End On End - All Content

Sorry, the open web is political

2026-07-21T12:00:00Z

I've seen a few bigger "indie" or open web proponents make overtures about returning to X recently and it boggles my mind.

You even have Mozilla, who did go back back to X, posting:

"We took time off of X, but we’re back. The internet is changing again, so we’re here as an independent voice for our users and the open internet."

What's changing, exactly? Open internet and X? Sure, Mozilla.

I think a lot of these folks would like to pretend that the open web is not political, but it absolutely is... especially when you have billionaires and now an almost trillionaire owning corporate social media like X and Meta, the AI companies, Amazon, etc. etc. Not to mention fascists in the White House who want to enrich their friends, punish enemies, elimate immigrants, and blame everything on transgender people.

The open web is an absolutely critical tool for communicating, organizing, and pushing back against this agenda because it gives marginalized people a platform and a voice free of censorship and the machinations of capitalism.

When someone like Manton Reece says: "Opposition is not a principle. The political winds will inevitably shift, leaving polarization behind.", I get frustrated because opposition is absolutely a tool the privileged should use as part of our allyship with marginalized people. That's a part of how things start to change: someone in a privileged group (say CIS white men) using political capital to publicly oppose things that negatively impact marginalized people. Not doing so and pretending these things aren't political (because your privilege allows you that benefit), is actually what not having principles looks like...

The only parts of society that worry about the "political winds shifting" are corporations and the rich -- the people that want to maintain the status quo. We've seen that firsthand with the Trump administration: the oligarchs line up, the media lines up, companies with longstanding traditions of diversity, equity, and inclusion like Target, fall in line. They traded their political power and opposition for power and money. My beliefs, and I'm sure most individuals who care about these things, don't shift with the political winds. I couldn't give a fuck who's in the White House -- what's right is right.

And it's not even as simple as just sticking up for your beliefs or "what's right", because that much leeway gives us shit like DHH's blood and soil screed. For the privileged, it absolutely has to start with taking a stand for marginalized people. I'm not perfect, but every day I try to do better than the last. It's all any of us can ask of each other.

The truth is, no one of us can be free until everybody is free.

Maya Angelou

2026-07-20T12:00:00Z

🎶 Crucial Track for today: "Halfway" by Swapmeet →

What's a song you'd want your best friend to hear for the first time?

Another new album I am super psyched about... I'd want them to check this song out, especially the last 40 seconds of noise-y power pop hooks.

2026-07-20T12:00:00Z

🎶 Crucial Track for today: "Supercollider" by Quicksand →

Road trip home music. Still super impressed by this album.

2026-07-20T12:00:00Z

The one photo I remembered to shoot in RAW at the Toronto Zoo yesterday, so I could play with Aphera a little...

2026-07-19T12:00:00Z

Toronto was a blast. Such a fun city. Went out to dinner last night and wandered around the city for a few hours after. Then went to the zoo with the family today.

2026-07-18T12:00:00Z

🎶 Crucial Track for today: "Dance In The USA" by Show Me the Body →

Road trip soundtrack.

2026-07-17T12:00:00Z

🎶 Crucial Track for today: "2 C U" by Swapmeet →

What's your favorite song about friendship?

Maybe not my favorite all time, but my favorite today. This one off the new Swapmeet album, out today and it's pretty good! More coming to the blog soon.

2026-07-16T12:00:00Z

🎶 Crucial Track for today: "Regenerate" by Quicksand →

Looking forward to this album tomorrow.

2026-07-15T12:00:00Z

🎶 Crucial Track for today: "Eat For Peace" by Show Me the Body →

What's a song that makes you want to learn an instrument?

A hardcore band with a banjo? Makes anything possible!

No brainer

2026-07-15T12:00:00Z

The main reason I started with RSS/feeds as one of the core features of Crucial Tracks is its beautiful simplicity and flexibility: it can act as a way to follow users, have a live firehose feed, connect to any other service you want, back up your data... it's so powerful.

This allows me to say "No" to all of the things I don't want to support directly, whether it's the stress of traditional social media or shitty companies like Meta, X, Spotify, etc. – because users can do whatever they want with the feeds and their data. I don't have to integrate with, much less pay and support, the folks that are ultimately killing the web.

I can just point to the user's feed and say go ahead and put it into the Nazi/CSAM factory if you want, they are your posts. I don't have to compromise my beliefs or vision for the site.

And as a bonus, by providing only open/indie web sharing options, I can steer people toward the better choice. You know... the Gandhi-esque quote: "Be the change you want to see in the world."

Seems like a no brainer.

Aphera • A Mac photo editor

2026-07-14T12:00:00Z

A speedy, intentional, and modern RAW photo editor built natively for Mac.

The new photo editor from Naz Hamid, Ryan Carver, and Juan Pablo Zambrano is the real deal. Time to get back into photography.

2026-07-14T12:00:00Z

🎶 Crucial Track for today: "I Like Food" by Descendents →

Share a song that perfectly soundtracks your commute.

About as long as it takes to get to my desk from my bed. 😂

2026-07-14T12:00:00Z

🎶 Crucial Track for today: "Upside Down" by feeble little horse →

Looks like feeble little horse is playing Toronto in October! Wish it were Buffalo, but it may have to do.

2026-07-13T12:00:00Z

🎶 Crucial Track for today: "No One's Gonna Love You" by Band of Horses →

Band of Horses headlined the night and were as good as I’ve seen them. Played Everything All The Time in its entirety, then a handful of other songs including this one.

2026-07-13T12:00:00Z

Finally saw Dinosaur Jr.

Bucket list ✅