Neat Trick

 

Author's Gratitude

So many thanks and so much gratitude to all of you who supported the writing and publication of my first novel, END OF THE TRACKS: HOMECOMING!

Whether you provided reader feedback, wrote a review, bought a signed author copy, or ordered a paperback, e-book, or audiobook, your support has made it possible for me to focus on continuing my journey as an author and publisher.

In 2026, I am writing the sequel to this near-future literary fiction novel: INNERSCAPE VOYAGER. It will be an epic sci-fi exploration of dreams, desires, and destiny.

In the meantime, I still have paperback copies of my debut novel available to sign and mail for stocking stuffers if you're looking for a personalized holiday gift this year. 📖📪

https://www.emberwildeproductions.com/books/

The Turing Test for Media

 This is going to be a major problem by 2030 and we're almost totally unprepared for it.

One Battle After Another

"One Battle After Another" is one of the best films of the year and works as a potent, frenetic meditation on our times. This epic features a fantastic cast, immersive scene locations and production design, skillful pacing, masterful cinematography and editing, a riveting score (Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood again teams up with the "There Will Be Blood" director), but most of all: the kind of nuanced, relevant contemporary storytelling we need right now. See it on the big screen if you can!

Fart of the Deal: Alaska Edition

Donald Trump said he would end the war in Ukraine on "day one."  207 days later, the "fart of the deal" has failed to deliver on a key campaign promise.

Sleeping Through a Streaming Service Near You

 

Militant Immigration Policies are Republican Climate Change Policies

The Trump/GOP spending bill allocates a total of $75 billion to ICE for enforcement and deportation operations, including detention and hiring of additional personnel. This includes $45 billion for expanding detention facilities and $29.9 billion for enforcement and deportation. 

The far right knows that global climate change will lead to much more mass migration from climate refugees, survivors of blight, famine, asylum seekers from corrupt, dictatorial governments and drug cartels, etc. Their solution is to criminalize, deport, detain, and ultimately starve millions and millions of people - potentially billions of potential migrants by 2050.

Just read a summary of Steve Bannon's favorite book "The Camp of the Saints" for insight into how the far right regards immigrants from the global south. No doubt Stephen Miller has read it, also. But rest assured Donald Trump hasn't read it because, well, he doesn't read.

Anyway, it's important to understand that the near future will see much more militarized borders and more intrusive immigration enforcement goon squads. That's the Republican solution not just to immigration, but also to global climate change: more fossil fuel pollution, a total disregard for sustainable energy, and a standing army approach to a militant war on illegal immigration while also completely banning many forms of previously legal immigration.

Photo: Agents from ICE and Homeland Security brace for confrontation with immigration rights supporters in Los Angeles on June 8, 2025. Taurat Hossain/Anadolu/Getty