5919

To no one in particular,Funky bourgeois aesthetics: the destruction of extraterrestrial nature and the consumption of a 'hygienic' recreation of itSorry if this messages has reached you after a long delay. Our transmitters have been on the fritz after an unidentified ship scrambled the software. Eanika decided that she was going to drag me out of the habitat the other day. Mobility, as I've explained is always an issue, especially for her since she spends many of her days indoors with our little...

To no one in particular,Making space for something else.I met up with Soopal the other day. I don't know if I mentioned her to you before. She used to be a big wig on Earth as a Senate enforcer before leaving it all to come here and work with the less fortunate. She's a big wig here, too. She doesn't show it, but people know her. Different people know her. Powerful people. Powerless people. People who have chosen a different way of life. Soopal is the kind of person you shouldn't say no to becau...

To no one in particular,A reminder to serve.The door to the bathroom is slightly open. I spy from my swing my eldest one sitting on the potty reading a comic book and smiling and chatting to herself and having a good time. I remember to take this moment in. This is what's real. This is what's good. When I die, I want to see the smiles of my little ones and my wife that are etched in my memory. I want to remember the good things, the things that brought me joy, that energized me, that made me wan...

To no one in particular,Luxuries are what you had before they were taken away. My new perch continues to be a good observation platform.In the mornings, before heading to my cabin, I sit on the swing. I drink a warm soluble energy solution and watch what's happening below.I've noticed a curious practice among my richer neighbors in adjacent habitats, those with terraces: they climb to their terrace and get their daily exercise there. They walk at a rapid pace, back and forth in straight lines if...

To no one in particular,Sweet limes and hawks.We changed habitats this week. It wasn't necessarily something that we wanted--in fact we were kind of forced into it--but it was something that we needed. Corp.'s compound was comfortable: it was good to be able to have someone to cook our rations and clean the habitat. It was comfortable being in a cocoon. But over the last several cycles I'd been very uncomfortable. I had not slept well since the Illness and since having to kill that animal. In fa...

To no one in particular,AffirmationsDuring weeks that are busy--and we ought to be clear not all busy is good busy--it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Drama caused by Corp. management, exhausted colleagues who need a little extra support to get them to where they need to be to complete a project, the friction of daily life that adds extra work onto your day, etc... is not good busy. It's a waste of life. We call it life to normalize how much of our time is wasted. Not all busy is goo...

To no one in particular, On the importance of fellowship and community. "We're all just walking each other home." We're all just trying to figure out next steps. We want to matter. We want bring meaning to our lives. We want something to show for ourselves when we die. A life. A life well-lived. But we fear living. I met a colleague, the daughter of folks who settled in this system a very long time ago. She's younger than I am. She's smart, she's ambitious, she's creative, and she's weird. She...

To no one in particular,The Great GameThe Illness shuffled the deck. It provided a window of opportunity for people to see the world as it really was. Corp. and the Senate had no choice but to phone it in as each day brought its share of bad news and unexpected situations. They'd always been phoning it in. Hubris gave them the impression of command and control over the direction of space and species. Our own complacency strengthened that hubris. The Illness, if you were paying attention, showed ...

To no one in particular,On charlatans, saints, lords, and the sublimeLife as I've previously explained comes at you hard here. The people are beautiful. Nature is gorgeous. This is a planet of colors. And a planet of drama. Everything is a story. A small insect will drag a hatching insect up a wall back to its lair to eat it. This happens everywhere of course. But you're usually unaware of it. Except that here,  for whatever reason, the insect will drag his small prey in front of you. Up the sho...

To no one in particular, Today I killed an animal. It wasn't an unconscious act. The animal was a nuisance and an imminent danger to me and my family. It was cornered and it was scared, and we'd battled for a good while, and it was hurt, and when it poked its head out, I made a conscious note of the fact that when I swung my stick I would be killing it. And then I swung down and hard. I don't know what to think about the whole situation. I don't know what to write about it either. Every life ...

To no one in particular, There isn't much to write about. The past several days have been about resting and getting back on a normal footing after contracting the Illness. We're still experiencing some fatigue, but we're in better spirits. We took some time to explore the city with T-D. We wanted to sample some of the planet's agricultural offerings and we were disappointed. Rather than find farmers and their produce we found middle-age housewives selling nutritional supplements. Everyone has ...

To no one in particular, Tonight there's little time to discuss things in depth. I want to put this wire out tonight. The past couple of weeks have been difficult. We were infected with the Illness. It started with my eldest child. She spiked a high fever one night but was fine the next day. I didn't think much of it until I began exhibiting symptoms a day later. Then my wife got sick. We did our best to protect our youngest child, but she fell ill too. Once I understood that we had been infec...

To no one in particular, Of spies, con-(wo)men, and marks. Sometimes we're properly duped. Oftentimes we're complicit in being duped. Someone originally from here but who was promoted by Corp. to Earth explained that everyone around me probably has an angle. The planet is so dysfunctional that people have to look out for themselves and they don't think twice about who they hurt in the process. I'd say that's true of any place. But it is true that resource scarcity and overpopulation magnify th...

To no one in particular, 5919, here! I usually send out my weekly report over the wire to the others. But today, I'll put it here. It's personal and it's embarrassing and it's just really parochial. Have you heard of Julia Cameron? She's famous for having written The Artist's Way, the bible of creators everywhere. One of the tools of the recovering artist is the three pages exercise. Look it up. I do my three pages every morning. But this is more like my weekly mental dump. I'm always grate...

To no one in particular, Is this thing on? My number is 59-19. I left my home recently in search of new opportunities. I didn't know it was my home until I left it. Well, I kind of suspected it was my home when I decided that was where we would die--of old age, hopefully. Anyway. I left it and I brought my family along with me. I've been sending messages to the others. But I haven't heard back from them in a while. I don't know if it's the self-indulgent, overly verbose stream of conscious...