july 9 in idea barrages

We live in a culture that thinks the worst disease imaginable is a case of the Not-Famous and we wander through life with this imaginary leprosy, trying to mob the famous through our parasocial network connections, begging the blessed ones to heal us of our diseased irrelevance.

Sometimes I feel like a story barker, a literal art carny.

When Dorothy danced down the yellow brick road, was that oppan gingham style?

Frankenstein was the doctor. His podcast “Making Friends” was the monster.

The idea of whispering videos being sponsored by something called Audible is the kind of absurdity our society deserves.

The magic of summoning a friendly train from the Shining Path Station is known as thomasturgy.

Any urban legend that involves people giving away drugs just to poison people ignores the fact that if someone has street drugs, they are only going to do one of two things with them, sell them or use them. That’s it, that’s all. That’s what they’re there for.

The myth of irrevocable progress, that there are things that once they’re made right can never backslide, it’s poison to democracy. Things can always get worse, things can always get bad again and at least half your fight is always in just holding the now.