WaDI Newsletter: Living on Another Planet
Preface
Hi everyone! I’m not going to write another “it’s been a while since we last talked” intro because I’m just going to accept that this is how this newsletter is going to be. I’m trying to build a template to make it easier to write and all the other things but who knows how successful it’ll be.
So, how are you all doing?
Living on Another Planet
”We’re not living in another country, but another planet.” That’s one of the things Özgür Uçkan said to me years ago and stuck with me since then. And this keeps repeating in my head because that feeling of isolation and being stuck is here. Again.
There are many things about here either directly or indirectly tries to trap anyone’s mind and body inside these borders. This can be government stupidity or malice, people living here or things never working as it should be. And because of that, this feeling of being isolated can be triggered something as small as not being able to receive a book you ordered from abroad a month ago.
(I have to add that not being able to receive a book titled “How to Future” is very poetic. Turkey: the country where even a book about the future never arrives.)
Of course the main reason I have those feelings are not the book and the postal service which never works as it should be. But the fact that nothing really works here as it should be and no one actually cares. “You’re trapped here, so just shut up and suck it. It’s not like you can actually change anything for the better.” This sucks all your energy, all your hope and feeling isolated from rest of the world can make these worse.
And I’m not sure if leaving is the answer. Sure, it will solve many problems from working and writing more freely to stop worrying about the mandatory military service. But like Paul Graham recently wrote on his blog post, your mind will still be here. You can be a famous and successful rapper like Ezhel and can just move to Berlin but you still have to feel like you need to write a song all about this stuff. Looks like we have a Hotel California situation in our hands.
Wish I had a solution. The closest thing I have to a solution is what I’m doing right now. This newsletter, my blog, every other place I write and put ideas out so that I can still have that connection with the rest of the world. This is why most of the time writing is not just about putting my ideas out but also connecting with other people, having that sense of community. To make sure I have at least one way outside this planet.
Status Report
- Turkey’s new social media law come into effect at October 1st. I have an interview at Tagesschau.de for the fellow German speakers. Since it looks like I’ll be talking more about this, I’m also working on an in-depth piece right now, probably publishing at Patreon + personal blog soon. (If you’re an editor interested in this, feel free to reach out.)
- Over at the blog, I’ve started a new blogchain to talk about terms and concepts. Next part of that is coming this week. There’s also a post about Goodreads and TheStoryGraph, and another one collecting most of the recent interviews.
Quote of the Week
”While I don’t generally have favorable opinions of libertarianism, I do respect their proponents’ staunch desire to be wrong at every turn about how humans operate in the real world.”
— Can Duruk, “All politics is bad, says Coinbase”
Filtered Down
- Ad Tech Could Be the Next Internet Bubble — Gilad Edelman
- Solarpunk: Life in the Future Beyond the Rusted Chrome of Yestermorrow — Jay Springett
- 15 rules for blogging, and my current streak — Matt Webb
- Fashion … or fascist? The long tussle over that Fred Perry logo — Nosheen Iqbal
- The struggle to combat cyber bullying begins with compassion — Jillian C. York
Epilogue
Started writing this one on Saturday and it looks like this newsletter will become a Monday one. Maybe it’ll work better for me. Instead of thinking this as an end of the week writing, I can start my week with this. Let’s see.
Picture at the beginning is a screenshot I took from the game Destiny 2. Decided to return actively playing it because why not? Look at this beautiful view!
Closing with the new Deftones album. They’re one of those bands I’ll listen whatever they release. Their new album Ohms is not an exception.
Thanks for reading this far. Take care of yourselves and see you around the internet!