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My mom would make offhand references to "come the revolution" when I was growing up. I'm not going to say she went out of her way to suggest that would yet skip a generation, but if she knew it would hit me, she was hiding it well.

She was a Democrat, to the point of being part of a few campaigns for congressmen and senators. My dad, on the other hand, was fully on board with the Thatcher/Reagan trickle-down mindset. Why Thatcher first? We didn't have a portrait of Reagan in the office.

We were nonetheless a family that got invited to things. The Christmas party with Sandra Day O'Connor every year. Gubernatorial candidates from both parties would show up on off years.

When you grow up like this, it's very easy to believe the system is working for everyone. College was paid for, even though I never finished. The experience of going into debt would wait a few years. And then, the layoffs.

At this point, the only reasons I'm not totally fucked are I work freelance and can't be found. I've not talked with the friend whose address I use in months on account of creditors showing up at 9 p.m. attempting to serve papers. His kids go to bed at 8, so I get it.

But what has sprung from this is a drastic shift without a clutch (ask your parents) from thinking being part of the system was the best outlet to effect change to having zero belief the system can be changed. Sure, it can be, but we'll get the same results, just slightly less lemon.

I don't think you can get much more establishment than aspiring to The Washington Post. I still have an April 2003 A1 where I moved a hed after the AME/News came down to review my redesign, 18 months out of college and without a degree, and invited me up for a night on the desk. It sounded a lot more impressive at 23, I'll grant.

He'd then tell me in Savannah, Ga., over a beer at the hotel bar that he thought I was Post material, but I needed to get the immature shit out of my system, first. Ahead of the Post contingent and me piling into a car where the main topic was "what bullshit did Woodward pull today?" Seriously, consider hearing this conversation less than a year into your career in journalism.

I believed in it back then. I can't now. And to be honest, it's broken me of having a full eight hours to devote to the craft. I'm lucky to have four hours before by brain says no.

What the Post and L.A. Times have done may look bad externally; internally, I assure you it looks worse. NYT thankfully showed its true colours quite some time back, so this was more waiting for shoes to drop.

I did not join Beehaw to change the world. I joined my school paper to do that.

And, well, now Gannett owns everything. You can't even sell efficiencies to managers there, since they need bad data to justify their jobs.

There is no solution here within the scope of the current economic model. So, congratulations, deregulated capitalism, you fucking turned someone raised to accept you. I suspect many others have something to say.

Happy New Year from the future.

In no particular order, here follow a few the most inspirational things I read, last year, in 2024. They kindled my hope. Now, at the start of the new year, I revisit them and recommend them whole heartedly.

ONLY POSITIVITY HERE ⇒ https://blog.probabilism.dev/2025/january/be-alive-in-2025/

Here are some cut-and-paste teaser snippets listed entirely and inappropriately out of context:

• "When our brain is really …, we’ll dream about it."
• "I choose to open the box…"
• "Artistic Solidarity" mentioned!
• "Daydreaming is important"
• "... very weird art tools"

holidays edition!

I should have known better than to have something delivered just before Christmas. While a DC-DC charger from the alternator was delivered, it was not the right one and utterly useless in a chassis that cannot serve as ground.

In the past, this sort of error has been fixed by returning the errant item to the locker and having a replacement on its way. That's apparently no longer an option. I have to go through the replacement process, wait for the money to be refunded to my credit card, and then wait for the thrill of being allowed to order again. I sent the requested photographic proof, showing I'd received the box for a nonisolated version, and the rep said he was an electrician and immediately saw the problem on an aluminum chassis, but his hands were tied.

Earliest I can now attempt to receive the correct item is Dec. 30. Because it's cloudy often this time of year, this charger is the baseline needed for solar to consistently be reliable; last year at this time, I had two mains options to plug into.

It's beginning to look a lot like a shit Christmas. There's nowhere in town that sells what I need. On the plus side, at least I can't work without reliable internet, and it looks like T-Mobile just decided it doesn't like my 5G SIM card for that.

And suddenly all is well.

I feel at peace, I often take things on the internet too literally (in person too lol). The whole "touch grass" phrase that many people use doesn't really resonate with those of us who are neurodivergent. I'm just weary of the online world, but it's refreshing to see platforms like Lemmy and others in the Fediverse allowing us to control the content we engage with. It's not just about the content, the audience is different as well.

