J. Martin

October 30, 2022

Endless Summer

On a global level, there was this prominent trope in science fiction where all the nations of the Earth would work together once of a common threat arose, like an alien invasion. On a national level, we have the moon shot trope, as a titanic effort across all industries for an almost impossible goal. On a personal level, we have that trope from the nineteenth and early twentieth century science fiction where benevolent millionaires would use their riches to push for scientific and technological progress and a better world in general. Now, two days shy of November, it’s summer outside where I live. The climate catastrophe of global warming—first theorized in the early nineteenth century, put on solid scientific ground in the 1970s, and turned into a global political issue in the late 1980s and 1990s—is kicking in with full force. And what has happened after these first promising efforts from the early 1990? We all know what happened. And what’s happening now? On a global level, fascist states invade their neighbors or are on the verge of doing so. On a national level, authoritarian leaders rise on waves of hate, often accompanied by voter suppression, and democratic governments built on coalitions are hijacked by small bands of sociopaths and dubious individuals. And the millionaires of our time, the billionaires, support only their interests, up to and including their own places of refuge from supervillain yachts to supervillain prepping. If you have a solid argument how humanity is not doomed soon, you’re cordially invited to argue with me on any of my social media channels.

Last week, I published a post on my creative projects’ State of Progress at my Voidpunk blog; a large new album with 50 images across various Shinjuku Districts in Tōkyō, Japan; one re-edited shot from Shinjuku Golden Gai on Glass; and one entry each on my Instagram accounts betweendrafts and voidpunkverse.

For the Sunday funnies, please enjoy these cuddling cat and dog, this incredibly focused doggie, and the latest zoom-in by Vaskange

J.