Vibecamp was utterly exhilarating. Gotta keep the vibes rolling — no time to waste! SF Bay Area people, let's get together again ASAP. Hence... When: Saturday, March 26 Where + itinerary: Coffee @ One Plus, 11:00amBerkeley Art Museum, 11:30am – 1:30pmPicnic on Crescent Lawn, 2pm … | Continue reading
I am delighted to present these adorable Wanderverse-themed sticker designs created by @suchaone! Everything is CC0-licensed, as always 💖 High-res files: .png with forest background (shown above).png with transparent background.pdf with blue background.pdf with transparen … | Continue reading
My undying thanks to members for funding the following realizations 💖 Btw, click here for the PDF version that I mailed in November, if you want it for some reason. How to complete a creative project: stick with it until you're done. Gee thanks, great advice, I know. But … | Continue reading
I'm never satisfied, but nonetheless I'm at peace. | Continue reading
James Simpkins on cynegetic violence and ontological policing in Gregoire Chamayou's Manhunts (2012). | Continue reading
I started this post... a while ago, like probably 2020... and it never got further than semi-developed notes. Still, if you're intrigued by the second law of thermodynamics, you may enjoy reading my [partial] thoughts on its implications. Change requires loss, and choice always c … | Continue reading
Hey, it's been a minute. Happy summer! My past month was hectic. I'm slightly behind on, uhhhh... everything. Slightly! Could be worse! I've been getting way up in my head about this newsletter, tripping over my own expectations. (What else is new?) I owe you an introduction to H … | Continue reading
In terms of blog post categories, you know. Tryna be more playful, off-the-cuff. Do you like it? Is this fun for you too, when I engineer the appearance of insouciance? How bout when I make it meta? There's always more where that came from, I could talk in circles all | Continue reading
In the beginning the labyrinth was not the center of Wanderverse. Believe it or not, in those days Wanderverse had no center at all. But the man who would give it one had already been born. | Continue reading
You're about to enjoy the third installment of a CC0-licensed Wanderverse story written by Sam Wilson. But first! Read the previous chapters... A gnome, her assistant, and the Nanomancer's apprenticeDiversions AbroadChapter 7"What's that racket?" Dana shrugged her shoulders, but … | Continue reading
Oh gosh oh boy it's NEWSLETTER time! Get hype. I'm hype, in case you can't tell. Let's take a stroll through the noosphere 🔮 First, I hope you saw the latest rhizomatic tendril of Wanderverse: A gnome, her assistant, and the Nanomancer’s apprenticeToday I’m pleased to pre … | Continue reading
Today I'm pleased to present the first three chapters of a Wanderverse contribution by Sam Wilson, the researcher who painstakingly catalogued evidence that There Was An Extinction-Level Event In 2012: And We All Now Live In A Simulation. Find more of Sam's short and serialized f … | Continue reading
Hello hello! The newsletter finally has a name: Ideograph. I came up with it by pondering the theme I hope to convey, which is roughly "the shape of ideas." Then I discovered that "ideograph" is an extant term of art: [...] a word frequently used in political discourse that uses … | Continue reading
See subject line. As usual, I'll start with the ones that involve me: Gift memberships are now available! I feel silly announcing this after Christmas rather than before, but so it goes. Maybe ur fave has a birthday coming up? Also, I updated the membership page for 2021.Timothy … | Continue reading
Epistemic status: Making a stab at the ineffable. The ineffable dodges and I miss. Again, argh! It always does that. Oh well, gonna keep stabbing anyway. Hey kids, wassup. Wanna talk about magic? 'Course you do. First, a disclaimer: I don't advocate sorcery. Aleister Crowley et a … | Continue reading
Hi friends! What a year, what a year. That's all I have to say about electoral politics. Seriously though, can you believe it's November already? Time to plan the holiday movie roster ❄️ Perhaps you'd enjoy a serene interlude. Visit the Wanderpath gazebo to contemplate "icicles w … | Continue reading
the cool part of the world being enchanted is, well, it's enchanted. that's lovely! the downside is that demons want to eat your soul — 🎀 sonyasupposedly.com 🤖 (@sonyasupposedly) August 22, 2020 I've been spending time in the fairy-tale realm lately, … | Continue reading
Made with clip art by Arcanaofwales (who is also on Instagram) and OlgaSoi007, among various other materials. Looking out from my eyes is like staring upward through two inches of clear water. I'm on my back, floating but shallowly submerged. The barrier is transparent, and yet i … | Continue reading
Bunny chimera illustration by Celia Agnes of Sweet Omens, available as a print on Etsy. Guess what time it is? That's right, time for a NEWSLETTER! This is me getting myself hyped but hopefully it works on you too. Happy Monday. Btw, you may not be aware of the point | Continue reading
Earlier this year I summed up the perpetual utilitarian lament: Despite nigh-inestimable progress, the world is pervaded by suffering. An unimaginable amount of suffering. Trying to comprehend it specifically and thoroughly makes me feel sick. It is stagger … | Continue reading
Previously Plumule found herself in a clearing marked by "the ridges and dips of a labyrinth that was dug into the meadow long ago." During a midnight trance, she watched a formidable owl fly the pattern of the labyrinth repeatedly, then perform an unknown ritual in the center be … | Continue reading
