Yes, Yes, I know. — When we talk about political ideology there is an almost ubiquitous temptation to conceptualize it along a single spectrum. Jacobins versus monarchists, Right versus left, Democrats versus Republicans or even Progressives versus Moderates. …

And no, there’s no link there. — Every now and then, when I’m feeling nostalgic for 2016, I get into an internet argument with someone who will — before the argument is over and without any evidence for it — call me some variation on “stupid,” “ignorant,” “uneducated,” or “dumb.” I mean … it’s fine. We’re fine…

And other aspirational poetry — I haven’t written here in a long time. Part of it is because I put my money where my mouth is and have been volunteering and working in whatever capacity I can to make the world a better place. Yay me. Part of it is because I’m working on another…

Disease, Democracy, and Athens — Today I gave a talk for saveancientstudies.org and Digital Hammurabi on the Plague of Athens. It was a great deal of fun to properly research outside of my actual field. During the talk interest was expressed in anything else I’ve written (yikes) and really the best place to route people…

A review of the latest Mortal Kombat movie. — Spoiler Warning for Mortal Kombat 2021, but guys, seriously. Seriously. I knew I needed this in my life since I saw the trailer in which Sub-Zero stabs a dude with a blood icicle. And this isn’t the first time I saw a Mortal Kombat trailer and was like, “This is…

Meanwhile, in the land of the Conspiratorial … — Some people inject hardcore drugs, others throw themselves out of planes, but I like to read the latest crazy from the Q conspiracists. And I do regret calling them “crazy,” because crazy implies they can and should be helped. I don’t know that I believe the Q conspiracists deserve anything…

Let me tell you what I think of everyone else on that rush hour train — I currently live in London and have done so since just before Brexit. I wore a safety pin on my jacket when attacks on non-white Londoners rose in the wake of Brexit. I did this not because as an American I was at risk, but because as a white person…

Unless you think women aren’t people — Trigger Warning for discussions of abortion and terminal disease. Additional Note: There are men who have periods and who can get pregnant. I am using she/her pronouns and the term “woman,” here for facility, but there are trans men and non-binary individuals who can and sometimes do get pregnant or…

Sometimes You Don’t Need to Calm Down — According to Freud, depression is just anger turned inward. And if internet memes are to be believed according to “the Buddha,” which may or may not be referencing Siddhartha Gautama according to the meme maker, “Anger is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die.” They’re not wrong. But…