mammal facts - going into the mail

I'll be dropping copies of "mammal facts" into the mail over the next few days, keep an eye out for yours to arrive soon. Also tucked inside you'll find a small bonus comic, exclusive to print subscribers. I'll be distributing the digital copy of the 'zine towards the end of this week.

This issue is definitively not about current events. I'm currently in some kind of in-between state, working my way towards intellectual acceptance of where we might be now as a country, but emotionally maybe not quite caught up as of yet. Partially this could be related to the fairly lengthy transition period in the US, where the election happens in early November, but the incoming administration doesn't take power until near the end of January. For me it's created this sort of strange mental holding patten, where I know things have taken a bad turn, but because none of it has fully begun to happen, we could be forgiven for thinking, oh, perhaps this won't be so bad. Yes, we're seeing extremely ominous signs (I am mostly thinking of the examples of institutions and political appointees preemptively capitulating) but the real stuff hasn't yet started.

Anyway, that's all besides the point as it relates to this month's comic, which is (I think) an interesting cartoon essay suggesting perhaps we aren't actually the world's main character, that we might in fact simply be here to keep alive an immortal chain of germ cells that live within us, and get passed down when we reproduce. I'm finding comfort in those thoughts.

Last thing, this past month I watched the Hulu TV series "Say Nothing", and simultaneously read the book. Both are absolutely excellent in their own rights, and I recommend checking them out. Could be that another way of dealing with things, for me, has been immersing myself into the seemingly intractable conflicts of the past. I am mostly, but not entirely, removed from the trouble of Northern Ireland, I was born in the UK in the mid-1970's, and didn't leave until 1987, when that conflict was not yet resolved, but was in fact experienced by me as a quiet background hum that I was able to largely remain oblivious to, apart from the general prejudices and bigotries towards the Irish that a suburban English boy would have been exposed to in the early 1980's. That this war managed to somehow arrive at a sort of peace, has always felt somewhat miraculous to me as someone who once knew many older relatives and acquaintances who wouldn't believe there could ever be an end to it. I found the way the show and book portrayed Gerry Adams as the villain in the eyes of the IRA volunteers who followed him to be the most provocative aspect of the narrative. None of us in our right minds would want a different outcome than the one of peace, but the story of these people having to deal not only with what they had done during the war, but also the added mental strain of having to carry it alone (as Gerry Adams denied ever having been involved) gave me a lot to think about.

Anyway, that's all besides the point. Look out for the new comic, and have a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year! I'll be back in January with an update on the next 'zine to kick off 2025!

Mike