Weaponised Incompetence

Given we had our first ‘dash’ last week, I’m making this a shorter one.

From Chelsea:

Via Matt:

(Matt and I exchange emails routinely, and this might be the only printable one.)

Elsewhere, another tick on the old bucket list. Video Games Industry Memo did a dive into ‘why politics is obsessed with Civilization’ and as someone on the outskirts of the former and deep into the latter, I got to give a quote or six.

Also obligated to point out that my editorial partner-in-crime, Mahvesh Murad, does a very good Shelfie.

The economics of self-publishing. They actually do quite well! But it goes to show the very thin margins of publishing, and the unexpected costs. Also, why you don’t see many self-published books in bookshops.

“The question isn’t whether teens are rebellious; it’s whether rebellion itself has been neutered by the system.” Fashion as rebellion - and the current (perceived) lack thereof. I love the list of hypotheses, and will be nicking it for further use.

what I’m reading (online)

Setting aside the ideological agenda, and concentrating on the behaviour, this is a look at how the new ‘powers that be’ behave:

Is this the amateurisation of politics? There’s something depressing about the way that the entire governance process has turned into an extended reddit comments slapfight. Politics for the lols (lolitics?) and the simple refusal to take responsibility. But, yes, it is hard not to raise an eyebrow at the irony of the Musk-right embracing this particular tactic.

Although it feels particularly hypocritical when billionaires whine about how powerless they are, I’m also thoroughly over weaponised incompetence as a political narrative. Like many others, I sat for four years listening to why Stuff Isn’t Happening. I am, I’m sure, more politically clued in than the average voter: I’m aware of the roadblocks and checks and balances and sluggish pace of government. (I had a great Government teacher in high school.) I’m also aware of what did happen. However, even equipped with that knowledge, I’m still frustrated.

I’ve worked (and am working) with young people and the ‘democratic decline’ (the erosion in their belief in democracy). Every four years, young people are asked to Save Democracy, and then seemingly ignored. They’re told that voting is the most Important Thing ever; then followed by years of the party in power snivelling excuses why they can’t actually achieve any of the things they promised.

Again, part of this is a lack of transparency, part of this is the overclocked pace of ad-funded media, part of this is how the system is meant to work, but… all of it is exasperating. And that angry exhaustion is compounded, particularly for the young audience, when someone believes their vote has been wasted. They’ve given their support to people who can’t - or seemingly won’t - make a tangible difference for them.

You can see why young people are dangerously close to noping out of ‘democracy’ as a whole. Is this all ‘just’ a comms problem in communicating how, when and why government works? Or is a more systemic change required? Your notions, please.

what I’m reading (offline)

I’ve been slowly re-integrating comics back into my reading diet lately. I even splurged on a Marvel Unlimited subscription and then realised that, despite being an ABSOLUTE TURBOGEEK, returning to superhero comics after a decade out is really, really hard. I’ve missed like eighteen crossover events! Everything is rebooted! Twice! All the good guys are bad guys and all the bad guys are good guys and everyone is Spider-man and also Spider-man is dead! It was, to say the least, intimidating.

I’ve ranted about it before, but the fact that comics readership somehow declined at the same time that comics owned the box office might be the biggest pop cultural buttfumble of all time. But ‘entering’ comics is, and always has been, nearly impossible. The learning curve is steep and the industry is unhelpful, and whenever there is an attempt to build an on-ramp for new readers (reboot, spin-off, etc), it quickly collapses under the weight of its own morbidly obese canon. As a lapsed reader / TURBOGEEK, I’m the softest possible audience, but, well, here we are…

Anyway, I did the mature thing which was to shut the app, and reread an older, self-contained series that I really enjoyed instead.

Gail Simone and Walter Geovani did an 18-issue run of Red Sonja - three different story arcs, all featuring (or centered around) Robert E. Howard’s second-most-famous creation. Sonja, she of the chainmail bikini, has been something of a fantasy meme character. She’s the “strong female character”, except said with an eye-roll: the woman that’s got so much agency that she’s chosen to only wear the most chafing and ill-protective of outfits. She’s as strong as a man, but she’s still a woman! (Camera pans slowly up and down her body to confirm.) Look how powerful she is! (Camera lingers on her impressive set of powers.)

Dynamite, bless them, have never been the most progressive of publishers either. If you’ve ever walked into your Local Comic Store and been skeeved out by the giant posters of Booby Vampire Chicks, well, that’s probably a Dynamite title. But, somehow, … here we are, with Gail Simone reclaiming and redefining a meme character in one of the best 21st century fantasy works.

My favourite part is the middle arc - The Art of Blood and Fire. The set-up is pretty simple: a mean ol’ king wants to have a really big party before he dies, and demands the six best entertainers in the land to make it a super-awesome shindig. If Sonja gathers all six in time, he promises that he won’t take a lot of slaves with him into the afterlife. A ticking clock; a scavenger hunt; a big bad. Simple.

Sonja, both competent and confident, snaffles up one after the other: the courtesan, the beast tamer, the astronomer, the chef, etc. Each is an entertaining character in their own right, but they also prompt a Sonja into some unwilling reflection and rattling her sense of self. The chef instigates a discussion of ‘living to live’ versus ‘living to survive’. The courtesan instigates something of a sliding doors moment: she was born in a village near Sonja’s, but their lives diverged. Could Sonja have lived a life of luxury? At what cost? When Sonja has to recruit the world’s greatest swordsman it prompts musing on what violence is. It is a means or an end; as something you are or simply a tool that you use. And what does that mean to someone who is surrounded by, created by, violence? How does an icon like Sonja become a Sonja?

All throughout, it is action-packed, fast-paced and very, very funny. There’s a recurring joke about Sonja being extremely smelly due to her outdoor pursuits, and her desperation to take a bath […and find a partner for it]. It is shockingly silly, but also a really clever use of the medium. Simone and Geovani write and draw Sonja as hella sexy, because, Sonja, but smell is a sense we can’t pick up from the page. Stinkiness aside, this is somewhat the crux of why this interpretation of Sonja is so resonant: she’s wearing a chainmail bikini! She’s a sexual being!… but never a sexual object, and very much an actual human.

The long-delayed Red Sonja movie is in train again, and I’m cautiously optimistic - albeit with very, very managed expectations.

what I’m cooking

• A rum and Coke BBQ sauce that I’m very happy with. Going to tinker with this one a bit more.

• Pork tenderloins again! Daisho Umami Salt and Pepper is magical. Tried a few different rubs and binders, and the best combination so far is Daisho and miso paste.

• A rack of ribs - Split it, to try some of the rum sauce (above) and cherry chipotle sauce (last week). Both were tasty, but a little too sweet. More work to be done!

• Pork shoulder - I’m fairly confident in my ability to do pulled pork, but I’m trying to find ways to up the speed. This one … wasn’t a success. It made for a very healthy (and tasty) batch cook for the week, but wasn’t really competition-quality pulled pork.

• Pork burgers - Ending on a high note. These were fabulous.

Crystal Palace dinosaurs!