I’M BAAAACK!!

This little lick of lyric has been ricocheting through my mind today. It might be because I heard a great interview with Keith Garde, longtime Aerosmith director and collaborator, on Hal Gill’s Harrowings podcast over on Substack and YouTube. That conversation cracked open a few nostalgic moments for me.

More likely, though, it is because of something else entirely. I might be rocking that lyric because of this article. I am back in the saddle as managing editor of The Ripple Revolver.

Indeed, since March 1, and through the end of June, maybe longer, I have been granted control of The Ripple Revolver and its content to keep the mission alive. The return is even more exciting because our illustrious publisher, Pathos Romaniac, is also slowly making a comeback from a rather scary medical episode. That is good news all the way around, and I hope we can keep the momentum going.

The previous editorial management, under Philip Pines, certainly held the line and we did not go under, even though we were flirting with the edge more than once. Philip has old school newspaper instincts. He cut his teeth covering the Rodney King riots and the O.J. Simpson circus, and he spent the later part of his career digging into human interest stories from the foothills.

Those are real skills, and they served him well. They also helped keep this publication afloat during a tricky stretch. The problem is that the media world does not quite work that way anymore. It is a different game now, and the old rules do not always apply.

Philip has decided to relocate to Amsterdam to be closer to his daughter, her wife, and their two children. We wish him well and hope the move brings him every bit of happiness he is chasing.

Which brings us back to the saddle and where I plan to steer this particular rodeo next.

The Ripple Revolver has grown a bit stale lately. The first step toward fixing that is a more reliable rhythm of news and information. Starting now, we will publish a fresh rotation of stories every fortnight. Every two weeks you will see a new batch of reporting, commentary, and reflections on the resistance and on the role each of us plays in the fate of our country, our planet, and our daily lives.

This new format begins with this edition, March 2.0, arriving Sunday 03.15.26, and continuing every two weeks after that.

We are also resurrecting the podcast series. Sh’ma America: Still Here for Now will be hosted on Acast through The Intrepid Editor Press and distributed here on The Ripple Revolver every other week beginning Easter Sunday, 04.05.26. Until then, we will be dropping the earlier episodes of Sh’ma America here on the site so new readers can catch up. Additional podcast platforms will follow once we sort out the logistics.

Finally, although we have strong opinions about social media platforms that are manipulated and controlled by megalomaniacal billionaires, we will also be sharing our work with the netizens of Substack. I am personally excited about that move. I have long believed that The Ripple Revolver and Substack share several complementary qualities. I will write more about that relationship soon.

So there it is. A simple three point plan for the foreseeable future.

And for now, at least, I am back in the saddle again.

The horse is restless. The trail is long.

Now let’s giddy up!

Take Care, Be Safe, and Keep Yer Dobber Up!

-d’Philip