Dan Sinker

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.

Thank you, Steve Albini

In honor of Steve Albini's birthday today, here's an excerpt from an interview with him Punk Planet #26, in which he talks about how he approaches his life. Happy birthday Steve, miss you.

Published on Jul 22, 2024

Do What You Want, 'Cos This is the New Art School. Punk Planet: Year Two

I'm writing an essay a month marking the 30 year anniversary of Punk Planet. This month, Year Two. If the first year of Punk Planet was about figuring out the function of the magazine, the second year was about the form.

Published on Jun 30, 2024

Rebel Rebel

For the last year I've been working with Akilah Hughes to make Rebel Spirit, a podcast about her quest to change her high school mascot from the Rebels, named after the confederacy, to the Biscuits, a part of Southern heritage that everyone can get behind. It's been an infuriating, hilarious, and extraordinary journey and one I'm so excited to finally let you into.

Published on Jun 19, 2024

30 Years of Punk Planet: Year One

30 years ago this month the first issue of Punk Planet magazine came out. It's incredible that one issue came out let alone 80 over the following 13 years. It started so small and grew to become my whole life. In honor of the 30 year mark, I'm writing 13 essays, one of each year of the magazine, starting with Year One.

Published on May 31, 2024

Building a Town that Doesn't Exist

This week I gave a talk at the 11ty International Symposium on Making the Web Real Good. It was about Question Mark, Ohio and about how the web is still a place of endless possibility. I've adapted the talk into a blog post for you.

Published on May 10, 2024

Three For Flinching

I ended the indictment.fyi newsletter tonight and I feel a little guilty about it, so as penance, maybe, or out of a feeling that if I've taken something out of the world maybe I should also put something back in, here's three things I've been particularly excited about lately. Here's three for flinching.

Published on Apr 14, 2024

I'm Back with Scars to Show

Fresh out of college and in need of a job I landed in the production department of the Chicago Reader. Now, 30 years later, I'm back to help rebuild its legacy on the web.

Published on Feb 28, 2024

Cooper Black, A Love Story & A Patch

I've loved the typeface Cooper Black long before I knew what it was. Big, bold, and forever it's over 100 years old and still makes me so happy every time I see it. I made a simple patch to celebrate Cooper Black, the greatest of typefaces.

Published on Jan 8, 2024


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