, with something profound to say? It's just that there's....the rest of the film, sitting alongside it, which frightened a lot of folk off at the time, I gather...
Of all the films due for a remake, maybe this is a rather more urgent one?
I don’t know. The most important film I’ve seen lately is “The Quiet Girl” out of Ireland (read the Keegan book before I saw it) basically because until you move people individually not much really changes. Just my two cents.
I just discovered something called "Mad Matter," a type of kinesthetic clay. It's in colors similar to a mood ring and now I wish my clay would change colors too.
This stuff? https://youtu.be/gAN_Ss8blQU
That texture looks SO WEIRD.
Yes! My hands were in HEAVEN when I first handled it. I was addicted for about an hour. I decided what was so compelling about it is that it is simultaneously smooth with a sticky but not adhesive sensation. It's unlike anything I've ever experienced.
This was so fascinating I'm going to have to read it a bunch more times.
I really liked the show Picard, but was completely taken aback by what the creators made all the androids on that one planet wear, a complete throwback to 1960s Star Trek: TOS AND later TNG of "People on this random planet will honestly be wearing combinations of gauzy, flowy things in cringy pastel colors that are completely impractical and weird and how do they even go to the bathroom?" Were they trying to be retro? Just, *why*?