This was the most popular thing I've ever posted, and seems even more relevant now than it did seven years ago. Maintenance isn't glamorous, but skipping it to keep the budget down isn't fiscal responsibility, it's taking on a loan where you don't know the interest rate or when it'll be called in.

Opened a soda bottle by popping the cap against a picnic table. Cap flew straight into my eye and scratched my cornea.

At least this winter has the decency to be pretty.

View of Calgary’s skyline over the bow river, Jan. 2, 2026.

A new year's reintroduction: The AM is a weekly radio show on @cjsw.bsky.social in Calgary, AB, airing live on Monday mornings at cjsw.com and 90.9FM locally. Each episode is three hours of music to help find your footing for the week. Electronic, jazz, psych, shoegaze, mostly new, but not always.

The medium that defines the 21st century so far is the feed. A boundless, contextless present, no beginning and no end. Hypertext promised connection between every idea, rabbit holes leading to deeper insights and new understanding. The feed is the opposite: fragmented, shallow, distracted.

I would've thought an environment minister would have had something to say about the environment in their resignation letter, but what do I know.

Anyone seen any good essays on the first quarter of the 21st century? I'm trying to put together some of my own thoughts but would love to see the arc of the last 25 years as interpreted by people who are smarter than me.

AM Gold 2025: 50 favourite albums from the past year, and 150+ others that are also very much worth a listen. Ambient, psychedelic, modular synth, jazz, library grooves, jangle pop, and other sounds suited to early mornings and contemplative moments. wanderlines.ca/2025/12/18/a...

This seems like blasphemy but I think I spent too much time this year watching movies and listening to music? I think in 2026 I need to spend more time having conversations and eating food with people and taking part in things that aren't scripted or recorded. 100+ movies is too much.

Just saw the first episode of Welcome to Derry. Does it get any better from there? Will I get to see any space turtles? I need the answer to at least one of those to be yes if I'm going to keep watching.

Anything you believe that I disagree with: Divisive rhetoric Anything I believe that you disagree with: Common sense

People know you can make smart moves in 2D chess, too, right? Doing something strategic doesn't always imply access to whole other planes of existence.

A national project list that doesn't do anything (yet) and a pipeline that doesn't exist. It's amazing how much debate nothing can stir up. #ableg #cdnpoli thenarwhal.ca/alberta-pipe...

Is there a piece of fiction that describes our current moment as well as something like 1984 and Dr. Strangelove did for theirs?

Huh. Cold November rain.

The days don’t last long this time of year but they sure can be pretty.

No one does Halloween mixes better than @vintageobscura.net. Here's a decade-worth of their playlists to set the right mood for today.

Interesting seeing conservatives arguing for restoring faith in capitalism by giving workers ownership of the means of production and access to the surplus value of their labour. thehub.ca/2025/10/28/c...

I knew about the federal notwithstanding clause. I didn't know we also had one in our provincial bill of rights and human rights act. If the reasoning federally was to get provinces to sign on to the constitution, what was the reasoning provincially?

Anyway, why can’t we all be more like this guy?

A whole lot of people make it their mission in life to read everything in the least charitable way possible, and to make sure you know it.

My friends are getting elected to public office and I’m sharing songs I like on campus radio. Pretty much equal, right?

Is there a word for when you see your Lyft driver getting farther away every time you check?

I was pretty uninspired going into the election but I’m settling into a quiet optimism? We have the most new councillors we’ve had in over a century, heading basically straight into budgeting. Seems like as good a time as any to reach out and make your voice heard, before positions get entrenched.

If you missed any episodes, you can catch them online! The Funding Drive goes until this Friday OCT24th cjsw.com/donate/

I’m being pandered to, and I like it.

Funding Drive is back! Get ready for a full month of events, followed by a week long radiothon from OCT 17-24. Get ready to Play/Connect/Discover with CJSW! Check out CJSW.COM/DONATE to support independent radio! This year's art provided by Daniel Bejarano.

90% of this article is calling Carney arrogant, thin skinned, short tempered, dismissive, and maybe borderline manipulative. One paragraph says he put in a dress code and wants people to be punctual. “Demanding boss” is by far the most flattering framing a headline could give.

I’m trying to internalize the idea that you can be a goofball who does silly dances and also sing in four languages, quote 13th century poetry and drop life lessons in deceptively deep but also sometimes just plain silly songs. But “The wine is for tasting, not discussing,” so I’ll be quiet.

I’m a little surprised how rusty I could feel after just three weeks off? Still a great mix of music, though. Despite everything, people are putting out great tunes these days.

Thanks for sharing this Jeremy, totally forgot this was happening today and this is very helpful.

Heading into my 21st movie of TIFF. 22 if you count the MOVI movie I watched on the flight over. Outside a festival context this would be a cry for help. Inside it means I am just lagging behind the actual cinephiles.

I’ve reached the “wait, do I even like movies?” phase of TIFF.

Posting a bunch of TIFF2025 reviews over on Letterboxd now and throughout the week. Disjointed thoughts and first impressions of Frankenstein, Testament of Ann Lee, Hamnet, Junk World, and half a dozen more so far . boxd.it/b1o0GB

Hey #filmsky if you had to choose between Frankenstein, The Smashing Machine, Dust Bunny, and Wake Up Dead Man, which do you go with?

Ratatouille will never happen in Alberta.

I'd thought August was a bit of a slow month, but looking back, it's been packed with pretty stellar new releases. Here are 20 or so that stood out/that I'll either be revisiting or kicking myself if I don't. In alphabetical order.

Borrowed a 20-year-old DSLR, first time shooting with a real camera in I don't even know how long. Good news and bad news is I could see this becoming a real hobby.

Rang in September with a folk horror weekend: Picnic at Hanging Rock and Whistle and I’ll Come To You. The former is gorgeous and atmospheric, haunting even as nothing much happens. Totally see the appeal. The latter is always listed in the canon, but I honestly don’t see it?

Recent trip to Reader Rock Garden. Was summery then, but the seasons are changing fast.

I can understand wanting to be an influencer. But following people who willingly call themselves influencers? Whose explicit aim is just… influencing? I don’t know, man.

City Council candidates in my ward: When you say "It doesn't matter what I think because I'm here to listen and represent you," I hear "I have no vision for this role or am not comfortable telling you my priorities." Listening is important, but your job is deciding. Your perspective matters.

Two headlines from this morning. Probably fine, right?

Imagine what it would be like to enjoy AI. Imagine being a botlicking technoslopper. Imagine reading an AI's inane hallucinations and thinking LLMs should be incorporated into the framework of our society. Wow.

Found a friend on the path today. Not sure they would agree with that description, but in my heart it’s true.

Delighted to have had my book reviewed by @peterhemminger.com in my hometown's best magazine, the excellent @albertaviews.bsky.social Check it out here: albertaviews.ca/the-long-his...

Time for another monthly round-up: 25 AM-approved albums from May 2025, in alphabetical order. Playlists included here, or dig into the thread for Bandcamp links—and let me know what I've missed. Probably lots. Apple Music: music.apple.com/ca/playlist/... Spotify: open.spotify.com/playlist/4W7...

Break out the hammocks and antihistamines, spring is finally here.

A roundup of AM-appropriate releases from April 2025, with playlist links if you want to skim along, and Bandcamp links are in the thread (handy for tomorrow's #BandcampFriday). Apple Music: music.apple.com/ca/playlist/... Spotify: open.spotify.com/playlist/44M...