14th June, 2026

This month is going to be a little different from other instalments. I've been struggling, as we drift further away from May and into June, with the urge to write this newsletter and the simultaneous knowledge that I do not have much to say right now. There are ideas brewing, but they're not ready yet, and I don't want to force them out for the sake of filling a silence.

I've also been reading a lot about stillness and rest and prolonged attention - primarily Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price and How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell. (Alongside some absolutely incredible Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfic, but I digress.) All this to say: I am sick of the grindset, sick of being in motion all the time, sick of the impulse to WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK. It's been drilled into my brain without my noticing, and I am taking the time to step back, and breathe, and carve out some time for myself.

Some quick updates:

• I just got back from the Queer Data Showcase up in Manchester, which was a delightful time. The organisers were great, the other speakers were great, the audience was great. A written version of my talk will be going up on Patreon soon, and then on the website a bit later.
• Another highlight of the trip was getting to spend some time with friends I haven't seen in far too long - and hang out with their cats. I've been having a lot of thoughts about domestication lately, partially fuelled by my yearning to adopt a dog. Something about existing in the same space as an alien little creature, and communicating across species boundaries, and doing your best to respect the autonomy of a being that is dependent on you for its wellbeing. I need to reread Donna Haraway's Companion Species Manifesto, basically.
• I've gone back to Stitches in Time - and, uh, turns out there's a lot of bad episodes hanging out in the near future. There's been bright spots too, but we've watched 'The Twin Dilemma', 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth', 'Dinosaurs on a Spaceship', 'Mindwarp', and 'Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor' over the past few days. Rough! I have a deep love and appreciation for bad television but this has been pushing my limits!
• I've been reading a lot of Tara Knight's work lately, and oh my god. Brilliantly sharp and incisive. A lot of her pieces are framed very provocatively, but I recommend sticking with the analysis and fully digesting it before coming to an opinion.
• Another gem from my RSS feed: The Dead Language Society! I found this one through the article that starts off in modern English and then gradually moves backwards in time. It's been a delightful trip back to my undergrad days.
• With some trepidation: it might be time to do a website overhaul. It's outgrowing the existing structure a little bit. I'm very inspired by Doriane's words on website as a living space, with cycles of messiness to sorting and cleaning to messiness once more. Plus, there's things I'd like to add.

That's all for now!

...bodypoetic...