My friend, when you hear
the machine men,
with their
machine hearts,
and their
machine minds,
announcing that this year
will be the last year
of meaningful work,
remember, my friend:
that there is no work
more meaningful
than the work we do
to take care of each other.
Though he already knew
the answer,
my work friend asked
if I was still planning
on keeping my mask on
at the work reception,
and as I knew
what he was really asking
I replied that yes,
he could have
my drink tickets.
When I admitted to her
that at times it is a challenge
to keep writing these,
she asked if I had ever
considered using AI,
and in response I told her
that I am trying
to document
the plagues of our time,
not succumb
to an electronic one.
*
Week 311:
librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2026/02/27/p...
I sent the ornithologist
a study that found
that watching birds
can boost cognition,
and in response
the ornithologist sent me
a study that found
bird populations
are declining rapidly,
so I asked:
“see them before they’re gone?”
and the ornithologist replied
“we’ll be gone too.”
When I went to the barber
he asked me
if I wanted to take off my mask
as the shop was now offering
straight-razor shaves,
and though I wanted to say
that as I was flanked
by coughing patrons
I was already having
a very close shave,
instead I just said: no thank you.
After he forgot
about our scheduled call
my cousin apologized
and noted that with age
he is just becoming
more and more forgetful,
and though I wanted to ask
if it’s “with age,”
or if it’s
“with his 6th Covid infection,”
instead I just told him:
no need to apologize.
The historian
told me
that these
are dark times
The epidemiologist
told me
that these
are dark times
The activist
told me
that these
are dark times
The climatologist
told me
that these
are dark times,
because
the Earth’s albedo
has dropped
due to climate change.
More and more
research keeps emerging
that worryingly documents
“How COVID
Quietly
Rewires the Brain,”
but should you try
to warn others
about these findings
you will be told
to just be quiet.
By this point
you have likely heard that
“Shrinking sea ice
threatens future
for emperor penguins
say scientists,”
but before you reply
that you are a human
and not a penguin,
please note:
scientists say
shrinking sea ice
threatens your future too.
I have heard
a favored strategy
of authoritarian leaders
is to overwhelm people
with crises and calamities
so they do not know
how to respond,
which perhaps explains
why if you suggest
that wearing a mask
is a way to respond
people act as if doing so
is just too overwhelming.
Listen: you must learn
to tell the difference between
the end of the world,
and the end of the world
as we know it,
but if you are wondering
which end “AIs
can’t stop recommending
nuclear strikes
in war games simulations”
represents, just know
it’s quite possibly both.
It is understandable
if you should feel
that these days
there is too much
(just much too much)
history being made
for you to keep track of it all,
but that 430 parts per million
of CO2 in the air
has now been exceeded
is the sort of historic event
it’s worth keeping track of.
I know, that at this point,
you have more than enough reasons
to be wearing a mask
but considering a new report
has found “data centers’
air pollution associated
with lung issues, death,”
you now have yet another reason.
The historian
told me
that the state
of the union
is sick.
The climatologist
told me
that the state
of the union
is sick.
The activist
told me
that the state
of the union
is sick.
The epidemiologist
told me
that the state
of the union
is sick
(though she
meant it literally).
By now
you have likely seen it reported
that “Meta plans
launch of facial recognition
to smart glasses
in ‘dynamic political environment’,”
so even though you already have
more than enough reasons
to keep wearing a mask
now you have yet another one.
I sent my friend, the professor,
a study that found:
“College students
bounced back
after pandemic,”
and in response, my friend,
the professor told me:
that based on how many
of her students
just keep getting sick,
something else
is also bouncing back.
When you hear them say
they have been sick,
they have been “sick as a dog,”
it is important to recognize
how very unfair this is
to say about dogs,
for to keep getting sick
because you are ignoring
an ongoing pandemic
is not to be “sick as a dog,”
but sick as a human.
According to new research
“being an expert birder
may improve cognition,”
so if you would
protect and strengthen
your mind:
go watch the birds.
Yes, in these dark
and overwhelming times
if you would
protect and strengthen
your mind:
remember to stop
and go watch the birds.
A friend sent me a study
(from 2016)
which claimed to have found
“association of book reading
with longevity,”
but considering
how much has been reported
on how few people
are still reading books
I suppose this study explains
why it seems this society
doesn’t have long left.
Based on the snow
I see falling outside
it certainly seems
the winter season
is not yet over.
Based on the coughs
I keep hearing inside
it certainly seems
the plague season
is not yet over either.
As we rode the elevator
another passenger looked up
from her phone and said:
“I have a bad feeling
about this week,”
and though I was unsure
exactly what news
had prompted this comment,
in that moment
there was an odd comfort
in knowing I was not alone
in feeling that way.
Back when you
were in middle school
your English teacher
probably told you
that there is a difference
between saying
that you are “doing well”
and saying
that you are “doing good,”
but for what it’s worth
taking precautions
is a decent way
to ensure you’re doing both.
If you look around
it is difficult not to conclude
that the present
is quite bad,
and if you look
at the new report from the UN
(which warns that humanity
is entering an era
of “water bankruptcy”)
it is difficult not to conclude
that the future
will be even worse.
When you hear them ask
why astronauts
and Olympic athletes
are still wearing masks
in 2026,
kindly but firmly reply
that the real question is
if astronauts
and Olympic athletes
are still wearing masks
in 2026
then why aren’t the rest of us.
*
Week 310
librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2026/02/20/p...
I know, my friend,
that you already have
more than enough reasons
to wear a mask
and use an air purifier,
but considering that
the “EPA is allowing
coal-burning power plants
to release more
heavy metals like mercury,”
you now have
even more reasons.
When I admitted to her
that at times it is a challenge
at times it really is challenge
to keep writing these,
she asked if I had ever
considered using AI,
and in response I told her
that I am trying to document
the plagues of our time
not succumb
to an electronic one.
I have a friend
who says
the present
is Orwellian.
I have a friend
who says
the present
is Kafkaesque.
I have a friend
who says
the present
is Butlerian.
I have a friend
who says
the future
remains unwritten.
My aunt, the doctor,
told me a new joke.
She asked:
Why are so many people
eager to become
robots these days?
I said I did not know.
And so she answered:
Because they believe
once they are robots
they’ll finally stop
getting sick all the time.
And then neither of us laughed.
My friend, the historian,
told me her students
are currently nostalgic
for 2016,
and when she told them
“things were bad
back then too”
they apparently replied
“yeah, but not this bad,”
and in response
my friend, the historian,
just gave her students
a sigh and a nod.
I’ve heard it said
that today’s med students
are using AI
to cheat through med school
so you had better
start eating healthy,
but if you are really worried
about the quality
of your future doctor
you had also better
start wearing a mask.
