Carlos Po
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helpimteaching.bsky.social
Carlos Po
@helpimteaching.bsky.social
2.7K followers 3K following 180 posts
Horror writer and science podcaster. Mainly I talk biology but subject to change!

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dio474

DisconcertingTales.wordpress.com
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helpimteaching.bsky.social
Excerpt from the introduction of “Killopolis”. Every day brings more and more inspiration.
Anyone taking on a government job with a certain level of responsibility would be treated as a soldier in wartime, in that they were legally allowed to be killed. There were restrictions to this. The person had to be a citizen of the same country and they had to prove that they acted alone. Targeting friends and family for any reason was also illegal. But it was a way for constituents to legally murder their politicians, and at that point the people wouldn’t have accepted anything else.
September 24, 2025 at 4:59 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
Here’s a segment from Killopolis: a world where it’s totally legal to kill your politicians.
“I mean, a community of people who want to kill people they disagree with, instead of engaging in civil discourse.” “Why not? It’s worked for the past 50 years.” ““Define ‘worked’. Everyone’s scared all the time. Civic projects abandoned, resources wasted. No one wants to step up to do anything because they’re scared they’ll get killed by some psycho!” Marlene seemed unfazed. “Good! Then it’s working great. Leaders shouldn’t want to lead. Leaders need to remember that they work for the people, not for themselves. And the best way to accomplish that, is by making it legal for the people to dispose of them. Would you like a brochure? It’s full of great resources and theory.”
September 21, 2025 at 1:09 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
My partner wrote this poem about her experience stimming as an autistic person. They were inspired by how the forces of nature relate to natural expressions of the human experience.

#disabledpoetry #queerpoets #actuallyautistic #poem #poetrysky #disabledpoets #lgbtqpoets
stimming, a poem by dreams and dogwoods Beam of lightning runs through my body Dousing the cascading river with a power One that carves away the most fastidious stone Or plateau soaring above fizzling rainbows Exploding and dancing on my fingertips As they are welcomed into the caress of my palms
September 13, 2025 at 9:23 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
#poem #poetrysky Here’s a poem my partner wrote about online work. Hope you all like it!
Unprofessional The ice burned through my flesh Unprofessionally Tighten my grip Unprofessionally Red skin Raw skin jotting notes down with every click Indoor frostbite Status on Circular indicator hanging around my head Technology stripping me down Glued to my seat Hot summer day Like skin peeling from my young body on the hot metal slide Leaving a piece of me as I go to write or sip tea I gripped the ice one more Water slipping through my fingers I grasped for the cold water, but it only spilled in my lap Seeping through my computer Nullifying the keyboard clicks Shattering my camera Pixelating Throwing myself into the screen nakedly Unprofessionally Cut my skin with a half-moon slice Unprofessionally Unprofessional The ice burned through my flesh Unprofessionally Tighten my grip Unprofessionally Red skin Raw skin jotting notes down with every click Indoor frostbite Status on Circular indicator hanging around my head Technology stripping me down Glued to my seat Hot summer day Like skin peeling from my young body on the hot metal slide Leaving a piece of me as I go to write or sip tea I gripped the ice one more Water slipping through my fingers I grasped for the cold water, but it only spilled in my lap Seeping through my computer Nullifying the keyboard clicks Shattering my camera Pixelating Throwing myself into the screen nakedly Unprofessionally Cut my skin with a half-moon slice Unprofessionally
September 7, 2025 at 6:32 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
April 8, 2025 at 8:59 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
#covid #kathyhochul #nyc
Putting on clown makeup NYC public health programs lost funding Confirmed measles cases Bird flu is shutting down markets Let's ban masks
April 7, 2025 at 8:08 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
“EPA administrator announces huge rollback of environmental regulations”

