Oh, hey - is there a chance you might be running a reader meetup of any sort, if you are still in the Bay for a bit?
And that was a poignant meditation on the surrealness of, well, now. Surrealness being understatement, but it's force it into that box or go mad from the full volume of...well, now.
Ahh, that never even occurred to me as a thing people might want to do? This trip was pretty full, but I guess I could think about doing something like that sometime? Though admittedly, I don't go to (m)any meetups, so if you've got ideas about what that would be, I'm all ears.
The meetups I've gone to from bloggers & such usually are as simple as 'Pick a coffee shop / some other third space, pick a time, announce on blog and ask people to RSVP'
Its a thing you start in the biggest cities - and at worst you are losing an hour or so to just chilling and reading in a cafe.
But the ones I have gone to have had some of the most fun conversations, plus a potential way to meet new collaborators.
Weird and poorly attended to start almost certainly! It's a question of whether you want to build a community around the writing or not - if not, totally fair. If yes, it's a way to find some of the bigger fans of the work I suppose.
100% its one of those 'This could be hella awkward' but I've met fairly cool people by forcing myself into those awkward places.
No worries if its not your thing, couldn't resist at least suggesting it :)
Yeah, it doesn't seem great? But I don't know, I couldn't quite fully get to Doomsday. Like, broadly, the world really is a lot better than it's ever been. But at the same time, it feels more chaotic, detached, fraying, and all the bad guys seem to be winning. So the vibes are catastrophic, but the fundamentals are pretty good?
10,000 years ago the Sahara Desert — as wide as the distance from DC to San Francisco, as tall as from Galveston to Calgary — was a lush green savanna with abundant rainfall and a rich ecosystem. Now it’s just sand. People adapt.
My brothers in LA - he was working downtown and basically couldn’t get home due to the fire. Crazy.
“Life, uh, finds a way.” Classic. and for better or worse people move on (sometimes too fast) from tragedies (of all sorts). I think that’s part of the reason change is hard. Like - how many people could we get interested in future pandemic preparedness right now?
Yeah, I was talking to someone who lives in Asheville, and people moved on last the hurricane weeks before he had running water. Though if something is going to hold out attention (again, for better or for worse), it seems like it could be LA.
I hadn't thought of this, but some things have held our attention for a long time - 9/11 comes to mind. So the collective we doesn't actually forget everything...
So Hugo Chavez wanted his money. Is that why he conspired to fix the US Election 7 years after hos death? Say what you want about the man but to be able to see the rise of the Trump cult years before if happened -wow! /s (of course)
“The more we bend our world to our will, the more loaded its bow.”
Just…brilliant. Wow.
Oh, hey - is there a chance you might be running a reader meetup of any sort, if you are still in the Bay for a bit?
And that was a poignant meditation on the surrealness of, well, now. Surrealness being understatement, but it's force it into that box or go mad from the full volume of...well, now.
Ahh, that never even occurred to me as a thing people might want to do? This trip was pretty full, but I guess I could think about doing something like that sometime? Though admittedly, I don't go to (m)any meetups, so if you've got ideas about what that would be, I'm all ears.
The meetups I've gone to from bloggers & such usually are as simple as 'Pick a coffee shop / some other third space, pick a time, announce on blog and ask people to RSVP'
Its a thing you start in the biggest cities - and at worst you are losing an hour or so to just chilling and reading in a cafe.
But the ones I have gone to have had some of the most fun conversations, plus a potential way to meet new collaborators.
ahh, word, hmmmmm. I've never thought to do anything like that, but I could see it being kinda fun. And weird and very poorly attended, but maybe fun?
Weird and poorly attended to start almost certainly! It's a question of whether you want to build a community around the writing or not - if not, totally fair. If yes, it's a way to find some of the bigger fans of the work I suppose.
100% its one of those 'This could be hella awkward' but I've met fairly cool people by forcing myself into those awkward places.
No worries if its not your thing, couldn't resist at least suggesting it :)
i did buy the domain benn.events back when I was on a slate to do more company webinars, gotta put it to use i guess
Well done Benn
Beautifully written, Benn.
Looks like Doomsday scenario to me, but things will somehow always evolve...
humans are optimist by default, we can adapt to anything, right?
Thanks for shedding some light in a world where the blinds of every house are down
Yeah, it doesn't seem great? But I don't know, I couldn't quite fully get to Doomsday. Like, broadly, the world really is a lot better than it's ever been. But at the same time, it feels more chaotic, detached, fraying, and all the bad guys seem to be winning. So the vibes are catastrophic, but the fundamentals are pretty good?
10,000 years ago the Sahara Desert — as wide as the distance from DC to San Francisco, as tall as from Galveston to Calgary — was a lush green savanna with abundant rainfall and a rich ecosystem. Now it’s just sand. People adapt.
Wow! This is one of the best things I’ve read as of late. Brilliant work Benn and thank you!
My brothers in LA - he was working downtown and basically couldn’t get home due to the fire. Crazy.
“Life, uh, finds a way.” Classic. and for better or worse people move on (sometimes too fast) from tragedies (of all sorts). I think that’s part of the reason change is hard. Like - how many people could we get interested in future pandemic preparedness right now?
Yeah, I was talking to someone who lives in Asheville, and people moved on last the hurricane weeks before he had running water. Though if something is going to hold out attention (again, for better or for worse), it seems like it could be LA.
I hadn't thought of this, but some things have held our attention for a long time - 9/11 comes to mind. So the collective we doesn't actually forget everything...
Shout-out to...Rudy Giuliani?
hahaha... not exactly what I was thinking of - but yes I suppose so!
on a more serious note - The Only Plane in the Sky is an AWESOME book that came out almost 20 yrs after 9/11
Somewhat related, a friend recently went to this and said it was very good. Something seems weird about it being a musical, but I guess it works.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_from_Away
That is an incredible text, thanks. Any news of Chavez’s gold since 2011?
It is, apparently, like all things, caught up in the courts: https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/venezuela-loses-uk-appeal-long-running-gold-reserves-battle-2023-06-30/
What an awesome one! Keep it up <3
So Hugo Chavez wanted his money. Is that why he conspired to fix the US Election 7 years after hos death? Say what you want about the man but to be able to see the rise of the Trump cult years before if happened -wow! /s (of course)