Now for tea, and short-story-collection prep.

Woke up with a deep feeling of melancholy, but I have a strict policy of pouring my mood on any given day into the work. Lots of fiddly revisions and formatting ahead, so with the right soundtrack all should be well.

Have a day, CoSo! 💫Take good care of your noggins, too.

Morning, CoSo. 🕊️

Bit of a meditative piece for #OnlySky today, building on some truly inane news all week.

Today's absurd performances of power by the rich and well-platformed would almost be laughable, if they didn't also reflect such a serious crisis of cultural authority.

How do we pursue greater agency and critical thinking in a world so epistemically divided? ⬇️

#Humanism #GlobalHumanism
https://onlysky.media/mclark/is-there-any-rock-bottom-to-our-crisis-of-authority/

"Harder work does not equal more recognition. Destroying yourself will not buy you the luck that you’re seeking. Ignoring life will not make you a better writer. I’ve learned all these things at great cost.

Hopefully, you won’t have to."

#WritingCommunity #WritingLife
#WritersOfCoSo
https://www.tiffanytrent.com/post/of-careers-and-burnout

To keep working on debt erasure, I've got the same tasty, nutritious, low-cost meal set up for the next couple of months.

That said, I've budgeted one special occasion, for the day I submit my next novel to my agent, & I have to chuckle at how little humans differ from fellow animals when it comes to behavioural incentives.

No idea what I'll be cooking as a treat on that day (going to have fun choosing!), but food is a gift and I'm looking forward to it.

#AmWriting
#HungryArtistStereotypes

Good morning to everyone who could hear their brain cells dying when they saw the latest inane news about two billionaires debating a literal cage match. We are living in deeply insincere times.

(Z R1 BY SUB, but that's neither here nor there.)

A wee financial delay this past week has had me checking my local account all day to calm my nerves (reader: checking all day did not calm my nerves).

Now that there's no point to checking again until tomorrow, though... maybe I can get a few hours of focused writing in before bed? Will try my best. Worse comes to worst, I just have a lean few days ahead. (But boy howdy, is our global finance system ever a fragile affair.)

#AmWriting

And... finished! 💪

This week's #Newsletter is a deep dive into Colombian politics. There's a lot here about the complexity of peace deals with local paramilitary and cartel outfits, along with the intricacies of front-facing and back-end state policies in shaping Colombia's future in some truly extraordinary ways.

If you're curious to see the road to peace in another political milieu, this might be the newsletter for you!

#BetterWorldsTheory #GlobalHumanism
#Colombia
https://mlclark.substack.com/p/on-writing-about-war-and-nationalism

There's a rumba class and band practice happening at the same time in my apartment complex.

No writing until both are over, with their ridiculously mismatched tempos blasting through the facility.

Sonic chaos until then. :)

(Am I the only one who thinks it's freaking weird to be around other people and just lecturing at them?!)

Whenever I listen to a podcast about a cult leader, influencer, celebrity pundit, or similar, I take a beat & imagine what it would be like to be in their shoes, with everyone hanging on my every word, and I just... can't. Sure, I'll monologue on a BookTube if I'm solo, but just... *how* do these people keep on talking and talking in group settings when they could be cultivating space for collaborative chats and building a richer dialogue among all present instead?

#NeverGonnaHaveCultIGuess 🙃

Today for #OnlySky, a wee news brief that gently calls for caution when comparing events like the brutal loss of migrant life at Pylos and the ongoing search-and-rescue operation for five affluent people in a sub.

Human dignity should never be a competition. Does pitting one loss of life against another actually help us to enact better public policy?

#GlobalHumanism https://onlysky.media/mclark/a-tale-of-two-vessels-lost-at-sea/

I don't often eat meat, but I had the *biggest* craving for cazuela while on my extreme food protocol. It's just such a hearty affirmation of paisa culture, filled with Antioquia's pride in its rural heritage.

(Back to lentils, beans, rice, and veg after this for a while! But my heart is content.)

#Food #Colombia

Going to work away from home for the first time in a long while. I just sorely need to mix up my view.

:) Fingers crossed for good connectivity and minimal noise disruption in this coworking space. Have a great one, CoSo!

And... only harassed once this morning.

But didn't get overwhelmed this time, even when he followed me for part of my route.

After Jan-Feb's aide crisis for a family in need, & then the robbery in February, I started feeling more overwhelmed than usual by the street harassment while being without friends close at hand this year.

The person who makes me feel safest is working day and night in another country right now. It's been tough to stabilize mental wellness alone. But! We press on.