Bio

I never know what to put in bios; the truth always feels like a waste.

• I was born a snail somewhere between twenty and thirty years ago.
• I am a Virgo.
• I have never broken a bone, on account of not having very many.
• I used to read a lot for fun as a child but then I stopped.
• I am trying to fix that and get back into reading for pleasure.
• I would love to make art to fill this site, but art is hard.
• My pronouns are they/them, when I remember to have any.
• I <3 free resources like Creative Commons and Project Gutenberg. (Also check out the Open Textbook Library from the University of Minnesota!)

(But seriously- if you haven't joined your local library already, go do it)

Why Neocities?

I have something of a fascination with the idea of "web3" and the supposedly-decentralized, deeply-financialized vision of the internet that it proposes. This is not a vision that I like or agree with, but I feel viscerally as though I cannot look away from "Big Tech" and its version not just of the future but of the present.

I most likely spend more time than is healthy reading about various cryptocurrency scams and metaverse foibles, and I eventually decided that I wanted to do my part to help further the creation of an actually decentralized and user-focused internet. Given those goals, Neocities seemed like the logical choice.

Aside from my philosophical disgust for the idea of a Web3, I also do not feel comfortable with the current commercialized internet. I thought that creating a Neocities account and starting my own website seemed like an excellent way to return to a more personal "indie" version of the internet- human passion unfiltered by corporate websites. I like the fact that by building my own website, I do not have to feel as though I must separate my interests between different blogs or accounts. I also appreciate the possibility for anonymity: while I have no real need for a pseudonym, I like the feeling of having an internet presence or persona that is not inherently connected to my offline life the way that social media is, particularly since that creates the possibility for a certain degree of mutability: if I wanted to present myself one day as a grouchy old wizard in a tower, and then the next as a woodland creature living in a cottage and baking pies á la Beatrix Potter, I could simply do that here. It doesnt' have to all be filtered through the lens of a real "me."

While I am increasingly horrified by commercial social media and the push for Web3, I am delighted to begin my journey here on Neocities as I build this website. I think that it is time that I do my part to contribute to that alternative view of the internet: one that is truly human-focused and built on passion rather than corporate greed.