iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Basically a placeholder for something a writer hasn’t figured out yet.

Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Okay, so… Supergirl. I dug it! And I’m a little bummed I didn’t see it in theaters. Also feel for the cast and crew having to deal with the incel nonsense that surrounded it. Fun flick. Long live Krypto.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Yeah, it's sloppy and full of "TKs" to be worked out later on. But there's *something* there and the finish line on the first draft is near. Insert obligatory 'please clap' GIF.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Wrapping up today's writing session. My meta-fantasy WIP is currently just over 100,000 words, which just boggles my mind that I wrote that many words about one thing after a career of 1,500-word travel articles.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I've run roughly 10,000 kilometers in Berlin over 7 years! Here's how it's changed me... youtu.be/u8rN3U-dJ3s?...

youtu.be

I Ran 10,000km in Berlin — Here’s How It Changed My Life

YouTube video by Joe Baur

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I've got two big elections coming up this here, one in Berlin and one in the United States. Here's how I'm voting. youtu.be/-9RJ5Dck8vs?...

youtu.be

I’m a Dual American-German Citizen. Here’s How I’m Voting.

YouTube video by Joe Baur

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Reposted by Joe Baur

City Dweller Podcast @dwellerpodcast.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I spoke with Joe Baur (@baurjoe.bsky.social) about his journey from growing up in a car-dependent suburb of Cleveland to living car-free in Berlin, Germany. Along the way, he lived in Chicago, Costa Rica, and Cleveland. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/j...

podcasts.apple.com

Joe Baur: The Journey from Growing up in Suburban Cleveland to Living Car-Free in Berlin

Podcast Episode · City Dweller · August 28 · 30m

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Allow for more mystery in life and less "ask ChatGPT."

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Crawling ever-so-closely to 70,000 words in the novel. 100,000 seems reasonably attainable for what I've got planned, which makes me cautiously optimistic that this thing might actually be decently paced and not overly bloated. In other words... huzzah!

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Sometimes folks ask me if I'd still move to Europe today with everything I've learned over the past 10 years. Well... Here ya go! youtu.be/gfRLCaRDrDE?...

youtu.be

Would I Still Move to Europe Today?

YouTube video by Joe Baur

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I make YouTube videos comparing life in the US vs Europe and beyond. I'll be in Oslo Monday evening and would love to meet any Americans who live there to talk about how they prefer life in Norway vs the US. If that sounds like you, reach out!

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

"Did Dr. Robotnik turn the animals to robots in Sonic?" *Research for novel writing, I swear.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Wildly excited to be heading to Norway on the sleeper train on Sunday night! Been a year since my last sleeper train (Helsinki to the north). Such a fun way to travel.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Did some filming out in Grünewald for an upcoming YouTube video on what I’ve learned about Berlin and cities in general through my thousands of kilometers running around here.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Sunday long run in the bag.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

(Who's got a 💩-load of editing ahead of them? ...Also this guy.)

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Who's got 60,000+ words in the bank for their meta-fantasy sci-fi novel with a touch of LitRPG inspired by games like Zelda and Final Fantasy? This guy!

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

10 years ago, I left my life in the United States to begin a new life in Europe. But was it the right call? youtu.be/tKb15T_QdEY

youtu.be

I Left America for Europe. 10 Years Later, Was It the Right Call?

YouTube video by Joe Baur

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Occasionally I'll compile my Scrivener draft just to see how far along I am—and HOLY HELL I'm already 135 pages into my novel.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

So don’t let the jailers win, people! Escape while you still can. youtu.be/VIowl3gMTzo?...

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

“…people are so ready with the charge of ‘escape’. I never fully understood it till my friend Professor Tolkien asked me the very simple question, ‘What class of men would you expect to be most preoccupied with, and most hostile to, the idea of escape?’ and gave the obvious answer: jailers.”

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

When I started writing this, I tried to find another word with a more positive connotation than “escapism.” In doing so, I found this anecdote from C.S. Lewis in an essay. He wrote that:

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

For some that means putting the phone in another room and picking up a book. For others, it means disappearing into an interactive fantasy world on the Switch 2. I dabble in all of the above. But I’ve recently picked up a new tool in my arsenal. And that is, writing my own book!

