• suboptimalism & optimalism

    the suboptimalist manifesto
    incomplete perfection; complete imperfection
    philosophy, short
    behold! the optimalists
    checking in with the other side
    collection and commentary, ongoing, medium
    Optimalism
    my nemesis kit anderson a.k.a. "the optimalist" briefly takes over the site to post his pathetic drivel
    optimalism, long
  • otaku studies

    is databased culture debased?
    reviewed: "otaku: japan's database animals"
    cultural criticism, medium
    cult of the character
    tracking a trend in otaku culture
    cultural criticism
  • literature

    reading lists
    doesn't actually contain much writing but whatever
    literature, ongoing
    the united states of literature
    putting literature on the map
    literature, ongoing
    non-fiction book notes
    is non-fiction literature?
    literature, ongoing
    the review of web fiction
    surveying internet contributions to literature
    literature, ongoing
    literature is divine revelation
    an approach to literary criticism
    meta lit crit, incomplete, medium
    the strange secret literary history of the da vinci code
    the real conspiracy to create a fake conspiracy
    literature?, medium
    some selections from flaubert's dictionary of received ideas
    still relevant well over a century later
    literature, medium
  • canned coffee

    canned coffee collection
    canned coffee
    canned coffee
    canned coffee chronicles: a visit to the UCC coffee museum
    a rare report from the field
    canned coffee, short
    canned coffee field reports
    harrowing reports from my expeditions
    canned coffee, medium
    february canned coffee "news" roundup
    dubiously-newsworthy canned coffee stuff i saw in february
    canned coffee, short
    march "canned" coffee "news" roundup
    featuring fewer cans than ever before
    canned coffee, short
  • annual q&a

    end-of-year reader mailbox replies (2022)
    featuring: chatgpt, book burnings, colorblindness
    q&a, medium
    start-of-year reader mailbox replies (2024)
    titled for maximum confusion
    q&a
    new year reader mailbox replies (2025)
    the longest and least hinged edition yet
    q&a
  • neoshitties stuff

    some undocumented neocities mechanics
    techno-mystic reveals esoteric secrets from years of research
    collection and commentary, ongoing, medium
    what happened to yesterweb?
    an investigation and case study
    internet anthropology, long
  • deep memetics, social media, and internet theory

    tlön, uqbar, orbis internetius
    borges and the internet
    deep memetics, internet theory, literature, medium
    bootstrapping tlön: the internet's underlying insanity
    invisible masses & visible outliers
    deep memetics, internet theory, short
    parable of the cube
    the outrage is the point
    social media ecology, short
    good news, the internet as we know it may be doomed
    nothing is forever
    internet theory, long
    how the touchscreen transformed the internet
    opening the portal
    internet theory, short
  • travel

    hawaii "picture" diary
    i tried, i REALLY tried to take lots of pictures
    hawaii, travel
    the los angeles notebooks: an urban odyssey
    faithfully transcribed from the typewritten manuscripts
    travel, blog
    the boys in biloxi and beyond
    we may have accidentally found the Lost Cause
    travel
    scene report: anime cons
    why do i keep going to these things?
    travel
    six stunning photos that will make you rethink North Dakota and possibly Life
    words evaded me for once so i took some pictures
    north dakota, photography
  • advice (?)

    how to meet girls in 2025
    purely theoretical
    advice?
    learning japanese: the suboptimalist perspective
    tl;dr literally everything is trying to prevent you from learning japanese and it has not yet been demonstrated under satisfactory controlled experimental conditions that it is even possible to learn it
    advice?
    i reduced my phone screen usage by 50% using this one weird trick
    it really works!
    advice, blog, medium
    (un)conventional wisdom
    do not try to organize a fan convention
    advice
    site design notes
    when you work alone, you're allowed to make whatever unmaintainable mess you're willing to put up with
    site meta, blog, advice?
    doing one thing at a time
    also: how my addiction to competitive pokemon breeding was cured
    blog, advice?
  • new american mythos

    disneyland apotheosis
    Disney Magic is real magic
    new american mythos
    yodie land: complicity with anonymous spaces
    this land is your land, this land is my land
    new american mythos, short
  • eclectica

    How I Peaked (in Minecraft)
    a memoir, a warning, a saga
    gaming
    hibimeshi cook-along
    making Anime real one dish at a time
    cooking, ongoing
    non non sequitur
    cracking the japanese concrete conundrum
    investigation, incomplete, long
    hyperstimulation (I)
    birds & bees and bugs & bottles
    possible literary forgery, short
    "the world is made of crossword puzzles"
    it's more likely than you think
    metaphysics, short
    top 10 reasons why pump it up is better than dance dance revolution
    the definitive and final refutation of a senile dance game
    "music", incomplete, long
    MUJI portland grand opening, 2018
    HAPPY?
    blog