I'm sure Pasquale won't mind serving as a case study, given his glee at the association: I’m HONORED / BLESSED that some of you Silicon Valley tech dweebs think that I was @vcbrags. To be honest, I’m so dumb about VC, half the jokes from the account flew over | Continue reading
Hey there, I hope you're doing well despite 2020 continuing to 2020. Allow me to distract you, I guess? No new project installments yet, but I've got some interesting links that are basically unrelated to current events. Newsletter soundtrack: "The music of To Setto Setto is a cy … | Continue reading
Happy Sunday! I wrote a blog post about books: Reading NotesFYI, this post contains Amazon affiliate links. Sundry reflections on the pleasures of books, inspired by Mason’s thread from last year [https://twitter.com/webdevMason/status/1184782231409065987]. (“The right pace to re … | Continue reading
FYI, this post contains Amazon affiliate links. Sundry reflections on the pleasures of books, inspired by Mason's thread from last year. ("The right pace to read at is conversational." 😍) Also inspired by Marc Andreessen's May comments about his reading habits: [Sriram K … | Continue reading
My friend Beau suggested that I reflect on cyberpunk again, do an issue of Exolymph for old time's sake. I've been pondering the prompt for a while now. The internet changed everything, that much is clear. Software changed everything. Computers changed everything — computing chan … | Continue reading
The website and blog of Sonya Mann. | Continue reading
An exhortation in favor of vim, vigor, and verve. | Continue reading
More advice — this will be a recurring feature of Sonya Supposedly, I can already tell. Look... what can I say, the bossiness comes naturally! Query me if you wish. Artwork by Mickey De Muis. I received three questions about, mas o menos, anomie — and the desire for life to feel | Continue reading
One of my earliest job aspirations was advice columnist. The appeal remains, so I'm giving it a try. First question: The current political moment leaves me wanting to move to the mountains and buy lots of guns, but my partner doesn't see the specter of cleansing purges gathering … | Continue reading
Ironically I'm writing this post as procrastiwork, since I don't feel like doing anything that's actually on my to-do list. The template will probably seem obvious, but that's kinda the point. You don't need any fancy programs — currently I use Apple Notes; previously Google Docs … | Continue reading
A few links, then some plans. In case you missed it, the last message was "Impossibility Space." I've penned one more screed since: Survivalist EpistemologyOn the existential politics of sorting through salience signals under uncertainty.Sonya MannSonya SupposedlyI compiled a "Be … | Continue reading
You find yourself on the brink, the cusp, the verge — frozen at the edge of a sheer cliff, peering over it. How discomfiting, to regard that long fall! And yet vertigo beckons. The void is a vortex and its voice whooshes loudly as you tip, tip, then tip-tip-tip forward. Now | Continue reading
Watching livestreamed riots last night, fire and mayhem in fuzzy rectangles, I thought of Don Henley's 1985 hit: "Molotov cocktail, the local drink / And all she wants to do is dance, dance." I miss a dance floor. I miss the bodies, the sweat, big speakers blowing the bass throug … | Continue reading
Reflections on quitting my day job. | Continue reading
An overview of complexity research enclave the Santa Fe Institute, frequented by luminaries ranging from Murray Gell-Mann to Cormac McCarthy. | Continue reading
Announcing that you quit your job during the early days of a pandemic-provoked recession (depression?) that is progressively pervading Pangaea — well, it takes some trial and error ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The following texts coevolved but were abandoned at various points. Hence the details may … | Continue reading
In a recent call to arms, software magnate Marc Andreessen remarked on widespread inability to respond swiftly, let alone appropriately, to the onset of pandemic: [...] the harsh reality is that it all failed — no Western country, or state, or city was prepared — and despite hard … | Continue reading
A defense of delving into the peanut gallery. | Continue reading
Last July, I was talking about Zcash on Twitter, and Josh Grobe asked me this question: Q: what additional utility do cryptos like zcash have vs more traditional transactional methods (Credit Cards)? Interested in zcash, but often look into crypto marketplaces and think, "wh … | Continue reading
In November, I'll be leading an online writing workshop called Friends as ForceMultiplier [https://otherinter.net/workshops/fafm/], hosted by semi-enigmaticconsultancy Other Internet [https://otherinter.net/]. FaFM will focus onunderstanding, navigating, and leveraging internet c … | Continue reading
→ what z2z Public Messages is ← [/z2z-public-messages/]Monday, October 28, 2019"'What gunpowder did for war, the printing press has done for the mind.' -Wendell Phillips"I looked up the quote. As a full sentence it's even morekick-ass:> What gunpowder did for war, the printing pr … | Continue reading
I like it when journalists tweet about their personal opinions and experiences. I want to know where people are coming from, why they care about the issues that concern them most, how they approach the world, and whether they seem like a thoughtful person in general. | Continue reading