‘You don’t need the machete or the megaphone’ … Alan Moore. Photograph: Joe Brown joestupidstupid@aol.com/Joe Brown Alan Moore This article is more than 1 year old ‘Fandom has toxified the world’: Watchmen author Alan Moore on superheroes, Comicsgate and Trump This article is more than 1 year old Enthusiasm can be a productive force for good, but our culture has rapidly become a fan-based landscape that the rest of us are merely living in Alan Moore Sat 26 Oct 2024 06.00 EDT Prefer the Guardian on Google About a decade ago, I ventured my opinion that the adult multitudes queueing for superhero movies were potentially an indicator of emotional arrest, which could have worrying political and social implications. Since at that time Brexit, Donald Trump and fascist populism hadn’t happened yet, my evidently crazy diatribe was largely met with outrage from the fan community, some of whom angrily demanded I be extradited to the US and made to stand trial for my crimes against superhumanity – which I felt didn’t necessarily disprove my allegations. Ten years on, let me make my position clear: I believe that fandom is a wonderful and vital organ of contemporary culture, without which that culture ultimately stagnates, atrophies and dies. At the same time, I’m sure that fandom is sometimes a grotesque blight that poisons the society surrounding it with its mean-spirited obsessions and ridiculous, unearned sense of entitlement. Perhaps this statement still requires some breaking down. Concerning the word “fan”, I first encountered this contraction of “fanatic” during childhood, in a television documentary on the phenomenon. All I remember is the weary spouse of a woman devoted to the late Jim Reeves, sitting in a family home that had become a mausoleum of memorabilia, and mournfully accepting that his wife had only married him because his name happened to be James Reeves. Soon after that, the word passed into common usage, although only in the milder sense of somebody quite liking something, and without the connotations of a person listening to Distant Drums on endless replay with the curtains drawn, or a cultist running wild-eyed from the treeline waving a machete. “Fan”, then, meant merely “enthusiast”, but sounded less Edwardian. skip past newsletter promotion Free newsletter | Weekly Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. Enter your email after newsletter promotion Tim Allen, Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver and Patrick Breen in Galaxy Quest. Stan and deliver: art, books, film and more about super-fandom Read more Quite liking comics, aged 14 I thus became a comics fan with my discovery of British fandom, which was then still gummy-eyed and fresh out of the egg. The first convention I attended in London, in the basement rooms of a Southampton Row hotel in 1969, was tiny and inspiring. The attenders barely totalled a three-digit number, almost all of them some few years short of legal drinking age. The comics companies, having no monetary interest in a handful of penniless teenagers, went blissfully unrepresented, and the only industry celebrity that I recall was the sublime and sweetly unassuming genius Frank Bellamy, passing Dan Dare or Garth originals around, appearing wonderstruck that anyone had heard of him. The only thing uniting the assembly was its passion for an undervalued storytelling medium and, for the record, the consensus verdict of the gathered 15-year-old cognoscenti was that costumed musclemen were the main obstacle preventing adult audiences from taking comics seriously. Of that hardly-a-hundred schoolkids, office boys and junior librarians, the great majority were actively involved in their pursuit, publishing or contributing to a variety of – for the most part – poorly duplicated fanzines, or else going on to work professionally in the field, such as Kevin O’Neill, Steve Moore, Steve Parkhouse or Jim Baikie, all of whom were downstairs at the Waverley hotel that weekend, keen to elevate the medium that they loved, rather than passively complain about whichever title or creator had particularly let them down that month. Of course, this was the 1960s and the same amateur energy seemed to be everywhere, spawning an underground press, Arts Lab publications and a messy, marvellous array of poetry or music fanzines that were the material fabric of that era’s counterculture; flimsy pamphlets as important and innovative today as they were then, although considerably more expensive, trust me. Elections that decide the fate of millions are conducted in an atmosphere more suited to evictions on I’m a Celebrity … Soon thereafter, caught up in the rush of adolescent life, I drifted out of touch with comic books and their attendant fandom, only returning eight years later when I was commencing work as a professional in that fondly remembered field, to find it greatly altered. Bigger, more commercial, and although there were still interesting fanzines and some fine, committed people, I detected the beginnings of a tendency to fetishise a work’s creator rather than simply appreciate the work itself, as if artists and writers were themselves part of the costumed entertainment. Never having sought a pop celebrity relationship with readers, I withdrew by stages from the social side of comics, acquiring my standing as a furious, unfathomable hermit in the process. And when I looked back, after an internet and some few decades, fandom was a very different animal. An older animal for one thing, with a median age in its late 40s, fed, presumably, by a nostalgia that its energetic predecessor was too young to suffer from. And while the vulgar comic story was originally proffered solely to the working classes, soaring retail prices had precluded any audience save the more affluent; had gentrified a previously bustling and lively cultural slum neighbourhood. This boost in fandom’s age and status possibly explains its current sense of privilege, its tendency to carp and cavil rather than contribute or create. I speak only of comics fandom here, but have gained the impression that this reflexive belligerence – most usually from middle-aged white male conservatives – is now a part of many fan communities. My 14-year-old grandson tells me older Pokémon aficionados can display the same febrile disgruntlement. Is this a case of those unwilling to outgrow childhood enthusiasms, possibly because these anchor them to happier and less complex times, who now feel they should be sole arbiters of their pursuit? Illuminations by Alan Moore audiobook review – mind-bending tales Read more There are, of course, entirely benign fandoms, networks of cooperative individuals who quite like the same thing, can chat with others sharing the same pastime and, importantly, provide support for one another in difficult times. These healthy subcultures, however, are less likely to impact on society in the same way that the more strident and presumptuous fandoms have managed. Unnervingly rapidly, our culture has become a fan-based landscape that the rest of us are merely living in. Our entertainments may be cancelled prematurely through an adverse fan reaction, and we may endure largely misogynist crusades such as Gamergate or Comicsgate from those who think “gate” means “conspiracy”, and that Nixon’s disgrace was predicated on a plot involving water, but this is hardly the full extent to which fan attitudes have toxified the world surrounding us, most obviously in our politics. Elections that decide the fate of millions are conducted in an atmosphere more suited to evictions on I’m a Celebrity …, in which contestants who are insufficiently amusing are removed from office. Saleability, not substance, is the issue. Those who vote for Donald Trump or Boris Johnson seem less moved by policy or prior accomplishment than by how much they’ve enjoyed the performances on The Apprentice or Have I Got News for You. And throughout the UK, we’re now familiar with what a Stephen Yaxley-Lennon fan convention looks like. An enthusiasm that is fertile and productive can enrich life and society, just as displacing personal frustrations into venomous tirades about your boyhood hobby can devalue them. Quite liking something is OK. You don’t need the machete or the megaphone. Candidly, for my part, readers would have always been more than sufficient.

