John Semley
@johnsemley3000.bsky.social
writer and researcher, covering books, films, and psychoactivity, in no particular order. a pocket full of spare change and anger unlimited.
Reposted by John Semley
Getting out ahead of tomorrow
February 7, 2026 at 10:22 PM
Getting out ahead of tomorrow
Reposted by John Semley
Great review of another documentary out now…
“A key text in understanding one of the most flagrant in-your-face cons ever perpetrated”
Yes THAT documentary!! Nice writing from @johnsemley3000.bsky.social
newrepublic.com/article/2058...
“A key text in understanding one of the most flagrant in-your-face cons ever perpetrated”
Yes THAT documentary!! Nice writing from @johnsemley3000.bsky.social
newrepublic.com/article/2058...
February 7, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Great review of another documentary out now…
“A key text in understanding one of the most flagrant in-your-face cons ever perpetrated”
Yes THAT documentary!! Nice writing from @johnsemley3000.bsky.social
newrepublic.com/article/2058...
“A key text in understanding one of the most flagrant in-your-face cons ever perpetrated”
Yes THAT documentary!! Nice writing from @johnsemley3000.bsky.social
newrepublic.com/article/2058...
Reposted by John Semley
Catherine O’Hara based her characters on family members and people she saw riding the bus
#Opinion from @johnsemley3000.bsky.social
#Opinion from @johnsemley3000.bsky.social
John Semley: Catherine O’Hara based her characters on family members and people she saw riding the bus
The late Toronto actress and comedian took a character that was a little one-note on the page and breathed new dimensions into it.
www.thestar.com
February 7, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Catherine O’Hara based her characters on family members and people she saw riding the bus
#Opinion from @johnsemley3000.bsky.social
#Opinion from @johnsemley3000.bsky.social
Some thoughts on Catherine O’Hara’s comedy, and her ability to straddle the line between madness and vacuity. For @thestar.com. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
John Semley: Catherine O’Hara based her characters on family members and people she saw riding the bus
Catherine O'Hara took a character that was a little one-note on the page and breathed new dimensions into it.
www.thestar.com
February 7, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Some thoughts on Catherine O’Hara’s comedy, and her ability to straddle the line between madness and vacuity. For @thestar.com. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Reposted by John Semley
I wrote about why nobody is actually going to boycott the Super Bowl, for the @thestar.com. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
John Semley: Super Bowl fans, it’s time to speak a new language at the halftime show
Conservatives intend to boycott the entertainment - too bad, learning about something new is half the fun
www.thestar.com
February 6, 2026 at 1:56 PM
I wrote about why nobody is actually going to boycott the Super Bowl, for the @thestar.com. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
I wrote about why nobody is actually going to boycott the Super Bowl, for the @thestar.com. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
John Semley: Super Bowl fans, it’s time to speak a new language at the halftime show
Conservatives intend to boycott the entertainment - too bad, learning about something new is half the fun
www.thestar.com
February 6, 2026 at 1:56 PM
I wrote about why nobody is actually going to boycott the Super Bowl, for the @thestar.com. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Reposted by John Semley
If septuagenarian Johnny Lucas doesn’t like living in a growing city, *he* should move to Cornwall.
"Maybe the city's full" says the man living in a 2.7 million dollar house on Palmerston, while sipping $170 scotch after defeating a multiplex proposal across the street.
www.pressreader.com/canada/toron...
www.pressreader.com/canada/toron...
February 5, 2026 at 6:27 PM
If septuagenarian Johnny Lucas doesn’t like living in a growing city, *he* should move to Cornwall.
Hello! I was honored to contribute a critical essay to the new Vinegar Syndrome (@vinsyn.bsky.social) release of Radu Jude’s singular satire BAD LUCK BANGING, OR LOONY PORN. Order your copy today! vinegarsyndrome.com/products/bad...
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn
2026 Subscribers: This is NOT included in your Subscription. If you'd like to purchase it, you will need to login to view your special 50% off SRP pricing.
This special limited edition spot gloss slip
vinegarsyndrome.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:54 PM
Hello! I was honored to contribute a critical essay to the new Vinegar Syndrome (@vinsyn.bsky.social) release of Radu Jude’s singular satire BAD LUCK BANGING, OR LOONY PORN. Order your copy today! vinegarsyndrome.com/products/bad...
