😬

Rats. Now that Copa's over I have to think about the rotten old world again, huh?

For the newsletter this week:

Prodigy for Monday; the new African confederation (the Alliance of Sahel States: Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso) for Tuesday; a GamerGate retrospective for Wednesday (ten years this August!); and a rumination on what our digital world could have been for Thursday.

Plus catch-up tasks for Patreon and BookTube.

But mostly, I just want to fast, reboot a proper sleep schedule, and run. 👌🏻

@LiseL @cmskiera @Boyceaz

Okay, but for all his theatrics tonight, I'll give Messi his tears. Those, he's earned!

@LiseL @cmskiera @Boyceaz

This is getting vicious and dirty. 😬

I need a second heart!

First one might give!

@LiseL @cmskiera @Boyceaz

Outside for the second half. Everyone was enjoying the show! 😊 And now, it's judgment time. 😬

@LiseL @cmskiera @Boyceaz

It's wild here. I'm watching the first half inside, and one TV went out, so everyone turned frantically to another one, and then IT went out, so we all rushed with our chairs to a backup on the other side. 😅

#WhateverItTakes #Copa #Colombia

@LiseL @cmskiera @Boyceaz

😅 Sorry for the lack of updates. The ladies and I have been screaming at the Argentinian melodrama on the green, among other things.

@LiseL @cmskiera @Boyceaz

And the overall vibe before gametime...

#Copa #Colombia #Sportsball

@LiseL @cmskiera @Boyceaz

Quick! Who needs a vuvuzela?! 😅

#Colombia

@LiseL @cmskiera @Boyceaz

🤣 All the stores closed early. They know what's up!

So who's with me for #Sportsball tonight?

@LiseL? @cmskiera? @Boyceaz?

What's your set-up for game time?

Drinks? Snacks? Company? Vuvuzelas?

#Copa #Colombia #AndTheOtherGuys

I went home to finish work when the mall got too rowdy, then napped instead. 😅

Adiós, productivity.

Back to the mall to set up for the game, I guess. (I'll bring a pen and notebook, but also lower expectations for myself!)

And I don't share the above to make fun of the person suggesting that my "moods" make him afraid to comment on my work.

The comment speaks to something bigger: a view of dissent I see a lot in our small-c conservative climate.

It's really hard to build a healthy conversation when folks (for whatever reason) are afraid to share how they really feel about something.

The question is how to build a society where people don't see dissent as dangerous. Constructive dialogue is hard--but necessary!

I believe that being clear about our subject-positions is the path not only to personal integrity but also a flourishing pluralist society and democracy. But I'm also not surprised that holding my opinions strongly might make others afraid to answer with strong opinions of their own. (And if they foist that fear off on me, as not wanting to "upset" me, so be it.)

But the whole point of sharing ideas is to be part of a bigger conversation. How dull that chat would be, if we all thought alike! /×

I received a funny comment today. I'd mentioned that I write about a wide range of topics on my newsletter - democracy watch, media literacy, global humanism, climate change, economics, scientific literacy, historiography - but this more conservative person then explained why he doesn't engage with it.

The "moods" comment is hilariously patronizing, but I also know that, while I advocate for constructive dissent as critical to democratic thinking, many see dissent as intrinsically negative. /x

I just had a very Colombian lunch as a sort of "last meal" before I start a new food plan, so if anyone wants to accuse me of spouting nonsense, now's the time for it, because you'll get no argument from me: for the next few hours I am quite literally full of beans. 😁

#NoRegrets

Off to work at the mall until Colombia faces off with Argentina. Here's a little taste of the conversation happening locally: some people think that the officials are already in the pocket for Argentina, while others are filled with pride for how far #Colombia has come and are widely stressing the importance of "losing with dignity" if the game doesn't work out in the team's favour.

I hope everyone has a really fun match. No ugliness! Just good clean #Sportsball. 😊 #Copa

Good morning to all you gloriously messy flesh suits!

Happy Sunday to you brilliantly persevering meat sacks!

A glorious day to all you wayward ships for some 39 trillion microbes - all of which know better than to read the news, but which definitely get stressed out when we do.

Be good to your decaying biochemical wonderlands! Scroll today with the full knowledge that we're but brief witnesses to the cosmos in these fragile, stinky forms.

Hug a loved one. Touch grass. Have a KitKat. 💛

And here's another one:

Aloe Blacc - "Love Is The Answer"

What makes this music so powerful is that it doesn't come from naivete. It comes from witnessing hardship, experiencing hopelessness, and losing time and again in a world that treats violence as "rational" and every other solution as a sucker's gambit.

There is a time and place for every tool.

And one of those tools--a big one--is growing in empathy.

Even and especially when it feels impossible.

#CoSoMusic
https://youtu.be/WZycgX792hE