Hey there,
Every time someone learns that I'm color blind, we spend the next five to four hundred minutes playing a game where they point at a color and I try to name it. When I get it right, they're mildly disappointed. When I can't see it, they're amazed. "You can't tell that's coral? This is so clearly coral!" Or "You seriously don't see lilac?!"
On my end, I often suspect that everyone has agreed to prank me and that no one can actually see lilac or coral. Maybe they're not colors at all! It's just a very elaborate joke. Of course, there's also the infamous colored dot test, where there are a bunch that are just dots. (The rest of you claim they all have numbers, but I'm not so sure...)
Anyway, all of this is to say that I took the test online again and learned that I am a "Strong Deutan." I am a strong, proud, independent Deutan. Then Mollie and I watched a bunch of videos of colorblind guys using these new glasses and seeing the world in color for the first time. In every video, the guy is amazed. Sometimes he cries. We ordered some. They arrived yesterday. I put them on and... everything looked the same. I did not cry. I was not amazed. I am still a Deutan. Deutan 'til I die.
We returned the glasses. I still don't believe coral exists.
Upcoming Events
LIVESTREAMS:
- TODAY Saturday, August 15th at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET
Today is the final weekly COME ON DOWN, YOU'RE ALREADY HERE! I've been doing my Zoom game show for five months now and we're going out with a bang. We've got a whole slew of celebrity guests, international correspondents, and a giant rabbit. Catch the final extravaganza here: Link
- Wednesday, September 30th at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET
HIDDEN EXPERT. I’m hosting this new storytelling series for LabX and the National Academy of Sciences. They're currently looking for story submissions, so if you've got a five minute true story and want to participate, apply here: Link
This week’s list
GREAT:
Jon Batiste is one of my favorite musicians. You might know him from his Grammy-nominated albums or as the bandleader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. But in addition to making beautiful music, he's also a really fascinating deep thinker. I watched a Zoom event where he had an hourlong conversation with the writer Suleika Jaouad about creativity and the healing power of music. So much of what he said has stuck in my head. "Your body is a bowl of sensation. You have so many different ways that music can tap into your nerve endings and give you an internal transformation. Music can change your behavior, change your thoughts, and ultimately change who you are."
You can read more about how Batiste is trying to use music to change behavior (and support the current civil rights protests). You can listen to his great new album with the guitarist Cory Wong. Or his cover of "Ohio." Or you can hear him talk and play piano while Terry Gross seriously fangirls out on Fresh Air.
FUNNY:
Jo Firestone is so funny and unique. We are lucky to have her comedy. And we're also lucky to have her grandma's Summer Chowder recipe. Watch as Jo and her grandma get together on Zoom and cook this "milk based soup, like cereal but with corn and potatoes."It's so funny and so heartwarming. Making Summer Chowder with My Grandma
INTERESTING:
I learned about Ruth Asawa for the first time this week, when a friend recommended I buy a sheet of her new USPS stamps. At first, I was mostly interested in saving our democracy by funding the postal system. But as a side benefit, I got to admire Asawa's incredible work. And her life story is equally remarkable. She honed her drawing skills in a Japanese internment camp. She was refused a teaching degree due to anti-Asian racism, but went on to co-found the Alvarado School Arts Workshop. With almost no initial funding, she grew the program to more than 50 public schools in San Francisco. And while she was often ignored by the art world, she never stopped making work. Now, her sculptures sell for millions. For Asawa, it was simply a matter of never giving up. “Sculpture is like farming. If you just keep at it, you can get quite a lot done.” The Enduring Legacy of Ruth Asawa’s Mesmerizing Sculptures
Ok, that's it for this week. Thanks for reading! if you're enjoying these emails, please forward to a friend or spread the word. If someone forwarded you this email but you're not yet on the list, you can subscribe here.
Stay safe,
Chris