Playing With Quicksilver

Amanda & Neil: A Horror Story in Romance Form

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 10:20:00 -0500

The recent news around Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman is provoking some deep thoughts around the nature of the relationship between art, most notably popular art, and artists.

Enter Sandman

I fell in love with Neil Gaiman work in college in the late 80s. I had an amazing visual arts instructor who told us to go to a GOOD comics shop and take the time to find something we truly enjoyed and could become immersed in - swept away by. The comic shop owner and I had a conversation, and he pointed me at Sandman issue 1. I was blown away. Myth and magic woven through tales that spoke to a deep sense of wonder and … reverence? I have always had for civilizations past and the tales they told. And dark. These stories were DARK in ways I hadn’t encountered before. They spoke of cruelty and murder and torture and unjust imprisonment. Of the hardships of life and death and what it might be like to be a being that in some ways transcended all these things, and in others not so much. I’ll admit it never really dawned on me that one of the threads tying the Sandman narrative together was the idea that we should pity the monster. That they can hurt too. All of this was in a disconnected realm of fantasy. An escape from the bits of my life that fit like a bad suit. And then, 3+ decades later to learn that in fact these stories that spoke to me so deeply, that meant so much to me were written by a man who is a monster in a very real sense? Well, needless to say I’m finding that hard to take.

I am SO DONE With the Masking Policy Issue

Tue, 28 May 2024 12:30:51 -0400

First off:

I am not against masks.
I am not against mask policies.
I am not against people expressing their views in an attempt to influence civic policy. But I am sick and tired of watching communities tear themselves apart and event organizers be put in the unenviable position of angering one half of the populace or another. I understand that you feel that being forced to wear a mask is an affront to your personal freedoms, and I also understand how the other half of you feel that this is a public health crisis and that there is only one right answer to this situation. And I am sick as all get out of listening to/reading posts by all of you :) I’ve had COVID-19 three times thus far myself. As someone who’s 55 years old, I take this issue VERY seriously and will often mask in large groups where I can. Now can we all please stop being at each others throats about this and get back to trying to live our lives the best we can in a crazy 2024? :)

Feel Good By Doing Good

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 16:44:10 -0500

If you’re anything like me, the last several years have been a rough go. The overturning of Roe V. Wayde was a blow to women’s rights here in America. Please don’t tell me about how it was bad law. From my perspective you’re arguing over academics when countless women are suffering and, in some cases literally dying due to the narrow minded and in many cases bigoted laws being passed in many red states. And then, when governor DeSantis in Florida signed a bill into law that made gender affirming care illegal, for me, that was the last straw. I am a very firm believer in the idea that every society should be judged by the way it treats its weakest members, and by that measure we are failing miserably. Between war, disease and strife in our own country, it would be very easy to just drown in a sea of negativity even when many of us lead lives of relative splendor, especially compared to just about anywhere else in the world. So to that end, I was tremendously inspired by a post from someone whose work I very much admire on the Fediverse: Not long after that post, I happened to be at a local Infosec conference where I saw a talk about Techs for Reproductive Justice. Those folks are seriously awesome people and doing really great work, so I’ve been doing my best to help out there. It feels good to actually do something. To move the needle as a result of your actions, even if it’s only by an infinitesimal amount. So I would humbly suggest that others do the same. Take that energy you might otherwise spend reading the news or doom scrolling and put it towards helping out with some charity or cause that inspires you. Everyone has their own unique talents to bring to the table, and the amount of help needed across the board may well surprise you. You’ll thank yourself and maybe even me later :)

The EFF is Wrong About Kiwi Farms

Sat, 09 Sep 2023 19:35:18 -0400

Seeing a lot of people (rightly?) be up in arms about the @eff@mastodon.social’s stance on Kiwifarms.

I will say that the situation has more subtlety and complexity than it seems on the surface, so while I won’t condemn anyone for coming down on these folks for their arguably questionable stance, you should at least read their position statement on the topic.

Substack Considered Harmful

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 05:21:20 -0400

Editor’s Note: I used ChatGPT to help me be less of a windbag. The intent, if not the exact phrasing, is entirely mine.

Cynical.

Sun, 23 Apr 2023 21:28:15 -0400

I can feel myself becoming a cynical old man. For some people that might be seen as the natural course of events. However, this has never been my nature. I am and have always been a “The glass is half full, DAMMIT!” kind of person :)

Everything Is Terrible Because Humans Suck

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 16:07:03 -0500

As I write this, I am enjoying the final moments of a rare privilege in modern society: A few weeks off between jobs.

We all know how it feels to come to the end of a vacation and think “Wow that FLEW by. What did I DO?”. I made a conscious decision to use this time well, and I’m happy to say that I think I have.

The Only Winning Move Is Not To Play

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 21:01:39 -0400

I have always in my heart of hearts been an idealist.

I spent most of my young life lost in my own head a bunch of the time, escaping from whatever bothered me through books.

Two Years Of Lockdown Aaaaand Now COVID-19!

Mon, 04 Apr 2022 12:34:53 -0400

“Biohazard Grunge Sign - Sepia” by Free Grunge Textures - www.freestock.ca is licensed under CC BY 2.0

For the last two years, we have stayed 1000% locked down. Masks, minimal contact with anyone outside our household, all of it. But hey, things are opening up, right? Time for us all to take on a BIT more risk, go out into the world and live a little. Last weekend we visited friends in New Hampshire. We ate lunch and dinner with them at two separate breweries (I like a good beer now and again :) And as a result this morning I tested positive for COVID-19. I am honestly in a quandary around how people are expected to confidently go out into the public and live their lives when what they can expect in return is, even for people who are vaxxed and boosted to the max like myself, a positively miserable experience. I THINK I’m over the worst of it - maybe? This weekend was awful. My whole body turned into a giant block of ice and I couldn’t warm up no matter what I did (I finally made myself somewhat comfortable with 4 layers of clothing and 2 stout blankets). Today I’m just left with sore throat, cough, runny nose, and a diminished sense of taste (and probably smell. Can’t tell. Too congested.) I understand that economic exigency means we all need to get over our fears and go back into the world but at what cost? Like I said, there are no deep thoughts here. I’m just sick and a little irrationally angry. We worked SO hard to stay safe all the time, and the moment we relax I get the plague :) Stay well everyone!

This is Mine.

Wed, 09 Mar 2022 18:13:31 -0500

This is my blog. There are many like it, but this one is authentically mine. I wrote the content, I (badly!) chose the colors, styled the pages. All of it. My skills in the area of web design are nascent at best but I hope to grow them over time. I also plan to use this site as a jumping off point for other experiments in technology and thought. But mostly, I want this to be a place to play :) In that spirit, the picture attached to this post is my adorable rescue dog Cookie, hanging out with Winnie The Pooh, for no other reason than it makes me smile :)