Senior Editor, Audience Engagement at xtramagazine.com 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 (they/them) from the prairies, now in Vancouver I also play Magic: The Gathering a lot Subscribe to my newsletter, Ranch Baby: https://ranch-baby.ghost.io/ Work with me: melwoods.mehttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.mehttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3mlovqa5mwc2qExcited to cry with all the Vancouver queers at Lucy Dacus tonight 😌12 May 2026 23:07 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlovqa5mwc2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3mloprc6wc22qI'm downtown at Web Summit this week, which means this week's video was recorded from the Vancouver waterfront instead of my living room ... possibly the most scenic TikTok video made about counterterrorism ever? https://www.tiktok.com/@xtramagazine/video/763911694956942464112 May 2026 21:20 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mloprc6wc22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3mlo75gfpls24I'm at this event this week -- hoping to catch some interesting panels on queers in tech and new media, and avoid most of .... this 🫠 (But I fear avoidance will be impossible!) [contains quote post or other embedded content]12 May 2026 16:22 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlo75gfpls24https://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3mlm2xalm5k2lThe supplement store by my apartment is advertising "Dirty Soda", a "blended mix featuring Pepsi Zero and Mug Root Beer Zero mixed with our Sugar Free Dessert Mix and Vanilla Isolate for a protein packed, one of a kind treat!" Big protein is making us stray further from god's light every day.11 May 2026 20:02 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlm2xalm5k2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3mllwyppnbk2lI had a concussion in late 2023 and I remember my doctor being like "the two worst things you could do are screens and thinking hard" and I was like BUT THAT'S MY WHOLE LIFE! (Anyways, concussions suck, I think there are a still bits of how my brain works that are different than before it) [contains quote post or other embedded content]11 May 2026 18:51 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mllwyppnbk2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3mlluxwxdg22uI know this has probably been said before, but they did not have to make the unicorn in The Last Unicorn (1982) this cuntissimo ... and yet!!! Diva is slaying!!11 May 2026 18:15 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlluxwxdg22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3mllplviri22uCaught up with an old friend this weekend who is leaving journalism to become an air traffic controller. A fascinating pivot! I'm always so curious about the career paths (beyond obvious communications roles or teaching etc.) that folks take out of the industry.11 May 2026 16:39 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mllplviri22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3mlloxu6y7k2u"I never thought leopards would eat MY face," sobs politician, who encouraged leopards to keep eating faces and hold province-wide vote on face-eating [contains quote post or other embedded content]11 May 2026 16:28 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlloxu6y7k2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3mllmrkiltc25Caught Hobgoblin with maybe the best blep I’ve ever seen!!!!11 May 2026 15:48 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mllmrkiltc25https://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3mlelj6uw522uTo add to the "NYT Canada bureau chief used a fake AI quote thing" ... the fact that this blunder came doing the most basic of journalism tasks (quoting a public speech) is a direct example of the very dangerous de-skilling that these AI tools present. [contains quote post or other embedded content]08 May 2026 20:37 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlelj6uw522uhttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3mlelj6uw522uTo add to the "NYT Canada bureau chief used a fake AI quote thing" ... the fact that this blunder came doing the most basic of journalism tasks (quoting a public speech) is a direct example of the very dangerous de-skilling that these AI tools present. [contains quote post or other embedded content]08 May 2026 20:37 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlelj6uw522uhttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3mlec5q6mik2uBroadly speaking, many many journalists have raised alarm bells about this industry-wide rush to "embrace" AI ... maybe it takes the New York Times (!!) fucking up this badly to actually get some of the powers that be (in Canada at least) to listen. [contains quote post or other embedded content]08 May 2026 17:50 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlec5q6mik2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3mlc4to7nzc23So much of my job is done remotely from my little desk in my little apartment, but I get to go do an interview IN PERSON tomorrow for the first time in maybe years?? Like, a “meet a source for chat at a coffee shop” kind of interview … And I’m weirdly excited about it??07 May 2026 21:09 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlc4to7nzc23https://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3mlbq2tztps2uJealous of all you cool cats who got the longform census 😔07 May 2026 17:21 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlbq2tztps2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3ml777o6cdk2tNO to trans kids taking puberty blockers, a medication explicitly meant for use by young people and rigorously tested YES TO ROASTING THE CHILDREN LIKE A GROCERY STORE ROTISSERIE CHICKEN [contains quote post or other embedded content]06 May 2026 17:14 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml777o6cdk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3ml53dworf22tI've been working on a big comics project for work (coming beginning of June 👀) and having so many big comics feelings. This Lynda Barry piece is such a great encapsulation of how comics rule, and what makes them so special. Comics! Comics! Comics! [contains quote post or other embedded content]05 May 2026 20:59 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml53dworf22thttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3ml4jvqg2lk2tThis is great!!! [contains quote post or other embedded content]05 May 2026 15:47 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml4jvqg2lk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3ml2kob76h22hKits Pool is reopening this summer ... HUGE news for my mental health 😌 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-kits-pool-2026-opening-date-future-plans04 May 2026 20:56 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml2kob76h22hhttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3ml2ahcg5rk2cI think the fact that I've been sick for almost a month and unable to go to the gym in that time—and the impact that has had on my brain—means that unfortunately I can confirm I am a jock now 😔04 May 2026 17:53 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml2ahcg5rk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3ml24xo2twk2cAlso fun fact: this is at the same venue as my high school convocation lmao [contains quote post or other embedded content]04 May 2026 16:50 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml24xo2twk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3ml24n4nfes2cThe Alberta Christian Leadership Summit is today, with Danielle Smith giving a keynote. Other speakers include Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides and MLA Jennifer Johnson, who y'all may remember as the one who compared trans kids to poop in cookies!! albertachristianleadershipsummit.com https://albertachristianleadershipsummit.com/04 May 2026 16:44 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml24n4nfes2chttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3mkweqgevps2x10 pm on a Saturday night: you’re at the club. 10 pm on a Saturday night: I’m at home listening to my future wife explain yuri manga to me. We are not the same!03 May 2026 04:59 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkweqgevps2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/melwoods.me/post/3mkvfjyig7s26The vibe of my Friday 9:30 p.m. showing of Devil Wears Prada 2 at the adults only theatre last night was ... wacky. Full theatre, and at one point a drunk girlie stood up, spilled her cocktail on her friend as she was trying to walk out, and yelled "never date an Australian!!"02 May 2026 19:40 +0000at://did:plc:s7e2pgitidbupzya3eujgz2c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkvfjyig7s26