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jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid
@jmcdaid.bsky.social
520 followers 530 following 460 posts
science fiction writer, folk/filk singer-songwriter, theatre critic, adjunct professor of media ecology. SFWA, ATCA. he/him johnmcdaid.bandcamp.com Opinions mine.
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jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 7h
Proverb 72 cannot believe we have come to this point, but here we are.
A sepia-toned card with a ghostly, spiderwebby organic scribbled half image all around the edges. All text is in an idiosyncratic handwritten font. At the top, the title, "New Proverbs of Hell," and at the bottom, the number 72. Proverb: "When someone shows you themselves taking a dump on America, believe tham." Exegesis: "Steinbeck said Americans considered themselves temporarily embarrassed millionaires. Today's desperate wannabes are all Ayn Rand's Special Little Boys, temporarily disempowered Kings of the World."
jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 19h
This is just to say

i have taken back
everything
i ever sent you
in the chat

and which
you were likely
quoting
in a story

Forgive me
you're not a journalist
so it's weird
just letting you know.
chrisgeidner.bsky.social Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 21h
This is actually a perfect meme.

Send this to anyone, at any time, for any reason!
By the way - everything I ever sent you is off record. You're not a journalist so it's weird saying that but just letting you know. 32m
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jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 1d
Latest review up at BroadwayWorld.
Review: WITCHING HOUR SOCIAL CLUB at Burbage Theatre Co
Horror, they say, is a mood rather than a genre. With the right twist, even a romcom can evoke fear and revulsion. And the Burbage Theatre's world premiere of James Lucey's 'Witching Hour Social Club'...
www.broadwayworld.com
jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 2d
The Times still assumes that it's "people in rooms" who make news and that "people in the street" don't. This is the new normal for institutions that depend on a Mad King's largesse for access to those rooms.
jeffjarvis.bsky.social Jeff (Gutenberg Parenthesis) Jarvis @jeffjarvis.bsky.social · 2d
Millions march against the fascism the #BrokenTimes is blind to. It now refuses to count their numbers and it muffles their voices in small, BTW headlines. This is not journalism.
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jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 2d
Karen and I went from the Portsmouth event up to Providence, and it was packed. Just about the most folx I've seen at the State House; the mall was full all the way down to Gaspee Street. We couldn't get close; here's the best shot I got of Rep. David Morales, one of the excellent speakers.
Two people stand in front of the RI Capitol dome in the distance; in a separate frame, a person stands at a microphone on marble steps.
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jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 3d
Big crowd at Turnpike Ave in Portsmouth. #NoKingsPortsmouthRI
Crowd with signs lines both sides of a road at the No Kings event in Portsmouth, Rhode Island
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jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 4d
And don't miss the ethereal jazz stylings of materiality and mimesis. Pack sunscreen, an N95, and your local legal aid number in Sharpie on your forearm.
jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 4d
And hey, who are those glowing blobs of protoplasm headlining Saturday night? Why it's Radioactive Shrimp with a blast of their high-energy hijinks (free dosimeters!) Sunday closes with The Colorable Claims, touring behind their smash debut album "Duty to Disclose."
1
jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 4d
Big fun this weekend at the Pirate Cove Music Fest! Friday’s Kavanaugh Stop brings their trademark agitpop, and we expect dancing in the pit. You know their moves from all those videos. We want to see that Portland hop.
A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands Kavanaugh Stop, Radioactive Shrimp, and The Colorable Claims. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters. Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu Cover image of an album titled "heptagon" by the band materiality and mimesis. It is a photo of a rusting bridge truss, shot from below, against a stark blue sky. Green paint peels from steel I-beams that meet in the center of the frame. Photo by John McDaid; no ai used.
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jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 5d
Proverb 71 reminds us that infosec matters. Don't make things easy.
A sepia-toned card with a ghostly, spiderwebby organic scribbled half image all around the edges. All text is in an idiosyncratic handwritten font. At the top, the title, "New Proverbs of Hell," and at the bottom, the number 71. Proverb: "Burners are cool." Exegesis: "A cheap phone is great for international travel and big weekend get-togethers. And hey, let's be careful out there."
jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 6d
A POEM ABOUT LINE BREAKS

Sometimes
it's just
where a line breaks
that makes
the words
meaningful
like this week i saw
a headline:
French crisis piles
which
sound terrible
until i read the next line
pressure on Macron
and i said
whew
that's much better.
jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 7d
Proverb 70 is calling all inflatable frogs, T-rex, unicorns...
A sepia-toned card with a ghostly, spiderwebby organic scribbled half image all around the edges. All text is in an idiosyncratic handwritten font. At the top, the title, "New Proverbs of Hell," and at the bottom, the number 70. Proverb: "No Kings" Exegesis: "See you Saturday."
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Reposted by jmcdaid
gtconway.bsky.social
George Conway 🇺🇸🚫👑🐸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 9d
Robert De Niro: “Now we have a would-be king — King Donald the First. Fuck that. I’m Robert De Niro and I’m asking you to stand up and be counted in the nationwide No Kings protest on October 18th”

