Technology that steals self-worth (& fun updates!)
Monsters are everywhere, man
Last week, The Washington Post published an op-ed about the new “Twitter alternative” Threads with this headline:
Which of course immediately put me in the mindset of a Super Sentai monster, which you know I love to make. So I asked my Saved by the Morph collaborator Brandon to help me cook up the creature hiding behind that headline.
Everyone please say hello to Threadsbear, the Threads bear, who steals your soul via optimized brand engagement.
What’s funny is it’s not even two weeks after that op-ed was posted and it already feels a little bit like Threads is DOA? Perhaps the emperor really did have no clothes on that one. On the other hand, making fun of soulless internet stuff made by out-of-touch/absurdly rich tech dudes is always on the menu over here soooo, I’m still posting my little jokes.
Any Essence20 players out there, there’s gotta be a modern day Power Rangers episode about the perils of social media, right? Like, you could have a whole league of monsters based on the various sites and their negative effects on teens, with the bumbling, fascistic X as their ringleader. Damn I want to run a Power Rangers campaign so bad.
Speaking of Power Rangers, I have like five physical copies of Saved by the Morph left and another print run is not likely, so if you enjoy me and Brandon’s tongue-in-cheek Sentai monsters based on sitcom plots, maybe grab this now? (PDFs will always be available of course.)
I did on the other hand have to do a second printing of Blackmore because Exalted Funeral Press bought a bunch for their webstore! Exalted Funeral publishes the Old School Essentials RPG that Blackmore runs on, and it’s very validating to have them stock my zine alongside some true titans of RPG publishing. They’re also running a sale right now, so if you’re in the market for some self-published goodness, pay them a visit!
Finally, coming back to social media, I did jump ship over to Bluesky at ericcgarneau (like on pretty much every site) for anyone who’s over there. While no social media should be seen as “pure” or even necessarily “good”, it definitely feels like the least problematic/most hopeful of all of the Twitter progeny that have popped up.
And that’s all I’ve got to say for this month, friends! I’ll be at Gen Con next week meeting lots of cool folks and hopefully getting inspired about my next projects. See ya soon!