I wish for us all many, many news cycles that don't find us waiting on a bare minimum of decency, accountability, moral courage, and maturity from state officials.

Hasn't happened for a long time now, but that just means we're overdue, right? ...Right?

I avoided going outside this week. Just wasn't ready to "people". Even last night's classes were a bit much, though I'm of course a professional.

But I can't do that forever.

Many tasks today, but tomorrow we go out again. Take up space. Run. Talk to animals in the park. Try to build up pleasure in the little things again. Go from there.

The waiting for things to matter again sucks, but it's all part of the experience of being alive.

Hope you're taking good care of your heads, in your own.

Three times in my life, a fellow has deigned to watch a beloved older film for the first time - and not because anyone forced them to! - then come to me with the words "Actually, it's not nearly as good as it's made out to be" before proceeding to try to tell me why it's no good, for no darned reason.

Not the same dude, mind you!

But reader, the films for which this has happened are:

Blade Runner (non-voice-over cut)
Alien

And just now?

Road House ('89)

So you can understand my reaction. 🙃

"Now, as this boy grew older, his wound grew deeper.

Until, one day, life for him lost its reason. He had no faith in any men, not even himself.

He couldn't love, or feel loved.

He was sick with experience.

He began to die."

🖤🕊️

Okay. It is time.

#CoSoFilms

😂

This is a first.

I arrive at an evening class, and my one-on-one student isn't ready for me. Why? She's got a massage in process, sprawled out in a bikini under excellent care.

She'd confirmed this class just a few hours earlier, but I guess time flies when you're getting rubbed! 🤣

@CanisPundit, just FYI:

Yemen: Attacks on Israeli-linked ships are being tackled by other regional operators (the US & UK especially). The Houthis' online boast is bigger than their bite, though, and CENTCOM reported destroying aerial devices during last weekend's attack before they'd even launched.

Iraq: We're still waiting on confirmation of a hit yesterday in Baghdad involving IRGC targets. For now that region is downplaying the Israeli strike, suggesting a strong interest in de-escalation.

#War

It's interesting to watch international finances serve in war.

Netanyahu has religious extremists in his far-right coalition who absolutely wanted to escalate with Iran (for them it hastens along the return of the Messiah, just as the US has Christian fundies to be kept from political power) but S&P just downgraded Israel's rating, citing risks with Iran, & offered a negative outlook (more expected downgrades) going forward.

So will economics offer a check to religious extremism? Maybe!

Here, I reflect on Sudan’s civil war, and the struggle to pay attention to many global conflicts at once, without weaponizing one against the rest.

There are very good reasons that many of us react more strongly to certain global conflicts than others—because we can do more about some than all the rest. Still, there’s plenty to learn even from the atrocities we can’t as easily combat.

#GlobalHumanism #BetterWorldsTheory #War
https://mlclark.substack.com/p/lessons-from-the-global-nightmares

(Robin Williams tomorrow night will help, but I have many tasks to finish first.)

Today's piece will be up later tonight.

Made some freelance money today, so that's good.

But mostly, when I went back to a piece I'd written two years ago, I didn't recognize myself in it. I still had such conviction in April 2022 that maybe we could be better.

But we have so many corporate grifters, hawkish nationalists, tribalists, and just plain hurting people lashing out...

The shine is off living in such a world, y'know?

The trick is persevering until something catches the light again.

The article link, for those curious - but I wanted to address that feeling of helplessness this news can leave us with first.

"From 2003 to 2024, 889 cases and 463 deaths caused by H5N1 have been reported worldwide from 23 countries, according to the WHO, putting the case fatality rate at 52%.

Farrar called for increased monitoring, saying it was “very important understanding how many human infections are happening ... because that’s where adaptation ... will happen”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/18/risk-bird-flu-spreading-humans-enormous-concern-who

#MediaLiteracy #Health

You might see more news like this for a bit.

1) The mortality rate *is* high for human infection, and

2) it *is* spreading in other mammals, but

3) there's no human-to-human transference yet.

So how can we empower ourselves with this news?

We can advocate locally to reduce industry pressures on livestock management and to invest more in medical facilities.

We should also always promote best practices when ill.

Otherwise? Hang in there, gang. The polycrisis sucks.

(🤔 Alternate tagline:

SATANIC PANIC THROUGH THE AGES
Come for the history; stay for the penis trees!)

This piece is a good one to read on the site, instead of via email; I had to make a few wee tweaks after posting, but it should be all nice and tidy now.

…Not like our history of Satanic panic!

Whether looking a few decades behind us, or half a millennium out, human beings never cease to throw themselves into cruel, paranoid frenzies. What lessons can we learn from how little we’ve grown?

(I also recommend the 1995 Frontline doc linked in the piece. What a trip!)

https://mlclark.substack.com/p/we-have-always-lived-with-fearmongers

Lovely choice, CoSo! Thanks for your help!

Today's piece will be up this evening, but it was one of those deep dives that let me wander through old manuscripts for a while, and we all know how that works out, where my brain's concerned. I regret nothing, though! Least of all the extra time to reflect on and adjust the tone in my first draft.

(You'll see why, soon enough.)

Then hopefully I can finish enough of this new story draft to put something together for Patreon...

#AmWriting

(That submission is also a kick in the pants for me, to get the darned audiobook recordings finished already.)

I felt rather nervous about this, but I submitted Children of Doro for consideration by this year's Ursula K. Le Guin Award.

It *does* have a good claim for consideration, because it shares the same point of inspiration Le Guin used for "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas". But I don't have high hopes, since it's indie published.

Still--if you published/loved a book last year that you think would do Le Guin proud, consider nominating that one, too.

#WritingCommunity
https://www.ursulakleguin.com/prize-nomination-form

Commenter: "Your writing betrays a much more ordered mind - capable of extracting and retaining a massive amount of detail on a lot of different subjects."

My mind: 🙃