My People

 I've found my people, this I know.

This process has been long and slow:

I thought I'd found them once, twice, thrice

But every time I learned - no dice.

Not finding people doesn't mean

That no true friends came from that scheme.

Those friends were there, and still are dear

And I will always keep them near.

But solo friends don't make a pack.

In groups the benefits all stack.

A friend will keep you safe at night,

But having people keeps it light.

Finding my people was to me

A chance to feel socially free.

A group where I don't feel sidelined

And other folks keep me in mind.

In groups of people I must try

To join in, to be nearby.

The difference is no subtlety

My people aren't hard for me.

Feb. 15, 2024

Fire and Fury

As a child, I held no interest in politics or global goings on. Throughout my time in school, I only cared about it insofar as it pertained to history. As a result, I only started paying attention to what was happening during the run-up to the 2016 election, even though I wasn't old enough to contribute my two cents to the democratic process. Thus, my introduction to current politics came during a rather turbulent election cycle. Now, I'm not here to debate political stances, I just want to set the scene for why Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff caught my attention.

During the 45^th president's term, mass media was in a tizzy about the chaos coming out of Washington. This, in turn, shaped my perception of the administration. It seemed to be a whirling mess, a chaotic cesspool of incompetence. However, reading the inside look of Fire and Fury presents a slightly different picture. No punches are pulled about the lack of political expertise of all involved. In fact, Wolff goes so far as repeatedly remind the reader of it. However, the confusion comes with an explanation: in-fighting. Everyone on Donald Trump's staff seems to have has his or her own agenda, often at odds with those of others. Bannon vs "Jarvanika" (Wolff's unified nickname for Jared Kushner and Ivanka's joint persona). And on top of everything sat Trump, with his own ideas, along with his yes-woman, Hope Hicks. In other words, the chaos was not necessarily a product of incompetence, but possibly the symptom of a breakdown in unity.

Overall, although slightly interesting, I'm not sure Fire and Fury is worth going out of your way for. If you pick it up for a dollar while browsing the used bookstore, sure, but it won't fundamentally swing anyone's opinions one way or the other on the polarizing president and his retinue. Writing is average as at best. So, its a pretty skip-able book.

Foundation

I've talked about my difficult relationship with Isaac Asimov's works. Yet, I keep coming back to him. And after finishing Foundation, I think I've figured out why. The book itself is much in the same style as his others - old fashioned science fiction. I specifically emphasize old fashioned, because mid-twentieth century sci-fi has an amazing tendency to show its age in the way they refer to technology. Somehow, words describing hypothetically future tech date it. "Atomics" when referring to advanced atomic powered energy is one of those outmoded terms. Actually, as I wrote the previous sentence I went and double checked - Foundation was published in 1951, at the height of the era when nuclear tech was expected to take over every aspect of life. It's particularly telling in quotes about atomic knives and ovens in the kitchen.

But for all of the oddities that come with reading old science fiction, and for my slight discomfort with Asimov's writing style, his works embody an attitude that makes them somewhat irresistible. He's considered a master of the art for good reason - Asimov's works helped define the genre of sci-fi. Therein lies my fascination with his works, as well as those of other classical writers. They don't appeal to me for the science or the fiction. Rather they are the ancestors from which many of my favorite stories found their roots. For instance: I have no recollection in which of Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics were introduced. Yet they serve as one of my bases for what I consider ethical robotics. We've reached the point where a lot of past science fiction is becoming science reality. And just like the ancient writers sketched out proper behavior for people, these science fiction authors sketched out a path for our technology.

Back to Foundation: I think it might be one of my favorites of Asimov's books. It illustrates an attempt to keep society's knowledge through a galactic dark age, calling back to a similar time period of falling empires in the early middle ages in Europe. So yes, imagine roughly the late 500s AD, but instead of the Roman Empire falling and leading to European chaos, it's the empire ruling the whole galaxy. Worth reading? Maybe for the story. But definitely worth reading if just to consider the legacy of 20th century science fiction writers.