Falling Back to Blog

I have been beset by crises.

Personal, political and moral.

Six months of quarantine have amplified my sense of loss, from relationships severed by sickness, distance or lack of attention

The mismanagement of the pandemic has hit a nerve.

The racism, authoritarianism and incompetence of our government over the last nine months (at all levels)… And the loss of life and property they’ve exacted on this country have pushed my pressure cooker past the highest setting

Add in Americans’ continued ignorance of East Asian COVID policies that could get us out of this mess (or of best practices from non-white countries in any policy area), and I am on the brink

Source: giphy

Righteous anger can motivate creative outpouring, but it can also degenerate into a bottomless pit of contempt and misery

I’ve been wallowing in the latter state for several months now. My energy has plummeted, causing creative paralysis. I indulge in social media or sweets or substances, mistaking the instant high for productive energy. It creates an illusion for one minute, until I get distracted.

The only solution is to write as often I can. It doesn’t have to sound pretty. But it does have to speak for my heart and the principles I value.

At this juncture in history, silence is complicity. Therefore, I am obligated to dust off my pen.

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I started this blog with the lofty goal of creating an interdisciplinary intellectual space, where people could engage with “great questions” in multiple social, political and personal spheres on their own terms. For the sake of efficiency, I feel compelled to narrow my scope for the short-term to the following areas:

1. Comparative analysis of transportation and housing issues (with a focus on LA vs. foreign countries)
2. Random urban planning, history and food trivia
3. Causes of American political decline (entre-pocalypse series will come out of the woodwork!)
4. Political ideology vis a vis the election

For the same reason, expect my writing to be less formal and more blunt. As always, comments are welcome. No snark without provocation.