The beacons have been lit and Gondor calls for aid!

Yeah. That seems about right.

Across 24 issues there is much excellent writing. There's a whole issue dedicated to being critical of GenAI. The cover art is wild. There's mention of Susanna Clarke, Lilo & Stitch, Monopoly, Zelda, cooking, butterflies, Godzilla, Buffy, Deftones, & more.

There never seems to be a good time for anything online lately so I'm just going to throw this out here now: I am looking for more work! I don't mean writing (though that too, sure!), but in the vein of the work I do for the Le Guin Foundation: organizational, practical, assistant-y, bookish work.

David said it out loud, so now it has to happen. If we get a hundo new @unwinnable.com subs before the new year, we'll add some romantasy fanfic to our upcoming Final Fantasy x Politics issue. Please make me regert suggesting this idea, …daddy.

My favourite tournament bracket of the year just dropped.

I feel like @letterboxd.social has an opportunity to take over the Doomscrolling market by adding a few gamesy/mindless Tinder-style UX replacements to the mobile app. 1) Seen this movie? Y/N. 2) For not seen movies: wishlist? Y/N. 3) For seen movies: Liked? Y/N. And 4) For seen movies: Rating.

Any BC area friends wanna go throw rocks at U Vic for me? Maybe for yourself if there’s enough rocks?

I cannot deal with how good Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age looks. Framestore are doing next level vfx that are breaking my brain. Also, the show is just as good as all the other nature documentaries of this style. youtu.be/f7kvwp9aIyM

Annual super secret secret government tracking device installation complete.

Adversarial Poetry is a thing I didn't know I needed in my life. www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/...

Benn Jordan’s spy camera sequel just dropped. Double the video. Double the cameras. Double the security risks. Double the surprises.

Me: watches the movie “Together” very much by myself. And also in the dark. Also me:

This was a fun one to design. Yes, the design inspiration is extremely on the nose. No, there is nothing spooky in this issue.

Me: sees a new email from @themountaingoats.bsky.social about 20th anniversary Sunset Tree merch. Me: clicks link. Bandcamp: sold out. Me, sad, but also a fan of limited edition things and knows the drill: daaang, that was fast.

New Brian Eno & Beatie Wolfe album is pure ambient heaven (the first two in the collaboration, Luminal, and Lateral, are also stellar). brianeno.lnk.to/Liminal

Heya friends, I lost my job this morning and am back on the market. If you’re in need of a Canadian tech director I’d love to chat. ❤️ www.linkedin.com/in/derekkins...

Rest in power. www.cbc.ca/news/world/j...

Persuade your co-workers, harass your bosses, this train leaves the station tonight! 🚂 🐦📊🚃

GF: what’s all this Final Fantasy Remake thirst trap stuff on your computer? Me: babe, it’s for @unwinnable.com. I promise. Babe. Babe. GF: [fading footsteps]

Reacher: the early adventures of young Norm Scully is a great Brooklyn Nine Nine prequel.

Ah dang. Rest in power. 😢 www.cbc.ca/news/enterta...

👀 This was made quicker and better than the original vibes-only slop.

Hey US friends, I know doing surveys is your most favourite thing, but this one is very important.

This lil duder has just been chirping all day. I can’t tell if it’s reciting some sort of epic poetry — the Iliad of his kind — to the other small creatures, or if he’s out here drumming up a rebellion. Either way I put some nuts out. Gotta support the arts and/or the uprising.

My favourite thing about this post is that we now have a name for AI users: Sloppers.

New art for the art collection.

1) Watch this video. 2) Sign up for @jerthorp.bsky.social's next Binoculars to Binomials workshop. 3) Get rich (emotionally rich, not rich in a capitalist sense, because there's nothing better than geeking out about birds).

It is wild that in 2025 the best we can do for carpal tunnel & other nerve compression injuries from repetitive strain is major surgery or dozens of different pseudoscience pretend therapies. Have you tried this fingerless mitten that is slightly too small but makes your hand mildly warmer?

And you can force me into doing Final Fantasy inspired layout.

It me! I look forward to spamming @guelph.ca with Canada Goose appreciation zines. Will have extras to pop in the mail as well. (if you're interested in data viz, ecology, creative coding, observational practice…and birds, BtB is a great, chill workshop worth taking. Highly recommend)

Making frenz.

It's only theft if it comes from the theft region of France. Otherwise it's just late stage venture capitalism.

Happy decade of this absolute banger existing to all those who celebrate. First time I’ve listened to this album straight through in a good long while and it is just perfect front to back.

Woah. One of my favourite indie rpg shops now stocks my lil zine. That’s neat. Also, this thread is a real danger to your wallet (but scroll it anyways). So many amazing things from the coolest makers.

I love spending my day reading job applications—for very senior level positions—that were all written by ChatGPT. It's just the best.

I guess Disney realized the art-theft machines they rely on were art-thefting their art.

Me: Wow, look at all these cool new tv shows and movies that have come out recently that are definitely things I should sit down and watch. Also me: puts on X-Files.

Standing at the back of a venue for a shoegaze show (opener is She’s Green and main is Softcult). The wall of reverb is ear piercingly luscious, but I cannot see the vast collection of guitar pedals and that is a real bummer.

I needed a distraction project so built a character generator for @munkao.bsky.social’s rpg, Kala Mandala. The naming part is based on @jacobmarks.bsky.social’s name generator. I think it’s pretty darn neat and am very happy with it. Maybe you’ll find it handy. thebawanmeddlingassociation.com

*taps the sign* unwinnable.com/2025/04/16/n...

June 30, 2008 – May 18, 2025. We said goodbye to Buckley this morning. I don’t know when the correct words will leave my throat, they are stuck there. Certainly not today.

Would read.

Hey yous! This workshop was so fun that I'm doing it again. You know what's better than learning about dumb AI tools that are gonna take your job? Standing in nature (maybe even on the company dime). But also this is a real novel way to develop skills that will just stay in your brain.

Support Amanda! She’s awesome.

Magic sauces to get through federal election night.

This was a great time when I did it last fall. Highly recommend.

So, so many movies. Immediately off the top of my head: Jurassic Park, The Day After Tomorrow, National Treasure, and the 1999 cinematic masterpiece, The Mummy, starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. I have not seen Star Wars, Star Trek, or LotR more than twice. Uh, dot gif.

AI is the worst, but laying out and doing graphic arts for the latest issue of @unwinnable.com — a whole ass issue dedicated to how garbage AI is — was the best. All the articles are golden. And everything was made by the loveliest humans.

My brain has decided that today is the day that I miss all my festival/conference friends. That's the message, hit send.