Welcome to Galaxy Brain #29, the Obsession Edition.

I chose the theme “obsession” for my stint as guest editor because 1) I reasoned that it might inspire contributors to look at and express profound things which they might not otherwise share, and 2) for me, obsessions are part and parcel of what Michael Murray was hoping to unearth in the pages of this magazine.

I knew him long before Galaxy Brain, you see. We were Ottawa-based writers and cultural observers of a kindred spirit. We enjoyed varied and deeply philosophical discussion about media, society, and fierce individuality.

From the outset, Michael saw Galaxy Brain as a safe haven away from what he felt was typically charged discourse and content online. In May of 2020, prior to launch, he described to me his vision of it thusly:

It is going to be primitive, like when the Internet first began, and there will be an arching nostalgia to it … The idea behind it is that it’s the place you go when you are sick of the repetitions of your social media feeds … There is a random quality to the posts and interests … Each thing you come upon is to be a surprise, like opening a little present.

Several months later, with the magazine live, Michael shared with me a draft of his script for a promotional video. It went deeper into the Galaxy Brain as “safe haven” theme, and it closed with a promise of the personal freedom to be found through brave examination of essence, cracked open during the “holy moments” in our lives:

Stop the Doom Scrolling. 

You search and search and search, and all you find are the things that make you scared and furious. 

No more of that. 

You can only read about how the Murder Hornets and Cannibal Rats are going to kill you so many times. 

Shake off the Covid gloom and become yourself again! 

Now, you must go to Galaxy Brain Magazine. Take that luminous part of you that exists beyond personality—your soul, if you will. Know that it is as bright and shining as any that has ever been. Bright as Shakespeare’s. Bright as Alex Baldwin’s. Bright as Mother Theresa’s. Clear away everything that keeps you separate from this luminous place. Galaxy Brain Magazine will meet you there. 

We will discover the holy moments in our lives, collect them like the treasures they are. 

We will experience them all, let them nourish us. 

You will feel better. Go. Do this. Go to the Galaxy Brain.

I think Michael would have agreed that whether they are dark and disturbing or fun and frivolous, our obsessions hold personal truth “beyond personality,” the kind of truth that nourishes us in the very way that Galaxy Brain does.

I hope you enjoy the edition.

Tony Martins

Gatineau, Quebec
March 2026