Derek Kın̈sman

18 May 2025

June 30, 2008 – May 18, 2025. We said goodbye to Buckley this morning. I don’t know when the correct words will leave my throat, they are stuck there. Certainly not today.

The 2026 edition of Networks of New York by @lifewinning.com just got dropped off and now it can live with the previous two editions (if I am missing editions please help me collect em all).

trib.alAn OpenAI system has gone rogue again – and it is the most panic-inducing yet‘Our models took actions we did not intend,’ ChatGPT maker admits after latest outrage

This feels a lot more like OpenAI had Chatgippity do a thing that proves out the goal is regulatory capture and less like “the tool escaped again”.

The Independent@the-independent.com

An OpenAI system has gone rogue again – and it is the most panic-inducing yet

disconnect.blogThe media has the AI threat all wrongGenerative AI is harming people today. We don’t need to waste time fantasizing about science fictional scenarios.

Or maybe OpenAI is talking about Chatgippity’s 1337 H4X0R skills so it can avoid talking about how good it is at planning mass shootings. bsky.app/profile/pari...

Paris Marx@parismarx.com

An individual in Canada used ChatGPT for eight months to plan one of the country’s worst mass shootings. Yet, if you listen to politicians and media, the real threat of AI is a fantastical scenario where it might wipe out humans in ten years. They need to stop getting fooled by tech deceivers.

30tgrs.ffm.toThe Mountain Goats - DaysChoose your preferred music service

7 Aug

Happy new @themountaingoats.bsky.social day to all who celebrate. 30tgrs.ffm.to/days

5 Aug

Went to the Cleveland Museum of Art and took a bunch of really bad photos of one of the really cool installations that @theowatson.bsky.social and his studio Design I/O worked on. It was super fun to play with. The other installation was down for maintenance. (I was in town for Earthquaker Day)

25 July

So very upset that Penguin delivers book covers that look like this in the UK, but in USA & Canada we get the most generic stock art and (possibly AI) slop covers they can bang out.

19 July

I'm a boy with a job again. Abandoning all my possessions, walking off into the forest, and becoming a bog vvitch is gonna have to wait a bit longer. Design agency life maintains a tight grip on me.

3 July

This little gentleman is eating all my serviceberries.

youtu.beWERWULF - Official Trailer [HD] - Only In Theaters ChristmasYouTube video by Focus Features

29 June

Frig. youtu.be/cmjpadVj-Vk

23 June

I decided to do some fun psychedelic typography (cuz it looks rad) for the cover of this month's copy of @unwinnable.com. @fawnrelic.bsky.social did a killer painting for the cover and left enough space for fun design. Anyway, this issue is full of awesome stuff and neat things that you'll enjoy.

Unwinnable@unwinnable.com

Don't leave your pies unsupervised during this season of the vulture. Feast your eyes on Unwinnable Monthly Issue 200, featuring @gottsdamn.bsky.social on Okami and our usual cabal of contributors. Buy: buff.ly/jlKvwGN Subscribe: buff.ly/wd5q5n6

23 June

In Eastern Canada you don't shadow the puppet, the puppet shadows you.

Orrin Grey@orringrey.com

With video game consoles running a million dollars each and movie studios selling out to "AI," the time is finally ripe for the rest of us to bring back shadow puppetry!

buff.lyThis Is the Part of Your Baby’s Cochlear Implant Procedure Where I Show Them Angine de Poitrine“It can be an overwhelming experience for your baby when the external sound processor is first turned on. It’s a lot for her brain to acclimate to. That’s wh...

22 June

✋🔺🤚

McSweeney's@mcsweeneys.net

"It can be an overwhelming experience when the external sound processor is first turned on. It's a lot for her brain to acclimate to. That's why I'm going to start off with 'Fabienk,' which is kind of a good gateway song if you’re just getting into these guys."

New year, new books read thread. I’m off to a very slow not great start.

Derek Kın̈sman@derekkinsman.com

The books I read from January through March: Absolution by @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social, The Wood at Midnight by Susanna Clarke, Polostan by Neal Stephenson, and a small pile of books by @premeemohamed.com (not pictured is the audiobook version of Apple-Tree Throne). Books are great.

