Peter Counter, Nightmare Host
@peterbcounter.com
Spooky ace essay boy. Author of BE SCARED OF EVERYTHING (Invisible Publishing, 2020). HOW TO RESTORE A TIMELINE (House of Anansi, 2023). https://peterbcounter.com/
Pinned
Hi new followers!
I am a culture writer and memoirist based in Kingston, Ontario. I write about music, film, tv, technology, games, mental illness, and the occult. My essay collections contain my entire essence: BE SCARED OF EVERYTHING, and HOW TO RESTORE A TIMELINE.
I hope we can be friends.
I am a culture writer and memoirist based in Kingston, Ontario. I write about music, film, tv, technology, games, mental illness, and the occult. My essay collections contain my entire essence: BE SCARED OF EVERYTHING, and HOW TO RESTORE A TIMELINE.
I hope we can be friends.
a terrible feeling that not many authors talk about: signing the one copy of your book they have at your local book store and seeing it on the shelf every time you visit for like two years before it disappears during a post-holiday purge of the section it's in
February 9, 2026 at 6:18 PM
a terrible feeling that not many authors talk about: signing the one copy of your book they have at your local book store and seeing it on the shelf every time you visit for like two years before it disappears during a post-holiday purge of the section it's in
Reposted by Peter Counter, Nightmare Host
It’s cool that mass media has basically lost the ability to close read and create thoughtful work bc they fired everyone who can and replaced them with brain wormed pundits
February 9, 2026 at 1:19 PM
It’s cool that mass media has basically lost the ability to close read and create thoughtful work bc they fired everyone who can and replaced them with brain wormed pundits
Reposted by Peter Counter, Nightmare Host
multi-decade subtext recession, no end in sight
the general media's reaction to both musical performances at the Super Bowl is an indictment of what is lost when every major outlet gets rid of all the culture writers who know what symbolism is
February 9, 2026 at 1:22 PM
multi-decade subtext recession, no end in sight
Reposted by Peter Counter, Nightmare Host
generative AI &
semaglutide abuse &
sports betting &
crypto apps
semaglutide abuse &
sports betting &
crypto apps
February 8, 2026 at 10:52 PM
generative AI &
semaglutide abuse &
sports betting &
crypto apps
semaglutide abuse &
sports betting &
crypto apps
Reposted by Peter Counter, Nightmare Host
No Kings includes Draft Kings
February 8, 2026 at 11:49 PM
No Kings includes Draft Kings
generative AI &
semaglutide abuse &
sports betting &
crypto apps
semaglutide abuse &
sports betting &
crypto apps
February 8, 2026 at 10:52 PM
generative AI &
semaglutide abuse &
sports betting &
crypto apps
semaglutide abuse &
sports betting &
crypto apps
If you don't want to make art, I have good news: you don't have to make art. The only guaranteed reward is that you get to be an artist.
But if you want to be an artist, I have bad news: you have to make art.
But if you want to be an artist, I have bad news: you have to make art.
February 8, 2026 at 7:50 PM
If you don't want to make art, I have good news: you don't have to make art. The only guaranteed reward is that you get to be an artist.
But if you want to be an artist, I have bad news: you have to make art.
But if you want to be an artist, I have bad news: you have to make art.
Oh god, this again. Look, the AI-user as an author debate is boring and solved. If you use generative AI to make slop and then frame it as your own art you are:
a. a loser
b. misunderstanding the core ideas of art in service to the core ideas of commercial product
c. forfeiting the respect of peers
a. a loser
b. misunderstanding the core ideas of art in service to the core ideas of commercial product
c. forfeiting the respect of peers
February 8, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Oh god, this again. Look, the AI-user as an author debate is boring and solved. If you use generative AI to make slop and then frame it as your own art you are:
a. a loser
b. misunderstanding the core ideas of art in service to the core ideas of commercial product
c. forfeiting the respect of peers
a. a loser
b. misunderstanding the core ideas of art in service to the core ideas of commercial product
c. forfeiting the respect of peers
I regret to inform you that I am now a curling girlie.
February 8, 2026 at 2:14 PM
I regret to inform you that I am now a curling girlie.
