Sadness

Bruce Pascoe’s Black Duck is a ‘healing and necessary’ account of a year on his farm, following a difficult decade after Dark Emu

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Dark, SSS, Friends, River Thames, Season, Culture, Magpie, Longevity, Science, Thames & Hudson, Horse, Agriculture, Black Summer, Black Duck, The Summer Book, Ageing, Smell, The Falcon (fictional detective), Knowledge, Aborigine, History, Spur, Bird, University, Food, Photography, Death, Curlew, Indigenous Australians, Smoke, Translation, Nature, Eagle, Swallow, City, Mouth, System, Fire, Water, Literature, Heart, Tove, Wallagaraugh River, Fox, Snow, Envy, Sadness, Dark Emu, Violence, Natural history, Weather, Hunting

Bruce Pascoe is best known for his natural history, Dark Emu, which argues that systems of pre-colonial food production and land management in Australia have been dramatically understated.

Key Points: 
  • Bruce Pascoe is best known for his natural history, Dark Emu, which argues that systems of pre-colonial food production and land management in Australia have been dramatically understated.
  • At last count, the book had sold at least 360,000 copies of the original edition – and many more in the form of adaptations, translations, children’s and overseas editions.
  • Since the publication of Dark Emu in 2014, Pascoe has had to endure extraordinary public scrutiny, as well as vehement attacks on his personal and professional reputation.
  • In light of the last ten years, Black Duck: A Year at Yumburra is a healing and necessary book.
  • The farm is a deliberate project designed to test, extend and materialise some of the ideas put forward in Dark Emu.
  • The meaning of Yumburra, Pascoe tells us, is Black Duck, the “supreme spiritual being of Yuin country”.

Six seasons on the farm

  • Through more than 60 subtitled journal entries, accompanied by numerous photographs and sketches, Pascoe charts the activities of his days.
  • These include labouring chores on the farm, visits paid and received (both there and interstate), thoughts, visions and experiments with food and agriculture, and memories and reflections on relationships reaching far back into childhood.
  • Pascoe describes life on the farm as solitary at times, but also active.
  • Daily farm work includes clearing watercourses or fixing tools and machinery, and at these times his friendships with the nonhuman are forged in both subtle and overt ways.
  • Despite their vigilance, the Spur-winged Plover loses a lot of chicks to eagles and foxes […] Their calls are ever-present on the farm.
  • If the horses gallop, an eagle passes, a dingo wakes or a car arrives, you hear about it instantly.
  • You can’t make friend with Birran Durran Durran because everything is a threat in its opinion.
  • Despite their vigilance, the Spur-winged Plover loses a lot of chicks to eagles and foxes […] Their calls are ever-present on the farm.
  • There is a sense of time moving on through the seasons.
  • Yumburra, too, was affected by that event, leading one of the farm workers to rename a whole section of the farm “Apocalypse Valley” in the aftermath.
  • “The unbridled pleasure I used to take in the forest, waters and shores is now tinged with sadness and dread.”

A true storyteller

  • The author is respectfully light on detail on these matters, but the reader is left in no doubt about their deep importance to him.
  • Pascoe’s authorial style sometimes comes across as a touch too lackadaisical and larrikin-esque, drifting as if unmoored.
  • And yet, he’s a true storyteller – and no sooner have you hesitated, than he reels you in again, and has you marvelling with him at the grandchildren’s handstands and cartwheels on the paddle board on the river, or at the cunning of the dingo pair who’ve taken out a young Buru (kangaroo) by gripping him by the ears and drowning him.
  • I assume it was the same animal because she made a great point of making sure I was watching her expertise.
  • It might be a romantic thought or a wish for longevity of a friend but, whatever the case, I enjoy the personality.“
  • Sometimes Pascoe quotes from her journal entries, discrete and beautifully rendered observations of wildlife on her own nearby property.
  • But as I was reading, I found myself wondering how else Lyn contributed to the book, and on what terms.

