*A few typos fixed now. Silly things.

Yesterday's post took longer than expected, because it's a tough topic.

We've been saturated in so much propaganda around #Israel and #Gaza that it's difficult to process how even cease-fire talks are being reported in gamified ways.

But if we're all stuck as pawns in this gridlock between leaders with their own ambitions at cost to civilian lives, we should at least have some sense of why nothing's going forward in talks between all involved.

#Politics #International
https://open.substack.com/pub/mlclark/p/on-diplomacy-games-and-the-media

I'll still take getting slobbered on by a bitey pupper over being slobbered on by an Old Enough To Know Better neighbour getting handsy in the park, though, I tell you what! 😅 What a week.

🤔 How do I calorie count the energy burned getting slobber-mauled by a hyperactive pupper for an hour?

NEVER A DULL MOMENT. 🙃

😅 Well my day already took a turn. A dog ran into me on the street, abandoned in the highway (no tags) and play-biting everyone he came across... but because of his breed/energy, I didn't think it was safe to leave him barrelling after everyone on a route kids use for school. I took him with me on my "run" while trying to find help from officials, but none would do a thing. Fortunately, a fellow in the park known to have land nearby was ready to take him. I'll be returning tomorrow to check in.

I conked out after class last night, missing two tasks at the end of my day, but so be it. Must've needed it.

Now I'm leaving for a run before my alarm's even gone off this morning, and I'll edit yesterday's newsletter when catching up.

(It's a doozy. Definitely need to take a moment to check all the links and claims.)

Silly bodies, needing to recharge at odd times. 👍🏻 Morning, gang!

Every now and then for my English students, I bring out the Nightmare Poem.

This is that day for two of them. (We never get through all of it, but certain sections are great for building mnemonic devices to differentiate between tough words.)

Wish them luck!

#English #Languages #LanguageIsFun

chateauview.com/pronunciation/

Oh, I rocked that meeting. 🥳

Victory dance, then teaching prep / printing errands, then newsletter.

Hope everyone's keeping their day spicy!

🧐 I kind of expected CoSo to have corrected the above by now, by pointing out that *all* sides of the bed can be horny if you're doing it right.

Is... is everyone feeling okay? Need a little more coffee, maybe, before diving into the day's silliness in earnest?

Funny moment today: I had to call my bank because my new credit card hasn't arrived yet (arbitrary renewal processes are so silly), even though it shipped July 10. Long story short, we're getting it couriered - but when the very nice young lady tried to give me the confirmation number for tracking she... made up her own phonetic code?

*unclear sound* like ??? (chore/pour)
*unclear sound* like ??? (mall/wall)

She *meant* CM, but that's what Charlie and Mike are for. 🤦🏻 We have a system, love!

Woo. Started the day with a story sub and an essay pitch. Will try to end it by posting a free-to-read story as well, but there are paid work and newsletter tasks between here and there.

Also: I have a key meeting in my volunteer leadership role at 1pm. I set the agenda yesterday, and materials are ready, but the important part now is just radiating good vibes to offset the anxiety I know might easily take up all the air.

Positive, proactive, solutions-oriented.

That'll be the vibe today! 👌🏻

(I debated putting the above behind a CW, but I couldn't decide if it was *actually* lewd or I just woke up on the horny side of bed today. 🙃)

🤨 Look, I'm not usually one to critique someone's graffiti... but do you *really* want to be known as the tagger whose letters all look like an assortment of 🍆 s with heavy 🍒, or ample butts and 🍑 s?

(I mean... maybe? No fruit shaming here!)

Ho ho! This is going to be a fun one for today's predawn run.

Centrist-liberals have always been so good at "accidentally" supporting authoritarian actors. Sometimes for profit! Sometimes because they've allowed themselves to believe that supporting a public discourse means actively platforming toxic voices "for balance". Sometimes because they think they aren't *actually* R-of-C themselves.

Let's see what angle's taken in this chat around Italian, German, and US media of the 1920s and '30s. 💪🏻

Today we’re talking about a major collapse this year in fintech, as described in a Planet Money episode and through the work of Jason Mikula (Fintech Business Weekly), who’s been following the saga of Synapse for months. Both media recs paint a vivid picture of the fragility of regulatory systems around modern banking, and the mess of alternatives it contains.

#Economics #Finance #BetterWorldsTheory
https://mlclark.substack.com/p/two-takes-on-the-rise-of-pseudo-banks

Okay, stewing over. Teaching in three, then editing and posting the rest of today's content. 👍🏻 Tomorrow will be better.

Have some happily swimming cows.
https://youtu.be/DIZNXdtjAnU

I'm in the mood for a good stew right now.

(No, not the tasty kind. I am already full of rice and beans.)

What's your favourite GIF for a healthily festering foul mood?

All right. One meeting agenda and two work emails to write, then back to that newsletter and *hopefully* there'll be time to post a free-to-read short story to Patreon after I teach tonight. (Good for a chuckle, I hope!)

Packed day? Not quite. Just lost some of my momentum from unpleasantness this weekend, and my energy/focus is off.

But we'll get it back. 👍🏻