Category: From The Editor

Trump Makes Me Wonder If We Live In A Simulation

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Trump is a symptom, not a cause of a lot of pretty shitty things within the United States these days. As such, it’s not like if you took Trump out of the equation that anything would really change all that much.

Yeah, the specifics of the fascism we now live under would be different, but the general gameplan would be the same. We would still no longer be a democracy and we would still be zooming towards living in a state that is along the lines of Hungary or Russia.

Let me explain.

If Trump had never come around, Ted Cruz probably would have become president in 2016. He would probably have be a little bit slower to do some of the things that Trump has done, but, in general, now in 2025 we probably would be just about where we are now.

Trump’s great power is he has absolutely no shame and he pretty much does whatever the fuck he wants. Cruz would have done the same things, but probably in a more focused way that would, in some sense, leave us still a somewhat functioning democracy.

But, alas, Obama made fun of Trump and so here we are.

There is something about Trump that seems a little bit too-on-the-nose historically. That’s why I think he might be the by product of some sort of weird, massive simulation that we call human history and civilization — and maybe the universe?

Anyway. No one is going to save us. We’re fucked. We just have to deal with the consequences and try to survive.

The thing about Trump is he keeps pushing and pushing, trying to push us all to a breaking point where we either finally, reluctantly, fight back or just fall directly and irreversibly into the arms of tyranny.

Mulling The Possibility That Magazines Will Evolve Into AI Agents

The enduring appeal of magazines as a medium remains compelling, despite shifting consumption patterns in the digital age. While personal engagement with print publications has declined, the fundamental concept of curated, specialized content delivery continues to hold significant value. This raises important questions about how traditional media formats will adapt and evolve as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into information consumption.

The Potential for Media Consolidation Through AI

A plausible trajectory for the media landscape involves the convergence of traditional outlets into specialized AI-driven information systems. This evolution could manifest through personalized “anchor” AI assistants that serve as primary information gatekeepers for individual users. These systems would operate within comprehensive subscription frameworks, seamlessly routing users to specialized AI agents as needed.

For instance, a user’s primary AI assistant might delegate breaking news inquiries to a CNN-affiliated agent, sports coverage to an ESPN-powered system, or financial updates to specialized business media agents. This model would preserve the expertise and editorial perspective of established media brands while fundamentally transforming the delivery mechanism.

The Digitization of Traditional Media

While the prospect of eliminating physical print media may be disappointing to those who value tactile reading experiences, current technological and economic trends suggest this outcome is increasingly likely. The transformation of all media into AI-agent-based systems represents not merely a change in format, but a fundamental restructuring of how information is curated, personalized, and delivered to consumers.

This evolution reflects broader patterns in digital transformation, where traditional industries adapt their core value propositions to new technological paradigms while maintaining their essential functions in modified forms.

Implications for the Future

The transition to AI-mediated media consumption presents both opportunities and challenges for information literacy, editorial independence, and the preservation of diverse perspectives in public discourse. As this transformation unfolds, careful consideration of these factors will be essential to maintaining the informational and cultural functions that traditional media has historically served.

There’s No Need For Trump To Be As Ham-handed As To Suspend Elections

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

People keep talking about how Trump is going to come up with some excuse to suspend or cancel elections in 2026 and or 2028. While I suppose it’s very possible, I’m just not buying it.

There are just too many existential risks to do such a thing, even for Trump. What is more likely to happen is elections will happen, but they won’t be free and fair. And I say this exclusively about Federal elections. I think, for the foreseeable future, in general, state and local elections will continue as they always have.

Federal elections, however, are fucked. Trump is going to do everything in his power to tip the scales so MAGA is locked in to have power for the rest of my life. America will grow poorer, more militaristic and mor inward looking.

That seems to be our fate.

Now, if you really wanted to get spunky, you might even game out a scenario where before Trump drops dead — say, during an illegal third term — he totally re-arranges the world global order in his image by destroying NATO in favor of a new alliance of the USA, Russia, Hungary and Turkey.

I still think the motherfucker is going to tear down the White House and replace it with a monstrosity that looks a lot like the Old Executive Office Building.

Two New Autocratic Moves Of Note By Trump

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Here are two interesting autocratic moves on the part of the Trump Regime.

  1. Rummaging Through Mortgages
    Just like Nixon sicked the IRS on people back in the day, I think Trump is going to rifle through people’s mortgages in search of “irregularities” he can put them in jail for. It definitely seems as though Trump is working his way towards, say Obama or Hillary Clinton so he can finally spooge that particular wet dream out.
  2. Seizing of D.C.’s Union Station
    This is a good chokepoint for people coming in the area from outside to protest. So, when Trump finally drops the next autocratic shoe, he will be able to prevent people from coming into D.C. to protest — or more — his autocratic behavior.

‘Zombie Democracy’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The curious thing about everything happening politically in the United States is for the most part it’s happening in broad daylight. MAGA cocksuckers haven’t come directly for free speech — yet — so we know damn well about how Trump is consolidating power at a rapid rate.

