The thing I love about folks here is that we all have our keisters hanging out from time to time.

We say things more carelessly than we mean to.

We declare things one day that tomorrow we might realize were untrue.

We hurt each other.

We hurt ourselves, in hurting others.

We lead with anger, fear, or burn-it-to-the-ground despair.

Then...

We start the long walk back from our excesses - with an apology, a meme, a self-effacing laugh.

We keep going.

What more can be asked of mortal fools?

Lunch break!

Who wants to join me in the ball pit? 👀

Today's Patreon post is for Patrons only, but in it I mention that I'm almost ready to email* my contest draft to interested Patrons. (Also, BookTube!)

If #writers here are also submitting to the Grist Imagine 2200 contest, and would like a little motivation (i.e., read my piece, think "Jeez, I can do better than that", then win the whole contest), I'll gladly share with you as well!

*Email is okay, but posting the piece to Patreon would ruin First Publication Rights.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/that-editing-and-104915210

A day full of editing for me.

But I'm going across town to do it, for a change of scenery / improved focus, so with any luck I can shake the weird mood from a ton of annoying interactions this week.

Hope everyone keeps their vibes right this weekend! Don't let neighbourhood creeps, political grifters, and sleazy industry operators live rent-free in your head! 👍🏻

Super unsatisfied with my writing today, so I'm calling it.

If it's not ready, it's not ready.

Folks who also spent time in academia (condolences to you) will know the phase I'm in: where I'm still telling the story of what I want to say *to myself*, but haven't reached the point where it reads as anything but a convoluted, digressional infodump.

Sigh.

Two more admin tasks before bed, then a day of editing, and Patreon and BookTube on Sunday.

Some days I brain well.
Some days not so much.

Sometimes my brain is *exactly* like a three-year-old who insisted on picking out dinner, helping to make dinner, and plating dinner, but who now refuses to eat dinner because they don't like that food and they never liked that food.

(Writers! Can't live with 'em...)

Morning! Of! Interruptions!

🙃 I'm shaking it off, but Friday is coming at me sideways.

If there's a knock at your door, who or what would you most like to see on the other side?

Picked up my newspaper, which was pretty relaxed as local news goes. There was a good article covering the state of local paramilitary and cartel violence, as Clan del Golfo, ELN, and EMC are beefing hard with each other more than with the state.

I was having trouble keeping track of their movements and their local leaders' names, but this is a handy little chart!

Canadians never get anything this interesting in their news cycles. Maybe a maple syrup cartel, from time to time? 🤔

#Colombia

Remember, folks: #NotAllBears

#ButDefinitelyThatOne

Oh yeah, FULL Colombian morning. The dude arrived at 8:45 and *immediately* creeped on me in his questions, tone, and body language. Wouldn't let my hand go, either, and made it very clear that I'm going to have to block his number once he's delivered the package to my friend. 🙃

But that, my friends, is par for the course sometimes. Silly world.

Now back to work!

🙃 I am having a very Colombian morning. My messenger to deliver a package to a friend was supposed to arrive at 8 am. At 8:10 I messaged the service, which insisted he should be here. Got his number by 8:15. Hadn't even left home and needed directions. At 8:35 he's told me he's 20 off.

I tell ya, living in a place where time is more fluid is really good for learning not to sweat the small stuff. My friend won't get her gift before work, and I've lost an hour waiting out front, but so it goes.

These have been your "ML hasn't had coffee yet but already spent too much time reading the news" morning thoughts. 🙃

Now I'm sending out a birthday present to a friend, because life isn't all hegemony and death. Sometimes it's also a nice shawl and chocolate. 👍🏻 Then back to writing. ☕

This is why I think the best we can do, as individuals, is to deepen our commitment to hyperregional globalism, where we strive to build more robust forms of mutual aid in our 'hoods, and advocate for more resilient, pluralist, & democratic views of societies everywhere.

I do not hide this subject-position.

I know I'm not the only one sick to my stomach from the brutality of empire.

But a humanist view needs to accept that other humans might think very very differently. And right now most do.

Empire came up in my piece on Wednesday, as the model that best describes foreign relations - at least according to that hippy dippy leftist, Henry Kissinger.

Imperialist nationalism routinely has me down, but I recognize that in my humanism I am in the vocal minority. The vocal majority loves state projects more than anything else - and so we have wars of empire all over, including this one with the UAE in Sudan - and no hope of anything better arising in our lifetimes.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/24/uae-sudan-war-peace-emirates-uk-us-officials

Good morning to everyone, but an especially big salute to anyone who has a family member like this: my uncle might be the only person who messages me with any frequency, outside my manic brother's random meme drops, but when he does...

🧐 Is that 57 minutes of VMs about everyday details in his life waiting for me?!

You can bet your bippy I'm only listening at 2x while doing chores. 🙃

May all your relationships be more mutually affirming, and make you feel seen for the persons of worth you are.

(Though knowing me, the topic could be "raspberries" and I'd still find a way to write a treatise that skips through early medieval manuscripts, esoteric international news, and quirks of etymology and modern witchcraft that'll take half a day to read. 🤦)