Infomocracy

"You would think, with all the access to Information, that people would pay more attention to what their governments do in other centenals, but you know what they say: you can give a voter Information, but you can't make him think."
--Malka Older, Infomocracy

In a semi-distant future, a social mega-network named Information provides the infrastructure for people to do seemingly everything, from business to play to politics. Using one of the global micro-democracy's decennial elections as a stage, author Malka Older follows a handful of political operatives and social network bureaucrats to examine the intersections of information and democracy and what humanity does at those intersections.

As a guy who loves information and people having access to that information, I find Information (a kind of Facebook-Wikipedia hybrid for everyone and everything) to be bloody fantastic. As a guy who loves privacy and the scrupulous use of information, I find Information to be bloody scary. That dichotomy is something that Older explores in Infomocracy's better touches. In an early scene, one of our lead characters, Ken, a political operative whose principles appear to be flagging, checks the personal Information of a flight attendant who has allowed some of her Information to be public. While he doesn't pick up much beyond what is public, another lead character, Mishima, an agent for Information, frequently uses her considerable skill and access to peruse Information in a way that someone like Ken would never think to. In a smaller, more personal story, where the stakes didn't have to be--literally--worldwide, there would be room for Older to explore this tension between the usefulness and creepiness of near-unlimited Information.

Such a story might also give us more time with Mishima, a fantastically drawn character who, in less-skilled hands, might've become a competence porn figure. Her hyper-competence and workaholic nature are balanced by her mistrust and paranoia, faults that she not only possesses but acknowledges (if only to herself and, later, to Ken) in a refreshing take on an old trope.

Information, like information, is neither good nor bad but can and is used for both. Its indispensability makes it both revered and distrusted, depending on which character Older is working with. It doesn't matter so much what types of information one makes available, it's who's using it. And why. With a tool so big and necessary, the micro-democracy, and therefore the world, is ripe for hi-jacking.

In an election year, you'd think--or at least I had thought--that the micro-democracy and election-hacking would be the most intriguing items. Curiously, this wasn't the case. The idea and execution of the elections were interesting, but the shadowy machinations were a bit too shadowy. It would help to know what the stakes are: who the political parties are (policies, like some characters, are sometimes only briefly outlined) and what the characters behind the conspiracies stand to gain or lose. The techno-thriller that takes up the last act of the book loses momentum because I know that I should be outraged by the scheming (and in theory, I am--election-hacking is bad) but my level of investment was not what it might have been.

Still, Older has constructed a wonderfully flawed and detailed society. And there were clearly a lot of details left on the cutting room floor, such as how the world gave itself over to the micro-democracy and how Information managed to become the conduit for that democracy (the theme of "who's really in charge here" is a nicely subtle one throughout the book). Having had experience rendering too much exposition, I appreciate Older's wisdom in not bothering to explain everything.

Indeed, she seems to want to share a lot more. By giving us a world-spanning, high-stakes, high-concept sci-fi thriller, she leaves us with the broad strokes, sacrificing some of the juicy detail that might be better provided from an on-the-ground viewpoint of someone living in the micro-democracy, under Information. More time with someone like Doumaine, an under-utilized character who is working to undermine the micro-democracy until he mostly disappears for the second half, would give us a new take on Older's society, fleshing it out. If Infomocracy has one flaw, it's that there's too much to show and too little space to do it in. But maybe that's what the sequel will be for.

Grade: A-

Anchor Argonaut Collection: Flying Cloud

Lot of beers lay claim to flight. Fish. Dogs. And I guess that's about it. But now Anchor has unveiled Flying Cloud, the first of its Argonaut Collection that I've had the pleasure of drinking. Now, I love beer, as all good-hearted people do. But if I were going to assign flight to an alcoholic beverage, beer would not be first up. Beer is heavy. Even the light ones are basically alcoholic bread. So "flying" is not what I feel like doing after having a beer or two or seven. And yet so many aspire to flight. I admire the ambition. As to what alcohol would fly? I don't know. Champagne? It's light, it's fluffy. It's an overrated experience that seems to get more expensive every year. The cork achieves liftoff. So, yeah, champagne gets to have flight.

Flying Cloud pours deep black, with a head that's a bit closer to brown. Not sure how these colors make for a "cloud," but... it's named for a boat? Huh.

It comes at you with a very malty nose, but it also includes a syrupy-chocolate smell that's very enticing.

The Cloud is very dry, with just a little coffee coming through. The beer also puts every bit of its 7.4% ABV on the tongue. That's not a complaint.