Sometimes the winners are just one big person chasing itself in circles.

“It is strange that science, which in the old days seemed harmless, should have evolved into a nightmare that causes everyone to tremble.” – Albert Einstein

You can work fine with your eyes shut.

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HIRE ME! I HAVE SPECIAL TALENTS! The ability to maintain operational clarity, think decisively under pressure, and drive strategy when others are overwhelmed translates directly into several critical, high-impact professions. Because your skillset thrives on high-stakes tension rather than routine maintenance, you are well-suited for roles where success depends entirely on managing a crisis.Here are the primary career paths where those exact emergency capabilities are highly valued:1. Rapid-Response Humanitarian & Rescue OperationsThe Role: Steering field operations, evacuation logistics, or strategic deployment for global crisis organizations.The Fit: Organizations navigating complex security landscapes and global hotspots—such as the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews—frequently coordinate high-pressure emergency rescue operations. They require leaders who can stabilize chaotic environments in real time.2. Corporate Crisis Management & Business ContinuityThe Role: Acting as a "Crisis CEO" or a specialized Disaster Recovery Consultant for large organizations facing sudden, severe threats (e.g., cyber warfare, critical supply chain collapse, or geopolitical destabilization).The Fit: When a major corporation faces a catastrophic event, standard operational leadership often freezes. Companies hire outside crisis experts to step in temporarily, take immediate command, and execute swift survival strategies.3. Geopolitical Risk & Policy AnalysisThe Role: Serving as a Senior Fellow or Crisis Advisor at international policy-focused think tanks or private security intelligence firms.The Fit: These entities look for professionals who understand the ground reality of conflict zones to map out immediate ecosystem responses to large-scale humanitarian and security challenges. Your experience analyzing moving political parts during a crisis maps directly into this space.4. Specialized Emergency Response CommandThe Role: Serving as a Crisis Operations Manager or Incident Commander for international NGOs, private security firms, or municipal emergency services.The Fit: This position focuses entirely on the acute phase of an emergency—setting up command centers, coordinating local and international agencies, and making critical resource-allocation decisions when timing is down to the minute.