Wait, there's "anti-AI is artistic gatekeeping" discourse happening?
February 7, 2026 at 1:02 AM
Wait, there's "anti-AI is artistic gatekeeping" discourse happening?
the next book has an essay about The White Stripes
February 6, 2026 at 10:57 PM
the next book has an essay about The White Stripes
Reposted by Peter Counter, Nightmare Host
His name has already come up but @peterbcounter.com. He feels like a kindred spirit! Read him.
February 6, 2026 at 8:20 PM
His name has already come up but @peterbcounter.com. He feels like a kindred spirit! Read him.
Reposted by Peter Counter, Nightmare Host
Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”
It Turns Out Waymos Are Being Controlled by Workers in the Philippines
During a Congressional hearing, Waymo's chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña, was grilled over the company's reliance on overseas workers.
futurism.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”
Reposted by Peter Counter, Nightmare Host
No look we are not doing a rehabilitation of Stephen Harper, ffs.
We have to have higher standards than 'Not as far right as Trump or PP' and Harper's policies did a lot of damage.
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
We have to have higher standards than 'Not as far right as Trump or PP' and Harper's policies did a lot of damage.
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
20 years after his first election win, Stephen Harper steps back into the spotlight | CBC News
After a decade at the top of the Canadian political pyramid, former prime minister Stephen Harper largely retreated from public life after his election loss in 2015. Now, the country's 22nd prime mini...
www.cbc.ca
February 6, 2026 at 12:32 PM
No look we are not doing a rehabilitation of Stephen Harper, ffs.
We have to have higher standards than 'Not as far right as Trump or PP' and Harper's policies did a lot of damage.
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
We have to have higher standards than 'Not as far right as Trump or PP' and Harper's policies did a lot of damage.
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
Reposted by Peter Counter, Nightmare Host
Reposted by Peter Counter, Nightmare Host
Catherine O'Hara on Jiminy Glick. She's just firing stuff at him left and right. She makes up a negative review he wrote about her!
Jiminy Glick Interviews Catherine O'Hara
YouTube video by Jiminy Glick
www.youtube.com
February 5, 2026 at 10:10 PM
Catherine O'Hara on Jiminy Glick. She's just firing stuff at him left and right. She makes up a negative review he wrote about her!
the next book has an essay about Homestar
February 5, 2026 at 10:33 PM
the next book has an essay about Homestar
Reposted by Peter Counter, Nightmare Host
Also BWAHAHAHA I was v. suspiciously like "Wait, why is CLOUDS back on the bestseller list" and... I am p. sure that one or more poor cursed high school or university classes have been assigned to read it 😭
I am sorry children
I have no influence on your instructors
I am sorry children
I have no influence on your instructors
Edmonton’s Bestselling Books for the week ending February 1, 2025! #ABbooks @audreysbooksyeg.bsky.social @magpiebooks.bsky.social @newestpress.bsky.social
February 5, 2026 at 10:01 PM
Also BWAHAHAHA I was v. suspiciously like "Wait, why is CLOUDS back on the bestseller list" and... I am p. sure that one or more poor cursed high school or university classes have been assigned to read it 😭
I am sorry children
I have no influence on your instructors
I am sorry children
I have no influence on your instructors
everyone talking about Markiplier is making me think we actually do live in a simulation
February 5, 2026 at 10:03 PM
everyone talking about Markiplier is making me think we actually do live in a simulation
Reposted by Peter Counter, Nightmare Host
The thing that bothers me so much about Carney's joke about greenlighting the Heated Rivalry show is that it furthers the narrative that it's a needle in a haystack. Anyone who reads Canadian books and watches Canadian film knows that we could have dozens more HRs with enough funding.
January 31, 2026 at 1:38 PM
The thing that bothers me so much about Carney's joke about greenlighting the Heated Rivalry show is that it furthers the narrative that it's a needle in a haystack. Anyone who reads Canadian books and watches Canadian film knows that we could have dozens more HRs with enough funding.
