I will never get tired of these weirdos.

(Rosa de monte, Brownea macrophylla)
#Colombia #Nature

This one is for Patrons only - and a strong part of the reason I prefer Substack for most materials, because there I can split a post between free-to-read and paid sections.

Every Friday, Patrons are again going to get extra or sneak-peek content from me. Today, that "content" is a preview of what to expect from the next two weeks of the YouTube channel, and some talk about the state of the #SFF industry.

Many thanks to everyone supporting the work, on any platform! 💛🌌

https://www.patreon.com/posts/returning-to-sff-99998188

🙄 ¿Feliz día de la mujer?

The headline for today's El Colombiano reads:

"35% of women in Antioquia earn less than the monthly minimum salary."

That monthly minimum salary is 1'300.000COP.

Current exchange rate:
$447.74 CAD
$332.83 USD

Work to be done! #Colombia

Me, slathering on the first round of sunscreen for a day in city.

(And watching a quick episode of something while I wait another 20 before heading out.)

Live footage of my brain.

Can't rest my eyes long enough on the page to complete this last read-through.

Quick z̶o̶o̶m̶i̶e̶s̶ walkies, and then we finish and post.

Ah, good. There we go.

This is my final piece for OnlySky, a two-year experiment in secular news and storytelling, which sadly launched at a most delicate time for online media.

Thank you to everyone who supported the work on this platform while it was live.

I sorely appreciate the time you put into reading and commenting on my pieces in particular. You kept me to a higher standard, for sure.

(More from me in a few hours, via my newsletter for paid subscribers.)

https://onlysky.media/mclark/were-going-to-need-a-bigger-village/

I think tonight's going to be when the big cry comes.

I went through anger pretty quickly, and I was never in denial, but I've been waiting for the good full sad to come along.

I've lived with precarity my entire life, which also means holding my breath any time I get even a toehold in--knowing full well that the other shoe's always going to drop; it's just a matter of time.

In this case, I was bracing for, oh, a year while everyone was in denial. Now I get to let it out.

COME ON, BIG FEELS.

New #BugFriend just dropped.

Well. Didn't drop, actually.

I too would like to chill upside down more often on a wall. Why don't I? 🤔

Friendly mental health nudge:

Between today's SCOTUS news and tomorrow's "super" Tuesday, this is going to be a pretty election-heavy news cycle, with a lot of tension and tons of speculation.

If you're in a position to act politically, awesome. Best wishes in the fray!

If you're not, think about how you want to manage your media intake for the next couple of days.

Will it help to stay apprised of every late-breaking analysis and poll?

Or will spacing out your check-ins serve you better?

Well, the decision is up.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/slipopinion/23

My phone camera can never pick up how beautifully broody my mountain looks at times. Right now the air is light and breezy, and the mist on my mountain is mocking me with a reminder of the full rainstorm we need and aren't getting (yet?!). 🤨

#CantStayMadThough

Okay, here's a wee one today.

For my last pieces, which we need for the final "Best of the Week" mailout along with the Big Goodbye, I didn't want to stick to any one small news item, so I've reflected on a few recent markers of our polycrisis, and what we can do to ground ourselves in the face of our Herculean challenges.

We cannot change everything.

But everything we *can* change comes first from taking stock of where we stand, close to home.

https://onlysky.media/mclark/waiting-on-the-world-how-we-get-by-daily-in-a-polycrisis/

Also, there was a local group gearing up for a party day via "chiva", a traditional fun bus first used for farmers going to market in rural spaces, and now also used for folks looking to sing and get drunk on day-trips. And... I'm guessing that's why this one has Americana on it, instead of the usual religious iconography; the driver probably thought this would appeal to his primary audience - though today he's got a whack of paisas instead of gringos. 🙃

😊 You know it's a good day when the local news focuses on the important stuff: the future of local bean varieties and the capture of US sexual predators - who not only went after minor teens but drugged and beat them. Two down, many still to go.

ANYWAY, back to them beans. 😋

Today's newsletter is a brief one, introducing the new schedule for Better Worlds Theory starting Monday.

It outlines a four-day posting schedule, plus word of a rebooted YouTube channel and Patreon posts. Now that I can streamline my workflow, I can build consistent work on a few interconnected venues.

From Monday Media to Tough Times Tuesday, to Rewind Wednesday, to Thorough Thursday and SFF reflections on YouTube on Friday, I hope there'll be something for everyone.

https://open.substack.com/pub/mlclark/p/ch-ch-ch-changes-new-posting-schedule

Controlled burn in a nearby stretch of land adds a spooky, moody haze to the detritus-strewn back trail today.

Mid-morning anger break.

Anyone care to join me in a scream?

Okay, folks.

This one's free to read.

It talks about changes to my workflow this week, and what they will mean for how I manage my writing going forward.

The short version is that I'll be pouring a lot more time into the newsletter and rebooting my YouTube (as a once-a-week Patreon tie-in) starting next week.

This weekend, I have a lot of digital revamping to do to prep for the change, but my success is entirely on the platforms I create now.

So, time to get to work!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/ch-ch-ch-changes-99403511

All right. Going in.

A bit of a lighter newsletter today: a reflection on how crime fiction serves us, in a world of relentless transgressions far more difficult to solve than the cases we see on TV. Here, I address Monsieur Spade and True Detective: Night Country, with tonal spoilers for the latter.

https://mlclark.substack.com/p/true-detective-monsieur-spade-and