Connection to culture and Country

  • For anyone with lingering doubts about Pascoe’s commitment and connection to Country, this book will set them straight.
  • It is a quiet, funny, warm and insistent call to return to and care for Country.


Julienne van Loon has been a recipient of funding from Creative Australia, Creative Victoria and ArtsWA.

Enhancing Positive Emotions to Prevent Depression in Youth - A Free Webinar from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Depression, Emotion, Vanderbilt University, Mood, Associate, Risk, Research, Neuroscience, Brain, Psychology, Happiness, CDC, Suicide, Sadness

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) is hosting a free webinar, “Enhancing Positive Emotions to Prevent Depression in Youth” on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at 2:00 pm ET, offering new insights on addressing depression in children and young adults.

Key Points: 
  • The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) is hosting a free webinar, “Enhancing Positive Emotions to Prevent Depression in Youth” on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at 2:00 pm ET, offering new insights on addressing depression in children and young adults.
  • Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., President & CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, and host of the public television series Healthy Minds will be the webinar host.
  • Register today at BBRFoundation.org
    Treatment for depression traditionally focuses on reducing negative emotions like sadness or anger and less on increasing positive emotions like contentment and happiness.
  • In this talk, Dr. Kujawa will first review research informed by neuroscience that highlights difficulties with positive emotions as a key risk factor for the development of depression in youth.

New Oceana “Whales in Crisis” PSA Campaign Featuring Cobie Smulders Calls for Saving Whales from Deadly Fishing Gear Entanglements off U.S. West Coast

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Whale, Disease, Smell, Humpback whale, Death, Fishery, Smulders, Tail, Water, Spine, PSA, Animal, Sadness, Whaling

LOS ANGELES, March 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oceana launched a new “Whales in Crisis” public service announcement (PSA) campaign today featuring actress Cobie Smulders that calls on decision-makers to do more to save whales from deadly entanglements in fishing gear off the West Coast of the United States.

Key Points: 
  • LOS ANGELES, March 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oceana launched a new “Whales in Crisis” public service announcement (PSA) campaign today featuring actress Cobie Smulders that calls on decision-makers to do more to save whales from deadly entanglements in fishing gear off the West Coast of the United States.
  • “Once caught, these whales struggle to eat and even reach the surface to breathe,” Smulders says in the PSA.
  • Together we can ensure these majestic creatures swim free.”
    Entanglement in fishing gear is a top threat to endangered animals off the West Coast, including humpback whales and leatherback sea turtles.
  • Among the animals impacted by these fisheries is the severely entangled humpback whale featured in Oceana’s new “Whales in Crisis” campaign.

Cybin Receives FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for its Novel Psychedelic Molecule CYB003 and Announces Positive Four-Month Durability Data in Major Depressive Disorder

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Alternative Medicine, Mental Health, Health, FDA, Clinical Trials, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, JAMA, Depression, Disability, Conference, BTD, Breakthrough therapy, Massachusetts General Hospital, Inc., Psychiatry, Clinical, Grammatical mood, Appetite, MDD, Data analysis, Patient, Knowledge, Disease, Causality, Sleep, Anhedonia, DNB, DSM-IV codes, MBBS, Suicidal ideation, Behavior, Cognition, Event, Hospital, Drug development, Safety, Injury, Multimedia, Plasma protein binding, Sadness, Lancet, BMJ, Pharmaceutical industry

If approved by the FDA, CYB003 would be the first known adjunctive psychedelic-based therapeutic for the treatment of MDD.

Key Points: 
  • If approved by the FDA, CYB003 would be the first known adjunctive psychedelic-based therapeutic for the treatment of MDD.
  • The designation of CYB003 as a breakthrough therapy acknowledges the significant unmet medical need for more effective treatments of MDD and supports CYB003’s potential for significant improvements over existing therapies.
  • With the robust durability data from our Phase 2 study in hand, we are ready to move forward expeditiously.
  • (2022) Response to acute monotherapy for major depressive disorder in randomized, placebo-controlled trials submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration: individual participant data analysis.

