Gang gang gang gang gang
We up
I’ve just touched down in Arrivals. My visa stamp is a happy face emoji. And the airport terminal has that feel of being simultaneously bustling and roomy. You feel the air is a bit cleaner over here.
Long was I leery of letting yet another social network into my home. The life of the semi-recluse suits me. Still, I was at a party last night and as much of a homebody as I am, it was wonderful to hear the laughter of friends I hadn’t seen in entirely too long. Not only that, but ya boy even made new friends.1 Sometimes, we do things we don’t like because they’re healthy. Social media as candy is an easy metaphor, but social media as vegetables feels more right, more earned. It demands of me. Moderation, wit, compassion, judgment. Deployed in the effort to know and to be a little less alone. And there is that very particular thrill that attends the act of curation. The blank slate, just like the blank page, has always thrilled me. The possibilities…
Anyway, I’m over at Bluesky now, having given myself over to the gravitational pull of enough intelligent, compassionate friends. Still figuring it out, venturing down new corridors and tentatively nudging open doors. Relearning etiquette, refashioning the self. Trying not to bury the lede as I’ve just done here.
Because I realize I’ve said precious little about the books2 I have coming out next year. Yes, along with GTA VI, Season 2 of The Last of Us, and Ghost of Yotei, we’re getting two new bangers from me.
The first:
Harmattan Season. Writing noir is pretty dope. We’ve got femme fatales, shady real estate deals, people dying under mysterious circumstances, the whole lot. And we’re available for pre-order. I hope y’all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
The second doesn’t have a cover yet, but I turned in copy-edits a few weeks back so it’s real, real. Currently circling September and will, of course, keep you posted. Without further ado:
Baby’s first essay collection. I’ve described it to people as a personal history of the Internet in reverse. If I don’t say so myself, it’s got some of my best writing in it.
I’ve done essays here and there in the past but to put together what felt like an album, get it to cohere, be artist and engineer and sequencer all at once, it was exhilirating. Hard work but the kind of hard work you rejoice in performing.
If you like my writing here, you’ll love it there.
Thrive in 2025 is apparently the motto.
Currently reading: Walls Come Tumbling Down: The Music and Politics of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge - Daniel Rachel
Currently listening: Gr4ves - Konrad OldMoney, Kyubik, Johnny Gr4ves
Adult friendship is all the more charming and precious for how rarely it takes root.
Yes, plural.