The most interesting geopolitical analysis comes from Peter Turchin who sees political instability as a 50-year cycle, driven by stagnating wages, a growing wealth gap, a surplus of educated elites (without corresponding elite jobs), and accelerating fiscal deficit.
His
extraordinarily prescient Nature piece was actually published 15 years ago at the height of the Obama
Hope & Change hype.
###
I keep reminding myself that it's nuts to fixate on the stuff that's happening in LA because there's absolutely nothing I can
do about the stuff that's happening in LA.
I've never seen the slightest utility in signing petitions or petitioning elected officials. And at this point, I'm wondering about continuing to participate in those
rah-rah, feel-good demonstrations too. (Although I probably will. There's a big demonstration in Kingston this weekend.)
I want to turn myself into a cypher so I can slip into the deep underground as effortlessly as possible.
Though there's always the issue of how do you
identify the deep underground? Do they advertise on NYC subway ads? As an ad flash at the end of Words With Friends games? On billboards along remote highways? Do they post notices on the backs of cereal boxes? Is there some secret tic or flash hand signal I can do while I'm walking around the Galleria that will validate me as prime recruitment material? It's so
very Thomas Pynchon!!
And what exactly would this deep underground do?
Smuggle Hispanic workers from Home Depot parking lots in the States to Home Depot parking lots in Canada like an underground railroad?
###
Okay, I'm being facetious & obnoxious.
I think the political situation in much of Central America is appalling, and I completely sympathize with immigrants who are seeking asylum. I also sympathize with many of the folk who are up here for economic reasons: There are plenty of jobs that most Americans don't want to do; if immigrants want to do them, that's a good thing, right?
I also suspect in fewer than 15 years, American citizens will be desperately applying for asylum in various places around the world.
Hello! My great-great-great-great grandfather migrated XXX years ago! Take me back!!!! PULEEEEEZE!!!!!###
Anyway...
It's raining. It's
been raining. The New Paltz garden is partially flooded, so no weeding for me today.
I couldn't figure out whether or not I was sick yesterday. My nose was running & I felt utterly exhausted, but it seemed to me that that could have been
completely psychosomatic. Malingering, in other words!
So, I toddled off to the gym.
And I'd like to write,
And going to the gym made me feel a whole lot better! Except going to the gym did
not, in fact, make me feel a whole lot better. Though it did not make me feel a whole lot worse.
While I worked out, I thought about
manifesting.Like if I had this
prompt thing down, I could materialize a wish that would net me $15 million—my neeeeeeeds are modest!—
without imperiling the welfare of anyone I care about, or causing the destruction of some fabulous place I love, or adding to the misery of some beaten-down population segment.
I'll keep working on it.
Tuesday – The Solstice
Jun. 10th, 2025 12:52 amToday's theme is the solstice. It’ll be the summer solstice in a few days here in the northern hemisphere and the winter in the south so let’s celebrate the solstice. You can go the pagan route if that works for your fandoms. Have your characters frolic in the summer sun. Hot cocoa and snowmen? Sure, that’s good winter fun. Explore the seasons!
Just a few rules:
No more than five prompts in a row.
No more than three prompts in the same fandom.
Use the character's full names and the fandom's full name
No spoilers in prompts for a month after airing, or use the spoiler cut option found here.
If your fill contains spoilers, warn and leave plenty of space, or use the above-mentioned spoiler cut.
If your story has possible triggers, please warn for them in the subject line!
Prompts should be formatted as follows: [Use the character's full names and fandom's full name]
Fandom, Character +/ Character, Prompt
Some examples to get the ball rolling...
+ Prodigal Son, Malcolm Bright + any, it’s the ten anniversary of a killer who only kills on the solstice
+ Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Willow Rosenberg/ Tara McClay + any, harnessing the energy of the solstice
+ Hazbin Hotel Angel Dust/Husk + any, it’s hard to tell if it’s summer in hell
+ The Owl House, Luz Noceda/Amity Blight + any, trying to explain the solstice to Amity
We are now using AO3 to bookmark filled prompts. If you fill a prompt and post it to AO3 please add it to the Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2025 collection. See further notes on this new option here.
Not feeling any of today’s prompts? You can use LJ’s advanced search options to limit keyword results to only comments in this community.
While the use of LJ's advanced search options is available, bookmarking the links of prompts you like might work better for searching in the future.
If you are viewing this post on our Dreamwidth site, please know that fills posted here will not show up as comments on our LiveJournal site but you are still more than welcome to participate.
If you have a Dreamwidth account and would feel more comfortable participating there, please feel free to do so…and spread the word!
tag= solstice