Well, it’s crazy hot, I’m suffering from jet lag and my current residence has no food. Sounds like a good time to post on the blog if I don’t say so myself!

Astute observers will probably notice that I’m now posting at a very peculiar time. That’s because I am back in Japan. Which is to say, I only have a couple more posts before I’ll be whisked away into delightfully foreign wildernesses with hardly a wi-fi hotspot in sight. So don’t expect to hear much from somewherepostculture during the sweltering months of August. We’ll be absent.

Perhaps Derek will post (a first for this year!) but other than that glimmer, there’s going to be oppressive silence for the rest of us.

A pity, then, that I don’t have something more worthwhile to write today. However, fatigue, hunger and grumpiness has decreed that today shall be a rather dry day. I apologise.

There is another matter, however, that feels like it deserves some mention on here. We don’t discuss politics much in this space. Which isn’t to say that we don’t talk politics. Even the most staunchly apolitical individual cannot avoid the topic. By choosing to ignore it is, in fact, a political statement in itself. We all are part of this social species and politics is merely the word we use to describe the interactions between individuals which we simply cannot unwind from our existence.

And with that lead in, I want to mention Brexit.

The Death of Julius Caesar by Vincenzo Camuccini (1798).

I can’t imagine there exists a single soul out in the world that hasn’t heard of this yet. For archival posterity, I’ll clarify that Brexit is the United Kingdom’s decision to part ways with the European Union. This is a momentous event. It’s one of those rare actions that will be a cornerstone of study for historians that look back at our generation. Just like 9/11 had, essentially, changed the entire face of day to day life, the Brexit stands as another action which will have far reaching consequences that no one can predict.

To not say anything on it seems more a disservice. It is such a shame that we, as a civilisation, have determined to give it such a ridiculous moniker. Seriously, UK. You couldn’t come up with anything better? As though future generations really need to know about our stupid obsession with making contracted names of things. It was bad enough when we were doing this to celebrities. That it’s not spilled over to something like this referendum is embarrassing.

Anyway, I have no great insight to add further to Britain’s decision. I’m neither an economist or a resident of the isles. I am merely a spectator – a single voice standing upon the sidelines and watching a magnificent catastrophe and simply marvelling at the insignificance of myself against such leviathan entities.

It’s awe-inspiring if you were to remove the modern connotations that carry element of goodness or respectability. I find myself simply fixated on this beast and can’t help myself from seeking daily updates on the ever progressing shit show that is the United Kingdom’s politics throwing the greatest tantrum the world has ever seen.

And, at this point, I don’t feel any problems calling it a childish tantrum.

There is an added shade to this separation vote for me, as a Canadian. Its parallels to Quebec sovereignty are hard to ignore and as I watch the world’s economy shake while citizens tear their country apart, I can’t help but wonder to myself, “What if?” Our own provincial vote had come achingly close to the numbers that the United Kingdom drew. We seem most fortunate to have spared ourselves the self-destruction. But on the other hand, perhaps if Quebec had voted to split, the collapse of Canada might have cooled Britain’s attempt of following suit.

Not that the factors which pushed the Quebec referendum are shared in any amount with the motivations of the United Kingdom’s citizens.

But to at least steer this post somewhat to the topic of this forum, there is a wealth of information to be mined from this catastrophe. I have always been fascinated with political machinations and watching the most bumbling of ploys sunder one of the world’s mightiest nations is definitely of use for my own fictional worlds. The power plays within the Tory ranks are the stuff of literature’s best dramas and had this referendum simply been an episode of A Game of Thrones, I can’t imagine any fan would be capable of tearing themselves away.

Cameron’s stupidity, Boris’ duplicity, Gove’s betrayal and Corbyn’s stubbornness could fill out an entire trilogy of books if not carry a George R. R. Martin narrative of their own. It’s these sort of events that inevitably provide the fertiliser for some fantastic ideas.

At the very least, trying to understand the psyche of these bumbling players can only help enhance my own writing when I go to tackle the next train-wreck of power and intrigue in my novel.

In short, I still can’t believe that the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. It’s about as unbelievable as Donald Trump being made President of the United States.