I gotta say that I feel weird reading this examination of Octavia Butler's notes.

I'm reading Parable of the Talents right now, and I had to stop. It's gotten too fucking dark. It's about the fascist takeover of America by Christian Nationalists, and a major character just died, and there is sexual exploitation of children... I really like Butler and Parable of the Sower, but this just got so dark I decided to read the summary and find out if I wanted to read more, and I don't think I can read this, at least not right now.

Reading about the unpublished sequels feels even worse. It seems like Butler had a head full of so much darkness and cynicism, and her published works were just the processed output after she managed to find the least brutal version of her thoughts. These books were her at her most hopeful! YIKES.

I like her and these books, but I just had to vent about some of this.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/14202920

There was a post on Reddit that praised the ubiquitous "Dear Alice" commercial, and inevitably a comment criticizing praise for a commercial. This led to me to wonder more about who it was that made this famous solarpunk advertisement. The answer is an animation studio called The Line. I went looking at some of their other work, and came across this interesting demo short for what appears to be a proof of concept or pilot for a solarpunky animated monster hunting series.

I don't love the heavy use of guns. But setting that aside, I think the art is interesting. I'm fascinated to see what people are doing with the artistic and conceptual toolset solarpunk offers, and I think this is a use case that I wouldn't mind seeing more of.

Unfortunately, this demo is as far as the project went. But I'm happy to see that the folks at The Line appear to have some broader interest in solarpunk, and I hope they keep putting it into practice in unique ways.

There was a post on Reddit that praised the ubiquitous "Dear Alice" commercial, and inevitably a comment criticizing praise for a commercial. This led to me to wonder more about who it was that made this famous solarpunk advertisement. The answer is an animation studio called The Line. I went looking at some of their other work, and came across this interesting demo short for what appears to be a proof of concept or pilot for a solarpunky animated monster hunting series.

I don't love the heavy use of guns. But setting that aside, I think the art is interesting. I'm fascinated to see what people are doing with the artistic and conceptual toolset solarpunk offers, and I think this is a use case that I wouldn't mind seeing more of.

Unfortunately, this demo is as far as the project went. But I'm happy to see that the folks at The Line appear to have some broader interest in solarpunk, and I hope they keep putting it into practice in unique ways.

Springfield, Ohio became suddenly famous nationally when Trump claimed that an influx of Haitian migrants were devouring residents' pets. I went looking to see what the town is experiencing from the perspective of local news, and it looks surprising nuanced.

It appears that the town saw a rapid influx of migrants fleeing violence in Haiti. The town has since experienced a strain in its ability to function in notable ways because of the population shock. The issues include a sudden reduction in the housing supply and an increase in traffic and inexperienced drivers. One particularly bad traffic accident killed a child during a school bus crash.

The city government has seemed to largely avoid blaming new arrivals themselves. However they've expressed a sense of betrayal towards Biden and the federal government for granting thousands of people entry into the country without appearing to recognize any responsibility for helping them resettle or aiding their destination cities in accommodating them. Additionally, they've begun investigating local businesses which they suspect used the expansion of visas for Haitians seeking asylum as an opportunity to seek out low-cost workers while concealing their role in creating a population shock for which the city was unprepared.

I must say that I think the city government makes a reasonable point: those of use who want to offer foreign visitors safety and dignity in American must also demand that our government takes responsibility for helping them relocate to a town in which is expecting their arrival and has been aided in making that arrival successful.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/13236888

Not givin' up

Not givin' up

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/13156086

Parable of the Sower is such a good book.

First, it's interesting that it starts right about now. The book starts in mid-2024, and even mentions that its an election year. That was a fascinating experience to read a scifi book in the moment in time in which it is set. It still feels like it takes place about 20 years in the future. It was written 31 years ago, so politically things have seemed to move as many steps forward as backward. It seems like a lot of things have not gotten better and worse than when Butler wrote it, so in some sense I feel like I'm looking at it as a near future in the same way as when it was written a generation ago. I guess I'm glad things didn't go as badly as in the story, but it's rough that the looming threat from 30 years ago feels the same distance away now as then.

Second, it's painful to read. Although the events described in the book haven't happened in the book's setting -- California -- the social collapse and migrations described have happened in Honduras, Gaza, Yemen, and certainly others I'm not aware of. It was really hard to read that and know that it was already real somewhere.

Third, as a solarpunk novel -- and really as general fiction -- it feels like it should be part of a high school curriculum. It's really well written and an engrossing read. Since publishing Fully Automated, I often relate solarpunk stories to that game. What might I have added to the game if I'd read this before? How well does it naturally fit? One thing that struck me is that her emerging in-world faith -- Earthseed -- reminds me quite a bit of elements of Seekerism, a new faith tradition in Fully Automated. I wish I'd known and included direct references to Earthseed, but it's nice when the game has alignment with great works that I wasn't directly familiar with.

Has anyone else read this? What do you folks think?

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/13067768

I finally got around to making a playlist of the music used to score the starter campaign, Fully Automated: Regulation!

I think it's a collection of real bangers. I hope that for people who haven't played these stories, this might give an enticing taste of what to expect. And for people who might've played, perhaps it takes you back to some memorable moments.

Demonstration of Power

• The stakeout: “This DJ” by Warren G
• Fight scene!: “Dare to be Stupid”, covered by The Cybertronic Spree
• Roll credits: “Fine”, by Lemon Demon

Psychonautica

• Opening Sparing match: “Champion” by Buju Banton
• Entering neurospace: “Just dropped in” by Kenny Roger
• The mindscape: “Ghandi, Dalai Lama, Your Lord & Savior J.C.” by André 3000
• Dance battle: “Do the Damn Thing” by Rupee
• The Bathhouse: “Ants to You, Gods to Who?” by André 3000
• Android assault: “Robot Rock” by Daft Punk
• Synthesizing the cure: “The Oligo Separation Verse” and “Analytical Gangster” by True Speak
• Roll credits: “Pony” by Deluxe

Piece of Mind

• Surf Intro: “Cecilia Ann” by The Pixies
• Fighting back: “Headshot” by she
• Starting the investigation: “No Time for Dreaming” by Charles Bradley & Menahan Street Band
• Sneaking around: “The Sensual Woman” by The Herbaliser
• Piecing things together: “Cause for Alarm” by The Heavy
• Research montage, pt.1: “Metrocenter 84” by Sunset Neon.
• Research montage, pt.2: “You Rock Me” by she
• Making a plan: “Drag and Drop” by the Soul Motivator
• Showtime: “Swing Break” by the McMash Clan, feat. Kate Mullins
• Showdown: “Mastermind” by Deltron 3030 and Dan the Automater
• Showdown, cont’d: “Don’t Get In My Way” by Zach Hemsey
• Roll credits: “UNLVD” by Socalled

Olives Fair in Love and War

• Vampire fight: “Dark Entities” cover by Daniel Guerra Caballero
• Roll credits: “Birdhouse in your Soul” by They Might Be Giants