[14 January 2024]: "Primitive Hypertext" — scarf pin-related hijab syndrome; books fatal to their authors; fascist yogis; grief tech + ancestor communication; hang up your hang ups
scarf pin-related hijab syndrome; books fatal to their authors; fascist yogis; grief tech + ancestor communication; hang up your hang ups
Bismillah. We begin everything with the name of Allah. We say Bismillah to initiate an act to acknowledge the intention and the ethics we carry with all that follows Bismillah.
This is part of the newsletter's “Primitive Hypertext” (Octavia Estelle Butler) strand.
An annotated list of five things I’ve read/seen/heard and want to share. [weekly: every Sunday] Read more about the changes in the newsletter rhythm here.
Hiya!
Unexpectedly, I am in the Bay Area taking care of my dad, who was just hospitalized. I am sitting in the SFO airport and just ate an overpriced and frankly mediocre Bánh mì sandwich. I know it is my fault, like girl, why are you eating Bánh mì at the airport? But I was hungry and I didn’t want to be a hungry and terrified flyer — pick a struggle. I am beyond exhausted. The semester starts on Wednesday for Barnard and Cooper Union so I am headed back to the city to install in Boston, then to the city. Come Friday, my phone is off and I am unavailable.
On to the primitive hypertext!!!
An invitation for me: What is a word or phrase connecting all five links?
***Scroll to the end to see where I landed***An invitation for you: What is another word or phrase connecting all five links?
Another invitation for you: Which of these links do you want to share with a friend?
I found this some time ago and then lost it, then I found it again! I always remind myself that the links always find their way back to me! I know this is a serious study, but I could not help but find humor in the deep specificity of this syndrome. The quick and dirty: If you are a hijabi, at some point, you have held pins in your mouth before pinning your scarf. And while I have never swallowed my pin, I have had a few goofy moments with safety pins.
Archibald, Sasha. Books Fatal to Their Authors (1895). Public Domain Review. January 4, 2024.
Given the ongoing climate of censorship, parallel realities, and extreme gaslighting, I was drawn to this Public Domain Review offering on book burning and opposing state narratives.
Imy, Kate. “Fascist Yogis: Martial Bodies and Imperial Impotence.” Journal of British Studies 55, no. 2 (2016): 320–43. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24702003.
I have not had a chance to read this one yet, but I am downloading it for my plane ride! I am most interested in this thread: “Examinations of Britons who borrowed from and interpreted South Asian spiritual and bodily practices tend to focus on the political, anticolonial left or esoteric circles and sexual subcultures. At the same time, Ina Zweiniger-Bargielowska has shown that some fascist and physical culture movements in Britain developed in part from seemingly left leaning bodily cultures such as vegetarianism. This article examines how right
wing yoga was not merely about building strong bodies but also about a specific
set of imperial anxieties about race, sex, strength, and mastery.”
I will read this paper alongside the article, Yoga’s Twisted History Is One Answer to the Conspirituality Puzzle. Conspirituality was a new word for me, and I went to Wikipedia for a starting place:
I know I am in for a disturbing read.
Y’all know I am obsessed with grief tech. Back in December, I shared some links on adding QR codes to headstones. And for quite some time, I have been deeply fascinated by the transhumanist movement, which seeks to make superhumans though technology that can enhance cognitive and somatic abilities. Do y’all remember the Silicon Valley bros who were paying $8,000 and be be injected with youthful blood to fight off aging and ultimately live longer? It is a diverse community of practitioners (and some grifters) but what seems like a core goal is extending life beyond what we’ve ever imagined (see Bryan Johnson who injected himself with his son’s blood and life plan — The Blueprint — which includes strict eating and sleeping plans alongside technology to measure the function of all 70 organs.)
Read more (Millionaire Biohacker Says Algorithm Runs His Life: ‘My Mind No Longer Decides’ | ‘The Most Measured Man in Human History’)
I think my interest is driven by my Silicon Valley roots. There is also my curiosity about the concept of finality (of life, of a process) and those intersistal spaces between extremes — the space between life and death, or another way to say it: the thinning membrane between the living and the dead. Last week, I shared Zainab Aliyu's essay about computer memory, linearity, and African cosmologies. As I circle back, I cannot help but think about the conversations I’ve been having with a friend who is Yoruba. We have been discussing how the practices that colonists dismissed as primitive have been reorganized as high-tech products and theories. Essentially, we are talking about ancestor communication and animism now becoming chat bots that allow you to talk to your deceased mother and books about “vital materialism.” This is no shade to these theorists; however, it is to say that centuries of siloing spirit and body have lead to these “aha” moments which have long been part of other folks’ way of life. Indigenous folks have long had the technology to engage with ancestors and have long claimed that not just humans are active, alive, and agentive. The joyful part of this is recognizing our common core desires to stay in touch with the dead and to maybe stick around longer on this planet to see what else happens.
Now would I trust a Silicon Valley bro to mediate my communication with ancestors? Absolutely not. And given the direction of the world, am I trying to live to 150? Absolutely not. I strongly trust Allah is going to beam me up when it’s my time and no amount of organ measurement is going to prevent me from falling down a flight of stairs or some other accidental death. As I prepare for my death doula training, I realize that I am not really interested in extending life as much as I am keen on supporting communities in transitioning folks out of this dunya. My parents are aging and I have no more grandparents left. Death has been on my mind.
The Herbie Hancock Group on Danish TV, 1976
I know last week was for Herbie, but this week is for him too! This is a 1976 performance recorded for Danish TV. Three records: 1. Hang Up Your Hang Ups (from Man-Child, 1975) 2. Gentle Thoughts (from Secrets, 1976) 3. Spider (from Secrets, 1976). Herbie Hancock is accompanied by Melvin “Wah Wah Watson” Ragin, Bennie Maupin, Paul Jackson, and James Levi
Yes, the music, but also this gorgeous overhead shot of this perimeter of keyboards.
An invitation for me: What is a word or phrase connecting all five links?
bodies —> foreign object inside bodies; publishing practices that result in abuse of the body; yoga somatic practices weaponized and bastardized for politcal ends; attempts to extend the longevity of the body; herbie hancock’s body framed by his keyboardsAn invitation for you: What is another word or phrase connecting all five links?
Another invitation for you: Which of these links do you want to share with a friend?
Thank you for reading,
Kameelah 👽
Finally, while I do not organize my finances around paid newsletter subscriptions, wouldn’t it be cool if this wee little newsletter could allow me to take quarterly self-imposed writing retreats? Consider getting a one-year membership at $70 USD :)
How to cite this newsletter: Rasheed, K. (Year, Month Day). Newsletter Title. I Will (?) Figure This All Out Later. URL