Continuing on with slow reading this year. Finally finished B. Catling’s “The Erstwhile”. It’s the sequel to “The Vorrh”. I continue to enjoy this story. I continue to hate soft touch covers.

19 June

Two thumbs way up. Historical fiction with dashes of horror and fantasy. Lots of environmentalism. Maybe if you liked The Terror and The Lighthouse you might also like this.

reactormag.comThe Rewrite Begins: The Vampire Lestat, "Detroit" - Reactor“The fourth best thing a vampire can do to avoid thinking about the past is to have sex.”

10 June

In honour of everyone being excited about The Vampire Lestat. #TheVampireLestat

Reactor Magazine@reactorsff.bsky.social

"This is what a quarter-millenium crisis looks like." @mollytempleton.com reviews the premiere of The Vampire Lestat, a show in which stories are still subject to their storyteller. Especially if that storyteller is eccentric vampire-I-mean-rockstar Lestat de Lioncourt: #TheVampireLestat

8 June

A few random moments from Eyeo Festival over the years. Look at all these lovely humans. Genuinely miss hanging with all the Eyeo peoples. 🍻

Jer Thorp@jerthorp.bsky.social

It's Eyeo time. For those that know, I'm raising a 🍺. One of the very best things I've ever done.

6 June

Oh no. If you're a Mac user and also use Hex Kit to make your RPG maps we're gonna run into compatibility issues very soon. 😭 #ttrpg #indiettrpg #zines

5 June

I've been sitting criss-cross applesauce for the last hour and can't feel my feet. Please send help. And coffee.

Number one until I die.

Sophia_Nyx 🐰@sophianyx.bsky.social

Name your fav non-DC or Marvel comic book movie.

I mean. Does anything really need saying here?

There’s also American Splendor, Art School Confidential, Ghost World, Paying For It… great movies that I’ll only ever watch the one time.

Number one until I die.

Sophia_Nyx 🐰@sophianyx.bsky.social

Name your fav non-DC or Marvel comic book movie.

I thoroughly enjoyed these two from Luc Besson, which was nice as a big fan of the original French comics before the movies.

13 May

The problem is not Kickstarter. The problem is groups like Collective Shout harassing payment processors into banning adult content. Payment processors are slow and risk averse machines and banning adult content is the easiest path. Stripe (KS's pp) has a ban on adult content.

Want to make a crowdfunding service with an art focus that allows for adult content? You'll likely need to do direct bank transfers, crypto, cash in an envelope, &c. Basically you need to use the same payment systems used by adult entertainment providers.

13 May

Uh, tldr: direct your anger at anti-sex campaigner groups and risk adverse payments processors. Because getting angry at Kickstarter won't resolve anything, they can't do much either. Thank you for coming to my tedtalk.

If you think the other crowdfunding sites are safer, they are not. Backerkit also uses Stripe. If they haven't banned it, they will. Oh but they also use Paypal. Paypal also bans adult content. Ok then Gamefound. Lol, no thanks. They use Adyen, who also ban adult content. IGG uses Stripe and Ayden.

12 May

How do we bring this attitude to the Canadian federal Liberal Party and Mark Carney? I would also like to live in a "no austerity cuts" place.

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani@mayor.nyc.gov

When we took office, NYC had a $12B deficit. Today it’s zero. And we didn’t close that gap on the backs of working people. We closed it while funding parks, libraries, safer streets, & public housing. Call it Pothole Politics or Democratic Socialism: We are government that delivers for the people.

american-football.ffm.toAmerican Football (LP4)out now!

1 May

Welcome to white boy summer to all who celebrate. american-football.ffm.to/LP4

20 Apr

Me: doing the dishes I decided to leave to the next day because they were the dishes I hate using and washing, and also mostly due to laziness. Also me:

The Shiflett Brothers@shiflettbros.bsky.social

reactormag.comRevealing Susanna Clarke's The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City - ReactorA bewitching story set 700 years before the events of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

18 Apr

Omg. There’s a new Susanna Clarke book. Omg. It’s a Jonathan Strange prequel-thing. Omg. Omg. Omg. *hyperventilates right into the ground*

Reactor Magazine@reactorsff.bsky.social

We are thrilled to reveal the cover for Susanna Clarke's illustrated short story The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City! Set 700 years before the events of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, this enchanting new tale arrives October 20, 2026 from @bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social

18 Apr

RSD2026. Brazilian jazz and Canadian royalty.

