Frontier Cities: “Like many other moments in American history, we find ourselves at the advent of a technological innovation era that has the potential to significantly increase human freedom. We must grasp it. America must, as it has for centuries, set out toward that goal. We don’t need to colonize Mars, we don’t need new think tanks, and we don’t need to retreat into siloed wellness communities. We can only achieve a new era of American expansion through acquisition of land, city building, and frontier technologies. Significant support from government leadership will be necessary for this to succeed.”
Nightgowns and Nocturnes: “Vic Prezio’s gothic romance covers are a masterclass in atmospheric tension. His heroines, invariably clad in diaphanous nightgowns that seem to exist in a perpetual state of windswept drama, navigate landscapes that are equal parts allure and menace. Crumbling mansions loom against stormy skies, their windows glowing with an eldritch light that promises secrets best left undiscovered.”
Start a Cult: “Create a vision of a world on fire, an all-consuming idea of what could be. A bright paradise that will be a shining light. Keep it esoteric to stay niche, to make them curious.”
Tinnitus and the Sound of God: “In ancient Byzantine worship the ison is the continuous bass note held in the background by the choir. The cantors then improvise and weave the worship and prayers of the church and world around it. Theologically the ison represents the sound of God – the divine song that holds all creation in being, makes all other songs possible and gives them their freedom and extraordinary diversity. (Remember the Narnia Chronicles? Aslan sings creation into existence). Dietrich Bonhoeffer called this the ‘Cantus Firmus.’ Writing within the darkness and turmoil of Nazi Germany he wrote, ‘do not fear. ‘Pin your faith in the cantus firmus’. That is still timely advice.”
The God-Loves-Risk-Takers Manifesto: “Every leap of progress, every revolution, every miracle came from risk-takers. We stand on the shoulders of giants who dared to risk it all – inventors, explorers, revolutionaries. Moses facing Pharaoh, David confronting Goliath, Joan of Arc leading armies – they weren’t cautious individuals waiting for the perfect moment. They seized their time, consequences be damned. They acted, risked, and in doing so, partnered with the divine in creation.”
The Organ of the Universe: “Because tinnitus is caused by prolonged exposure to loud noise, it’s a common condition among musicians and soldiers. In the United States, it’s the most common disability among veterans. Louis-Ferdinand Céline, one of French literature’s most influential and irascible figures, contracted it in the trenches during World War I. His tinnitus was an ever-changing cacophony. Here is how he describes it in Death on the Installment Plan:
I possess all of nature’s sounds, from the flute to the Niagara … I get about to the sound of a drum and an avalanche of trombones … I play the triangle for entire weeks … I fear no clarion. I have all to myself an aviary full of three thousand five hundred and twenty-seven small birds that will never calm down … I am the organ of the Universe.
The effect of this aural barrage, he continues, is madness and exhaustion.”
The Red Hand Files: “Loneliness and lack of meaning seem to inhabit the same dark orbit. Loneliness is the breakdown of the overarching structure of things, a feeling of separateness or exclusion from the sum and substance of the world.”
Walls as Service: “The removal of walls decreases the fraction of relevant space under your control. If you’re feeling unfocused or distracted or weak in general, you probably need more walls—to enclose a too-large and too-open space into a smaller and more concentrated space.”
You Can Probably Just Have It: “The right attitude and body language can get you almost anything you want—at almost any time, in almost any place. If you are nice, confident, and happy—with your chin up and shoulders back—and you act like the thing you want is obviously the thing that is going to happen, you would be amazed at what you can obtain.”
When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong. — Buckminster Fuller
