This one woke me up early by yelling at me. She only quieted down when I stayed awake enough to hold her. She’s just doing her part, being a good example for the baby.
Maybe I’ll have more brain next week.
Alex the cat 07/31/25
Monthly Archives: July 2025
Less brain more cat, 7/24/25
Here’s an oldie but a goodie. It turns out I do not have the brain (nor the time) to continue last week’s thoughts today. I will come back to that when I’m next able. Until then, I hope you like pictures of Alex the Cat. She’s a very good cat.
Are Boys The Problem?
A reddit thread has been living rent free in my brain and scattering its gross leftovers all over the couch of my cortex.
Last week, while I was prepping my post about Some Desperate Glory, I read a post on r/newparents from a first time mother wrestling with her cognitive dissonance around having a son. She described herself as a feminist who no longer believed that all men were bad (she cited her husband as a good example), but who still struggled to reconcile her fear, animosity, and resentment towards most men with the idea of raising a young boy. She said (I paraphrase) she was trying to understand how to raise a young boy to be a good man with positive models rather than negative ones. She asked for help and advice.
I was immediately awash with thoughts, with so many ideas that I wanted to share. I wanted to lend my perspective as someone socialized male, as a camp counselor working with teens, and as a new father. Yet as I read on through other’s replies, I despaired.
The post has since been deleted. I’m not surprised that the post was deleted. I’m not happy about it either. I’m caught between wishing I’d replied faster and being glad that I didn’t stick my neck out. You might be able to guess why, but let me explain.
Continue readingSome Desperate Glory, by Emily Tesh
Emily Tesh’s book Some Desperate Glory is an excellent sci fi story (“queer space opera” quoth many other reviewers) about living inside fascism, coming to terms with and recognizing that fascism, and trying to find ways to resist that fascism even when resistance seems impossible. It’s grim. It’s painful. It feels uncomfortably true, real, and relevant. I mentioned it in passing earlier this spring.
This isn’t a book I wanted to feel was more relevant after I finished it, but here we are.
This is also a book that deals with sexual abuse, assault, forced pregnancy, and suicide. I think the story handles them well, but they’re still rough. You’ve been warned.
With all that said, why does this book still feel hopeful to me?
Continue readingAlex the cat, 07/03/25
Three months of baby-time! A second week of we-just-moved time. The unpacking and sorting of everything continues, along with all the other housework involved in caring for a baby and a new home.
This week’s meditation: how can I better give myself permission to write what I find fun, and what I’m curious and excited about? Also, how can I return to meditating a bit every day? And how can I make time for writing?
I’m pushing through the second Ranger’s Apprentice book, The Burning Bridge. It reinforces my impressions from More Alex, 06/05/2025 so far—I’m glad this exists, and we need something newer. Either this one is less enticing for me than the first one, or I’ve been more distracted. The second is definitely true, the first one might be. With a little luck, I might have more to share about this next week.
Fistful of Wits 