This is the first issue of These Days in years that feels like an issue of These Days. This one is about ai, a thing you must be careful discussing because we are the basilisk; we are sensitive listeners on a good day. 

I took Lil Drew walking through Ottawa photographing ai art. Mainly clapboards for restaurants where condiments are king. On Sparks Street there is a mural of Canadian animals with human hands flashing peace signs and such, all in that rainbow-on-black house style. I planned to cut those up into a collage that would be the cover. But, you see—Lil Drew draws these mechs. And they're like, they're pretty cool guys.

The mural ftr combines ai art circa Ottawa 2026, intruding onShary Boyle's The Cave Painter. Stop killing street dogs. It's in the issue, along with more drawings by Drew and imitations of the machine by myself (Jeff).

Naturally Justin Million has 1 for us, this re: the Carrier Pigeon. You might be new here, so I'll fill you in on the history. These Days came out of a conversation with Million in March 2020 on what to do in lieu of performing. One of us quipped, "Quaren-zine?" and days later he, Lil Drew, 5 others and I published number 1. Props to Justin for connecting me with Esther Vincent, who contributed a short story about playing with analog tech. We're all feeling nostalgic.

Two other newcomers I'm proud to include are Gwen Aube (Missed Connections with Tall Girls) and Nicky Flowers (Dial-a-Pod). I discovered Aube c/o Discordia's rare uploads to YouTube, and made a point to see them at VerseFest 2026. It is exciting to be in the presence of a rockstar. Thanks to Eris (or was it Sire?) who put the word out among their fellow travellers and fished me a fellow member of the tribe with thrice the talent.

Nicky Flowers first wowed me with their Very Little News, a pocket-size newspaper they published monthly the past couple years. It featured slice of life and satirical articles, complete with horoscopes and comics sections. You can download back issues here. They  contributed a comic to These Days after I asked them to submit on main. You should ask people nicely for things—you may receive them! Anyways, you should sincerely dial (607) CALL-POD and listen to theirs and Meys' show.

This is issue 37, which if you're a superstitious (((type))) like me means I need to do another 17 of these. You can get this new one at HallowZine, Thanksgiving Sunday at the Glebe Community Centre (Ottawa) or c/o my Etsy. If you're writing very small poems, I think I'm going to try what Michael Casteels did for me and put out a handstamped issue. Wish me luck. Write me if you're writing.