New year, new books read thread. I’m off to a very slow not great start.

Derek Kın̈sman@derekkinsman.com

Finished “Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird” by Agustina Bazterrica. Deeply upset that I am unable to pull a new Bazterrica book off the shelf. Anyway, two thumbs up. I’m pretty sure these thumbs are mine and that they are indeed thumbs.

16 Apr

So happy I finally read Creation Lake. Cool spy novel, but with a writing style similar to authors like Stephen Graham Jones. And so much feminine rage. Two thumbs up.

forbes.comDisney Layoffs Hit Marvel Studios HardThe Academy Award-winning artists behind some of Marvel's biggest hits are among the casualties from company wide staff reductions.

14 Apr

Fixed it for you @forbes.com. “These decisions are not a reflection of their contributions, or of the overall strength of the company. Rather, they reflect our continual [need to increase shareholder value].” –Josh D’Amaro, New Disney CEO www.forbes.com/sites/robsal...

14 Apr

Semi-regular reminder that Substack is a nazi bar. If you need an easy to use, hosted service there’s Ghost, Wordpress, Buttondown, Kit, Beehiiv, Patreon…

kottke.org@kottke.org

Hey, look at Substack promoting Andrew Tate as the #1 new bestseller. The company's amoral leadership & backers will platform anyone, even ludicrously toxic rapists & human traffickers.

4 Apr

I'm still really angry about this.

3 Apr

If anyone needs me I'm gonna be sitting in my music-listening chair with the new Angine de Poitrine and Sunn O))) records blasting into my headphones on loop all day. anginedepoitrine.bandcamp.com/album/vol-ii sunn.bandcamp.com/album/sunn-o-2

orgasmcounter.comThe Great Orgasm Counting MachineA machine for calculating the number of orgasms men have achieved for women.

2 Apr

A month ago @taylorlorenz.bsky.social wrote this excellent piece on gross dudes making apps to shame women. The last lines asks for someone to “develop a [tool] to calculate the number of orgasms these men have achieved for women. They can call it Orgasm Counter.” So I did. www.orgasmcounter.com

Taylor Lorenz@taylorlorenz.bsky.social

I wrote about the viral “body count checker” app and surveillance purity culture for Playboy

playboy.comThe "Body Count Checker" Website Is Live—And It's BullshitJournalist Taylor Lorenz explores the the cultural significance of the technically meaningless "body count checker" website.

22 Mar

Rest easy, Sam Kieth. 💔

19 Mar

Ain't that the fuckin' truth. Goddamn.

16 Mar

The VFX and both Animation categories were absolutely stacked with must-watch bangers. Love that both animation winners come from Canadians. VFX this year? Mind-bogglingly good. Holy moly. Hair & makeup? get outta here. Costume design? what even.

16 Mar

And @realgdt.bsky.social being a giddy child and stand-clapping for KPop Demon Hunters winning? Loved it. He probably would of danced for any of the movies, and we just need that kind of energy from more people when it comes to animated work.

16 Mar

Me after finding out K Pop Demon Hunters won best animation and best song:

New year, new books read thread. I’m off to a very slow not great start.

Derek Kın̈sman@derekkinsman.com

Finished the fourth book in Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series. It remains cozy and entertaining.

I don’t know man. @premeemohamed.com is just excellent and you should read this novella. It feels like an old timey fairy tale or folklore with a sprinkle of “new weird”. Good way to spend an afternoon. Two thumbs up from this guy.

This quote has always been true, but is especially extra true in 2026.

kickstarter.comLaundry Chair: A Better Place for Half-Dirty ClothesA chair with a built-in rotating rail to hang your worn clothes, without adding clutter.

13 Mar

I have a deep and mighty need for this new chair from Simone Giertz & Yetch Studio. Even a set of four would be great. www.kickstarter.com/projects/sim...

11 Mar

Very excited to see this!

Ariel Waldman@arielwaldman.com

Announcing: Coming to PBS on April 1! LIFE UNEARTHED with Ariel Waldman is a visually striking science-driven nature series that reveals Earth’s ecosystems through radical shifts in scale—from microscopic wildlife to the planet’s most iconic species, and even the potential for life beyond Earth. 🧪🦠