DATE: 10/17/26
MOOD:Drained
SONG: The Trick is to Keep Breathing by Garbage
Long week
This week's episode of Dark Matter was surprisingly hopeful. It really spelled out the thematic core of the whole show- focusing on what you could have done will destroy your life- instead, focus on what you can do now. Live true to yourself and you'll end up where you were meant to be. I really needed something hopeful.
I spent the whole week at my other Grandma's house (not the one with alzheimers), helping her sort my Grandpa's old stuff. I was really upbeat and focused the whole time, since there was a job to do and she needed support. Did the eight hour drive back home yesterday. I didn't even realize I was compartmentalizing until the emotional dues came today, cried hard enough to get a headache. I really miss him.
I guess it just surprised me because I felt perfectly fine at my Grandma's. Even when she said the saddest things or told old stories about him. He wasn't doing well near the end, chemo treatments meant he couldn't do any of the stuff he cared about. It was definitely time. It just fucking sucks.
Job hunt has slowed way down since I was busy all week. Spoke with my cousin-in-law about fixing up my resume, so technically I worked a little on the search. I'm just feeling really drained atm.
I also saved a few books from my Grandpas extensive sci-fi collection. I'm halfway through Left Hand of Darkness right now- I can see why it’s a sci-fi classic. The prose is gorgeous, and the alien world-building feels truly alien. The first chapter I was shocked a bit that the protagonist was the one chosen to go on this diplomatic mission- he could not pick up on the INCREDIBLY OBVIOUS subtext his friend was trying to say- that he was worried for the protags safety, not his own, and that he was in the unfavorable position so by distancing himself the protags offer to the king should go better- and instead was like "omg what a backstabber, dropping me after months of friendship. And speaking in riddles, how… womanly, ew."
It makes a lot more sense when you learn he got there with lightspeed travel- 60 years passed for everyone else while he only spent a few hours on the ship. You have to have no connections to do this kind of job.
I really like how the protagonist is super sexist- he's on a planet with no gender, so whenever someone does something he doesn't like, he goes "omg woman moment" when it has nothing to do with feminine "traits". It literally can't- the Gethenians are innubile androgynes. By writing him this way, the book does an amazing job of pointing out to the viewer that there aren't really gendered actions- the things the Gethenians do could be done by men or woman- he's just predisposed against women arbitrarily and assigns "woman" to actions he dislikes or can't understand.
I will also add the use of he/him pronouns for all of the Gethenians trips me up the same way the protagonist gets tripped up- I keep picturing men, then it flickers to woman, then I go "oh yeah its neither- no visible sex traits." I think this is also a commentary on how we immediately use he/him pronouns for a lot of things, and how it colors our view of them. Firefighter vs fireman, all bugs and dogs being he/himmed, ect you get the idea. the intentional friction this causes in the reading experience makes the reader realize on their own how doing this effects how they interpret what's around them. It even gets called out in the investigator chapter!
I do wonder how much of their societal difference from us is due to the lack of gender vs the dangerous deadly cold weather. The differences in social taboos is also super interesting- there isn't any rape or war, but they are incredibly monogomous to the point of only "marrying" (vowing in Kemmer) once. I don't think they even have a word for divorce? It's just super taboo. They also seem to care less about efficiency (the landships going 25 mph… I would lose my mind they should be going 60 come onnnn), and their population is stable and small (It would be nearly impossible to get an accidental pregnancy!). The stranger is a guest while the neighbor is an enemy… All this to say 10/10 speculative biology and alien worldbuilding, really interesting stuff.
I'm still wrapping my head around the fortune tellers and their philosophy of un-knowing, however I do think that since seeing the future always takes a price, and the price is based on what the user can give, I think the reason the cult is so secretive and low in society is so that they have very little to pay as a price. The King who asked them a question lost his partner, his mind, and his life, after all.
Maybe once I'm done with this one I'll finish up Slow Gods. There's less speculative biology in that one (sadge…) but its sci-fi world building is very topical. I'm just having trouble reading it since the protagonists love interest died for nothing :( like. I know that was the point, that they thought it was gonna bring down the evil space Oligarchy in a divinely ordained mission only to pull the rug out, but having the love interest's sacrifice fall so completely flat… waugh…
WHATS NEW:
- ♡ Music page has RABBITHOLE and wannacry now!
- ♡ Project Hail Mary Shrine!
- ♡ Removed Hindbrain from literature page- I think I'm gonna rewrite some parts?
- ♡ Mini update log on the homepage! Now it'll be super convinient to know whats new.
(hopefully that means I'll have more freetime to work on my site.)