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

But you can’t always travel every time that urge to pick up your phone and doomscroll strikes. So you have to have devices—metaphorical, not literal—to help wean yourself off those urges.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

And they’re also not the only ways to escape. Traveling is escapism. You’re most likely going on that beach vacation or, if you’re like me, heading off into the mountains for an escape from the drudgery of everyday life.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Video games, comics, popcorn movies, and fantasy novels have at various points found themselves in the line of fire for charges of escapism. But I’d argue both that escaping into a video game or fantasy novel is a wonderful way to spend your time.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Escapism is usually a negatively charged description for hobbies that the person using the world doesn’t like or finds frivolous to be more serious pursuits, like… I don’t know. Stock market stuff and fixing that gutter or whatever.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

But I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. I’m not saying we should bury our heads in the sand. But I don’t think hyper-focusing on “unpleasant realities” is good for us.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Escapism generally gets a bad rap. Oxford defines it as “the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy.”

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

That was me. But recently, I saw a YouTube video from Sean McRae on how he replaced his doomscrolling with the Switch 2. And I realized that not only had I started to do the same myself, but I was going a step further. I was replacing my doomscrooling with escapism in general.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Doomscrolling. It gets the best of us. I imagine most of you reading this have had to pull yourself out of a doomscroll, your brain eating up the strangely addictive flavor of the latest bit of social media drama, climate disaster, or international clusterf*ck.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

42,000 words into my meta-fantasy sci-fi novel, "Press Start." Still a long ways to go, based purley on my outline of the story. Are there rough word counts agents/publishers look for within a specific genre? Rough advice I've seen is to keep your first book at about 100,000 words.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

It appears I've crossed 40,000 words in my novel, "Press Start." As they say... Please clap.

static.klipy.com

333вфыв

ALT: 333вфыв

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

In tomorrow's video, I talk about what escapism looks like to me, why I don't think it's a bad thing, and how it's helped me stop doomscrolling. If that sounds interesting to you, I'd love your help in picking the thumbnail! Have a look and let me know: canva.link/ph2we5xwklcr...

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Doomscrolling. It gets the best of us. I imagine most of you watching have had to pull yourself out of a doomscroll, your brain eating up the strangely addictive flavor of the latest bit of social media drama, climate disaster, or international clusterf*ck.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Closing my novel draft because I have to "make money" in order to "live."

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

6,711 fresh words in the bank. Calling it for the day. We’ve just defeated the Hydra—after making it a couple of heads lighter—and left the swamplands, freeing the trolls of Jotunheimen. Now our heroes are on the road to Goshen. (It’ll make sense if you read Press Start one day!)

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

I never appreciated just how much random research goes into writing a novel. Here are some of the tabs I have open, with no context. "What are a wizard's robes made of?" "long, skinny sword that curves" "abominable snowman looney toons"

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

It’s novel writing day! Another 2,899 words in the bank, bringing “Press Start” (a meta-sci-fi fantasy adventure) up to 27,869. Slowly but surely, chipping away.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Writing 1,500 words for a personal essay = Going for a walk Writing 1,500 words for a sci-fi fantasy novel = Intense strength training followed by a HITT class

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Em dashes are my emotional support punctuation—and I won't be stopping anytime soon.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

This is the context I missed when I played my Guardians highlights in the morning. Makes much more sense now. 😂

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Sometimes when I end a piece of writing with a joke, my brain then goes: And live from New York, it's Saturday night!

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Thanks! I'll send a message.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

And because I'm doing voice-to-text, I'll have typos like, "Have him describe how the diet feels on his feet." Foot diet!

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

I swear I've outlined an inordinate amount of my novel while running. It can just be a 30-minute run and I'll have to send myself like 6 different notes with ideas.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Pleasantly surprised by the amount of people wanting to test read the first act of "Press Start." Feeling a little verklempt over here! If you're similarly a fan of the likes of Zelda, Final Fantasy... Get in touch! Happy to share.

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Joe Baur @baurjoe.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Sure! Just followed you to share info.

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