Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government, and feudal lords tossing coins to the poor when they feel like it is no basis for an economy.
If you’ve been listening to economic news…
Continue readingLittle circles, big circles.
I’ve mentioned before that I have family all over. I don’t remember if I’ve been clear about how widespread that family is. I don’t know if I’ve thought through how much that has shaped my worldview.
I grew up with family in the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, the UK (in both England and Scotland), and the Netherlands. Family friends came from Uganda and India and Tibet. These days, I have family…
Continue readingI love some good utopian storytelling. I like Star Trek, for crying out loud.
But there’s a problem with utopian stories that tell you that utopia is possible as an endpoint, as something that can be reached and, once reached, cannot be lost—like reaching Heaven and being blessed and content forevermore. That utopia is static. It’s locked in place, unchanging. And because this promised ‘utopia as an endpoint’ is so stable, so permanent, so inherently capital ‘g’ Good, you can justify any action to reach it.
Continue readingWe’ve broken international law to violate the sovereignty of Venezuela. Why does this matter? The US just did something that’s good for the US, right?
I thought I’d write about stories or games today, but here we are. How about I tell you a story instead?
For decades we have been a dragon atop a hoard of power and wealth and influence…
Continue readingI am not-sick again, for however long this lasts. I had nearly forgotten how good it feels to not be ill. This isn’t terribly surprising, but before my past several months of back to back sicknesses I had stopped consciously appreciating how good being well felt.
In very similar ways I had failed to appreciate how good it was…
Continue readingWe are building a harm machine.
The harm machine is growing, and it is hungry. It needs people. It eats them.
Continue readingI feel sick. I know what my country is facing. I know what is happening in my home, my homeland, my America. I see this administration wielding the truncheon of “law and order” eagerly, craving any response that will let the insecure and desperate men at the top (and all the way down) feel like big fucking heroes as they club down their fellow Americans for daring to disagree. I see them chasing those who aren’t white, who aren’t Christian, claiming that they’re chasing those who aren’t “American” while they draw an ever smaller circle around what it means to be American.
My family comes from all over. Most of them are American citizens. I know that won’t matter when the administration’s circle slips a little tighter again, like a noose around our country’s neck. They’re going to go after my family, sooner rather than later.
Continue reading
I’ve just finished Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh. It is excellent. It is more than a little painful, especially right now. It is also lovely and full of hope. I hope to talk more about it here at some point.
For now our political crises continue to worsen, books like Some Desperate Glory feel more relevant, and I have a baby to take care of. I’m not yet such a professional papa that I can care for my child and get lots of work done at the same time (or much work at all). Please continue to enjoy pictures of Alex.
The Peripheral is a science fiction novel from William Gibson set in an awfully recognizable near future and a slightly less recognizable but still palpable further future—there’s kind-of-time-travel, but not quite. It’s been so long since I last read Gibson. I’d forgotten how wild and weird his books can feel, while also feeling so grounded in our own reality. I wrote a little about this last week. I have more observations now.
Continue readingYour regularly scheduled programming has exited my brain stage right.
The wisdom I’ve found most useful this week comes from my similarly distressed elders: don’t borrow trouble. What I fear may yet come to pass, but it probably won’t look exactly as I imagine it. More importantly, I won’t gain anything from letting my dread wax eloquent—unless I’m imagining ways to create solutions that are within my power to work towards.
That’s all easier said than done. I’ve only managed to follow this advice some of the time.
I’ve been thinking about my current need for distractions, and for narratives that give me hope and feel empowering and encouraging. I’ve also felt a growing urge to make those narratives for myself and for others. But even as I feel the need to do that, and wonder about how I might do it, the task itself feels a bit like climbing out of a well without a rope.
I’ve been scripting a comic recently. Maybe that’s part of the recipe. It certainly feels like it hits some of the necessary notes. I’m meeting with the friend who came up with the comic’s original concepts today. I hope he likes where I’ve taken things.
Perhaps it’s also time to revisit my old Protectors stories. They feel especially timely once again. I just need to have them critiqued and rewrite them a bit more before I can shop them around… or find a way to publish them myself at this point. Maybe it’s time to push harder in that direction.
This election didn’t deliver what I’d hoped for. So far it’s doing a good job of delivering what I feared. Regardless, I hope you’re all ready to weather whatever storm is coming your way, and are enjoying your good times while you have them. Take care, and good luck.
Fistful of Wits 