Current Curiosities

[Reading] On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century Graphic Edition by Timothy Snyder + Nora Krug

[Listening] "Unchained Melody"/"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by The Unrighteousness Brothers

[Watching] The Mystery of the Wax Museum 

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Roamin' and Ramblin' into the New Year 

I can't remember when I first stumbled across Woody Guthrie's 1943 list of New Year's resolutions or which Instagram account had posted it. Before the 2016 Presidential Election? After? Before the 2020? Honestly, aside from wanting to provide attribution, I suppose it doesn't really matter anymore how I found it, but that I did. 

When I maintained social media accounts, I would post Guthrie's handwritten resolutions, highlighting both his penmanship (a gorgeous mix of cursive and printed all-caps), doodles, and particularly his twenty-seventh resolution: HELP WIN WAR - BEAT FASCIM.
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​For more than a decade, we've witnessed a rise in fascism in the United States and abroad. And perhaps by the time I've uploaded this post, we will be at war with Venezuela. Though, the word war is misleading, as the violence is one-sided and the actions of a demented bully wielding the world's strongest military. So it seems, once again, we too are faced with war (on several potential fronts) abroad while confronting fascism at home. Happy 2026, I guess??? 
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​Anyway, the other day, I finished reading Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny, and one thing that struck me, aside from the parallels between our current moment and twentieth-century fascist and totalitarian regimes, was how small interpersonal acts and decisions can flaunt tyrannical control. Indeed Snyder suggests make eye contact and small talk (Lesson 12), practice corporeal politics (Lesson 13), and establish a private life (Lesson 14), among others.

Now, I have never been a fan of New Year's resolutions. Resolutions are black and white, pass or fail - or to paraphrase Yoda resolutions are do or do not; there's not a lot of room to try.* That is a lot of pressure to put on yourself at the start of a new year. So instead of resolutions, I am setting intentions for 2026. For me, intentions provide space for missteps and mistakes, for reflection and learning, highlighting progress and process over perfection.
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So as I reflect on the year behind us and consider the one ahead, I thought I would frame my intentions for 2026 through the lens of Snyder's lessons.

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My 2026 Intentions

• While there is natural teeter-tottering in friendships, I intend to continue pruning one-sided relationships and cultivating deeper, more reciprocal friendships. [Lessons 12 and 14]

 

• Hearts are made to love and break and heal and love again. It's time to get over the heartbreak and develop a more robust private, personal life. [Lesson 14]

 

• Now more than ever, it's important to speak up, even though there are very real consequences for doing so. (Believe me, I know.) For me, this means rejecting my learned trauma responses of fawning and appeasement. It's time to turn the Department of Homeland Security's slogan — if you see something, say something — on its head: If you witness harassment or discrimination, speak up immediately. Shame and disrupting their peace is the only way to successfully combat bigots. But remember, there's always the potential for danger when confronting the cis-hets. [Lessons 19 and 20​]

 

• This year, I intend to continue minimizing my screen time in favor of spending more time with friends, more time outdoors, and more time on analog hobbies (fountain pens, reading, and baking). Also, I intend to protest more and be in community with others engaged in the work. [Lesson 13]

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​CODA
Queer and trans folks may be best positioned for Lesson No. 12 in which Snyder underscores the importance of observing your surroundings as a way of knowing whom you should trust or not. As LGBTQ+ people, we already do this on a daily basis, in new situations and old, with new people and old. This practice has protected us for generations against the radical and religious Right. So keep on keeping on, team. Continue being alert. Continue being cautious and critical of those in power. And continue protecting and supporting each other. [Lesson 12]
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I wish y'all a safe, healthy, and happy 2026. Thank you very much for your time. If you have recommendations or curiosities, please fill out this nifty contact form.

Sending y’all supportive, well-caffeinated vibes, 

Creighton 

Today’s Pen(cil): Sherpa Christmas Lights 2023 Limited Edition Pen Cover [Sharpie]

*I prefer Kanan Jarrus' reframing of Yoda's maxim in ​Rebels: If all I do is try, that means I don't truly believe that I can succeed.

