What Else Is On?

April 2026

2026-04-17T19:10:00Z

Howdy, folks! Sorry to say I've still been in the job-hunting zone for the past few weeks, and it's really sapping my joie de vivre. I haven't been reading or scouring the web as actively in the past month, but I've still got plenty to share!

Let's see what else is on...

Put This On

Get Down - They Might Be Giants

TMBG's latest studio album The World is to Dig was released this week, and wouldn't you know it, these old-timers have still got it. Bangers abound, the above track included. Well worth your hard-earned cash. Very excited to be seeing them live at the end of May!

Read This

The Soft Serve Review - sweetfish

I always love everything Ayu does with their website, and this post is no exception. A review of several soft serve ice creams eaten on their recent trip to Japan, laid out very pleasingly. They all sound good, but my mouth was literally watering at the description of the wakame flavor.

i don't think We are owed a hobby - aenore

Learning how to do a thing is doing the thing. It's good to have to try and get good at something, or even just do a thing at all. You shouldn't just be able to do everything instantly.

Days Of The Week, Ranked From Best To Worst - Kotaku

I haven't followed Kotaku in a hot minute, but I did enjoy coming across this blog that is very much in the same vein as my Tomorrow starts at 4am post.

In 2026, The Nintendo 3DS Is A Better Value Than Ever - madeline blondeau

Many people are saying that you can very easily hack your 3DS and that it rules and the games are very good. They just keep saying this.

Podcast Canon looks back on 30 years of This American Life - AV Club

It's been ages since I actually listened to This American Life, but they really did set a standard for audio storytelling. Sounds like they're still going strong! Good for them! Chicago Public Media undefeated.

This Election Is Too Darn Important To Be Left To Merciful Salad Eaters - Defector

Great breakdown of just how fucking stupid and out of touch the Democratic establishment is, and also of a very particular style of profile about a powerful person that is constantly begging the question, "hey what the fuck are you talking about?"

The Subprime AI Crisis Is Here - Where's Your Ed At

Ed Zitron is frequently saying exactly what I need to hear someone in the media saying about AI: It doesn't work, it's not particularly good at even the things it can do, no one likes it, it doesn't meaningfully boost productivity, the finances don't make sense — that is to say, acknowledging reality. His writing is always beefy and pretty dense, but someone has to sift through the muck and make sense of it, and there's a lot to understand in order to get the full picture of what's going on here.

This particular piece digs into what makes the AI industry a financial bubble, what that means, and the context around it. What I love about pieces like this is that you can argue about the morals and values of making "AI" "art" until you're blue in the face, but you can't argue around the fact that this shit is fundamentally unprofitable. The brick wall won't move out of your way just because you want it to. Worth the deep dive when you have the time and wherewithal!

Watch This

'TANG, BABY - Neil Cicierega

Neil's back, and he brought someone I literally haven't stopped thinking about since childhood: the Tang chimp(s).

SUPER NINTENDO WORLD 5th Anniversary Experience | Universal Studio Japan 🇯🇵 🎉 - Experience Japan

Okay so yeah Nintendo World looks fun, but this video really got me wondering about whether these types of youtubers are actually eating the food they show on camera. This is a channel we watch regularly, and I've never questioned this guy's ability to pack it away before, but if he's really eating everything he shows himself eating, then this man eats an entire (admittedly small-ish but still meant for more than one person) cake by himself.

Mrs. Apple‘s recipe — Apple pie - milin woolfelt

An adorable stop-motion animation of a felted woodland creature baking an apple pie in a cottage. My only comment is that I wish it took its time a bit more!

Busy Beavers Build Dam Ahead of Winter | Yellowstone - BBC Earth

And finally, take some time to marvel at the skill and ingenuity of beavers building a whole damn (heh) ecosystem.

Play This

Marathon - Bungie

$40 - PC, PS5, Xbox

I usually have a whole section of free browser games here, but I haven't been able to make time to see what's out there lately. But Marathon rules and you should check it out.

Some Good Websites

I Might as Well Explain the Joke

A website dedicated to telling the stories behind popular jokes in American history and culture, giving context to things you've heard a million times but have no idea as to their origin or context. It's really interesting stuff!

Window Swap

This is an oldie but a goodie that lets you click through random videos folks have submitted of the views from their windows. It's soothing and nice, and sort of gives me a feeling of what the internet could be.

Thanks for reading! Til next time! 👋

March 2026

2026-03-16T21:10:00Z

Finally emerging from my cave to post this month's What Else Is On! I've been a very busy little bee for the past few weeks in the job search mines, updating my portfolio, updating my resume, working on motion design projects, and luckily, getting a bunch of interviews.

All of that has left me with precious little blog energy, but I do have a solid collection of links to share for the month! So without further ado, let's see what else is on.