It's surprisingly light-bodied for a stout, with a hint of carbonation. I was initially worried that I had found this one at the wrong time of year, but the lightness balances the rest in a way I don't usually expect of a stout.

Despite the body, this is still one to hold onto until late fall, when it will be more welcome. Dark and dry with a slightly-above-average ABV, Flying Cloud already feels to me like a solid go-to, at least it would if not for Argonaut's limited nature. Craft beer can be such a tease sometimes.

Grade: B+

It's Only July

Remember a few weeks back when, despite seemingly everything going my way as a Cubs fan, my neuroses and insecurity still managed to bubble up, thoroughly ruining any enjoyment I fully deserved to enjoy?

Dammit, do I hate being right.

As of this writing, the Cubs are going into the All-Star break having just narrowly avoided a sweep in Pittsburgh, which happened to end a five-game losing streak (which would've been a nine-gamer if the Reds had started last Monday's rally a bit sooner). That caps off a 10-17 record dating back to June 13th, a month that includes getting swept by the Cardinals at home and a particularly humiliating four-game sweep at New York. And, yeah, they're still seven games up in the division, with the second best record in baseball. But this is where they're sitting after a 43-18 start. And yet... maybe we're just spoiled following that historically notable start. Is this little more than an extended slump? Or something more horrifying?

A lot of this is nothing more than the natural neurosis of being a Cubs fan. But precisely because this year was supposed to be the Season of Destiny, it needs to be broken down, if only to explore and understand the demons we're currently dealing with. I usually like to start with the bad news, and then see how if the good balances it out.

The bad news:

• The pitching staff, Arrieta included, turned mortal sometime after Memorial Day. Remember last year, when Arrieta's Cy Young season was being lauded in particular because he had never pitched that many innings before? 229 innings in 2015 after never having pitched more than 156, only breaking 100 four times in seven seasons. And then, free to let fly all year, he turned into a beast. At this point, you obviously worry about how that workload affects him going forward. So when he starts to show a little wear midway into his post-Cy Young year, it feels as though his arm has literally fallen off. All because his ERA isn't below 2.00 anymore (count a vote for us being spoiled).
• The break that the All-Star Game is supposed to provide is lost because the Cubs have seven guys going to San Diego (yes, I share some responsibility for that, you're welcome) and if the National League gets slaughtered, everyone in baseball will know how vulnerable this once indomitable Cubs team is. 
• The spate of injuries (and injury scares) starting with Schwarber's ACL has been... troubling? That's probably a strong word. The DL seems a lot longer than it actually is, at least it did to me. But when a team is already struggling and you get yet another mobile update saying that Zobrist or Bryant (or both) have been taken out of the game, it doesn't engender a lot of confidence. Which leads me to my final negative... 
• Us. You don't have to travel too far to find Cubs fans bitching about this skid. Maybe it feels like we've deserved the chance to moan, but recall that we've created needlessly oppressive atmospheres before. Too many Cubs fans aren't reflective enough to understand how much harder we make an already difficult task. 

In point of fact, each of these bad news bullet points comes back to how we as fans interpret them. Taken one by one, they're really not too bad (and several will be rebutted in the good news section below), but when they add up and impact a team that we all thought was headed for '27 Yankees status, it's hard to see through the resulting fog. So let's turn to...

The good news:

• As stated, the Cubs are still seven games up in the division. Sure, it was more fun to be fifteen games up, but apparently neither the Pirates nor the Cardinals have been interested in taking advantage of the opportunity that's been dropped in their laps. And if that gap narrows further, you know what's more fun than throttling the rest of the division all season long? A year-end divisional race that keeps your team loose and ready for October. 
• The trade deadline looms and the Cubs have some very recent and painful experience with teams that explode after making the right deals. If we're really good, maybe Baseball Santa will leave us with a whole new bullpen. Except for Rondon. Leave Rondon alone, he's fine. 
• Hector Rondon. 
• A chunk of this fall-off is the result of injuries (and injury scares), Fowler most notably. Those guys will come back. Too many late season collapses happen because guys are tired and, as it stands now, a lot of guys will be well-rested. 
• Meanwhile, Maddon is a guy who knows how to adjust. And his teams historically do better in the second half.
• Relatedly, this is the kind of time that a great start is supposed to buy--a chance to see what's on the horizon. Simultaneously, it offers a couple of months for slumping starters to work through whatever's causing them to blow games in innovative and interesting ways. What else is July for?
• After all, this slump could've happened in September. Then we'd be right to panic. There's a lot--perhaps too much--baseball left to play. 

So repeat after me: It's only July.