Unfinished Business,
a weblog
This is a place where I can think out loud, work through ideas, and talk about stuff that doesn't fit cleanly into the type of freelance writing I do. Some ideas will be fully formed, others, as the title implies, will be unfinished.
A note in defense of Doing The Work, written on the shortest day of the longest year
In a year where so many insist that we take shortcuts, I wrote a short note in defense of Doing The Work.
Published on December 21, 2025
Announcing the Inaugural Snooping Newsie Awards for Excellence in Independent Journalism
Small-scale, fiercely independent journalism rarely gets recognition when awards are handed out. Yet it plays a vital role in our communities, especially this year. So I made an award and am thrilled to announce the inaugural winners.
Published on December 15, 2025
'Tis the season or whatever - some more gifts, this time from me
I've made a lot of merch, maybe you want some. Also, a new zine to preorder as an experiment.
Published on December 7, 2025
I put together a little gift guide of cool artists, makers, authors and other good stuff I like a lot. All rad, no bad.
Published on November 29, 2025
In Chicago, whistles proved to be a super effective alert system when ICE is near. With these goons spreading out across the country, I wanted to put together a resource guide for buying, printing, and distributing whistles. I wrote as full a brain dump as I could muster. Whistle up.
Published on November 21, 2025
It's been reported that Greg Bovino and 250 of his goons will be leaving Chicago. But it's also been reported that he'll be back. Chicago is a boxer, tired but unbowed. I wrote about how we'll be ready.
Published on November 14, 2025
I spent Halloween chasing ghosts. Not kids in costumes, or jumpscares in a haunted house. I spent Halloween chasing ghosts of a different kind: careening from one ICE spotting to another. I wrote an essay about it, and about other ghosts we're chasing.
Published on November 5, 2025
Everything is very hard right now, so travel back in time with me for a few minutes and look at how Halloween was advertised 100 years ago.
Published on October 30, 2025
Have new posts sent directly to your email by subscribing to the newsletter version of this blog. No charge, no spam, just good times.
Or you can always subscribe via RSS or follow me on Mastodon or Bluesky where new posts are automatically posted.
Want to read a few popular pieces? Here are a some of my most-read posts:
-
The Who Cares Era
We're living through the Who Cares Era, where completely disposable things are shoddily produced for people to mostly ignore, while the government stomps its uncaring boot on our necks.
Published on May 23, 2025
-
What Felt Impossible Became Possible
A post about how the KKK in the 1920s felt unstoppable, about the people that fought against them anyway, and about how fascism always fails.
Published on Feb 23, 2025
-
What I Need You To Understand, Notes from Chicago in Late October
ICE has been cracking down on Chicago, and I wrote a little bit about what you need to understand about what it's like here in late October. Plus, I compiled some resources for alerts and whistles.
Published on Oct 24, 2025
-
Whistle Up
In Chicago, whistles proved to be a super effective alert system when ICE is near. With these goons spreading out across the country, I wanted to put together a resource guide for buying, printing, and distributing whistles. I wrote as full a brain dump as I could muster. Whistle up.
Published on Nov 21, 2025
-
The Amazing Art of the Video Game Marquee
During this long, hot, difficult summer I took a trip to a huge video game arcade and ended up completely in love with the art of the game marquee.
Published on Aug 1, 2025