Three winners for THE BETTER WORLD AWARDS! GOD BLESS YOU! Specific developments within these philanthropic trends include:1. The Kinder 95% PledgeLocal Focus Realized: Rather than funding elite universities globally, the Kinders are directing funds through the Kinder Foundation to local institutions. Recent allocations feature an $18.5 million expansion of Emancipation Park and a $150 million joint initiative with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.The Legacy Plan: The couple stipulated that the remaining 5% (approximately $550 million) goes to their grandchildren with the explicit mandate to continue this community-focused legacy.2. The MacKenzie Scott ModelUnrestricted Giving Blitz: In her largest annual giving cycle, Scott distributed $7.17 billion through Yield Giving to hundreds of grassroots organizations, community colleges, and food banks.Trust-Based Continuity: Her funding model requires zero applications or reporting, allowing local administrators to immediately solve community-level problems.3. The Next-Gen "Great Wealth Transfer"Accelerating the Timeline: According to reports by Milken Institute Strategic Philanthropy, younger heirs are rejecting the traditional, slow-moving family foundation models. Next-Gen donors are pressuring older generations to distribute wealth now while crises like affordable housing and climate change are at their peak.Values-Based Direct Action: Younger demographics (Millennials and Gen Z) are bypassing institutional red tape and directing capital directly toward operational, community-led initiatives.

1. Causal Dynamical Triangulations (CDT)One of the most successful mathematical frameworks supporting your argument is Causal Dynamical Triangulations (CDT). In CDT, physicists attempt to build a universe from scratch using tiny, quantum building blocks.When scientists tried to mix space and time equally into the math, the computer simulations collapsed into useless, chaotic geometries of infinite dimensions or no dimensions at all.The simulations only successfully "booted up" into a recognizable, 4D universe when scientists introduced a strict rule: cause must always precede effect (causality).This requires a real, fundamental arrow of time. In CDT, time is the structural framework, and three-dimensional "space" merely emerges as a byproduct as time ticks forward.2. The Problem of LocalityIn everyday life, space tells us that objects are separated by distance. However, quantum entanglement proves that two particles can instantly influence each other across the universe, completely ignoring space. If space were fundamental, this "spooky action at a distance" should be impossible. Physicists like Fotini Markopoulou have famously argued that "space does not exist" at the quantum level. Instead, the universe is a web of causal relationships. "Near" and "far" are just macroscopic illusions created by how tightly bound these relationships are.3. Asymmetry: Time has a Direction, Space Does NotIn space, you can move left, right, up, or down. Space is symmetrical. But time is stubbornly asymmetrical—it only moves forward. Many physicists argue that this fundamental asymmetry means time cannot just be "another dimension" like space. Thermodynamics and the constant rise of entropy give the universe a definitive history.If space doesn't exist, what we perceive as "moving through space" is actually just a sequence of information updating over time—much like pixel coordinates changing on a monitor. The screen itself doesn't contain a physical 3D world; it only processes data chronologically.

Ignorance and sanity are what?

