Welcome to Some Nonsense

The apocalypse is not a single event hovering in the future bearing down on us while we sit helplessly. We are at least 150 years into an ongoing "apocalypse."

The eastern USA's natural environments were fucking razed. We went scorched earth on everything.

In the 1930's, DEER and WILD TURKEYS were almost eliminated from my state. Deer. Wild turkeys. Common animals that you can see all the time.

I've seen animals close to my home that a person in the 1970's would not have been able to see. I saw river otters and a bald eagle a couple months ago! Farmer family friend remembers when a bald eagle sighting here made the news. There is a thriving population of elk (16,000 animals) in the Appalachian Mountains, for the first time since before 1850!

black bear, coyote, porcupine, mountain lion, wolf, bald eagle, otter, beaver (and probably a few other things I wasn't aware of)

In the 90s, we started seeing some of those animals come back. At this point, everything BUT the wolf and mountain lion are confirmed living here again, and I'm about 95% certain there has been at least one wolf around in the last two years. Nothing else sounds like that; coyotes and dogs sure don't.

In grade school, we had to watch a film called "Silent Spring" (based on a 1962 book of the same name) every year. It was actually horrific; while I understand the school's intent, being repeatedly told that all wildlife would be dead and the earth rendered completely dead within our lifetime was. uh. pretty awful thing to tell 8-yr-olds with no agency to stop it.

I saw one firefly in my neighborhood, and before my daughter is grown we intend to be awash in them. We, as a neighborhood.

Never, in all of human history, have so many people devoted so much effort to one single cause than to combating climate change. From the highest end researcher to the average joe going to a protest to protect and promote clean energy to the elderly man hosting my favorite gardening show. All over the planet, every day.

I think there is a significant correlation between people who are mad at Dragon Age: The Veilguard's queer representation being "too in your face" and "not fantasy immersive enough" or whatever, and people who play Baldur's Gate 3 and other queer RPGs, pretending the queerness doesn't exist.

This is not dissing BG3; lord knows I'm in love with that game. I'm just pointing out that it is entirely possible to go through it and pretty easily ignore its queerness if you're an asshole set on doing so. You cannot do that with DATV. And I think that's why Taash especially gets the brunt of the bullshit reactions, because them being non-binary is such a core part of who they are, it is is unavoidable.

Just sitting here softly petting my phone and tenderly smiling and thinking about how lucky we are to have this cast, because I would not trade them for anything. 🥹♥️

SAM REID at the 30th Annual Critics Choice Awards on February 07, 2025