The culture wars have been raging for a little while now, on all kinds of different fronts in so many different ways. We're fighting about the idea of "white culture", the cultural appropriation of Native Americans and black Americans, how to clearly and succinctly define what's offensive about one thing while another thing is given … Continue reading (Politics) For The Culture
Author: Jakebe
(Personal) Tharn
It's been a rough summer for me, anxiety-wise. The news is full of terrible stories from the current president's administration in the United States, and it's coming so fast the scandals just bleed together. Saying the President or his Cabinet has done something awful that threatens the fabric of democracy is like saying water is … Continue reading (Personal) Tharn
(Self-Improvement) In Praise of Mistakes
Mistakes are a fundamental part of the human condition -- almost as much as our fear of making them. Because of the way we're designed and the reality we live in, we're imperfect creatures limited by our experience, perspective and the momentum of habit. It's natural that these things would push us to do something … Continue reading (Self-Improvement) In Praise of Mistakes
(Geekery) Serving Our Stories, Ourselves
We don't live in times where self-reflection is encouraged often enough. I mean, I understand why it feels so hard to take a moment to check in with ourselves and make adjustments where needed; making sure we're living up to our own values feels awfully self-indulgent when so many people around us feel as if … Continue reading (Geekery) Serving Our Stories, Ourselves
(Personal) A Writer’s Almanac: July 2018
We're in the second half of the year, and now would be an excellent time to review my progress on my New Year's Resolutions. I'm not going to do that, though; I know I've done a terrible job with what I aimed to do in 2018 and I know why. So July is going to … Continue reading (Personal) A Writer’s Almanac: July 2018
(Friday Fiction) Mr. Roovum Goes to Washington
Hurley was not expecting to be greeted by the sight of a giant Kangaroo in a tailored three-piece suit when he opened the door to the roof of his newspaper's headquarters, but here he was. The Raccoon had rushed back from lunch when he first felt the tremors rocking the street, and by the time … Continue reading (Friday Fiction) Mr. Roovum Goes to Washington
(Politics) Your Light is All You Have
The world is on fire and nothing is okay. At a time when climate change is chugging along exactly as scientists said it would, when we're running out of fresh water and the crude, polluting oil we've built our entire society around, the world is caught up in a wave of xenophobia, authoritarianism and weaponized … Continue reading (Politics) Your Light is All You Have
(Personal) A Writer’s Journal: June 2018
June was a terrible month for writing, but it turned out to be a great month for collecting experiences that would be good for writing later. At the beginning of the month I was spending my last day in Paris recovering from several days of non-stop record-setting walking around; at the end of it, I'll … Continue reading (Personal) A Writer’s Journal: June 2018
(Politics) Fighting to Save the Things We Love
"That's how we're going to win: not fighting what we hate, saving what we love." - Rose Tico, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Last week, the actress who played Rose, Kelly Marie Tran, deleted her Instagram account after months of harassment rooted in racism and misogyny by trolls who hated her inclusion in the Skywalker … Continue reading (Politics) Fighting to Save the Things We Love
(Travel) A Jackalope in France and England
My Husband, The Dragon and I got back to the United States last Wednesday afternoon, and it's taken us a minute to catch up to things after two weeks out of the country. We're still not entirely done; news moves fast these days, and laundry piles up faster still. We really wanted to take it … Continue reading (Travel) A Jackalope in France and England