This is only a test
Hello, all. It’s been a while, ain’t it? Well, life, a new job, and general laziness have kept me busy and/or staring blankly on the couch, so there you go.
So why is this a test? Because people, or more specifically people who run online platforms, can really suck sometimes. When I launched this newsletter, it was on a small platform called Tiny Letter. I liked it because it was simple and did everything I wanted it to do without making me take a class at the annex.
Eventually, a bigger, more marketing-oriented platform called Mailchimp bought Tiny Letter, but swore it was going to leave alone. Eventually, it was announced Tiny Letter would be shut down.
By that time, Elon Musk was making a real mess of Twitter by encouraging anti-semitism, racism, anti-trans sentiment … you name it, Musk loved it. So I was leaving Twitter while another newsletter/social media platform called Substack started gaining in popularity. It hit all my buttons, and I really enjoyed the ease of use combined with very good tools for community and audience building.
You can probably see where this is going.
Soon enough, it came out that the folks running Substack were fine with people using the platform to promote Nazi rhetoric and symbolism, as well as for real-world organizing. It’s despicable, but within a pig-person’s right. The real issue was that not only was this encouraged and not moderated in any way, but due to the way Substack is set up, it also gave these would-be fascists a way to monetize their messaging (something Substack also profited from). So, again, I abandoned another morally specious website.
I should point out that I’m not naive — I know no one and nothing is pure. Including me: I’m still on Facebook and Instagram and its Twitter-substitute Threads. But I’m trying.
Long story short (too late!), I’m using yet another newsletter platform now, which is basically run by one guy who has publicly said there is no place for nascent fascism on his site. Fingers crossed.
Anyway, how’ve you been?
Quickly
Reading: A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allen Poe by Mark Dawidziak
Also reading: Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
Watching: Currently hooked on PlutoTV, which has allowed me to watch a bunch of fringe movies, Canadian show Kim’s Convenience, Chicago-based sitcom Teachers, and a couple of days ago three hours of Kojak.
Saw: The total solar eclipse, which is as awe-inspiring and ultimately indescribable and people say.
Went: To D.C. as part of a visit to see my niece, her husband, and their eight-month-old baby. My grand-nephew is, objectively, beautiful and perfect.