I sort of reject this premise. I get that she “got her flowers” with SCHITT’S, but she was already hugely ubiquitous in the 90s/2000s. and she was never better than in the Guest movies, which rivalled SCTV as a canvas for her talents.
O’Hara was incredible forever, on SCTV, the Christopher Guest movies, Beetlejuice, Home Alone, etc. But she didn’t become as famous as her talent warranted until her 60s. Suddenly it was like everyone caught up to her, and she could’ve worked forever. To have her taken away at this moment? No.
February 4, 2026 at 3:48 AM
I sort of reject this premise. I get that she “got her flowers” with SCHITT’S, but she was already hugely ubiquitous in the 90s/2000s. and she was never better than in the Guest movies, which rivalled SCTV as a canvas for her talents.
Reposted by John Semley
If Toronto stands any chance of solving the housing crisis, it will need multiplexes in residential neighbourhoods—a move that has many residents saying, “Anywhere but here!”
Street Fight: Inside the battle raging over Toronto multiplexes - Toronto Life
If this city stands any chance of solving the housing crisis, it will need multiplexes in residential neighbourhoods—a move that has many residents...
torontolife.com
February 3, 2026 at 4:48 PM
If Toronto stands any chance of solving the housing crisis, it will need multiplexes in residential neighbourhoods—a move that has many residents saying, “Anywhere but here!”
Mickey Mouse! When I was kid Quebec came within a HAIR of separating. This separatist movement is a joke!
Alberta - Support For Independence:
🔴 Remain: 71%
⚫️ Independence: 18%
🔵 Join The US: 5%
Leger / Jan 26, 2026 / n=1003 / Online
🔴 Remain: 71%
⚫️ Independence: 18%
🔵 Join The US: 5%
Leger / Jan 26, 2026 / n=1003 / Online
February 3, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Mickey Mouse! When I was kid Quebec came within a HAIR of separating. This separatist movement is a joke!
Imagine being the bobby on this patrol? Crikey....
BREAKING: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been formally reported to the police over allegations he was involved in the trafficking of a woman to the UK for sex in 2010
February 3, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Imagine being the bobby on this patrol? Crikey....
Reposted by John Semley
"That this is all playing out in the open, with such total brazenness, is another typical feature of Trump 2.0. It’s not just that this is some self-serving spectacle. It’s that it’s a bad, totally un-entertaining self-serving spectacle." newrepublic.com/article/2058...
Beneath the Stifling Boredom of Melania
Watching the most expensive documentary ever made while the American experiment falls to pieces.
newrepublic.com
February 3, 2026 at 3:24 PM
"That this is all playing out in the open, with such total brazenness, is another typical feature of Trump 2.0. It’s not just that this is some self-serving spectacle. It’s that it’s a bad, totally un-entertaining self-serving spectacle." newrepublic.com/article/2058...
Some thoughts on a new film that is taking the box office by storm: MELANIA. To paraphrase Sontag, at least fascism used to fascinate! For the @newrepublic.com. newrepublic.com/article/2058...
Beneath the Stifling Boredom of Melania
Watching the most expensive documentary ever made while the American experiment falls to pieces.
newrepublic.com
February 3, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Some thoughts on a new film that is taking the box office by storm: MELANIA. To paraphrase Sontag, at least fascism used to fascinate! For the @newrepublic.com. newrepublic.com/article/2058...
I’ve sold two old Sabres jerseys on Poshmark in 48 hours. The hype is real. All bandwagoners welcome.
February 2, 2026 at 2:51 AM
I’ve sold two old Sabres jerseys on Poshmark in 48 hours. The hype is real. All bandwagoners welcome.
Reposted by John Semley
BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting
The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...
www.propublica.org
February 1, 2026 at 9:10 PM
BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
I spoke with Catherine O'Hara extensively for this @torontolifemag.bsky.social oral history of SCTV. some great insights: particularly about the Toronto players not being "literary" and basic all their characters on dumb family members or people they saw on the TTC. torontolife.com/culture/unto...
