No. 17 MD's Newsletter
Age is a traitor
The other night, I watched the moon rise over the expanse of the Mojave Desert. At first there was just an orange glow half circle hovering above the mountains. Then a sliver of sphere appeared, growing larger until its full form rose above the fenceposts and into the sky.
I entered this evening outdoor retreat knowing the would be a moonrise. This happens every night! But the reveal somehow still felt exciting and anticipatory. Probably because that was the only thing in front of me to do. Instead of hurrying around with nighttime chores and bedtime routines, I was gazing up, surrounded by horses and other meditators. A sound healer played her bowls, while Raven the Frisian and Cocoa the Shetland pony nosed the instruments with curiosity. Another attendee remarked how ancient it felt, to have our feet covered in dirt, standing next to horses, watching the most original of performances, the most reliable of universal routines.
I am hardly the first or last person to take spiritual solace and artistic inspiration in the landscape of the desert. I think it’s why many of us locals chose to settle here, because we crave that feeling of being clear and grounded when we look up and look around.
But the daily grind can separate us from nature and its rhythms. Sometimes we have to get very still and quiet to reconnect. It isn’t as daunting as it sounds. And if we forget, there will be another chance tomorrow night.
Onto the links.
The local takes
I’ve really enjoyed getting back into writing for CV Independent, where I’m highlight local businesses in the high desert as well as problem-solving public policies and movements. Most recently, I published a story on the incredible work going on at the Mojave Desert Land Trust’s seed bank, which is doing painstaking work to preserve native species.
I also dived into the world of school lunches, checking in on how the universal free meals program in California is playing out. It’s proving to become a national topic thanks to VP candidate Gov. Tim Walz's work on the issue. But California was the first statewide program in 2022. Lessons learned from our community? “When everybody is free, we can focus on the food.”
On the consumerism beat
You can take the journalist off the politics beat, but you can’t take the potliics out of the journalist — or something like that. Over at Modern Retail, I’ve really enjoyed sinking my teeth into the knotty intersection of influencers, politics and branding.
Companies like Linktree are increasing their get-out-the-vote efforts
Influencers are poised to play a powerful role in the 2024 election season, and some brands are along for the ride.
I’m also increasing covering the nexus of health care and retail, a space I hope to continue to examine. As long as we’re doing the whole privatized-health-care thing I see massive potential for brands to do better than private equity owned health care and insurance companies.
How telehealth birth control companies are reaching women in southern states amid restrictive care laws.
MISTR is giving away free HIV test kits at select Georgia Walmart stores
I’m also still attempting to work the sustainability beat from a solutions lens, and looking at the challenges brands are running into as they work to clean up their environmental footprint. Can we make profits without killing the planet? Sources say yes, but we’re far from that as universal reality. But there simple solutions abound, like paper instead of plastic for your single-serve snacks.
In my ears and eyes
I shouldn’t wait too long to publish a newsletter because I tend to forget all the great music I listened to last month. But this week I really enjoyed the new Miranda Lambert album “Postcards from Texas,” it’s down-home and warm in a way that fits right in for the close of a desert summer. “Way Too Good at Breaking My Heart” and “No Man’s Land” are my favorites so far. In a complete different genre, I finally got around to the new Foxing record and fell all over myself at the gym about it. I forgot how deep they go. And I would be lying if I didn’t admit that Sabrina Carpenter’s “Taste” and Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe” weren’t damn fine earworms defining the summer of 2024.
I’m back into my turntable in a big way, due in part to a magnificent discovery of DJ Shadow’s “Entroducing” at the esteemed White Label Vinyl in 29Palms. I’ve dug out my copy of Keith Jarret’s “The Köln Concert” which also makes for pretty inspired morning listening. We have some Apex Twin, and I got a random early 00s house record from a recent stay at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club, and it all makes the morning feel moody and exciting.
On the reading front, I am three-quarters of the way through Julia Quinn’s “The Smythe-Smith Quartet and is everything I need in regency romances. Currently making my way through “The Bee Sting” by Paul Murray, which is one of those books where I’m not entirely sure where it’s going but has sharp enough narrative to make the journey worthwhile. On the journalism front, I recently devoured Ian Cohen’s Japandroids profile in Stereogum before their final album. It’s rare I make time to read longford music piece but this drew me in, brought me back & filled my culture cup. As I start to think about my own creative future, this quote from Brian King sticks with me: “My dream is to return as a new and improved version of myself, to take everything I’ve been through and make some meaningful music out of it. I’ve watched other artists do it, so I know it can be done.”
Until next time,
MD