If you didn’t read this week’s post “Welcome to the Rat-ture” I will read it to you, dramatically and enthusiastically, below. 👇
Reading commences as soon as you hit play. Enjoy!
Notes from the Captain
As sea-faring—or stream-faring—sailors, we are taught to fear the rat. Carriers of fear and cheeses diseases, rats chew through our supplies and climb the ropes of our night terrors to plague us in our sleep. They twitch their twitchy scorn at us from darkened corners, plotting, scheming, making lists.
They are so obviously planning something.
Turns out they have more in common with us than a love of pizza—an imagination. Well, they MAY have one. According to a story about a scientific study I read (link below), they apparently-maybe-might-who knows? have the power of imagination.
Of course, that little morsel of cheese inspired me to write a whole post about rats accelerating their plan for global domination because of this discovery. Would you expect anything less from me? From them? That’s how I used my imagination this week. Watch the video. You will understand. Or you won’t, I dunno.
Use your imagination.
Our imaginations are capable of great things. Imaginations create wonderfully rich (fictional) places for our minds to escape to. Imaginations invent the core ideas of things that can morph into real things and change the world.
Imagination. It’s pretty cool
I wonder what rats are thinking about? What are they imagining? (It’s probably not the overthrow of humans. Or is it?)
Anyway. I don’t ask much of you, crew. I don’t ask much but this: as always, eat your lemons and limes (yes, I am still worried about scurvy), and keep firing up your imagination engines to dream of things and then make the things.
Something you don’t need an imagination for? Being good to each other, so, as always, do that.
Love what you love and I’ll talk to you again next week.
Your Captain, Janeen 🫡
Thangs from this episode…
👩✈️ The story that tickled my imagination this week
The article: “Rats may have power of imagination, research reveals”, The Guardian
“Volitional activation of remote place representations with a hippocampal brain–machine interface”, Science magazine [paywalled, but you can see the abstract of the study]
Nerd out on rats. Go for it. I will not be stopping you.
👩✈️ Scabby the Rat
I remember the first time I saw Scabby the Rat on the street in NYC, just minding his own business and looking Ratty. I asked the person I was with at the time (this would’ve been 2003 or 2004) “What’s that all about?” and got a rundown on his significance in labor disputes. I took a photo. I can’t find said photo, but I will say that the first time you see a Scabby in the real, you never forget it.
“Scabby the Rat is an American labor icon. Why are his manufacturers disowning him?”, The Guardian. Who will make the giant inflatables now?
Why are people who cross picket lines called scabs?, Metal Floss link
And this 👇 is why he needs to get defended in court so often. Is he protected speech, or is his presence a violation of the National Labor Relations Act? The video is filled with puns, but I love you can see Scabby being inflated and some up-close repaired stab wounds.
Go Scabby! You may creep me the f out, but I love that your heart is in the right place. (Well above those festering nipples.)
👩✈️ Mandela Effect Examples
I know I’ve shared a Mandela Effect Explainer before, but here is one of those flashy videos with examples of collective false memory. We can imagine things to be true, even when they’re not. Did you IMAGINE they could make a 40-minute video on it? Well, Mojo could with this Top 50 list.
👩✈️ That rat better have washed his FEET
👩✈️ The Rapture strikes Los Angeles
Thanks for listening/watching and sharing. If you want to chat about any of the concepts in this week’s post—or just in general—feel free to leave a comment for the Captain (it me.)
Do. Make. Be.
🫡
Shameless Podcast Plug
Listen to audio versions of early issues of The Stream on my podcast, Field of Streams, available on 👉 all major podcasting platforms 👈
Here’s Apple
Behind the Streams, Ep. 33: "Rat"