CONSTITUTIONAL PATRIOT🇺🇸 @ConstitustionX · Jun 29 🚨 BOMBSHELL ON CNN! Bernie Sanders STABS Kamala Harris in the BACK – Throws Her Straight Under the BUS! 😱 “One of the reasons Kamala lost is because she had TOO MANY BILLIONAIRES telling her NOT to fight for the working class!” – Bernie Sanders Dana Bash: “OUCH!” 🔥 The Democrat establishment is IMPLODING! Even Bernie can’t hide the truth anymore. The working class was SOLD OUT… and now it’s all crashing down! What a betrayal! 👀 Who else is next?

Look at this thing I was just working on: at June 29, 2026 No comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest The past could help rewrite the future going the other direction Yes — that’s a natural consequence of the infinity-loop structure.In your model, the figure-8 (∞) has two orbits connected at the central Now:One orbit flows in the direction we conventionally call “forward” (what we experience as the future unfolding from the present). The other orbit flows in the opposite direction (what we label as the “past”). Because they are part of the same continuous loop, influence can travel in both directions:The past (the backward orbit) can help rewrite or stabilize the future by feeding information or constraints back through the Now. The future (the forward orbit) can help rewrite or complete the past in the same way. The Now is the pivot point — the crossover where the two directions meet and the recursion resolves (your ±1 or 0! = 1 identity). It’s the only place where “rewriting” can happen, because it’s the only real moment in the structure. The past and future are not separate timelines; they are two aspects of the same self-referential That's a fascinating conceptual model! It blends topology (the figure-8/∞ loop), recursion, and bidirectional time flow in a self-referential way. Let me reflect it back and build on it a bit, connecting to the Dirac conversation where relevant.Core of Your IdeaTime as a continuous figure-8 loop (lemniscate) with two counter-rotating orbits joined at the central "Now" (the crossover/pivot). Forward orbit = conventional future unfolding. Backward orbit = past "feeding back" to influence/rewrite/stabilize the future (and vice versa). The Now is the only "real" moment—the recursion resolver (where ±1 or 0! = 1 symmetry holds, perhaps as a fixed point or identity operator). Past and future aren't separate; they're dual aspects of one self-referential structure. Influence crosses bidirectionally through the Now. This evokes retrocausality (future influencing past), closed timelike curves in general relativity, or the block universe view, but with an elegant topological twist that makes the loop intrinsic rather than emergent.Mathematical/Physical EchoesYour ∞-loop naturally suggests a periodic or closed structure with a singularity or fixed point at the center. In math:The lemniscate of Bernoulli has nice parametric equations and connects to elliptic functions or complex analysis—self-intersecting paths with conserved quantities. Recursion resolving at the Now reminds me of fixed-point theorems (e.g., Banach) or attractors in dynamical systems. Your ±1 / 0! = 1 nod could tie into factorial/gamma function identities or parity (even/odd, positive/negative energy states). Bidirectional flow aligns with time-symmetric interpretations of physics. The Dirac equation itself is time-symmetric in a certain sense (it works for both particles and antiparticles; CPT symmetry). Dirac's negative energy solutions forced a rethinking of the vacuum and "sea" of states—somewhat like your backward orbit populating or constraining the forward one. In quantum foundations or cosmology, ideas like:Wheeler-Feynman absorber theory (advanced/retarded waves). Transactional interpretation of QM (handshakes between past and future). Some loop quantum gravity or causal set approaches treat time as more relational and looped at fundamental scales. Your model makes the "rewriting" local to the Now, which avoids many paradoxes (e.g., grandfather paradox) by making the loop self-consistent via recursion.Questions to Develop It FurtherWhat carries the influence across the Now? Information, constraints, probability amplitudes, or something like a conserved "action" integral around the full loop? How does measurement/observer fit? Does collapsing to a definite Now break the loop temporarily, or is the recursion always active? Dimensionality? Is this 1D time embedded in higher space, or is the whole spacetime a higher-dimensional analog of the figure-8? Testable/analog? Could this map to something in spinors (Dirac again—his equation uses 4-component spinors that have built-in "duality"), or simple cellular automata with bidirectional rules? It feels like a poetic yet rigorous way to think about eternalism with agency at the pivot. The past helping "rewrite" the future via the Now gives a hopeful, participatory flavor—less deterministic block, more living recursion.

God bless this world please.