Untold stories from the early years of Second City, the group that changed comedy - Toronto Life
An oral history featuring Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Rick Moranis, and more
torontolife.com
February 1, 2026 at 7:20 PM
I spoke with Catherine O'Hara extensively for this @torontolifemag.bsky.social oral history of SCTV. some great insights: particularly about the Toronto players not being "literary" and basic all their characters on dumb family members or people they saw on the TTC. torontolife.com/culture/unto...
A cultural history of the so-called "litbro." By: me!
The notoriously challenging book is being re-released for its 30th anniversary. Its fandom is annoying, sure—but at least they read. www.wired.com/story/infini...
'Infinite Jest' Is Back. Maybe Litbros Should Be, Too
The notoriously challenging book is being re-released for its 30th anniversary. Its fandom is annoying, sure—but at least they read.
www.wired.com
January 31, 2026 at 10:36 PM
A cultural history of the so-called "litbro." By: me!
Reposted by John Semley
The notoriously challenging book is being re-released for its 30th anniversary. Its fandom is annoying, sure—but at least they read. www.wired.com/story/infini...
'Infinite Jest' Is Back. Maybe Litbros Should Be, Too
The notoriously challenging book is being re-released for its 30th anniversary. Its fandom is annoying, sure—but at least they read.
www.wired.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:53 PM
The notoriously challenging book is being re-released for its 30th anniversary. Its fandom is annoying, sure—but at least they read. www.wired.com/story/infini...
Reposted by John Semley
This piece by @johnsemley3000.bsky.social is really good on the roots of SCTV. A well worth it long read.
torontolife.com/culture/unto...
torontolife.com/culture/unto...
Untold stories from the early years of Second City, the group that changed comedy - Toronto Life
An oral history featuring Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Rick Moranis, and more
torontolife.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:34 PM
This piece by @johnsemley3000.bsky.social is really good on the roots of SCTV. A well worth it long read.
torontolife.com/culture/unto...
torontolife.com/culture/unto...
RIP Catherine O’Hara. One of the funniest people ever, on the basis of Waiting Foe Guffman alone. Interviewed her a few times and she was always exceptionally kind, and a very easy laugh.
January 30, 2026 at 7:05 PM
RIP Catherine O’Hara. One of the funniest people ever, on the basis of Waiting Foe Guffman alone. Interviewed her a few times and she was always exceptionally kind, and a very easy laugh.
Reposted by John Semley
Here @johnsemley3000.bsky.social revisits Infinite Jest and makes a case for bringing back the litbros: www.wired.com/story/infini...
'Infinite Jest' Is Back. Maybe Litbros Should Be, Too
The notoriously challenging book is being re-released for its 30th anniversary. Its fandom is annoying, sure—but at least they read.
www.wired.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:59 PM
Here @johnsemley3000.bsky.social revisits Infinite Jest and makes a case for bringing back the litbros: www.wired.com/story/infini...
INFINITE JEST is back in the news, baby! And so, I wonder, in an age of nosediving fiction consumption, "performative reading," and "post-literate" culture: can the dreaded litbro be redeemed? For @wired.com . www.wired.com/story/infini...
'Infinite Jest' Is Back. Maybe Litbros Should Be, Too
The notoriously challenging book is being re-released for its 30th anniversary. Its fandom is annoying, sure—but at least they read.
www.wired.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:32 PM
INFINITE JEST is back in the news, baby! And so, I wonder, in an age of nosediving fiction consumption, "performative reading," and "post-literate" culture: can the dreaded litbro be redeemed? For @wired.com . www.wired.com/story/infini...
New for @wired.com: a new study shows that microdosing LSD may be less effective for treating major depression than a cup of coffee. What does the research tell us about low-dose psychedelic use? And about the misunderstood--and under-appreciated!--benefits of placebo? www.wired.com/story/microd...
Microdosing for Depression Appears to Work About as Well as Drinking Coffee
For years, people from CEOs to novelists have taken tiny amounts of psychedelics to support well-being. New research shows that benefits for depression may be attributable to a placebo effect.
www.wired.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:02 PM
New for @wired.com: a new study shows that microdosing LSD may be less effective for treating major depression than a cup of coffee. What does the research tell us about low-dose psychedelic use? And about the misunderstood--and under-appreciated!--benefits of placebo? www.wired.com/story/microd...