Social media is dead
The internet as we knew it is over. That’s been clear for at least a year, but recently it feels like the discourse is catching up. The social media...
Fun with footprints
Two years ago, I wrote about human footprints discovered in New Mexico’s White Sands National Park that appeared to be over 20,000 years old. That was a big...
A creative milestone
First of all: hi! I’m back. Second of all: I submitted by book manuscript! It was three years, one pandemic, and several life- and deadline-derailing health...
Half-assing my 1000 Words
I’m doing 1000 Words of Summer again. The proposition is simple: write 1000 words every day for two weeks. Each day, you get an encouraging email from author...
So far
It’s very hot here in Mexico City. The highs have been in the low 30s C/high 80s F, which is not that hot compared to other places I’ve lived—or most other...
Prehistoric Planet’s dinosaurs are different
I first heard about Prehistoric Planet, Apple TV+’s CGI dinosaur show, I thought it sounded like a ridiculous gimmick. A nature documentary about animals...
The human sacrifice problem
When the culture war came for me
Tools for embodiment
Hello, it’s been a while! It turns out my big problem was not as solved as I hoped, and while I was feeling bad again, I had to commit the self-harm of...
Happy anniversary
First of all: I wrote a story! It’s about how people in the past related to the ruins that surrounded them, and what those interactions can reveal about how...
AI sounds like your boss
The discourse around the Coming of AI has been inescapable on my internet for several months now, and probably yours too. I haven’t tried Chat GPT, or Bing,...
On solving the big problem
In my last newsletter, about working with and through the fatigue caused by hypothyroidism, I wrote: All the tools and tricks I’ve developed for dealing with...
Work in the time of fatigue
I’ve been tired lately. Clinically tired. I got COVID (again) in July, it was weird (again), and I haven’t been fully awake since. It’s not Long COVID,...
Talokan Forever
As an archaeology writer living in Mexico City, I spend an above average amount of time imagining life in pre-colonial Mesoamerica and early colonial Mexico....
Power, colonialism, and daylight saving time
Three weeks ago, Mexico permanently ended daylight saving time. We fell back one last time, and we won’t be springing forward ever again. (In most of the...
Fun with branding
Now that I’ve quit Twitter like a rat leaping from a burning ship into the cold, dark, open ocean, it’s time to spruce up my newsletter. My personal brand on...
The sweet release of deactivation
I look forward to spending more time on crafts like these. I did it! I quit Twitter. Despite what the timing would suggest, my decision is not (entirely)...
The bleakness of space
William Shatner’s essay about going to space on a Blue Origin flight has been bouncing around my internet for the past few weeks, and it’s as good as...
Should I get back on Twitter?
Long time newsletter readers will remember that a little over two years ago, I soft blocked Twitter from my life and my mind. I didn’t delete it, but I...
The rest cure
Well, I got COVID again, and it’s weird, again. At this point, writing about it or anything else feels impossible, but I hope that won’t be the case forever....
A parable on two wheels
One of the experiences I’m proudest to have cultivated during the pandemic is that of surrender. As a recovering perfectionist control freak, it’s valuable...