My Postcolonial Brain Doesn't Have an Off-Switch 

I'm hella late to this, but I'm finally watching Hulu's Shōgun, which I'm loving. I'd avoided the show for two reasons. First, I've always looked sideways at cishet white guys who fetishize Japanese culture and women. (​Marvel and Star Wars ​have plundered Japanese culture for decades for mostly Western audiences.) Appreciation or respect is one thing, but fetishism or appropriation is another. I made assumptions about Shōgun based on experiences and observations of this particular kind of white cishet dude in high school and college and did not want to participate in their problematic aesthetics and politics. (However, I do adore Japanese stationery.)

Second, after leaving academia, I found it hard to read for fun, and with Shōgun's subtitles, I was hesitant to watch, not sure I would have the focus needed. My mind now wanders to past experiences in the silence of reading. But this past week, I finally started watching Shōgun, and with two episodes left (I'm trying unsuccessfully to pace myself), I'm hooked. It's stunningly shot; the costumes are gorgeous; and the acting is brilliant!

And yet, I cannot turn off my brain's need to analyze, to contextualize, to theorize about this fascinatingly complex show. While others may have already written on this (I have not checked, as this post is more reader response than researched essay), I was initially concerned Shōgun represents a sort of exoticism 2.0. The show is based on the novel by a British author. I'm generally suspicious of white men writing about the lives, experiences, and cultures of others​. That one of the show runners is of Japanese descent gives me hope this is not another orientalist (in the Said sense) take on Japanese history and culture. Again, I do love this show. 

Anyway, Blackthorne's brutish behavior is rightly off-putting (though his behind is deeply engrossing). He's like an other-side-of-the-world John Smith to Mariko's Pocahontas. (That is truly a shit analogy.) I find Blackthorne deeply irritating. Though, perhaps as a Western audience, we need him as our in to the story and this particular period of Japan's history. I do like Blackthrone's unlikability. And in this way, he presents a more complicated, less mythic version of the prototypical English explorer.

Protestant Blackthorne becomes slightly more likable when juxtaposed with the Portuguese Catholics, both faith leaders and merchants. It's not hard to turn historic Catholics into villains when for over two millennia the Church has pillaged and raped, enslaved and genocided all over the New World. And while English Protestants were equally as barbaric in their imperial enterprises, there's something more sinister about the Catholic Church actively participating in these practices, without atoning, to enrich its own coffers in the name of God​, whatever that means. (This critique may sound harsh, but as a queer person, I have little patience for the Church's anti-LGBTQ+ practices and policies and the harms the Church has committed on generations of queer and trans people, again, without atonement.)

The women of Shōgun are the most fascinating to me. For example, Mariko is caught between an abusive husband and Blackthorne as well as Toranaga and the remaining four regents. Mariko shows wisdom and strength and calmness in the eye of this powerful storm. As interpreter for Blackthorne and Toranaga, Mariko neutralizes aggressive sentiments, creating stability for this new shaky East-West alliance. Lady Ochiba's revenge-fueled rise to power confounds the patriarchal regents as she works to ensure her son remains the heir of the deceased Taikō. There's Usami Fuji, Blackthorne's consort, who overcomes the death of both her husband and infant. And there's Gin, the enterprising madam of the tea house, who argues in favor of the unionization and professionalization of courtesans to protect and lift up women. While the men tear each other apart, the women scheme for a better existence, a different world.

Surprisingly, Yabushige became one of my favorite characters. I was ready for him to die after the first episode, but man, has he won me over. Did he boil a man alive??? Yes. Was it hella gross??? Also, yes. But is he funny as he attempts to survive the political power struggle??? Absolutely. I'm curious what's in store for him, Mariko, and the rest of Toranaga's clan in the remaining two episodes.

​And I'm happy to learn two more seasons are in the works! 

UPDATE: I finished the season. A little shellshocked. Uff da. ​

Thank you very much for your time. If you have recommendations or curiosities, please fill out this nifty contact form.

Sending y’all supportive, well-caffeinated vibes, 

Creighton 

Today’s Pen(cil): Lanbitou 3088 [Fountain Pen] | Monteverde Horizon Blue [Ink]