American Liver Foundation Celebrates Donate Life Month with New Patient Resources, Programs and Support

Retrieved on: 
Monday, April 1, 2024
American Liver Foundation, Journey, Celebration, Liver disease, Environment, Caregiver, Patient, Social media, News, Liver transplantation, MD, ALF, North Shore University Hospital, Liver, Partner, Fatigue, Sadness, Dentistry

April is Donate Life Month and American Liver Foundation (ALF) has new patient resources, programs and support available to all liver transplant patients and the caregivers supporting them.

Key Points: 
  • April is Donate Life Month and American Liver Foundation (ALF) has new patient resources, programs and support available to all liver transplant patients and the caregivers supporting them.
  • "An informed patient is critically important to making the best decisions about care and ensuring the most favorable outcomes," said Lorraine Stiehl, Chief Executive Officer, American Liver Foundation and caregiver to a transplant recipient.
  • Liver patients, families and loved ones are invited to celebrate the gift of life and the importance of liver transplantation.
  • Throughout Donate Life Month ALF encourages patients, caregivers and organ donors to be part of the national conversation!

State and Marin County Leaders Unite to Address Teen Anxiety in Groundbreaking Teen Town Hall Event

Retrieved on: 
Friday, March 22, 2024
Grammatical mood, SAN, Sadness, Anxiety

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., March 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Teenagers across the nation, and girls in particular, are experiencing unprecedented levels of anxiety, sadness, and hopelessness

Key Points: 

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., March 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Teenagers across the nation, and girls in particular, are experiencing unprecedented levels of anxiety, sadness, and hopelessness

National Press Club: Mexican Journalist Wins Asylum In El Paso Court After Epic 15-Year Case

Retrieved on: 
Monday, March 18, 2024
Press club, Deportation, Freedom, Bishop, Organization, Congress, Pressure, Rutgers Law School, Social media, News, University, Death, Life, Student, Emilio, Club, Freedom of the press, FOIA, Government, Sadness

"We will say a final word about our own organization, the National Press Club and its nonprofit affiliate, the National Press Club Journalism Institute.

Key Points: 
  • "We will say a final word about our own organization, the National Press Club and its nonprofit affiliate, the National Press Club Journalism Institute.
  • We thank the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press for its significant help and dedication to the Emilio's case.
  • "This day would not have happened without these extraordinary efforts and those of nearly 20 other press organizations that supported Emilio's case.
  • For more information on Emilio Gutierrez Soto and his asylum case follow this link: http://www.press.org/emilio-faq

New Book Unveils a Poetic Exploration of Grief and Healing

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Paulauskas, Chasing Time, Pain, Grief, Collection, Emotion, Face, Sadness, Poetry, Divorce, Tourism

NORTHLAKE, Texas, March 13, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Grief can feel lonely; a feeling author Lena Marocco Paulauskas was all too familiar with after losing her father. Delving into the personal intricacies of her loss, Paulauskas offers readers a glimpse into the emotional landscapes of sorrow and the transformative power of healing in her debut poetry book, "Chasing Time: A Journey Through Grief."

Key Points: 
  • Delving into the personal intricacies of her loss, Paulauskas offers readers a glimpse into the emotional landscapes of sorrow and the transformative power of healing in her debut poetry book, "Chasing Time: A Journey Through Grief."
  • A collection of poetry, Paulauskas' book strives to candidly explore the grief journey, through the eyes of a woman who understands the pain of losing a loved one and the healing that accompanies loss.
  • "I want my book to be a helping hand to my readers, allowing them to feel accepted when facing conflicting emotions, like sadness and joy, at the same time."
  • She invites readers to embark on an emotional journey that may transcend the boundaries of grief and ultimately celebrate the transformative nature of healing.