Whew! How are you guys today?

It's difficult to know whether sharing mine would seem self-serving or inviting.

It was election night, 2000. I was newly 21, as was my editor at the college paper. She got to go to an election party where the mood turned out sombre, and I'm left to figure out just how much we blow deadline by. Then call an editorial cartoonist at 3 a.m. to draw up a recreation of the Dewey hed. Which took up half the page above the fold (you don't call someone at 3 a.m. and then bury the art) under a hed of "Florida Holds the Keys."

Once we'd gotten the flats to the printer (due by midnight), USA Today was already on the rack on the Ave. when we got back. The first dek on the A1 election story was "Florida holds the key." This is where I start thinking I might be capable of pulling this off as a career.

That night was a crazy outlier. Goddamn Aaron Sorkin scene writ large. We weren't just short presidential results, but I think there was a congressional district too close to call. There was, of course, attrition as the hours got so late they became early, but with those who remained, there was a bond.

And, frankly, I'd take that night again over an orgasm any day. Or night.

currently on the tail end of a sinus infection

The simple trick to keeping one's upper body warm is adding layers. However, wearing multiple socks does not work for the feet. At least not for me. Any advice? Preferably non-electric solutions.

Photo credit: Shashi Chaturvedula.

The widely held belief of the echo chamber has been bothering me for a while now. I don't question the phenomenon itself. It's happened often enough; I totally agree this is a thing. What bugs me though is the idea that the root cause is members of a group agreeing too much.

Agreement is good wtf. Consensus should be a welcome occasional checkpoint. How are you even supposed to build healthy communities if you don't share some common ground, like say equality for all. Sealioning is not a vaccine against radicalization. If anything the constant bickering from contrarians has the opposite effect.

Diversity may be a better sign of healthy community. Diversity of age, origins, gender, whatever. I don't believe such a community turns into a radicalization timebomb for being like-minded. We need shared values to build upon, lest loneliness swallows us all.

Nevertheless I feel that obsessing over the homogeneous aspect of an echo chamber is mistaking the symptoms for the essence. My intuition is that the danger is in the discourse itself and to a certain extent in the platform used. I can't say I've made up my mind on the specifics though.

What do you think? It's OK if you disagree lol 🤪

Just a random thought I had I think clockwise is the way to go.

I'd consider myself somewhere between spiritual and maybe kind of pagan, idk

Most of my practice revolves around plants and crystals (no I'm not going to sell you some alternative medicine bullshit, science and spirituality are separate and any mixture doesn't end well) ex catholic so I burrow small aspects from that but tend to avoid it mostly. Been looking into deities lately but haven't integrated any into my primary stuff yet.

Also been doing stuff with a tarot deck lately, that's been fun

2024 wrapped is here. Post your stuff.

If you're looking for a laugh

https://volt.fm/roast is amazing

Approximately 8-10 inches fell overnight. Got 90% of it cleared with the snow thrower in about 30 minutes. The rest took about 20 minutes with shovels.

after a busy last week things have calmed down significantly; about to finish a 900 page book in three days, which is quite an accomplishment

I love scrolling beehaw because there are no rightwing Pepe greentexts choking every other post

I stumbled over this independent journalist and transparency advocate's website, which has a page titled "123 Things Emma Did", which has highlights like the following and made me want to share

5. I was once chastised for “having a staring contest with a security camera.”
6. They said I wasn’t allowed to use the suggestion box anymore because I kept suggesting design changes for the box.

Looking at the About page, she has an impressive record [beyond trolling/having fun].

I'm posting this from a flip phone! What's going on with you guys?!

busy coordinating some important left-wing stuff; i might be able to share this soon if things go well because it'll be public record :)

I found out today a friend I used to perform with is facing eviction. One of their friends made them a GoFundMe page. Not sure if there's a rule against posting mutual aid on beehaw but if you could help share or chip in a few bucks that would be swell. Thanks!

Using Lemmy again after a year of absence. What just happened? I was just on a post of mine on that instance and now nothing will load. Is the server down? 😭