It’s not exactly tailored to the holiday season, but the New Worlds Patreon is looking at military matters this month. We start with “how big should that army really be?” — comment over there!

As my patrons know, I made a last-minute swap of the theory essay this past Friday. And I remembered to update the notification sent to them! . . . but I didn’t update my post here. So 1) y’all know what a future theory essay will be about, and 2) the correct link is to “The Setting Bible, Part 1.” (The swap happened because what was supposed to be an upcoming essay turned out to span two, and I moved the first part up so as to get both into the same annual collection, rather than splitting them across volumes.)

Five Fridays in this November, so you know what that means: a theory post from the New Worlds Patreon! This time I venture a bit further out of my own sphere and talk about taking inspiration from biology; comment over there.

The New Worlds Patreon‘s final clothing post (for now) takes a look at that most Sisyphean of domestic labors, the doing of laundry — comment over there!

Hats last week; shoes this week, as the New Worlds Patreon continues its tour of our accessories — or are they necessities? Comment over there . . .

From our underthings, the New Worlds Patreon proceeds onward to what we have on our heads. Did you ever notice how weird hats are? Comment on them over there . . .

For a month of clothing, the New Worlds Patreon is starting off right next to the skin. That’s right, it’s time to talk underwear! Comment over there . . .

The New Worlds Patreon wraps up another governmental month with a look (admittedly a brief and basic one) at pre-state societies. Comment over there!

Just like superheroes, governments sometimes team up. The New Worlds Patreon is taking a look at confederations and leagues — comment over there!

Legitimate messaging or dishonest manipulation? This being the lead-up to the United States election, it’s fitting that the New Worlds Patreon is talking about propaganda — comment over there!

This month’s New Worlds Patreon essays are going to be a little bit of a grab bag, as the theme this time around is “governmental topics that haven’t fit into previous months.” We’re starting off with the notion of constitutions, which turn out not to work like I used to think — comment over there!

Remember the total solar eclipse across North America earlier this year? The New Worlds Patreon does, and so we’re taking a look at comets, supernovae, and eclipses . . . comment over there!

It was destined that sooner or later, the New Worlds Patreon would get around to talking about fate. Comment over there — or not, if it is written that you shall not do so . . .

The New Worlds Patreon continues this month’s journey through folkloric topics with a look at the shapeshifting, untrustworthy trickster! Comment over there . . .

Apologies for the lack of notification posted here for last week’s New Worlds Patreon essay; due to being smacked down with covid, I did the bare minimum of posting the essay to Book View Cafe and notifying my patrons, then went back to sleeping inhuman amounts. But you can still take a look at the August theory post, What to Read, and then continue on to the first essay of September, on dragons in folklore and fiction. Comment over there!

A month of communications essays at the New Worlds Patreon wrap up with a look at newspapers and other methods of spreading news. Unlike a newspaper website, my comment threads are not toxic, so leave your thoughts over there!

This week New Worlds Patreon takes a look at non-mail ways to communicate over distances — of which there were quite a few, even before industrial technology intervened! Comment over there.

Since postal services turned out to be too complex to fit into a single essay, the New Worlds Patreon is taking a second week for that topic, this time turning to the more formal, state-run systems. Comment over there . . .

As the calendar rolls over into August, the New Worlds Patreon switches to a fresh theme for the month: communication! We’re starting off with the early days of mail, when there was little to nothing in the way of formal systems for its delivery. Comment over there!

The final July essay for New Worlds Patreon takes us into the realm of spirits and exorcists. Comment over there . . .