All [White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy] is Local
Y’all, it’s bad out there. In case a second concurrent pandemic, Roe v Wade being overturned, and deadly weather caused by climate change weren’t enough, the rising tide of fascism … Continue reading
The Climate of Despair – Climate Change, COVID-19, and the Feeling of Impending Doom
“It is only for the sake of those without hope that hope is given to us.” – Walter Benjamin Whenever the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issues … Continue reading
Reference desk: job list
Despite — and partially because of — the pandemic related turmoil of the last year and a half, there are a lot of library jobs out there right now. While … Continue reading
A Failure of the Imagination – COVID-19 and Catastrophe
“I have published these words in order to prevent them from becoming true. If we do not stubbornly keep in mind the strong probability of the disaster, and if we … Continue reading
COVID-19, COBOL, and Y2K
One of the grim ironies of a disaster is the way in which it reveals just how little has been learned from past disasters. In some cases, these unheeded lessons … Continue reading
What studying disasters has taught me about COVID-19
“Civilization, the orderly world in which we live, is frail. We are skating on thin ice.” – Zygmunt Bauman. For the last several years, when people have asked me … Continue reading
How not to get sick at the library
There is nothing to be gained from obfuscation, so let us be clear, there is a growing level of concern about the coronavirus COVID-19. There is absolutely no reason to … Continue reading
The End of the World?
Except this star there is nothing, I thought, and it Is a wasteland. It is our only refuge and this Is what it looks like. – Brecht 1. First, … Continue reading
My Favorite Books from 2019
“Hungry one, reach for the book—it is a weapon.” – Brecht Of all the problems with which a person may find themselves constantly wrestling, there are far worse things than … Continue reading
Who Listens to the Listeners?
It can be kind of fun to look through the record collections of your friends. Whether this collection consists of actual records, cassette tapes, compact discs, or just a lengthy … Continue reading
General Ludd in the Long Seventies – a review of Matt Tierney’s “Dismantlings”
The guy said, “If machinery makes you so happy go buy yourself a Happiness Machine.” Then he realized: They were trying to do exactly that. – Kenneth Burke, “Routine for … Continue reading
Facebook ≠ Democracy
‘Who rules here?’ I asked. They said: ‘The People naturally.’ I said: ‘Naturally the people but who really rules?’ – Erich Fried, “In the Capital.” Mark Zuckerberg would like … Continue reading
In Defense of Jonah
On December 17, 1972, at the occasion of his receiving the National Book Award, the social critic Lewis Mumford gave a rather odd acceptance speech. It featured many of the … Continue reading
Hashtags Lean to the Right – a Review of Jen Schradie’s “The Revolution that Wasn’t”
Despite the oft-repeated, and rather questionable, trope that social media is biased against conservatives; and beyond the attention that has been lavished on tech-savvy left-aligned movements (such as Occupy!) in … Continue reading
How to stay cool in a library
According to numerous scientific studies, as well as ample anecdotal evidence, it is hot in the summer. Furthermore, as recent headlines from around the world attest, this particular summer is … Continue reading
How to prepare for qualifying exams (or, how to read too many books in seven months)
Few aspects of pursuing a PhD are simultaneously as mundane and as Herculean as preparing for qualifying exams. What makes this task rather unexceptional is that it generally consists of … Continue reading
My Favorite Books from 2018
Few will mourn the passing of 2018. To be frank, it was a year in which many disastrous and unfortunate things occurred. Granted, it takes a remarkable commitment to looking … Continue reading
From Megatechnic Bribe to Megatechnic Blackmail: Mumford’s ‘Megamachine’ After the Digital Turn
Without even needing to look at the copyright page, an aware reader may be able to date the work of a technology critic simply by considering the technological systems, or … Continue reading
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night, Alive as you or me. Says I, “But Joe, you’re ten years dead.” “I never died” says he. “I never died” says … Continue reading
Will Return Shortly
The Shipwreck has been somewhat quiet of late. This has been a direct result of the Luddbrarian having, in his own words, “too much to do and not enough time … Continue reading
TOR, Libraries, and DHS: fuck that noise
Our dear comrade Alison Macrina at the Library Freedom Project had the fabulous idea to set up Tor relays in public libraries — after all, providing services and assuring patron … Continue reading
Holding pattern
Dearest pirates. One of us has the flu while writing finals & the other is working their tail off on organizing street politics & jail support. We’ll be back soon, … Continue reading
#teamharpy, Ghomeshi, and What We Know
[Content Note on all the below for discussion of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape.] A Canadian media personality, Jian Ghomeshi, has been making news over the last week or … Continue reading
To-Do: The Activist’s Guide to Archiving Ephemera
Pirates! My colleague Amy & I are giving a workshop at the Interference Archive here in Brooklyn this weekend: “The Activist’s Guide to Archiving Ephemera.” From Interference’s website, Do you … Continue reading
To-Do List, Volume Next
Join NYC Anarchist Black Cross at the Base for a May Day card-writing night on Tuesday, April 29. Send notes to political prisoners & eat pizza, what could be better? Word … Continue reading
Shekel’s School for Wayward Librarians
I ran into oneofthelibrarians on the street the other day and apologized for being so delinquent in my posting. She brushed off my apology but said that, if I was … Continue reading
“I always preferred them stories without the morals,” he added.
Greetings, fellow castaways, cabin boys, and captains! You can call me Shekel, and I’ve been newly press-ganged to write for the Shipwreck. I hope this post serves as a worthy … Continue reading
Quickie: Chicago & Persepolis
Ddi you hear that silly thing the evil overloards of the public schools in Chicago did late last week? Banning Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis. I’m sure you can imagine … Continue reading
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