J.D. Moyer

sci-fi author, beatmaker

Category: Personal Updates Page 1 of 10

Alta (She Made History)

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On April 6

In Culture Rants/Shares, Personal Updates

My mother-in-law passed away recently. I had a good relationship with her, despite the fact that we were both stubborn people with frequently divergent opinions.

Alta was a poet, famous in some circles for both her poetry and her press. Andrew Gilbert has written an outstanding obituary on kqed.org that really does her justice.

Though Alta was complex, loved attention, and was sometimes overly dramatic, I liked her and have an enormous respect for her life’s body of work. She dedicated herself to art, compassion, equality, and all the qualities that I consider to be progress in the greater picture of civilization.

We live in an era where the radical right is actively dismantling human rights, especially women’s rights. Abortion rights have been trashed, they are coming hard for birth control, and famous influencers say publicly that women should lose the right to vote.

But because of the work of Alta and her peers, the right faces an uphill battle. There are too many female role models in all walks of life to say with any credibility that women “can’t” occupy a particular societal role. There are simply too many living, successful counter-examples of women playing prominent roles in the arts, politics, sciences, and every other sphere. Women still face discrimination prejudice, and under-representation in many fields, but culturally we’re in a much different place than when Alta was growing up. And that’s partially due to her work.

So hats off, and respect.

What’s Next? Post-Pandemic Expansiveness…

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On July 26

In Creative Work/Career, Personal Updates

Guess which one bit me?

Over the course of the pandemic, I had a pervasive sense of deferment. I postponed many projects and activities with the mindset of “just trying to get through.” Which was appropriate, I think, given that the pandemic took a mental toll on me, as it did with most people. I prioritized the things that absolutely had to get done. For 2020 through 2022 that included:

  • Finding a better school for my kid and everything else that involved (moving, remodeling and renting out our house, adjusting to a new location)
  • Retooling my tech skills and taking on some new clients
  • Continuing to write fiction and make music
  • Doing my best to stay healthy and avoid getting a bad case of Covid (getting vaccinated, reducing social exposure, etc.)

But many things were backburnered, including:

  • Actively advancing my writing career (finding an agent, submitting new work)
  • Social plans, maintaining relationships with a wide circle of friends and acquaintances
  • Fitness and sport
  • Many of my hobbies (especially tabletop gaming and miniature painting, which I used to do every week)
  • Travel

The pandemic is generally considered to be over, but the world still feels chaotic, and the temptation to keep deferring things is strong. Climate disasters are unfolding left and right, fascists and bigots are on the rise in the US and worldwide, the war in Ukraine is far from over, and the US economy is iffy at best.

But personally, I do have more bandwidth. I’m trying to decide how I want to use my free time and attention. Generally I’m feeling more expansive. I want to see old friends and make new ones. I want to write and publish more fiction and more music. I’d like to travel to places I’ve seen as well as to locations I’ve never visited.

That said, I’ll probably take on too much and then feel overwhelmed. But for now, the plan is to DO MORE and SAY YES more often.

Oh, and one thing to share, a new melodic house music Spotify playlist from me and Spesh, just some tracks we’re enjoying at the moment.

And one more thing, I’m @johndavidmoyer on Threads, haven’t fully committed yet but I did tweet my first thread, or whatever. About the new secretly filmed BART movie.

Communications from my Past Self (and other reasons to write)

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On May 20

In Creative Work/Career, Metablog, Personal Updates, Writing

East Cut neighborhood in San Francisco

I’m gearing up for some changes to this site. Probably a new theme, and hopefully a better system for signing up for my newsletter.

Considering these changes has led me to consider what this blog is for. Self-expression? Self-promotion? Is it a lifestyle blog? A health blog? A creativity blog?

Sure, all of the above. But here are the reasons that resonate with me the most right now:

1. To think more clearly. For me at least, there’s no substitute for writing about a topic in order to understand it, to formulate and articulate my views. I write, therefore I think.

2. To have a record of what I was thinking and feeling at a particular time. Just today I reread a post I’d written from when I’d overcommitted to work, and was feeling overwhelmed. At the moment I feel like I don’t have quite enough freelance work, which creates some financial stress. But reading my previous post reminded me that I said some no-thank-yous to give myself more time to work on writing and music. So that’s what I should do.

