Music Recommendations
There was some good music this year, here's some of it. Put an album on and keep the scroll going.
Anyway by Anamanaguchi
From Endless Fantasy to 【USA】 to Anyway, Anamanaguchi's growth has sort of mirrored my own. 2013's fantasies, the push and shove and tension of being labeled [USA]. well Anyway, we're together as friends and just having a buckwild time. I got to see Anamanaguchi in concert with my sweetie.
Took a month off with my friends to feel a normal life again Wild how you need to make the time to spend all the time that you need Can't imagine unless you seen something you've never seen before
I took the up to Portland to see them with my sweetheart, cause life's about the time.
Saoirse Dream's self-titled EP
Shortly after I booked the Anamanaguchi show but before we left for it, someone in one of my friends' group chats mentioned this act and I went "oh hey they're opening for Anamanaguchi,,," well usually i go in blind with opening acts but i listened to some of this and it... it fucken ripped. I kept this album in my CD player on loop for weeks
If Anyway is tinged with midwest hardcore, saoirse dream leans in to it, especially played live. fat guitars and heartfelt screams.
I’m back Sorry, it’s been a year, I figured that You wouldn’t wanna hear from me ’til I grew up, well I grew some Hell, I’m still dumb as shit Can’t relax I know you’d never hate me like a fact And we both know my judgement’s kinda ass We got too numb To the gruesome Hell, I’m not over it
I Love My Computer by Ninajirachi
Anything is possible with fingers eyes a mouse and a screen I could learn the music, I pursue it on my silver machine Right here in my room, watching you, my computer and me
I'm not a technopagan, but i loved these love songs to what indie technology can be capable of in the hands of someone who wants to get something out of their head. The people in my social sphere have (at best) disdain for computer technology, and don't consider anything else they interact with to be technology, most of my friends react in a sort of horror when I showed them "Fuck My Computer",,, i guess no one really does know me better. But there's still beauty in the baud.
I used to look the lyrics up and Google what’s a chorus Wrote some of my own and used GarageBand to record it Coz I can’t really sing good But I’m still gonna try it I might even like the way it feels
One day when I’m older I might do something else But I’ll still write the stories and I’ll sing them to myself
SHINBANGUMI by Ginger Root
Good heartfelt funk, nothing more to say.
How can you say this is not for debatin'? Ah, how can you say that you've got no problems? I, I can't be fake, when you're up and elated How, how can you say that you've got no problems too?
Step into Paradise by Hiromi and Akiko Yano
This album is just plain fun, two great jazz pianists having fun together.
Papillon by The Flashbulb
While Benn Jordan spent most of this year becoming notable as a "YouTuber" investigating the security issues in the Flock AI surveillance systems being deployed across the country without anyone noticing, he's continued producing music as The Flashbulb.
Papillon is a "return to" his more electronic feelings while still soft and enjoyable to the folks who don't love "intelligent dance music" (lol)
Caves of Qud is my 2025 Game of the Year
“I am considering narrative inheritances. The stories we were told when our minds were more putty-like, the follies that shaped who we are, that shape the whole of Qud.”
“Have you come to any conclusions?”
“Not yet, but that’s not the point.”
[Iseppa of Grit Gate]
This year I got one of the "true endings" of Caves of Qud. I ascended the spire and took to the stars. The ending was incredibly powerful, from the Tomb of the Eaters and Brightshoel all the way through to my save being deleted was such a well crafted tale with a really great set of twists and inversions that come in to focus toward the end. I won't speak much about it because of how happy I was to experience it first-hand.
There was a podcast series of conversations with the developers and writers that talk about the whole thing including the ending and how the story came together in a layer-cake over 17 years:
Part 4 talking about everything up to the "non true" ending at the end of the Tomb of the Eaters quest
Sidequests Special talking about a lot of the community writing
Part 5 talking about the final quests and full of spoilers. I feel like you oughta finish the game before you listen to this.
Irushum the Nomad was my "roleplaythrough", a sort of journal where I journaled my player character's experiences. I'm not sure the final chapter will ever be published since he took his notebook with him to the stars.
New Job
I got a job I like, small company that is in the same building as my Blue Cliff Zen Center.
It's an old Java web site that had some reliability problems as the requirements shifted over the last years and I worked with the team to come up with some good ways to stabilize the system and mostly eliminate customer service complaints. It was sort of a tough time, I joined working with a fella I really liked and the leadership at the company decided to let him go and give me his responsibilities so they could afford to hire some folks to work on the big project that was going in-parallel, a modern React-based video player and a conversion ~all of our in-video exercises to work with the new system.
The company is small and principled and profitable, it's not perfect but that's what they pay money for.
Site work
I got images working in the Arcology Project and published some of My Glitch Image Collections, and my collection of Rare Bibendums. I've started work on re-developing the site which I'll talk about in 2026 at the end of it. The current Arcology system basically works well enough but I've started thinking about what the "next generation" looks like after i realized the direction I've been going would never let me take The International Trip.
Inner work
This year I've been doing a lot of therapy and meditation work. I spent the entire month of May doing daily Metta meditation practice and the effect was noticeable in almost every interaction I had. It lead to real feelings of magic that I still can't explain.
I've been doing Internal Family Systems work to get to know my rough edges more. I wrote about World Enclosing Ideologies and walls of the mind and skillful means and systems thinking.
I spent some time thinking about technology: Technopaganism and Psychotechnology.
I took the Rinzai precepts and received the dharma name Seido, Clear Way. I lead some Meditation and Mindfulness trainings. I started a Zen study group and we worked through The Other Shore, The Undying Lamp of Zen, and Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind.
I bought a house
I left Seattle partially because I knew I couldn't afford to live there the way I wanted to. Before the economy went pear-shaped in February I was able to buy a house in Eugene, nice little freshly renovated ranch house that backs up to a bunch of really beautiful old oak trees.
Eugene Tea Festival
We ran the third Eugene Tea Festival this year and it was a great success. I organized registration and ran around like a chicken with my head cut off. I met some good folks and drank some good tea. I got a sweetie's phone number at the end and have hit off a really good healthy relationship.
Eugene Maker Space
We've been rebuilding Eugene Maker Space after it burned down last fall. A group of us held the fort down and organized a bunch of events, participated in the 2025 Eugene BRiGHT Parade and in October signed a lease on a new building. I burned out on it no less than three times but have made some great friendships and good hacks.
I traveled a little bit
After not having a job for ~18 months I felt pretty stressed to not travel anywhere but this year I made some nice weekend trips out to the coast and up to Portland and then spent the holidays and New Years Eve in Phoenix and Northwest Ohio.
2026
I'm going to continue what I'm doing. Work on the house, work on the inner world, stabilize the site at work with a quiet little goal of working part time in the next 3-5 years. I'm hoping I can go on another trip to Japan or maybe to Europe...
I'm going to work on The Arcology Project, in 2026 the goal is to make it mobile: arcology2go
I'm gonna keep riding Marra and hauling my ass up in to the Coburg Hills Old Growth for time alone and time with friends.