Thoughts & Scribbles
Criticism, observation, and the occasional detour.
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Patriotic Millionaires and the Wealth Tax Theatre
I saw a story about rich people in England offering to pay a wealth tax. “So even the rich have finally noticed things are out of control,” I thought. I was wrong, of course. When I looked into it, I found that this group of millionaires was founded in 2010.…
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Sony Ends Physical Games: The End of Digital Ownership
If you don’t own the thing you paid for, you’ve rented it. But renting is an honest relationship: the tenant knows the property isn’t theirs, the term is fixed, the terms are clear from the start. Licensing, on the other hand, manufactures an illusion of ownership. It makes you click…
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Where’s the problem? The migrants, The police, or The laws?
it’s the anniversary of the Casey audit — the independent review that finally dragged this into daylight. eight closed files reopening, one sentence headed to appeal, new gangs in four counties. and all of it on the day the attention calendrically circled back around. the thing runs deep, it’s old,…
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Why Are We Unhappy?
We have jobs. We have a place to sleep. We have families who understand and support us. Technologically speaking, we live better than any medieval king, our food stays fresh in the fridge, we drive eco-friendly electric cars, we can reach the whole world from a screen in our pocket.…
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99 Writing Mistakes I Keep Making
I want to be a writer. Which means, obviously, I need to write and publish. The writing part I manage, more or less. Publishing isn’t the problem either. The problem is visibility. Because I’m writing in a system controlled by machines. I’m submitting my work to machines before I submit…
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How Doom Content Creators Profit From Your Anxiety
A middle-aged man at the city gates. A worn robe on his back. Eyes burning with something unhinged. And he cries out to the crowd in alarm: “The end is near.” We have never managed to escape these doomsayers, men who manufacture panic in the service of someone’s interests, not…
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We Are Not Spectators. We Are Witnesses
How is life treating you? Are you in good health? How is your family? Do you have children? Do they have a bright future ahead of them? Will they be able to find jobs? How is your financial situation? And what about your thoughts on the war? News of war…
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On Thinking, Deciding, Writing and Procrastination…
Sigh. A few weeks ago, I think, I took some notes. It was supposed to be a “blog comeback” post. But it turned out more like something that belongs in a journal. Unfortunately, it won’t work. Three lines. That’s all I wrote. Incredible! I had originally planned to write it…
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Domain Expansion: Short Attention Span
I started the third season of Jujutsu Kaisen. Do you know what was left in my mind after five episodes, other than impressive fight choreography? A huge nothing. This isn’t just an anime review; this is about the speed trap that humanity has been hurled into The season flows so…