Whew, Means Morning News came back *hard* today, with an excellent interview around the UPS negotiations.

This is a great reminder that when workers fight for their rights, many other activist and labour groups are sometimes going to try to use them as a prop for their own issues. But when "allies" try to push a strike action that workers aren't ready for, it only undermines the cause.

The push for better working conditions requires everyone to pitch in. No proxies!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mmn-8-15-23/id1506676334

One of my many, many venues is having money troubles - but it's fascinating to be on the side of already having resigned myself to living in a professional world that could best be described as a "three-kids-in-a-trenchcoat" convention.

*I* know that most everyone in publishing and journalism is really three kids in a trenchcoat, but some of my fellow-travellers in these fields are still going through the "horror at seeing extra limbs & eyes poke out" part of the process.

🙃🍿 They'll get there.

🤣 I came upon this good, goofy girl fast asleep in this position in the hallway of my building. She's owned by one of the tienda owners and, uh, keeps watch...? Sort of? I guess by being a safety hazard sprawled out like a Thanksgiving turkey? 🤣

#DogsOfCoSo

(They have a lazy white floofer of a cat, too. I'll try to take pictures another day.)

I don't know who else listens to 5-4, the #podcast about "why the Supreme Court sucks", but their latest episode, Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard, makes some excellent comments above & beyond the fall of affirmative action.

One of the most haunting involves the danger of activism that fixates on stripping explicit mentions of prejudice from the law. When we don't pursue *proactive* policies to remove prejudice, sometimes racism will only deepen between the lines.
https://pca.st/episode/55577d75-32a8-4704-aa24-7e8f82d2ba12

My phone camera isn't great, but I still hope you enjoy this view. #Colombia

Thanks for putting up with the slings and arrows, the many frets and flights of fancy.

It's been a wild, weird ride.
Long may it go on.

But I only outline all of that to get a lock on my workflow. 👌

No tengo quejas (I have no complaints!).

Truly, even though my markets are precarious, I have the great privilege of being able to pursue creative work at all, and to advance my "voice", such as it is.

Life is very hard, & most never have the opportunity to do likewise.

I get frustrated only by how much more I would *love* to be able to extend the table. But I don't have the platform for that... yet.

One day, I hope. One day. 🕊️

Workflow is a tricky gig when no one market is paying well enough to live on.

The aim is to get four solid pieces published each week (two at OnlySky, two on the newsletter), record at least one BookTube, and still have time to pitch reviews and articles to higher paying venues, finish the MS, record the rest of my audiobook, and of course keep teaching my online students. (& maybe post memoir for Patreon?)

Doable? Hope so! 🤞 This is why I said there'll be no more fiction post-novel. No time.

Okay. The Substack is now operating on a semi-paid basis (some free, some paid), but we'll see what happens when I post today's free piece after classes.

I changed the boilerplate on emails to emphasize deep thanks to all subscribers, even on cancellation - because I am a terrible hustler. 🙃 And we're all barely getting by.

The podcasts will be free, but I've set up a section for follow-up essays that only paid subscribers will access. Just hope I can keep up with the slate I've set myself! 🤞

I've been asked to write an evergreen piece on the differences between mis-, dis-, and other muddy informations.

Evergreen pieces aim to be useful outside news cycles. One example is my Uterus 101 piece last year, on how humans are among the rare mammals that evolved to abort embryos (most mammals rush to create a nurturing environment at insemination, but not our systems!) & how abortifacients work with that biology.

For a piece on mis/disinformation, what do you wish was better understood?

Okay, #Trekkies.

Here's the last of the #SNW reviews for Season 2.

This was a challenging episode, because it definitely does what it's supposed to do as a cliffhanger of a season finale... but that also leaves open the question of whether it's done *enough*.

Hegemony isn't just a political state of being. Here, it also refers to the emotions - like fear of loss, or prejudice - that sometimes dominate and dictate our actions.

Can they be overcome?
#StarTrek #Humanism
https://onlysky.media/mclark/how-do-we-reckon-with-hegemony-without-imposing-our-own/

Just heading off for a bit to recharge and return renewed.

Friendly reminder:

Legacy media and billionaire-owned social media thrive on your animated investment in sensational news.

It's okay to feel vindicated!

And normal to be exhausted!

But either way, *important* to watch your health during these news cycles--

Because the news cycles don't give a hoot about you.

Lean in to what does. 🕊️

😅 Oops. A third of my way into my tea when I realized I forgot to take a #mugshot. I guess I needed that tea!

For folks keen on flooding the hose with lighter fare this intense evening, I propose #MugShots that are literally shots of your mug, or other beverage container of choice.

I'm making a hot bevvie now myself. :) There's work to do after a weird brain day.

🙃
Go for a walk, I said.
Fix my brain, I said.

Spend my month's flex budget on a political analysis of President Petro's first year in office, as summarized by the country's most prominent humanist politician, and with an eye to Colombia's overall challenges at this moment?

Eh. I've made worse snap decisions.
And I need to keep my Spanish growing in lockstep with common professional usage.

Back to work for this weirdo now, though.

#CantTakeMyBrainAnywhere
#Colombia #Books

My brain just won't brain today.

Taking it for a quick walk. Hoping to get at least one more writing task finished before evening class, but for now I'm having a Biff & McFly moment. The store's open. Everything seems good for doing business. But somehow there's a bully in the works, messing everything up. 🙃

@tgraph52

It is amazing. We are standing on the cumulative labour of generations of brilliant, dedicated, human "computers"... looking for our latest fix of cat pics. 🙃 I hope our ancestors would be proud.