3. To grow my readership. I haven’t put much energy into this, but it is important to me. Having regular readers is great for so many reasons. But it’s a responsibility, a two-way street, and if I’m not writing interesting and helpful posts then I can’t expect an audience to stick around.

And here are a couple reasons that don’t, or no longer, resonate with me:

1. To write about health topics. Bottom line, I’m not a medical professional. I have a deep interest in nutrition and human health, but there are also huge gaps in my knowledge. In another life I might have become a nutritionist or naturopath, but that’s not the path I chose. And that’s not the kind of reader I want to attract or interact with.

2. To sell something. This blog will never become a sales funnel to buy my course or eBook. I just have no interest in that. If you happen to discover one of my novels that you think you’d enjoy, and buy it, fantastic! But the primary purpose of this blog never was and never will be to make a quick buck.

Personal Updates

  • I recently returned from the Nebulas Conference in Anaheim. It was my first in-person writing conference since the beginning of the pandemic, and being around other authors was incredibly energizing. I didn’t have any particular agenda beyond learning and socializing, but I ended the weekend with a slew of new ideas and a recharged writing battery. My friend Jane was nominated for a game-writing Nebula for her work on a recent D&D book, and though GRRM won the award for Elden Ring, I felt very happy for her and her team. I also met Steve Lerner, the writer of Stray (nominated in the same category)–I look forward to playing the cyber-cat game. As for novels, I’m currently reading and enjoying Daughters of Tith by J. Patricia Anderson.
  • The quiver of complete, unpublished fiction is getting pretty full, and in the coming months I’ll be shifting my efforts to submitting more work for publication, and possibly taking another crack at the agent querying process. At the moment I’m working on revisions of Green Dawn (previously titled The Savior Virus), a near-future medical thriller/sci-fi novel.
  • There are a few social issues I’m trying to think more clearly about, so I’ll probably write about them in the near future. A few of the questions I’m considering:
    • What Should the Left Do About Men? (high male unemployment, falling educational levels, social isolation, etc.)
    • How Can Labor Disrupt the False Promises of AI-Enhanced Productivity?
    • What are the Most Effective Ways Citizenry can Reclaim Power from Fascist/Authoritarian Leaders and Groups?
  • I have two new EDM releases out:

That’s all for today, hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Empowering Action vs. Depression

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On January 8

In Health/Body-hacking, Mental Health, Metaprogramming, Personal Updates, Problem Solving

Recently I read Steve Pavlina’s post “What It’s Like Being Me”. Steve really enjoys being himself, it seems, and part of my reaction was a slow clap — good for you, you smug vegan, your life is so great. But on the other hand, I really like Steve and his writing has benefited me immensely over the years. He’s worked hard to develop systems to improve his life systems and states of consciousness, and I don’t actually begrudge him his positive mental state and enjoyment of life. Good for him (no sarcasm).

Steve’s take on depression did make me wonder if he understands the condition as a disease. He appears to regard depression as a poor life choice, writing that he is repulsed by depression, and that he simply chooses to not be depressed himself. I don’t want to take his words out of context, so here’s a direct quote from the post:

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Two Small Pieces of Good News

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On November 4

In Creative Work/Career, Electronic Music, Fiction Writing, Personal Updates

The world is burning in a thousand ways, but making and appreciating art is what keeps me sane and sometimes even happy. I have two things to share in that area, one related to music, the other to fiction writing.

First, my new two-track release with Spesh is out today on Beatport, Organic Broccoli Florets and Your Ice. I’m so pleased with the way this release came out. With both tracks, we tried for a smooth, silky, hypnotic feel. Initial feedback from our promo pool has been excellent, and Beatport is featuring the release in its Hype Picks section. Hope you enjoy, if melodic house is your cup of tea.

Secondly, a novella I’ve been working on for months was just accepted for publication. Contract pending, so I’ll hold off on the details, but I’m elated with the home this story has found. So something on the release schedule for 2023.

Personally, life has been quiet, very little drama, which is just how I like it. Had a great time with Kia and a good friend at the Exploratorium After Dark last night, which was the biggest night out in awhile.

I hope that your own life is just how you like it, and that you’re doing what you can to put out one or more of the planet’s many fires.

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