Space junk, stray bullets, and projected psychoses, what goes up must come down. That's not the sky falling, but it might as well be.
Newton’s 3rd Law of Feral Munitions
Tag: speculative
Vonnegut and the Mistake Machines
When someone mentions “The Good Book,” I always assume they are speaking of Slaughterhouse-Five. I think the world would be a kinder, gentler place if we based more of our morality on Vonnegut’s works rather than the books many of us revere. He passed in April of 2007, but I think of him whenever I read or write. Sometimes, I consider what he would have said about things I’m trying to put words to.
Vonnegut probably would have said that people are Mistake Machines. We all make mistakes, and we are as prolific and proficient at making them as we are at making anything else we have ever made. He also may have said that the best Mistake Machines of all are also fantastic Apology Machines because, while we cannot avoid making mistakes, seeing as how we are Mistake Machines, we possess the ability to admit when we are wrong. The best Mistake Machines can avoid continuing to make a particular mistake once they are aware of the mistake they made, and they can right their course through history. Some of their mistakes have also been their greatest achievements, but Mistake Machines find the greatest source of their humanity and their humility in their own apologies.
Apology Machines make the best kind of Mistake Machines… the best kind of people.
2-Year Anniversary of Diminishing Return
April 14th, 2021 is the 2-year anniversary of my second novel, Diminishing Return. I am just as proud of it today as I was the day I released it, maybe even more so. It was and is a call for compassion which seems in short supply these days. If you feel the same way I [...]
Diminishing Return preview & excerpt by Joseph D. Newcomer
https://videopress.com/v/BLBmAuiG?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true The following is another excerpt from my last novel. It is one of the parts of the book that makes me proudest of the message I was attempting to convey. I feel as though it is even more relevant today than the day I wrote it. If you feel the same, please share it [...]
The Ruminant Fates of Man
Everyone makes a difference, much of it is done unintentionally. The results are as equally horrifying as those we supposedly learned from. Judge evil by the desired outcomes, but don’t dismiss the wrong done when done absentmindedly, even if the probable eventualities have not or not yet been reached. We labored under the false pretense [...]
Joseph D. Newcomer 