Put This On

Army - Ben Folds Five

I went and saw Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie last month having never seen Matt & Jay's previous work outside of Update Day, and I've been obsessed with this song, which I'd never heard before despite being a moderate Ben Folds fan, and which I now know features in the Nirvana the Band the Show webseries and Nirvanna the Band the Show TV series as closing credits music (and also features at greater length in the movie), ever since.

Read This

The Waters of March - Laura Michet

Speaking of becoming obsessed with music featured in Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, Laura Michet wrote about The Waters of March, a beautiful song that brings me to tears and caught me off guard at the end of NTBTSTM in a surprisingly touching way.

The Waters Are Already Muddy - InnerSpiral

In Alli's own words, "A vent in frustration about the state of the internet, but also hope." There's a lot in here that I think some folks might need to hear.

A thought about monstrous rich men online - Laura Michet

Back to Laura Michet with a post about how being forced to reckon with the fact that we all fucking hate them turned weird rich men into even more psychotic monsters.

The Only Solution Capitalism Has Is to Sell Us More Useless Junk - The Intercept

Turn on the TV today, and you will drown in a sea of ads in which capitalists denounce capitalism. Think of the PNC Bank ads where parents sell their children’s naming rights a la sports stadiums for the money to raise them or the Robinhood ads where a white-haired older man, perhaps meant to evoke Bernie Sanders or Jeremy Corbyn, curses the “men of means with their silver spoons eating up the financial favors of the one percent” from the deck of a yacht.

Prediction markets want to eat the news - The Verge

Everything is gambling now, and if we let it, it will devour our soul until there is nothing left.

I Traveled 800 Miles To Eat Breakfast, Lunch, And Pizza At Criss Angel’s Breakfast, Lunch, And Pizza - Defector

Hey let's take a lighter turn with the story of Libby Watson's journey to a restaurant opened by magician Criss Angel that is really called "Breakfast Lunch and Pizza."

Vilja: Emma’s Oblivion Mod That Sir Terry Pratchett Loved - Videodame

A downright charming interview with the creator of a number of mods for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, including her surprising collaboration with Terry Pratchett!

Dithering Part 1 - visualrambling

A really beautiful and informative visual exploration of how dithering works! Fascinating stuff!

A Dialogue with Austin Walker - Unwinnable

I somehow missed the fact that Austin Walker started another video game podcast last year, so shoutouts to this interview for bringing that to my attention. But it's also a really great conversation with someone whom I regard as maybe the smartest person in games journalism, or at least the person best equipped and best able (imho) to articulate the state of things in video games, games journalism, culture, politics, etc, and connect them all. I'm just a big fan of this guy.

I wish videogame culture would take more cues from readers - Jank

Very much agree with Graham Smith's sentiments here! Video games can often feel like a treadmill you need to keep up with at all costs, but there's a much richer history of work out there than just the latest thing, and it's worth exploring from different angles. There should be room for such things in modern games crit (once all the outlets stop dying and being sold for parts).

Three game devs climb a mountain - Jank

Really enjoyed this multi-part series covering Bennett Foddy, Holly Jencka, and Emeric Thoa's attempt to reach the apex of Peak. I would absolutely read more features like this!

the coolest apology i ever got - Joe Wintergreen

A fun personal story that sounds like something out of a movie. What do you mean this happened to you in real life.

The Good Old Hyperlink - Discard Pile

Praise for the most fundamental underpinning of the internet—and perhaps underappreciated nowadays—the hyperlink.

“This Is Not The Computer For You” - Sam Henri Gold

This post has really been making the rounds, but I wanted to share it here as well because it, perhaps unsurprisingly, resonated with me. Sometimes a cheap laptop that can't do everything you want it to is the perfect place for a kid to start.

Have a Fucking Website - Other Strangeness

if you are a business or an individual artist or creator, have a fucking website. “But-” fuck you, have a fucking website.

Watch This

A thing we do - Rowley

A short animation about bein' friends and stuff.

The Power Of Selling Out: Your Customers As Political Capital - The Onion

The Onion is the most important comedic and cultural institution of our time.

A.I. Filmmaking Is Not The Future. It's a Grift. - Patrick (H) Willems

Great video from a few years back about what was wrong with the "AI Wes Anderson" craze, and why AI "art" is bullshit.

Listen To This

Personal Records: Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie - NPR

Speaking of Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie and its music: if you want to hear Matt Johnson & Jay McCarrol talk about the music that inspires them, featuring tracks both used in the movie and not, NPR kicked off a fun new show doing just that with those two.

Side Story

A new(ish) video game podcast from Austin Walker and a rotating panel of hosts from the Friends at the Table universe.

