Hello, Hive! Here we are at the start of another month, so don't forget to power up before UTC ticks over to August 2nd, 2023 if you want to join the Power Up Day tradition! If you stake 10 or more Hive Power, you'll get a participation badge from hivebuzz, too. I staked 100 HP a couple hours before writing this post.

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I have been quite inactive this month. I know I curated less than usual, and I definitely wrote less. This is on top of a slower June as noted in my June Retrospective and July Plans a month ago. Other than that, I wrote about:
Christian music dethroning false gods and undermining idolatry in an industry dominated by empty nothingness.
An air rifle inquiry taht led to a purchase I really should probably review eventually this month.
Nature photography featuring ocean spray in color and monochrome along with some rudimentary editing efforts.
A link to a video about the history of All Quiet on the Western Front and attempts to censor it where I declined payout because it was basically just a link share and not original content.
A link to a video about lightbulbs accompanied by some thoughts on planned obsolescence: free market fearmongering debunked again? Let's just say economic analysis that fits a tweet or tiktok is probably leaving out a lot of important nuance which might undermine the righteous internet outrage it intends to generate.
And that's it, just five posts aside from the last retrospective. It's been a hell of a month dealing with real-world turmoil and offline writing. I haven't felt like sharing much, some due to personal privacy and security concerns, and some because of basic burnout.

But what does August portend? Well, I still need to review some tents, and that air rifle needs a review once I am done putting it through its paces. I have a decade-old Magic: The Gathering Commander deck to unbox. If I can find more relevant economic analysis from people who aren't economics experts, but have relevant knowledge in a misunderstood field, I'll be sharing that. I'm sure more library anecdotes will emerge. I'd still like to go camping this month if fire danger subsides. Who knows? I'm not making promises, but the odds of returning to more regular posts a few times a week look good. I just need that serendipitous blend of inspiration, motivation, and energy...
Back to the Power Up Day topic, I'll be sponsoring another prize for @traciyork's drawings. If you have questions about what this whole HPUD thing is, check out this post by @hivebuzz. And if you somehow don't see this post in time, just plan ahead for the next edition on the first of the next month!
