Priorities, New Dogmas, Comforts and Delights

The Guardian publishes a series of letters from net-zero fundamentalists who think that "Brontë country nostalgia" isn't enough to preserve the unique landscape. They are probably the same who are against any kind of nuclear power initiative, which is far more efficient and ultimately clean, if done right. But that's the problem of current times, we don't do things based on facts, we do things based on prejudices aligned with the biases of our faction. And that's what will happen here: the decision will be used as a political weapon: environmentalists against conservatives. The wrong narrative will take over, and no arguments and facts will be taken into consideration, just emotional bias and, ultimately, contempt against those who do not understand the revealed truth. Read the comments, and you will be taken into the magical land of condescension and (southern) luxury beliefs:

We cannot afford to cordon off parts of the UK as a nostalgic theme park (“Brontë country”). Nor should we romanticise the lives of a family who grew up in an unimaginably unhealthy environment and died young as a result. The clean energy produced by windfarms is vastly preferable to the polluted environment that Emily Brontë endured, and it is likely that she of all people would have understood why a clean environment should be our first priority. (Jane Middleton, Bath)

Simon Jenkins asks what landscapes we will lose in the bid to achieve net zero. He ought, rather, to ponder what will be left of them if we don’t achieve this goal. (Jane Caplan, Oxford)

And I will not enter into what we think when we see people pontifying about what 'scientific concepts' may or may not be, with a background in science entirely based on journalist activism.  

Stellar interviews the writer Aisling Rawle:

Bronwyn O'Neill: What’s a book that you’ll never forget?
A.R.: I think my favourite book of all time is Jane Eyre. I’ll reread it pretty much every year. For the first time last week, I listened to the audiobook, it’s read by Thandiwe Newton and it is glorious. Oh my gosh, I can’t imagine anyone better to read this. I think that book to me is not just a comfort but a delight every single time I read it. Even though I have read it so many times, no matter how many times I return to it, I was still genuinely floored by the depth of passion and emotion in it. It’s Jane Eyre for me.

Neon Music posts about Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights song:

Reviews from the song’s 1978 release highlight how her voice with its abrupt shifts between fragility and intensity created a sense of movement, as if each phrase had weight and trajectory.

This effect was amplified by her unusual techniques, including rapid palate adjustments.

The performance’s enduring power lies in her technical control and raw emotional display.

Bush’s Wuthering Heights wasn’t faithful to the book in the strictest sense.

She took one scene, expanded it emotionally, and carved out space where Cathy could speak directly.

And maybe that’s why the song still matters. It didn’t try to summarise Brontë’s novel.

It pulled something out of it, held it up, and asked you to listen in a different way. (Alex Harris)

The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever events in Donegal Live, Otago Daily Times, City of Wagga Wagga Council News...