Damn it, Planets

Kind of says it all, doesn't it?

I'm sure a lot of you have seen this video already but to me it feels like more than just a viral news story, it feels more like a metaphor. Or at least I hope it is. I kinda hope that we're all like this surfer, negotiating all the massive disruptions all around us, geological and/or political and/or social. 

Plus, planetary.

The (Secret) Space Force & the Never-Ending X-Files LARP

Just how weird are these times we are living in? Well, they're so weird that there's a new branch of the military in the works called the "Space Force." Now, I've talked quite a bit about "Starfleet Reality" and the Star Trek timeline but I never thought things would go this far this fast.

And by that I mean I figured all the toys they've been working on out in the Nevada desert would stay in the black until conditions necessitated their unveiling. Goes to show what I know.

Not a lot.

Space Force. Nothing but Space Force.

For reasons no one can seem to fathom, the Trump Administration launched the rumored Space Force branch of the military thereby officially kicking off the Age of Militarized Space, at least the overt phase in that program.

VP Mike Pence was tapped to make the announcement, just in case anyone might mistake this all as just another skit in the ongoing Donald Trump Variety Hour. No, this is serious as a heart attack. And I can't help but wonder who the intended receiver for this unambiguously-bellicose transmission really is here.

But not all that much.

Apocalypse Tonight: Where the Machmen Meet

Vogue, who've been at the forefront in driving the Pearl meme this year, are featuring guest-editor Beyonce Knowles-Carter for their September cover. And lo and behold, Mystery BeyBalon took the opportunity to crown herself with Garlands. 

Secret Sun readers expect nothing less.

Life's Still A Riot with Spy vs Spy

The big news today is that Big Tech purged Alex Jones from their platforms in what looks like a coordinated effort. Everyone's going to have their own opinions on this but mine is that this is the latest skirmish in the ongoing spywar raging beneath the placid summer surface in this great land of ours.

The X-Files X-it & the Death of Conspiracy Culture, Concluded

I'm a big fan of the maxim "stay in your lane" when it comes to popular culture institutions. I don't mean "pound the same idea into the ground until the world screams for mercy," I mean, "figure out what made people pick your idea out of an endless ocean of competitors and clamp down on it like a snapping turtle."

Doing so effectively calls for wisdom and for a deeper understanding of archetype and group psychology, something most creative types aren't exactly known for.

Let me cite two examples from the world of pop music as examples of what I'm not talking about...

The X-Files X-it & the Death of Conspiracy Culture, Part One

Well, after 25 years it looks like we've reached the end of the road. I'm talking about what is most probably the last permutation of The X-Files, and of the Internet conspiracy culture that rose up alongside it. 

Maybe even the end of the Internet as a public square where people from all walks of life and all kinds of varying viewpoints mingle and argue. For some reason the three feel intimately linked.