SAMUEL RATNAM

Writing Rules

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Every day, my friend Jason gets on a google meet call where he, and whoever else joins, write for 30 minutes. He has his own set of rules which he abides by when writing on these calls. I have spent too many of thee calls getting distracted and not ending up writing anything properly. Here is my attempt at my own rules - these are subject to change.

  1. No generative AI
  2. No changing the screen / looking up information
  3. No opening my phone
  4. No backspace?? we’ll see about this this one
  5. immutability - once i publish i cannot delete or edit

additionally, independent of the calls, i want to 5. publish something on my website every day even if not a polished blog post

Late Night Conversation

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It's 5:08am and I can hear the sounds of birds
Twittering incessantly.
Drops of morning light
Peer through cracks between curtains.
You and I both distinctly aware
Tomorrow – Or should I say today –
We will feel like shit,
Half-alive,
Eyes begging to close.
Our brains, addled with weariness,
Lie raw and exposed.
Let loose from the tyranny
Of who we thought we were.
The birds fall silent.
There's only you.

Heat Death

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The second law of thermodynamics:
Ordered systems tend toward disorder.
The universe prefers chaos.
Sometimes it feels like the world is falling apart,
Like we're slowly drifting towards the edge of an abyss,
And paddling, and flailing, and fighting against the tides-
Just futile deferral of the inevitable.
It will drag you down
Eventually.
So why bother fighting?
In the face of so much suffering, so much pain,
An unbeatable, unrelenting enemy,
Isn't it easier to just succumb to apathy?
Let its currents pull you under,
Rob you of your passion,
Of your empathy,
Gnaw at your insides until you can't feel
Anything anymore,
Leave you a hollow, empty husk
Of what once was.
Or do you resist?
Do you fight the futile battle,
Until the final breath of time?
Strive to create beauty, meaning, order
Knowing it won't last.
Because maybe there is still value to be found
Within the impermanent.
Maybe this cosmic anomaly we call Earth
Where atoms are aware of themselves,
Where beauty starts and ends
Is worth fighting for every last second.
zone of chaosnormalcy