I just spent several hours pulling together a job application. Five down, who knows how many to go. I'm ready to go back to school...

Thrilled to be involved with the Wine Country Writers' Festival this September. Our program is shaping up to be both educational and tons of fun. Tickets at wcwfestival.com

www.acomplicatedworld.com/mental-h/

youtu.be/hh7Cxt_PKqw?...

Savouring the end of an academic journey at the end of the road in Lund, BC. My first post-homework visit to a coffee shop.

Surreal moment tonight: after 5 years of mid-life education, I submitted my last assignment tonight for an MFA in Creative Nonfiction. Yay me! :) And congrats to the rest of my amazing cohort at University of King's College! It's been quite a ride.

Here in Canada, our politicians are campaigning on platforms of "I'm not Trump" and "I'm not Trudeau." Meanwhile, in our favourite sport, we're watching closely as a Putin supporter tries to to break a prized record currently held by a Trump supporter. Strange times.

I'm a big fan of Robert Reich, but I don't understand cryptocurrency well enough to agree with or dispute this claim that crypto is a giant ponzi scheme. I'm curious to know what others think? (And to read a lot more about this virtual money that is all the rage.)

My latest blog post: www.acomplicatedworld.com/10-actually-...

Between op-eds and breaking headlines, news consumption has become a daily drama with real-world stakes. Staying informed is important, but as author Casey Plett knows firsthand, there’s a fine line between awareness and overwhelm.

thewalrus.ca/addicted-to-bad-...

So I asked ChatGPT about an author named Mark Cameron who wrote a book called Goodnight Sunshine, and it was providing an eerily accurate portrayal of the book until it veered into a different galaxy. Here's a quick summary:

If you're only worried about China, and not the billionaires that own other social media apps, then you're missing the full picture.

It seems everyone feels overwhelmed these days. As I write about overwhelm, I'm living it too. It washes over me in waves of content, challenges, crises, ideas. Too many issues, and too little time to write about them before the next wave arrives. What does overwhelm feel like for you?

I've been looking up names for our current epoch to include in my book's subtitle, i.e.: "...in the age of X." The two main options I've encountered are the Age of Intelligence and the Age of Reckoning. I must choose the former, or I will end up writing myself into a vortex of doom.

Hello Blue Sky. I am hopeful, though not naive, about a fresh start with social media. May this platform always remain ad-free. I'll happily pay a modest subscription to buy back my attention from those who wish to commoditize it. Now let's begin a constructive dialogue in search of common ground...