AndrewJamison

Pope Leo has released his first encyclical – about artificial intelligence – and as with everything the pope does it it is a thoughtful statement that one would hope could have some real influence. One of the few bright spots in the world these days is the willingness of the pope to take on the challenges that humanity faces and actually provide some leadership and moral guidance even, or perhaps especially, for us non-believers. Now let us see if all the Catholics out there will actually follow their leader’s lead and take some meaningful steps to control, regulate and assess artificial intelligence, the new tower of Babel that the pope refers to in the encyclical.

Here’s a piece by Jill Lepore that provides a good introduction to the encyclical:

https://link.newyorker.com/click/45900562.174710/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmV3eW9ya2VyLmNvbS9uZXdzL3RoZS1sZWRlL3doYXQtcG9wZS1sZW8teGl2LXNhaWQtYWJvdXQtYWk_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

And here is the encyclical itself:

https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.htm

And here’s Pete’s old song that encapsulates its message:

They make a lovely pair, the lilies of the valley and the wild strawberries and when they bloom together it’s hard not to count your blessings and think that better times are on the way, which brings to mind another Eva Cassidy song.

It’s too early for the barley in Sting’s song but the rape fields are at their golden best this time of year in southern Sweden. Here’s one right near our country house.

And yesterday I walked through a meadow with another shade of gold at Tjörnedala in Baskemölla.

The British newspaper The Guardian, which has become my main source of information these days as most other newspapers have succumbed to the bad taste and bad vibes that characterize our times, has asked a number of writers and critics to choose what they consider to be the ten best novels published in English and, from those lists, has compiled a longer list of the top 100 best novels of all time. I am pleased to see that we have many of them in the shop and actually sold three of them yesterday. So take a look and come and get ’em.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/ng-interactive/2026/may/12/the-100-best-novels-of-all-time

A young woman came into the shop yesterday and asked if I had any books about Joe Hill and I said I did and showed them to her – a biography and a novel – and we started talking and listening to records – I had Finn Zetterholm’s Joe Hill record which she had never heard – and I asked if she knew that Phil Ochs had written a song about Joe Hill and she said she did and that she really liked his songs and that it was a pity that he was so forgotten, which was music to my ears as those who know me or have followed this blog can well understand.

And since yesterday, April 9 was the very day 50 years ago that Phil Ochs killed himself it seems only fitting to honor his memory by playing his song about Joe Hill.

As they both would have said, don’t mourn, organize. Rest in peace, Phil. Here’s a documentary about him.

Eileen Laurie will be in the shop tomorrow night with a display of her artwork – linocuts and risoprints using plant dyes, as well as pen and ink paintings and watercolours – that will be on sale at Andy’s Corner. So do come by and take a look!

We’re back in business today and looking forward to a little extra springtime activity this week. We’ll be open till 9 tomorrow along with many of the other shops and galleries in the neighborhood, and on Saturday we’ll be welcoming the new folk trio, Trä 2 1 for their first public concert.

We usually play only Bach on Thursdays, but I just might make an exception today for this exuberant performance I just found on the net.

It was supposed to be an exhibition about Matisse and, of course, the master’s early efforts were fun to see and compare to the works of some of his contemporaries. But for me it was the few paintings by the Algerian artist Baya Mahieddine or Fatima Haddad, a woman I had never heard of, and who apparently had a significant influence on Matisse, as well as Picasso, that made the show at the Caixa Forum in Barcelona particularly enlightening. Do check out her story:

https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/30916

Here are a couple of her later paintings on display at Caixa Forum.

And here are a few of Matisse’s early efforts.

There’s even a room where you can make your own “Matisse”.

It’s all in an old converted factory near the Plaza Espanya. Well worth a visit.

On May 8 we will stay open till 9 as part of our neighborhood’s annual culture night. So do come by and see all the wonders we have to offer. In the meantime we will be away on a family visit to Barcelona and back in business on May 7. Anything you’d like me to bring back?

Olof Johansson came by the shop recently and we started talking about our shared interest in environmental politics and folk music and he told me of his new group, which seems to mix the two quite nicely

As he describes them, “Trä 2 1 is a new folk trio consisting of Axel Ahlin (vocals and piano), Pierre Engström (guitar), and Olof Johansson (double bass). They perform songs with themes centered around nature and climate, but above all, they play music that they themselves find enjoyable and fun to perform.”

They will give their first public concert at Andy’s Corner on Saturday, May 9 at 5 p.m. Do join us.