👉👉 nokings.org
270 5.1K 16K
jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 10d
I've started re-recording a very old album that was part of the e-lit novel "Uncle Buddy's Phantom Funhouse." Here's the first bit. Photo by Adam Chinitz.
Genius Gone Insane, by John McDaid
track by John McDaid
johnmcdaid.bandcamp.com
jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 11d
Saturday’s Fog and Friction brings signature damp mysticism & flashbang percussion, while Sunday’s Metastable Precarity closes the fest with their avant-pop study in collapse, featuring the 17-minute crowd favorite “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius.” Bring sunscreen, Real ID, and the illusion of agency.
jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 11d
The gulls are unionizing and the dolphins paying off Big Oil for the extra real estate—it's festival time at Pirate Cove! Friday opens with Plenary Authority, touring behind their new album Faraday Cage, a dense weave of drone-metal harmonics and normalized compliance.
A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands Plenary Authority, Fog and Friction, and Metastable Precarity. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters. Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu Cover image of an album titled "Faraday Cage" by the band Plenary Authority. It is a low-angle shot taken at some type of protest, shot from behind two police officers, one with plastic handcuffs prominent on their belt. Between them is a crowd control fence, behind which we see a woman wearing glasses who looks at the camera. Photo by John McDaid, manipulated in Photoshop, assembled in Canva; no ai used.
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jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 12d
Proverb 69 would like to reframe resistance as an opportunity for solidarity, art, and joy.
A sepia-toned card with a ghostly, spiderwebby organic scribbled half image all around the edges. All text is in an idiosyncratic handwritten font. At the top, the title, "New Proverbs of Hell," and at the bottom, the number 69. Proverb: "The only way out is through." Exegesis: "Boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly, usw. Just keep swimming. Blahaj gotta Blahaj; no choice but to ride this strange torpedo, hooting and waving like Slim Pickens."
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jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 14d
Proverb 68 reminds us that the territory for today's culture wars is the soul of America.
A sepia-toned card with a ghostly, spiderwebby organic scribbled half image all around the edges. All text is in an idiosyncratic handwritten font. At the top, the title, "New Proverbs of Hell," and at the bottom, the number 68. Proverb: "Refuse finality, Embrace ambiguity" Exegesis: "Rigid belief is brittle and we live in a world of change. The Tao Te Ching nailed this one 2,500 years ago."
jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 15d
I'm right after him with my updated lyrics to "The Ballad of Alger Hiss."
Many thanks to Luce Cabral and the folx at Fall River Community Media who shoot for this show at the Sandywoods Open Mic, the best listening room around, hosted with style by the brilliant songwriter and guitarist Gary Fish.
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jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 15d
This whole show is great. I'm linking to their clip of singer-songwriter Jason Valcourt, who shares a delightful song about relationships being "built to be repaired." It's got an unhurried lyrical sensibility, a charming pastoral vibe, and the kind of fingerpicking i particularly dig.
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jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 15d
A folk/filk twofer! Michelle and Ed Siegal host "The Not So Far Apart Open Mic," featuring originals from local musicians. They've been doing this for a while (Episode 71!)
youtu.be/XQBqdIAkiBU?...
An image which is two frame grabs. Each shows a maie singer and guitar player at a microphone in front of a dark brown curtain. Jason Valcourt wears a brown t-shirt and holds a dark acoustic guitar; John McDaid wears a collared shirt and holds a light-toned acoustic guitar.
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jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 16d
Paper Mill Playhouse to see “Bull Durham” with music and lyrics by NESR instructor Susan Werner!
To people stand in front of a poster for the musical “Bull Durham.”
jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 18d
While I respect his decision, it's still a bummer. Neronha has been an impressive fighter as AG and and his team (and the coalition of AGs!) deserve massive props for taking it to the Trump administration in court. Having met and chatted with him a few times, he's also just a nice guy.
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jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 18d
PCMF: War-Ravaged Portland scorches Friday with apocalyptic folk-punk. Saturday’s Fat Generals cosplay brass-heavy chaos, and Sunday’s LLM Brachistochrone bends spacetime with algorithmic jazz. Plus: Snacksonomy and Faustian Prix Fixe, straight from the Venusberg Odeon.

Cover photo: John McDaid
A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands War-Ravaged Portland, The Fat Generals, and LLM Brachistochrone. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters. Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu Cover image of an album titled "LLM Brachistochrone." It is a photo shot directly into a curved reflecting surface, from some distance, in a public space. Multiple distorted reflections of people and sidewalk surround the shape of the central mirrored object, which has four lobes and a spherical area in the center which contains a tiny reflection of the entire scene. Photo by John McDaid, manipulated in Photoshop; no ai used.
jmcdaid.bsky.social
jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 19d
Yeah. I did. I meant qlippoth. I mean, tell me you don't look at some of these ghouls yammering at a presser and mutter "Gharab Tzerek."