Play This

2025 - Thomas Colthurst

Free, Browser

This game is diabolical. It is of the devil. I curse friend of the site and oft-linked writer Laura Michet for ever blogging about it. The only instruction given is to make 45 groups of 45. You're left to figure out what the groups are and what's going on here. If you enjoy NYT's Connections, this is your punishment. Really took my mind off of interview anxiety last week though!

Seven Gates, We Deliver - Lawra Suits Clark

Free, Browser

A fun sort of memory game where you place things in a room and then need to remember where you put them and how to navigate to them without being able to see the room.

gradient.horse - Michail Rybakov

Free, Browser

Draw a horse and let 'em run!

list animals until failure - Vivian Rose

Free, Browser

List as many animals as you can think of until you can't.

Some Good Websites

Marathon Timeline

A really pretty, if still somewhat inscrutable (to me) timeline of events in the universe of Marathon, a new game from Bungie that I think is pretty darn good.

After the Beep

I'm surprised I haven't shared this already! After the Beep is an answering machine for the internet, featuring a real phone number you can call to anonymously leave a message that anyone can listen to. Can you find the message from yours truly? 👀

Oopsie Doodle

Love to find a gorgeous new personal website. Oopsie Doodle's got it all, and personality in spades.

Bonus Links

The Lie-In - Jank

A new weekly roundup of games writing from around the web, from the good folks at Jank!

Thanks for reading! Til next time! 👋

February 2026

2026-02-03T21:10:00Z

Hey, welcome back! Time for some more links to cool stuff on the World Wide Web, if you're into that sort of thing.

If you have a couple of bucks to scrape together this month, consider helping out the people of Minnesota in their struggle against a violent federal occupation. Pretty fucked up stuff, if you ask me.

Leave your boots by the door, if you don't mind. It's still pretty slushy out there, and I don't want to get the links wet.

Put This On

They Might Beat Giygas (Mashup Album) - Shovelware

An outstanding mashup of They Might Be Giants music and the Earthbound soundtrack.

Read This

Let It Go: Finishing games is optional - Kimimi The Game-Eating She-Monster

Great post from Kimimi arguing against the expectation that you must finish every game you start.

In The War On Protein, We Have Been Humiliatingly Defeated By Protein - Defector

Uncle Sam wants YOU (to drink a carton of whole milk at every meal).

Retro Gaming is a Playground for Billionaires and Fascists - LaserDyke's Laser Chronicles

This shit is so fucking depressing.

Google's AI Pricing Plan - Pluralistic

Here's one possible way Google could actually turn a profit off of an AI product, and uh... boy it sure sucks!

Under Pressure - Jenn Frank

I remember lugging all this stuff around in 2005: the stuff that mattered to me. It mattered, so it occupied space in a physical way.

When every tool or instrument is frictionlessly available on a phone, your priorities, the things you value, get flattened: everything ends up mattering the same amount, which is to say, nothing matters.

THREE FEET OF SNOW, MAN - quailblog

Been a helluva winter here in the US! Sharing for some really lovely animated GIFs of snow falling.

Consider Making 2026 the Year of the Personal Website! - The Virtual Moose

It's never too late! Having your own website is cool and fun!

The Clock - Aresluna

Memories of a Clock Ident shown between programs on Polish state television in the 1980s, lovingly recreated with JavaScript.

computer, Show Me Less Like This - Stillness.Digital

computer, show me the face of someone who just realized they forgot an important date. show me tears, show me stars.

Watch This

How parachutes became a thing in gym class - Phil Edwards

Never knew how this came about, or even thought to wonder where it came from, but I remember it fondly!

Play This

Doors 95 - TommytheJerk

Free, Browser

Sokoban meets Portal in a Windows 95 aesthetic. 60 levels, with an editor coming soon!

Crossection - BryceSummer

Free, Browser

A combination twin-stick shooter / avoider game.

Bribe Artist - nik1oo

Free, Browser

Try to draw a counterfeit bill convincing enough to bribe the cops in 20 seconds.

A Nothingness - Gabriel Helfenstein

Free, Browser

A short, interactive horror story about finding a door in an alley.

halftimber - mattstark

Free, Browser

Build and furnish little half-timber houses, then walk around inside them!

Some Good Websites

How Many Apples Are You?

Type in your height, and find out how many apples tall you are! Plus, bonus apple facts!

Fictional Brands Archive

A collection of fictional brands found in movies, TV, and video games.

Bonus Links

linklog #006 - leaf litter

In this issue of leaf litter, a list of "very specific photo collections."

Thanks for reading! Til next time! 👋

January 2026

2026-01-11T17:05:00Z

Happy New Year, blog enjoyers!

I hope your holidays were cozy and relaxing. I haven't had the chance, or really made it a priority, to read, watch, or even play a ton on the web in the past month and change, but I've at least got enough to recommend.