There's a word at the beginning and end of Dawn of Everything that feels self-referential right now: Kairos.
> We began this book with a quote which refers to the Greek notion of kairos as one of those occasional moments in a society’s history when its frames of reference undergo a shift – a metamorphosis of the fundamental principles and symbols, when the lines between myth and history, science and magic become blurred – and, therefore, real change is possible. Philosophers sometimes like to speak of ‘the Event’ – a political revolution, a scientific discovery, an artistic masterpiece – that is, a breakthrough which reveals aspects of reality that had previously been unimaginable but, once seen, can never be unseen. If so, kairos is the kind of time in which Events are prone to happen.
> Societies around the world appear to be cascading towards such a point. This is particularly true of those which, since the First World War, have been in the habit of calling themselves ‘Western’. On the one hand, fundamental breakthroughs in the physical sciences, or even artistic expression, no longer seem to occur with anything like the regularity people came to expect in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Yet at the same time, our scientific means of understanding the past, not just our species’ past but that of our planet, has been advancing with dizzying speed. Scientists in 2020 are not (as readers of mid-twentieth-century science fiction might have hoped) encountering alien civilizations in distant star systems; but they are encountering radically different forms of society under their own feet, some forgotten and newly rediscovered, others more familiar, but now understood in entirely new ways.
Reading this as I write something very inspired by this work feels especially serendipitous, especially at this time. When they wrote the book, I think that kairos felt more serendipitous itself. But as the frequency of opportunity increases, the veil between realities feels more malleable... that perhaps we can poke a finger through and open a portal to a completely different future than the one we've felt locked into for such a long time.
https://anarchoccultism.org/building-zion/the-coordinated-swarm-lyhr
"So it’s not enough to equate Trump’s legions to the Gestapo or the Klan. (I’ve done both.) He also is the 21st-century version of Attila or Genghis Khan, heading a horde that is defined by an exterminationist loathing of cities and all that they stand for and promote. Their diversity, their toleration, their culture, their solidarity across racial and other lines—all are threats to the horde’s and its ruler’s autocratic monoculture. On the streets, the horde’s loathing manifests as indifference (at least) to the loss of city dwellers’ lives.
As it is the 21st century, and as we have an 18th-century Constitution, Trump’s impulse for city sacking Š la Attila is constrained by laws and customs, but he’s plainly determined to find ways around as many of those constraints as he possibly can. Correspondingly, a good share of the fear he’s engendered all across America has an ancient pedigree: It’s the fear of the barbarians at the gates."
#USPolitics
https://prospect.org/2026/01/15/attila-genghis-khan-trump/
A: "I don't understand how you're so relaxed when you don't hear from the kids. Everyone in my family is like, 'msg me right when you get home!'"
me: "Ah, [13yo] is fine. He went home and is 100% watching videos when he's not supposed to be, hoping we forgot about him so that he can get away w/ as much screen time as he can. If he were stuck on the subway or something, he'd have messaged. Actually, I'd be more worried if he DID message.&qu…
A look at Apple's iPhone roadmap; sources say the iPhone 18 Pro lineup will get under-screen Face ID, and the front camera will move to the top-left corner (The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/inside-apples-ip…
It's been quite a day today. Quite ... challenging. But with a good end.
The mood of this photo is now exactly what I needed: a calm, chill hike in low hanging clouds. Just a few people - no stress, no expectations, no talking, no phone ...
#landscape #photo
We had to get a new TV.
Which means a smart TV.
Which means my new TV, while looking sharper and using less energy, comes with an OS that does all it can to make it a pain to use as a monitor.
I can't get a home screen shortcut to my X1 box stick. I add it, the next day it's gone. 📺
#enshittification
Cowboys assistant to get unique NFL draft insight with all-star coaching gig https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/onsi/news/dallas-cowboys-assistant-to-get-unique-nfl-draft-insight-with-all-star-coaching-gig
Good article, makes you think 🤔
"How AI Destroys Institutions"
#ai
Cowboys assistant to get unique NFL draft insight with all-star coaching gig https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/onsi/news/dallas-cowboys-assistant-to-get-unique-nfl-draft-insight-with-all-star-coaching-gig