But I think the last few weeks is when we crossed over into a “zombie” or “managed” democracy. We’re never going to have free-and-fair Federal elections again and this is it — democracy in America is finally dead.

Yes, we’ll continue to have elections and they may even be free-and-fair on a state and local level, but on a Federal basis, MAGA is well on it way to consolidating power to the point that this is it — we’re always going to have a MAGA Federal government, at least for the rest of my life.

It was nice while it lasted, I guess.

Now In The Second Half Of The First Draft Of The Dramedy Scifi Novel I’m Working On

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

So. I’ve zoomed through the first half of the outline for this scifi dramedy novel I’m working on because of AI helping me. Now, I’m in the second half. Usually, when I do such things on my own, this is the moment when everything collapses and I have to start from scratch.

Hopefully, this is not going to happen this time.

But the same problems of me not getting any younger and also knowing my life is going to be turned upside down soon continue to linger. And, yet, I can’t really focus too much on that, right?

I have a novel to work on.

All I hope is that the novel, after I rewrite it without the aid of AI, will be good enough to query. That’s all I want — a novel that is good enough to query. Everything else will be icing on the cake.

‘The Pizza Guy’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I have a fuzzy idea for a short story about a dystopian near future where the only free speech is porn and the only political speech is delivered by the pizza guy in the porn’s setup.

That’s how I feel about the Taylor Swift engagement news. Here we are, careening towards a zombie democracy bordering on an actual dictatorship and…lulz? It is going to be interesting to see how long it takes for MAGA to stop pussy footing around cracking down on free speech and actually do it.

At the moment, they are mostly using intimidation, but that is going to inevitably change. At some point, MAGA is going to come directly for free speech in a big way and it will be interesting to see what the reaction to that will be.

One thing is for sure, I just don’t see us having another free-and-fair Federal election. Somehow, someway, Republicans are going to cheat in 2026 and definitely 2028 and that will be that.

The only thing that is up in the air is Trump’s fate. But, even then, no one and nothing is going to save us. Trump is just a symptom. So, he could magically disappear at any moment and JD Vance (or someone else) would just keep doing exactly what Trump has been doing.

Yes, the exact persona the tyranny we would live under would be different

There Is A Small Chance I May Reach The Midpoint Of The First Draft Of My Scifi Dramedy Novel By Sept. 1st

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I try not to make any hard and fast predictions about my writing since I did it for years and only came up with one not-good-enough-to-query novel when all I was said and done.

But just looking at the number of scenes I have remaining in the first half of the outline, it definitely seems at l least possible that I might wrap the first half of the novel up by Sept. 1st.

Things really are moving that fast.

But, remember, this is just the first draft. Once I sit down to write the beta release, the one someone else is going to actually read, then the dynamic changes. I won’t use AI anymore and I’m going to have to write my own scene summaries. Things are going to slow down dramatically.

I am still pondering how to make my hero more proactive in the second half of the novel. I let AI write much of the outline and the part I haven’t really read that much is the second half. So, hopefully, but just me looking over the outline I will figure out a way to make my hero more proactive.

But, in general, I am very pleased with this novel. It’s about as good as it’s going to get, I think, in some ways, at least on a structural basis. And I’ve managed to keep it “personal” in the latter part of the novel. It doesn’t veer off into a political tirade like the original premise did.

Whenever I Generate ‘Buzz,’ I Wonder Why

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I talk primarily about three thing on this blog: technology, politics and my long, long, long struggle to write a query-worthy novel.

And because, like, no one reads this thing, whenever someone pops up in my Webstats who clearly heard about this blog from a third party it makes me wonder why. What, exactly, did I write about to generate “buzz,” however small.

As it stands, I have no idea why anyone might come to this blog. I usually can’t see what keyword someone used to find the blog, but I often do see that people can through Instagram, which is usually a sign that someone was searching for my name and came in that way.

Anyway, it’s generally flattering when someone searches for my out of the blue. Though, of course, the way things are going it’s growing more and more ominous — ICE is going to probably track me down soon enough and push me out a a window or something.

Struggling To Make My Hero Less Passive

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m zooming through the “fun and games” part of this novel I’m working on and will soon cross the midpoint into the “bad guys close in” part of the novel. But I have a problem, not only do I not really know what happens in this part of the novel because I got AI to finish my outline, according to AI, my hero is “too passive.”

What I think is going to happen is once I actually thoughtfully read the second half of the novel, there will be a lot — a lot — of changes. My own vision, not just the vision of the AIs I’ve been using, will take shape and I’ll hopefully be able to make my hero a lot more proactive.

But, if nothing else, doing it the way I’ve been doing it has ensured I keep the momentum of the writing of the novel. I really want to wrap the first draft of the novel up by the end of the year, so I can turn around and write the second draft. Writing the second draft is going to be a lot — A LOT — slower because I refuse to use any AI (within reason) to actually write it.

I’m going to use my AI-enabled “vomit” draft as a guide for the entire, 100% AI free second draft. And that’s when my native writing — bad or otherwise — will shine. Only time will tell if my actual writing ability sucks too much natively for me to ever query anything I write to a literary agent.