Reposted by Peter Counter, Nightmare Host
Here is my latest. Sylvain Charlebois, Canada's beloved commentator on the food industry, thinks that not giving us access to raw milk is communism.
noraloreto.substack.com/p/canadas-fo...
noraloreto.substack.com/p/canadas-fo...
Canada's Food Professor wants you to buy raw milk
Sylvain Charlebois drops his mask on far-right podcast
noraloreto.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Here is my latest. Sylvain Charlebois, Canada's beloved commentator on the food industry, thinks that not giving us access to raw milk is communism.
noraloreto.substack.com/p/canadas-fo...
noraloreto.substack.com/p/canadas-fo...
Reposted by Peter Counter, Nightmare Host
new writer on mothership.blog today!! beatrix kondo analyzes the dating sim critique that is Doki Doki Literature Club, and whether the game's critique is obvious enough for people who just see it as a horror game and not much more www.mothership.blog/monster-was-...
The monster was right
How Doki Doki Literature Club exposes dating sims as systems that punish female autonomy
www.mothership.blog
February 5, 2026 at 4:36 PM
new writer on mothership.blog today!! beatrix kondo analyzes the dating sim critique that is Doki Doki Literature Club, and whether the game's critique is obvious enough for people who just see it as a horror game and not much more www.mothership.blog/monster-was-...
In honour of opening the gates, quote tweet with a practical writer's craft tip.
I'll start:
Be purposeful with the individual words you choose for the beginnings and endings of chapters, paragraphs, and sentences. These words heavily influence the aesthetic of your writing.
I'll start:
Be purposeful with the individual words you choose for the beginnings and endings of chapters, paragraphs, and sentences. These words heavily influence the aesthetic of your writing.
Saw a cursed post from Threads scolding writers for somehow gatekeeping craft. While it's tempting to just ridicule this take, I guess there's a chance that some novice writers don't know about the hundreds of excellent writer's craft books. Here's my fav:
kingsbookstore.ca/item/cd4Cey4...
kingsbookstore.ca/item/cd4Cey4...
Writing Tools (10th Anniversary Edition) by Roy Peter Clark | King's Co-op Bookstore
A special 10th anniversary edition of Roy Peter Clark's bestselling guide to writing, featuring five bonus tools. Ten years ago, Roy Peter Clark, America's most influential writing teacher, whittled d...
kingsbookstore.ca
February 5, 2026 at 2:05 PM
In honour of opening the gates, quote tweet with a practical writer's craft tip.
I'll start:
Be purposeful with the individual words you choose for the beginnings and endings of chapters, paragraphs, and sentences. These words heavily influence the aesthetic of your writing.
I'll start:
Be purposeful with the individual words you choose for the beginnings and endings of chapters, paragraphs, and sentences. These words heavily influence the aesthetic of your writing.
Saw a cursed post from Threads scolding writers for somehow gatekeeping craft. While it's tempting to just ridicule this take, I guess there's a chance that some novice writers don't know about the hundreds of excellent writer's craft books. Here's my fav:
kingsbookstore.ca/item/cd4Cey4...
kingsbookstore.ca/item/cd4Cey4...
Writing Tools (10th Anniversary Edition) by Roy Peter Clark | King's Co-op Bookstore
A special 10th anniversary edition of Roy Peter Clark's bestselling guide to writing, featuring five bonus tools. Ten years ago, Roy Peter Clark, America's most influential writing teacher, whittled d...
kingsbookstore.ca
February 5, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Saw a cursed post from Threads scolding writers for somehow gatekeeping craft. While it's tempting to just ridicule this take, I guess there's a chance that some novice writers don't know about the hundreds of excellent writer's craft books. Here's my fav:
kingsbookstore.ca/item/cd4Cey4...
kingsbookstore.ca/item/cd4Cey4...
Reposted by Peter Counter, Nightmare Host
I don't think its as easy as "Bluesky has cooked peoples brains", but I do often worry that existing for as long as we have within this kind of text based ecosystem has really done a lot of damage to how people interact with total strangers.
February 5, 2026 at 12:24 PM
I don't think its as easy as "Bluesky has cooked peoples brains", but I do often worry that existing for as long as we have within this kind of text based ecosystem has really done a lot of damage to how people interact with total strangers.