Campaign to Repeal New York's Multibillion Dollar Stock Transfer Tax Rebate Takes Aim at Governor Hochul, Legislators and Corporate Naysayers

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Transfer, Homelessness, SUNY, Letter, Assembly, Sanitation, Tax, STT, Education, CBC, Common, School, Political campaign staff, Sleep, STTR, Security, Sale, Transport, Student, Crime, CUNY, Housing, NYS, New Yorker, Campaign, Cat, Book, Firefighter, DSM-IV codes, Coalition for the Homeless, Sadness, Senate, State, Legislation, Police, Cryptocurrency

Their responses will be tabulated and reported on the Campaign's website GreedvsNeed.org describing if they "Support Greed" or "Support Need."

Key Points: 
  • Their responses will be tabulated and reported on the Campaign's website GreedvsNeed.org describing if they "Support Greed" or "Support Need."
  • Nonresponders will be tabulated as supporting greed and will be publicly admonished and become the focus of the statewide Greed V$ Need Campaign.
  • From 1905 to 1981, New York State collected a tiny one-tenth of one percent tax called the Stock Transfer Tax (STT) on the sale of corporate stocks.
  • Some leading legislators are saying, "Now is not the right time to repeal the STTR."

Friday essay: ‘mourning cannot be an endpoint’ – James Bradley on living in an Age of Emergency

Retrieved on: 
Friday, April 5, 2024
Calamity, Temperature, Friends, Coral reef, Convulsion, COVID, Hamish Hamilton, Grief, Face, Survival, Heat, Bleeding, Beauty, Incidence, Coral, Empathy, Crash, American frontier, Stroke, Hospital, United Nations, History, Turtle, Smoke, Dengue fever, Death, Record, Fishery, Hope, Life, Flood, Thought, City, Social theory, Malaria, Plastic, Arctic Circle, Love, Fire, Breeding, Cognitive dissonance, Mourning, Movement, Sadness, Courage, Violence, Heat wave, Weather, Agriculture

Although it is early, the day is already unseasonably warm, the sky hazy with smoke from hazard-reduction burns to the south and north of the city.

Key Points: 
  • Although it is early, the day is already unseasonably warm, the sky hazy with smoke from hazard-reduction burns to the south and north of the city.
  • Walking to the water’s edge I wade out and dive, then stroke outwards until my breath gives out and I surface with a gasp.
  • There is something very particular about looking back towards the shore from deeper water.
  • Amid the convulsions of COVID, a hastening wave of calamity has made it clear that the first stages of climate breakdown are upon us.
  • Food production will decline markedly, especially in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and Central and South America.
  • Warming and acidifying waters will severely impact the fisheries that provide one-third of the world with their principal source of protein.

A shift

  • Attempting to comprehend its immensity and fluid multiplicity alters us, making it possible to glimpse new continuities and connections.
  • As the late Sven Lindqvist observes in his interrogation of the racist and genocidal foundations of European imperialism, “It is not knowledge we lack.
  • It is the courage to understand what we know and draw conclusions.” In other words, the path through involves more than just a shift in energy sources.
  • It begins in a reckoning with the past, and demands a far more fundamental reorganisation of the global economy, a shift to a model that operates within planetary boundaries and shares resources for the benefit of all.
  • Such a shift is not impossible.

Beauty and astonishment

  • How do we make sense of the disappearance of coral reefs, of dying kelp and collapsing ecosystems?
  • How do we imagine a world in which the massing life that once inhabited not just the oceans but the earth and the sky is largely gone?
  • More than that, however, the act of openness creates the possibility of love and joy and – improbably – wonder.
  • However much has been lost, the world still hums with beauty and astonishment.
  • No less importantly, it is to recognise that despair is also a form of turning away.
  • Yet, like the scientists working to save coral reefs, he said he did not know what else he could do.
  • Instead, grief must be part of a larger recognition that there is no longer any way back, that the only route now is forward.
  • Surviving it demands we build a world that treats everybody – human and non-human – as worthy of life and possibility.
  • I turn to look out to the horizon, its fading margin between sea and sky a space of grief, but also possibility.
  • This is an edited extract from Deep Water: the world in the ocean by James Bradley (Hamish Hamilton).


James Bradley was the recipient of the Copyright Agency Non-Fiction Fellowship for 2020.