Okay, the second half of Day 1 is going swimmingly. :)

I love that I can muck up here and come away feeling supported, with *great* constructive feedback, and plenty of reminders to hydrate/caffeinate to boot.

No other community platform is quite like this place. 👌

Work's going *very* well. Hope your afternoons are, too!

#Hydrate!
#Caffeinate!
#HugALovedOneIfYouCan!

Live feed of my attempt to master a Monday. 🙃

So it goes. On to the next task.
(Tuesday. Tuesday'll be my day.)

This is terrible pre-fast etiquette (one should ideally be eating *far* healthier to help the body adjust faster), but it's been raining for most of the weekend and I've been dealing with pressure headaches while trying to work, so... I'm "last-mealing" a very Colombian treat before I slip into a different mode to boost energy and concentration for my June writing project.

Tomorrow & Tuesday will suck, but I should be *wired* by Wednesday. 🙃

#Colombia 🍫❤️

Mountain valley equatorial living means you often get a mix of weather all at once. :)

(No snow, of course, but hail on occasion!)

#NeverGoFullShining

I just informed the bird of a June hiatus. I realized I won't make my original novel draft deadline, so I'm reworking weekend goals to queue most articles for the next few weeks, get my story collection ready, & otherwise clear my slate for a 3-week writing stint between classes / editing work.

Haven't decided if I'll go on hiatus here too, between preset article posts. I just have *so* much I want to do.

The trick is to go into enough isolation to do it... without going full Shining. 🙃🤞🏻

Hoooo boy. I will never not enjoy the reminder that, as the Spanish goes, "es mejor estar solo que mal acompañado". 🙃

Some days I am passably competent.

Other days...

Well, today, for the first time in three years at this building, I left my apartment without my keys.

Currently sitting around waiting for a locksmith, who is fortunately close by. :)

At least there are snacks with me, and a nice afternoon shower for entertainment!

#Adulting
#ItTakesAsMuchPracticeAsItTakes

Currently working on this week's Humanist Book Club post, then recording a follow-up *positive* analysis of the story structures underpinning Voyager's better episodes for BookTube. After that, I'll finish reading an anthology for a review at The Future Fire.

Should be a splendidly balanced day of readin', 'ritin', & rantin'. 🤞🏻

Then, this weekend, I'm working on the audio version of Children of Doro while writing A Fertile Source of Ruin.

Hope everyone has rewarding plans for themselves, too.

I was just reading this when the power cut out: @joycereynoldsward has expressed reluctance to share equine updates on her newsletter, citing how some followers seemed to drop off after such posts... but how could someone not love a thoughtful meditation on a longterm non-human animal relationship, and the rich emotional lives other animal communities contain?

If you've a fondness for #Horses & the writers who live and work among them, maybe give Joyce's latest a read?
https://open.substack.com/pub/joycereynoldsward/p/a-reflection-on-equine-friendships

And... the power is now out!

:) I mean, would it even be a proper downpour without a little electrical drama?

Ha! I just noticed the colour scheme of the photo and I assure you: this is NOT a Marvel or DC film, even if it's shot as murkily as one! 😅

Happy little thunder-rumbly-in-the-parts-above-my-tumbly rainstorm tonight! 😊

There will come a day when strangers don't lecture me for not having children. Today was not that day. 🙃
#MindingYourOwnBusinessIsFree

Morning CoSo! 🕊️

Today for #OnlySky, it's my "Kissinger's Century" piece.

Specifically, we're looking at a story I hope won't be lost in Kissinger-at-100 analyses. Yes, there is plenty of horrific policy to discuss, & trauma not to be forgotten--but let's also not forget the uncannily similar US culture that uplifted him in the first place.

The media & moneyed factors that put him in power then are still doing their work in the US today. ⬇️

#Politics #History #Humanism
https://onlysky.media/mclark/kissingers-century-and-us-complicity/

There's a #Space exploration theme at my mall this month, and I have no trouble telling you I was as giddy as ever little kid I saw with eyes lighting up at the interactive displays... and then laughing my posterior off to realize they ripped off Marvin the Paranoid Android for their robot design. 😅

#StillNeverNotExcitedByOuterSpace

And now, something for the literary set...

(@BosmangBeratna, I think you'll enjoy this one!)

Recently, an app called Sudowrite caused all manner of panic in the SFF world.

Because others have already splendidly covered the controversy, I focus in this week's #BetterWorldsTheory #Newsletter on another side of the conversation: our literary history, & the danger of letting AI distract us from the greater creative threat. ⬇️

#SFF #Literature #AI #History #WritersOfCoSo https://mlclark.substack.com/p/on-artists-artisans-art-and-ai

Morning CoSo. 💸

Today for #OnlySky, a bit of a deep dive into the word & confidence games underpinning the debt ceiling crisis, which has an unusual distinction among global democracies--& not as a case of ideal US exceptionalism.

This pressure point is long overdue for reform--but sometimes the longevity of a problem gets in the way of fighting for change. That's why it helps to remember that a rotten situation didn't have to be this way--& doesn't have to be, again. ⬇️ https://onlysky.media/mclark/on-debt-ceilings-and-democracy-another-case-of-misguided-us-exceptionalism/