Now

This is a page that highlights what I've been doing recently. It updates on occasion, so check back every now and then, if you'd like. This is the January 17, 2026 edition.

What I've been up to.

Oh, look, I’ve changed the Now page again. Reverting to the “one big post” format I had before, largely inspired by the way Jack Grimes has been doing it. My fake social media feed just wasn’t clicking for me anymore. It felt a little contrary to the spirit of a Now page and I also did not want to deal with manual pagination and other technical matters. Very interesting, I know.

It’s a new year and I’m trying to ride out that “this year will be different” feeling for as long as possible. Just the usual stuff: more exercise, more reading, and maybe ease off some of the bad habits a little. Contrary to that, I did get back on Instagram over the holidays. It's been a mixed bag and I would not recommend it. On the positive side, I have been able to catch up with a few folks and even discover a new artist or two. But is that all worth it to experience the everyday horrors of social media? Eh, probably not.

In December, Alyson and I went to Austria to visit her family and see the sights. Aside from unrelenting fog, it was a great time. This is my favorite photo from the trip, which was taken on a Geisterbahn (ghost train) at the Prater.

I haven't been doing anything noteworthy on the graphic design front. My Macbook is on its deathbed, which is a deterrent. ("Scratch disks are full," give me a break!) But that's largely an excuse, as I have other means. And I do have some ideas kicking around, but have just been putting my creative energy into other things, I guess.

Speaking of, I do have a new music project coming out sometime soon. And it's getting a limited cassette tape release, which I'm very excited about. My share of the tapes arrived today and they're beautiful. (I cannot stress enough how great it feels to make something physical every now and then. Go do it!) To celebrate the release, I've created a new Music page that collects all my music projects.

What I've been playing.

I recently beat Anger Foot, which has been described as a first-person Hotline Miami, and that's sort of accurate. Great gameplay with a charming sense of humor and consistent aesthetic. Super fun to master the levels and blast through them in a variety of ways. Highly recommended!

Before getting into that, I played a few hours of the Mad Max game, which is pretty neat overall. The combat and car stuff all work great. But there's this reoccuring loop where you take bases from the enemy faction and part of that is destroying their fuel tanks. Most of the time, this results in you slowly poking through an emptied enemy base trying to find all the tanks, which gets tedious and just kills the momentum. It probably speaks ill of my attention span, but I hated this (seemingly) big part of the game and just wanted to do the cool post-apocalyptic action stuff instead. I'll probably revisit it at some point, because the good parts are pretty good, but I've moved on for now.

Each Winter, I play through a co-op game with Alyson and her brother. This year we’re doing Sons of the Forest. It’s a horror/survival game that has some jank, but is ultimately neat and interesting. There's some great creature design and regular surprises that get the imagination going. And even though the mechanics are a bit clunky, it's real fun to build a little house and stuff. I kinda have no idea what's going on with the story, but I think that's working in the game's favor in this case.

What I've been reading.

Over the holiday, I re-read The Stranger by Albert Camus. Still rips. Still a classic. Rocking this pin on one of my jackets, currently.

After that, I got the urge to finally read the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I bought some used paperbacks online and am now about half way through Fellowship. I’ve always been a LOTR appreciator, but never had the desire to read the books until now. So far, it’s a really good time. Easy to relate to those hobbits. I, too, want to be cozy, eat a lot of food, and maybe go on an occasional adventure. I also think getting more into dungeon synth over the last couple of years has had something to do with sending me down this path. Looking forward to rewatching the movies after finishing the books.

I'd also like to get back into reading horror this year. Probably starting with Paul Tremblay's novel, Horror Movie, once I get through the LOTR stuff.

What I've been listening to.

According to YouTube Music, my #1 artist of last year was Viagra Boys. Seems right. If you're unfamiliar, this video serves as a pretty good introduction. Those guys and Chat Pile are probably my favorite music discoveries of the last several years. Additionally, Modest Mouse, Nine Inch Nails, and Napalm Death rounded out my top five of 2025. A pretty good lineup, imo.

I've also been regularly buying cassette tapes and have amassed a neat little collection. My most recent purchases are Private Music by Deftones, Songs of Pain by Daniel Johnston, and Xiu Xiu Plays the Music of Twin Peaks. I've been thinking of various ways to show off my little collection, and I think what I'm gonna do is scan them and make them into simple 3D models. Stay tuned, if you wanna see some low-res, 3D cassette tapes infinitely rotate. (Sounds like a good time to me.)

What I've been thinking about.

Dark times out there. Trying to balance staying somewhat in the know without needlessly staring into the abyss. The best method I've found, so far, is subscribing to some sort of news digest. For local stuff, I do KCUR's Early Bird newsletter. And for the national stuff, I like Ken Klippenstein's newsletter. Very open to suggestions, if you happen to have figured out a better way.

Anyway, I don't really know what to do. For what it's worth (and I know it's worth very little), I'd like to use this tiny platform to clearly and unequivocally say: FUCK ICE.

I'm also thinking about what this year's gonna be like and what all I want to do. I'm not totally sure, but it'd be great to make some more (good) graphic design work and refresh this website a little bit. I've been threatening to make another zine for a long while now, and maybe that'll happen this year, too. It'd also be cool to run a 10K. We'll see what happens.

Recommendations.

Hey, do you have an Abelardo's nearby? If so, you should go grab yourself a chile relleno burrito. I've had one two days in a row now and cannot recommend it highly enough.

I've been trying to ease off on the podcast listening a little in 2026, but I remain a huge fan of the Duckfeed.tv podcast network for video game stuff. And Pod Mortem for horror movie analysis. And of course, I get my laughs on Office Hours with Tim Heidecker.

I'm also digging Company Man's Culture United show, which is focused on hip hop culture. This recent episode had a bunch of really beautiful moments, including a discussion about the unique problems the youth are facing. A genuinely great conversation where the older folks were kinda talking shit at first, but then they were gently corrected and educated and came completely around. You love to see it. This show also regularly features the great F.D Signifier, arguably the most important video essayist working today.

I'd also like to give a shoutout to sweetfish.site, one of my favorite personal websites on the internet. And the to-do list from Jack Grimes. Also shoutout to the live tracks from the deluxe version of Elephant by The White Stripes. And also to this VTMB Deb of Night video. And also RSS feeds, which is a technology that's still alive and well. This site has one, just so ya know.