“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” —Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough For Love
Welcome to the Renaissance Humans Newsletter, where I focus on sense-making and story-telling in the turbulent twenties. The Renaissance (“rebirth,” in French) spanned from the 14th to the 17th century and marked a period of cultural, artistic, and intellectual renewal in Europe. A Renaissance Human fosters curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, and character in a journey of never-ending learning. They cultivate Mind, Body, and Spirit, in service of Community, and oriented to the Transcendentals.
Writer’s Note: I would feel remiss if I didn’t mention what happened last night at the Trump rally. It’s a a Gray Rhino or Grey Swan event that has enormous implications for the American election, and the larger world. Political violence is an unfortunate component of the turbulent twenties. Groups like Braver Angels are working to repair and reestablish communication and connection between citizens, both within communities and in the national discourse. These groups need our help now more than ever.
I feel like we’re in a car driving on the edge of an ice-covered lake, hurtling toward the middle, which is unfrozen. When will the ice get too thin to support our weight?
Pitch/Mood Board for The Infernal Tower
I don’t really use X/Twitter at all, but threw out a tweet for a pitch event a few days ago. I made this mood board several months ago to capture the vibe of the novel.
Squid Game X Dante’s Inferno X John Wick
When a mysterious succession contest inside an aging Art Deco skyscraper turns deadly, a disgraced Navy SEAL and his dog must survive at all costs to save his relationship with his daughter.
Hypernormalisation.
Some of the production/aesthetics on this I can only describe as hypnotic— I’ve watched it twice already. The latest from BBC Documentarian Adam Curtis. It’s on YouTube and Amazon as well. Last year I wrote about another of his docs— The Century of the Self, which dug deeply into the Freudian roots of advertising and attention-hijacking. This is from the video description for the recent one:
HyperNormalisation wades through the culmination of forces that have driven this culture into mass uncertainty, confusion, spectacle and simulation. Where events keep happening that seem crazy, inexplicable and out of control—from Donald Trump to Brexit, to the War in Syria, mass immigration, extreme disparity in wealth, and increasing bomb attacks in the West—this film shows a basis to not only why these chaotic events are happening, but also why we, as well as those in power, may not understand them. We have retreated into a simplified, and often completely fake version of the world. And because it is reflected all around us, ubiquitous, we accept it as normal. This epic narrative of how we got here spans over 40 years, with an extraordinary cast of characters—the Assad dynasty, Donald Trump, Henry Kissinger, Patti Smith, early performance artists in New York, President Putin, Japanese gangsters, suicide bombers, Colonel Gaddafi and the Internet. HyperNormalisation weaves these historical narratives back together to show how today’s fake and hollow world was created and is sustained. This shows that a new kind of resistance must be imagined and actioned, as well as an unprecedented reawakening in a time where it matters like never before.
Synthwave- Pacific Coast Highway by Kavinsky
Synthwave is a subgenre of Electronic music— think vintage Eighties Sci-Fi flicks, which is why I AM HERE FOR IT. I’ve listened to this song over and over again too many times to count. I pick out new little nuances every time. Someone put the song to the movie Drive with Ryan Gosling. They aren’t connected, but pair together well in this video. I love how the story is thoroughly woven in so few words.
Intellectuals Beefing
Great discussion between historian Sir Niall Ferguson and Dispatch editor-in-chief Jonah Goldberg based on Ferguson’s We Are All Soviets Now piece, and Goldberg’s No, We Are Not Living in Late Soviet America response.
NYC Midnight
I am participating in the NYC Midnight 500 word short story competition this weekend. I drew Romance for the genre, so wish me luck….
I had read the 'late Soviet Union' piece too. Sobering. Wondering if it's the same Niall Ferguson who wrote The Ascent of Money, which was also a documentary series.
Who doesn’t love a love story???