I am too old to go to festivals any more (last one was taking Phenon and three friends to Bonaroo in 2016). Heck, I barely even go to non-festival shows these days. But here’s an event that would get me out of retirement: Two days with The New Pornographers headlining one day, and Broken Social Scene the other and with the acts comprising each “supergroup” leading up to each headliner.

The numbers aren’t perfect and some of these other groups probably don’t still perform so someone will need to massage these lineups.

To whit:

Day One

1. Amy Millan
2. Jason Collett
3. Apostle of Hustle
4. Do Make Say Think
5. KC Accidental
6. Stars
7. Feist
8. Metric
9. Broken Social Scene

Day Two

1. Immaculate Machine/Frontperson
2. Destroyer/Swan Lake/Blue Roses
3. The Age of Electric
4. Suffrajett
5. Limblifter
6. Carl Newman
7. Neko Case
8. The New Pornographers

Once upon a time there was a boy who learned how to make websites. Then a fucking machine learned how to do it better.

The End

I’m just saying that ChatGPT writes a pretty good story. I hate this thing.

[Tell me a story about a living plant who is dissatisfied with the meadow in which it lives. Express existential dread at the prospect of having no personal agency.]

Once upon a time, there was a living plant that lived in a meadow. The plant was surrounded by lush, green grass and tall, colorful flowers. But the plant felt empty and unsatisfied with its environment. It had no personal agency, no control over its own destiny.

The plant had become aware of the vastness of the world outside the meadow, and felt a deep longing to explore it. But the meadow was its only home, and it felt trapped in its current location.

No matter how much it tried to will its way out of the meadow, it could never achieve that freedom. The plant felt a deep sense of existential dread, knowing that its fate was predetermined by forces outside of its control.

It was disheartened, feeling as if its life was devoid of purpose and meaning. It had become a mere passenger in this world, doomed to remain in the meadow forever.

[Add to the story with a cow that arrives and understands and wishes to help.]

One day, a cow arrived in the meadow. The plant felt a glimmer of hope, thinking that the cow might be able to help it.

The cow sensed the plant’s angst, and it knew that the plant wanted to explore the world outside of the meadow. The cow offered to help the plant, and told it that it would take it away from the meadow and into the world.

The plant was elated, and it eagerly followed the cow out of the meadow. The cow helped the plant explore the world, and the plant felt alive and free for the first time.

The cow and the plant soon became close friends, and the plant was grateful for the cow’s kindness and understanding. The plant had found a new purpose, and it was determined to make the most of its newfound freedom.

[Add to the story that the cow is captured and taken to a slaughterhouse where the plant somehow saves the cow’s life.]

The cow and the plant continued to explore the world, but one day, the cow was captured and taken to a slaughterhouse. The plant was horrified, and it quickly hatched a plan to save its friend.

The plant used its newfound agency to devise an escape plan for the cow, and with its help, the cow was able to escape from the slaughterhouse. The plant was relieved, knowing that it had saved its friend’s life.

The cow and the plant returned to the meadow, and the plant was content with the knowledge that it had made a difference in the life of another. The plant finally felt that it had a purpose and that it could make a real impact on the world.

[Add a part to the end where an alien arrives on the planet and the cow and the plant realize that all they learned was meaningless in the face of such an unknowable universe.]

The cow and the plant continued to explore the world, but one day, an alien arrived on the planet. The cow and the plant were in awe of the alien’s immense power and knowledge, and they realized that all they had learned and experienced was meaningless in the face of such an unknowable universe.

The plant felt a deep sense of dread, knowing that it was only a tiny speck in the grand scheme of things. It was humbled by the alien’s presence, and it realized that its own existence was insignificant compared to the vastness of the universe.

However, the plant also felt a sense of peace, knowing that it had done its best to make a difference in the world. It had a newfound appreciation for its own agency, and was determined to make the most of it.

Literally nobody but me will care about this which is perfect since nobody but me ever visits this site. It’s fine.

If you can see this post, then I’ve successfully moved this site to a new server. You must be so proud of me!

Another year has passed with out little family still all intact and in the same house. We still have a couple of years before The Girl likely wants to look toward heading out on her own and The Boy is still well within our clutches for quite some time yet.

I still work at the same place I have for a decade now. Crazy to think that I’ve worked here for nearly as long as the entire stretch of my life spent in Eugene. Age does funny things to one’s perception of time. Go ahead and try to find someone who disagrees.

There is really no purpose to this post beyond trying to generate enough paragraphs of text to test out a thing I installed and need to see how it works. So that’s that.