Entirely possible that I'm a little bit toasted and pulling the midnight shift to get a newsletter piece finished before dawn and a new day's mucked-up work schedule of back-to-back Zooms from 10 to 8.

I still love you all very much!

One thing I know be true:

Even when many of us have diametrically opposing views - when some are war-bound, while others are peace-seeking; when some delight in the suffering of political rivals, while others strive for pluralist coexistence - we're all doing the best we can in any given moment, with the social inputs we've been given & the different info silos we consume.

We are all from the same planet, & face the same return to dust.

It's merely the messy middle that causes such despair.

I wasn't sure if I was in the space for this episode of Ologies, but the moment this expert identified themself as a person with bipolar, I knew I could trust the narrative. This is an excellent, calm, insightful overview of many elements (environmental, biological) that conspire to convince us that our only/best option is death. A good resource to combat the stigma of talking about the complex pressure points shaping suicidal ideation.

#Suicide #MentalHealth #Wellness

https://pca.st/episode/b73829ff-b195-431d-9a8b-5160e6669822

New emergency meeting just dropped tomorrow. 😂 Ah well... I'll get caught up on all my other work eventually, I'm sure.

What's that famous definition of death? "Dying is the act of leaving things undone"?

I really wonder sometimes why we bother trying to one-up that standard while we're alive!

The world is filled with heavy, complex news and ugly, hateful attitudes today.

Sending along a big ol' hug to those sitting uneasily with it all.

Off for a wee walk before class.

I love that this morning I had two comment threads going on CoSo - one about the complex pain of political division among family and friends, and one about smut.

And yet, why not?

Here on #CoSo, we are large. (TWSS) We contain multitudes. (She wishes!) 🕊️😈

🤦🏻‍♂️ You know you're moving among poor folk when they get super excited by the plastic bin your cookies came in.

I mean, I knew they would be, but it's a whole other level when you see a group of people *that* excited about tupperware they're "allowed" to keep, and talking about all the simple, nourishing foods they can store in it. Woof. I have no complaints in life. None. Zip. Nada!

(My friend's recovery is going beautifully, though! On the road to full arm functionality, huzzah!)

All right. Was waiting on a call, and now I can head off to start the day in earnest. Have a lovely one, you saucy beasts!

🧐 We should gear up to our next #Zine call, yeah?

I have a few more Big Ticket Items this work week, but I'll start badgering people for subs this weekend - with an #Ekphrasis challenge to go into our next issue, for anyone who isn't sure how to focus their creativity and take part!

(@Boyceaz, there is already a crossword-sized hole in my heart/layout, just for you!)

Well, it's #CoSoAfterDark somewhere, so...

#RandomQuestions

Folks, what's your favourite euphemism for any of the contents of our scanties?*

Yes, yes, I'm talking about our 🍆s, 🍑s, and 🍒s. Positive euphemisms preferred, rather than terms you'd hurl at someone in a fight, but I'm more curious about range and regional quirks.

(And if your favourite euphemism isn't "cash and prizes", why not? 😉)

On the plus side: #HorseFriends are back. (With bonus hazily captured giant moon.) The world is filled with so much pain, and I'm still making cookies for a friend in recovery when I get home. Morning, CoSo!

Anyway, that's how I woke up at least. 🙃

We will try to keep sanity and peace-building alive.

We will keep advocating for democracy in a world haunted by nationalist extremism.

We will not let the constant strain of war exacerbate racist, xenophobic, and otherwise dehumanizing local politics.

And we will be gentle with one another where we can, when we can, whenever we disagree about how best to get to a world of greater care & readiness for all the other, major social battles of our time.

(& the super clever part is how much no one is allowed to be concerned about escalation, because doing so is easily spun as sympathy for terrorists! Most Westerners have no idea what the Blue Line even is, so they think there's a simple border being fought over: not the case.)

This is "How To Leverage A Superpower To Do Your Bidding 101".

Again, my heart goes out to all the civilians. This is a nightmare of ego with no clear end, when we have other global crises to attend to. #Israel #Politics

#Politics #Israel

It's really something else, watching the US continue to act as though it has the power to stop Netanyahu. It's been trying to temper N's northern objectives for *months*.

Folks on the left think it's just a matter of halting arms shipments, but yesterday made quite clear that Netanyahu will escalate with whatever he has, & the moment there's fuller retaliation, bigger regional obligations will keep the US locked in. It's absurd how much now depends on the restraint of others.

Okay. Editing project finished and sent out, *just* in the nick of time. Time for a wee walk before evening class.

And... maybe a Patreon essay after?

I still have that piece to write based on thoughts from last week's book fair. Wandering those stacks definitely left me with Big Existential Feels that have been haunting me since.

Probably best to get them down on "paper" (screen) sometime soon, to unclog the noggin.

(It's like blowing one's nose, but with words instead of boogers!)

#Soon

Passing this on for folks in #Ohio, or anyone who knows voters in that region.

"In November, Ohio residents will have an opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment that would finally abolish the state’s extreme partisan gerrymandering. Instead, the Ohio Supreme Court’s Republican majority ruled that the amendment will be described in egregiously misleading terms on the ballot itself, with ultra-biased language designed to turn citizens against it."

#Democracy
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/09/ohio-supreme-court-voter-fraud-gop.html

Terrific read on the parasitic nature of corporations: buoyed lately by #AI, but grifting long before it, too.

"It’s no coincidence that these parasite platforms are the same companies investing heavily in AI. They must do this because even they understand that they are killing their hosts. ...

That tick sucking my blood at LaGuardia was a small annoyance. The parasites in the culture are now too big to fit inside the largest airplane hangar."

#Technology #Corporations
https://open.substack.com/pub/tedgioia/p/are-we-now-living-in-a-parasite-culture