Okay, loves. 👌

Sometimes the ol' noodle noodles for longer than it should, so apologies for the late hour on this. Off to bed, then BookTubing in the morn.

For the weekend #BookClub at #OnlySky, here's a deep-dive into Chapters 3 & 4 of The Dawn of Everything - in which the Davids argue for seasonally fluid roles in early human societies, and the reasons later scholars kept trying to pin humans into far more rigid histories. ⬇️

#Humanism #History #Books https://onlysky.media/mclark/humanist-book-club-the-seasonal-cycle-of-rigid-human-societies/

It's Walk-Before-Posting-O'Clock.

Tomorrow morning, I think I'll aim for a BookTube piece on a couple of *very* lazy narrative moves for writers to avoid, care of a few episodes in my Voyager rewatch.

(Everything is useful, right? Even when watching poor storytelling in action, you can use it to fuel better in worlds of your own!)

Walk now. Then this week's Humanist Book Club post, up in a few. 🤞🏻

I made so much fun of my awkward little #TeenCactus yesterday that it's only fair to show what it looks like while it's enjoying a regular part of its day. (It moves and grows *so much* these days! Who knows how big it's going to get in the next few weeks? #Nature is the best.)

My second-ever cactus was living a pretty chill, tiny life until I repotted it in this larger vessel, and since then it's been going through THE MOST awkward and overeager growing phases, all gangly and falling all over its freshly weighted-down limbs. 😅

#TeamCactus? More like #TeenCactus!

#Plants #Nature

(And yes, I've been watching the purple. Its roots and hydration are fine. This seems to be related to its wild growth spurts.)

Whew. Well, I had a bit of a rough start to my morning, but hopefully better now.

Except for the bleak news you *knew* I had to report on:

Today for #OnlySky, I cover the five bills signed in Florida yesterday (yes, I went through them all: fun fun fun)--& highlight how this is not simply anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, but also an attack on children and democratic society.

Protecting youth matters.
BIG conversations should be had about their care.
These bills are not it. ⬇️
https://onlysky.media/mclark/floridas-latest-gish-gallop-of-legislative-cruelty/

Today's friendly reminder that the greatest science fiction writer is and always will be Nature Itself.

(The rest of us are still in the running for best fanfic, though!)

#Nature #SFF #WritersOfCoSo
https://youtu.be/4JoEWdV7tpQ

Starting the day with a lovely reflection of an episode on Past Present Future: on Montaigne, on quietism, on the history of essays of ideas.

(Morning, CoSo. 🕊️)

https://pca.st/episode/99041965-55ca-459c-978e-5b30081b4e99

This was such a heartbreaking reminder that so many people are *trying* to do the work. They're holding on the best they can, *trying* to survive long enough for the system to meet them partway.

Meanwhile, the US has sitting politicians committed to stunts that only exacerbate other worldly traumas.

We could be doing so much better by one another by now.

Tread gently. You never know what someone else might be moving through.
https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnewsvideo/comments/13jr8fu/navigating_mental_health_services_is_far_from/

🙃 Who needs a mirror when you've got SMBC? #Comics

And the free-to-read #Newsletter is now up, too.

(I fell asleep to the rain last night. It happens. 🙃)

Today's piece talks about one of my six core "writin' rules"--and the other version of this rule that I think creates a lot of undue anxiety for writers.

Leaning into curiosity, & humility about what we don't know, is a terrific path to literary growth. At least, that's been my experience. Let me know if you agree.

#WritingCommunity #WritersOfCoSo #BetterWorldsTheory
https://mlclark.substack.com/p/write-what-you-want-to-know-building

Oh, that'll teach me to try to finish paired posts simultaneously. 😂

"Multitask!" they say. #Lies

But! My Patron-only post is finally up, granting anyone who supports me at any tier, from $1 up, a fuller run-down of the Thucydides-in-space novel I'm currently drafting.

In the process, there's also lots here... on writerly process!

Which is where this pairs nicely with the newsletter that should be up... next. 🙃

#LessonLearned
#WritersOfCoSo #Writing #WritingCommunity
https://www.patreon.com/posts/next-novel-or-is-83108051

😅 Who needs to travel when you live in Medellín? Sometimes the lakes come right to your front door!

Filed under: Shocking To No One.

Be gentle with yourselves, loves. We're moving in systems not set up for kindness or self-care, let alone any greater metrics for communal and personal success. It's not you. It's not you. It's not you.

We're not perfect - we're human.

But boy howdy, do we ever human *well* together here. :)

Later today:

Newsletter, plus a Patron post.

Packed posting day!

I would *love* to hear what you've recently created that's bringing joy to you and your communities this fine Tuesday, too. 👀 ❤️

Good morning, CoSo. 🙂

I'm a little behind my time today, but that's because some articles require a touch more nuance, eh?

Today for #OnlySky, I have a news brief that ties Turkey's latest elections into a deeper question about how we juggle the complex array of societal factors - some religious, some simply xenophobic - underpinning nationalism's rise: abroad, as at home.

Our societal wounds run too deep for a single election ever to heal them all. ⬇️

#Humanism https://onlysky.media/mclark/lessons-from-turkey-nationalist-crises-at-home-and-abroad/