Schon ist der Moment vorbei

LRB but the guys in my mentions on here and on xwitter acting like I’m a fucking moron for caring about the Artemis launch because there are terrible things happening in the world and some of those things had the same starting point as many NASA astronauts and tech (the US military) are just completely missing the point to me. Like. Idk man. There’s a lot of bad in the world. But my politics will not be better, less tainted by the stench of evil, just because I refuse to deny myself the joy and awe and pride at seeing what humans can do. We are stronger and better together—working together, living together, sharing together, loving together—than we ever could be apart. Humans have been around for hundreds of thousands of years and we are the first to see the dark side of the Moon. How can you not be romantic about that.

When I say "I like Richard III", I'm not saying I condone or absolve the real historical figure. What I love is the Trinity of Richard III the fictionalised villain, Richard III the fictionalised hero and Richard III, the unknowable approximation of a real person that can be scraped together from historical records. Three separate entities often at total odds with one another and yet conceptually one person. It's the multi-faceted, contradictory, vague idea of him that finds a new way back into the Zeitgeist again and again that I love. He's become folklore.

my life isnt perfect but at least im not doing a mans laundry