The Flood
When the Cost of Expression Falls to Zero There was a time when publishing required friction. Ink.Paper.Distribution.Editors who said no more often than they said yes. Even early blogging demanded…
The World Is On Fire And Nobody Has A Bucket
A pessimist’s guide to what happens next… and why you should probably be worried Let me start with a confession. I’ve spent years being the person at the dinner table…
When the Lights Go Out…
Who Are You Without Wi-Fi? There is a peculiar arrogance baked into the modern internet. It assumes it will always be there. Not in a dramatic, apocalyptic way… but in…
The Country Is The People
Not the Government… I saw a post on social media the other day that stopped me mid-scroll. Someone had written, with what I can only assume was the confidence of…
Retirement…Change of Pace?
Nah… Bollocks to That! Let me start with a small piece of admin. I have just hit a fairly significant milestone. Technically retired, six decades-plus of life under my belt,…
What Happens When Everything Becomes Content?
Do you recall a time when a thought could simply be a thought. It could arrive quietly. Sit with you for a few days. Irritate you slightly. Refuse to clarify…
When Patriotism Becomes a Loyalty Test
What the Hell Are We Doing to Our Olympians? There’s a moment in the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Games that keeps rattling around my head. The American team…
Fighting the Pinterest Algorithm
(Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace the Chaos Goblins) Let’s talk about Pinterest. Not the Pinterest you vaguely remember from 2012, when it was all wedding mood…
When the Robots Decide What You’re Allowed to Say
There’s an overriding sense of powerlessness that comes with being censored by a machine. A human censor, at least, you can argue with. You can appeal to their reason, their…
The Kids Are Wolves Now
(And Apparently That’s Our Problem) Now there’s a sentence I never expected to type in my lifetime, and yet here we are: Spanish teenagers are dressing up as wolves and…