“Department of Education lays off nearly 50% of its workforce”
Captain’s Log: Efficiency Ejected the recreation module, they can talk to each other Slashed the research equipment, we know everything we need Disconnected the library, they’ll learn on the job Cut power to the temperature control, they can wear coats Removed the galley, they can eat paste Cut power to the farming module, they can eat algae Jettisoned the beds, they can sleep on the floor Ejected the colonists, they use too much power Perfect.
March 13, 2025 at 11:47 AM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
#psychology #scicomm Since you guys loved my social identity theory episode, ep 11 and hopefully my 100+ view special is on compliance techniques! Get the kids learning about artificial scarcity and door in the face early so they don’t get scammed
January 12, 2025 at 2:54 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
#poetrysky #poem learned a lot last night about the negative impacts on a country hosting the World Cup. Wrote this.
The World Cup runneth over with worker blood. A stadium of bone and sinew. 220 billion dollars, years of work, and 400 lives. Give me you tired, your poor, your huddled masses, and get them to finish this spectator box.
January 6, 2025 at 6:21 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
It’s a shame you’re so stubborn about your beliefs you won’t even read something from racism.org
January 4, 2025 at 5:09 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
Wrote a poem about a starship captain slashing the unnecessary, referring to no one in particular. #poetrysky #poem
Ejected the recreation module, they can talk to each other Slashed the research equipment, we know everything we need Disconnected the library, they’ll learn on the job Cut power to the temperature control, they can wear coats Removed the galley, they can eat paste Cut power to the farming module, they can eat algae Jettisoned the beds, they can sleep on the floor Ejected the colonists, they use too much power Perfect.
January 4, 2025 at 4:35 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
#poetrysky #poem I just learned about the Dancing Plague of 1518. Here
On the eve of New Years 2024, the people danced and danced some more. When the day came they found they couldn’t stop, then one by one they began to drop. The Dancing Plague was born again, when the clock counted down from ten. But 1518 paled before this new strain, because of phones, Wi-Fi, boats, and planes. the Dancing devoured the land and sky, and soon theere was no one to ask why.
January 3, 2025 at 4:32 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
#poetrysky #writersky #readersky saw light switch. Wrote a poem.
Three light switches in a row, each bigger than the last. The smallest turned off the city. Streetlights yawned, fancy hotel chandeliers passed out. The next shut off the country. Traffic lights and train signals took a nap. Operating theaters of darkness, flashlights snored softly. The last shut off the world. The stars excused themselves, the sun, moon, and Earth fell into a deep slumber.
December 29, 2024 at 1:19 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
Dishwasher saying to another I hate to break it to you kid but we’re all versed in esoteric wisdom and lore
December 27, 2024 at 3:09 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
#writingcommunity #writers #writersky #readersky NEURODIVERGENT opening scenes. Our cranky heroes save an anxious survivor from the once-neurotypical now-rabid Smilers. Beginning to think the allegory is a bit on the nose.
Damn, dude, you run fast. FRANK Fight or flight, I’m always in flight. MARA So that’s your out? Anxious? FRANK You got it. Thanks, by the way. Name’s Frank. ANN What the hell were you doing out there alone, dude? FRANK I’ve been travelling alone for the past week. DEREK Ah. So you want to die. FRANK Not quite. Well, yes, as much as all of us, but not like that. My group didn’t want to go with me, so I went on my own.
December 26, 2024 at 7:18 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
#writersky #writingcommunity #readers #readersky My joke YA idea I had in the shower. In a world where people with normal dopamine and serotonin function are turned into shambling husks by a parasite, an eclectic crew of misfits seek out a therapist who may hold answers.

I call it: NEURO-DIVERGENT.
MARA Well, they say the meek shall inherit the earth, right? ANN You call this inheriting? We’re eating out of tin cans in a pharmacy. Ann tosses her empty can off to the side. ANN Oh my god. I’m so sorry. I need to lay down. MARA Yeah, go, get some rest, Ann. Ann gets up and walks off to the corner with the bedrolls. DEREK (quietly) We’re all going to die here, aren’t we? Anyone who could do anything about this contagion-parasite-pathogen whatever is dead or worse, and all we’ve got now are the fuckups and the headcases.
December 26, 2024 at 4:36 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
#movies #moviesky something about “person in motorcycle beside person in horse” activates my monkey brain
Ghost rider in motorcycle and horse Rrr motorcycle and horse
December 25, 2024 at 11:11 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
Exectly! how I feel when I randomly have a thought like “what if aliens went fishing for HUMANS”
Rod Serling
December 25, 2024 at 6:39 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
The 60s seemed fun
I have evidence that this treatment emanates from the communist inspired approach known as group therapy. This brainwashing method encouraged these adolescents to freely discuss their personal life.
December 24, 2024 at 1:25 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
#booksky #readers #writersky #writers When the book is really good and then the author specifically mentions the woman he has spent an entire page describing is 17
SpongeBob looking disgusted
December 24, 2024 at 12:08 AM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
#booksky #readers #writersky #writers “The protagonist is a writer”
Obama awarding himself a medal
December 23, 2024 at 11:27 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
wordpress.com/post/disconc... how my cat felt when I had to take her out of the carrier for TSA #writingcommunity #writersky #horrorsky
I'm sure you've seen the endless news reports, bios, and the like. Our celebrity scientist astronauts got to the edge of the system no problem. This is where official sources diverge. The hairs on the astronaut's necks stiffened, and at command we could feel something was amiss. They requested to send out a camera probe. When the cameras came on, we all saw a billion eyes staring back at the craft, some maliciously, some with curiosity, but all with a total disregard for human life.
December 23, 2024 at 4:24 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
#horrorsky #writing #writersky #horror Definitely not based on anything. A man tries to assassinate an oil company CEO , but the plan grinds to a halt when the CEO turns out to be...less than human. I'll call this Disconcerting Tale, "Big Oil".
Tom looked at him quizzically and laughed. "Is this a joke?" Bart said nothing. "You're gonna kill me? Free the world from Big Oil like Robin Hood?" Tom seemed oddly defiant, like he had been expecting to be killed by a janitor at some point in his life. Bart sucked in air, shot Tom and the bullet struck him in the right shoulder. As Tom fell to the floor, Bart pressed the emergency button that would hold the elevator in place, ready to follow up with the fatal shot. But as he turned to Tom, he saw that the floor of the elevator was coated in a black, viscous substance. This same substance was seeping freely out of Tom's shoulder wound. "Crude oil," he said. "The stuff Excelion sells. I've had a storied career." Tom got to his feet. "You think you're the first person to try this?" He put his hands on Bart's shoulders and squeezed. It felt to Bart like a vice grip, and he dropped the gun. Crude oil bubbled inside Tom's mouth, and he spat some at Bart's face. "I wanted to hear you out, Bart. But now-now? You're gonna suffer."
December 16, 2024 at 6:40 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
#writersky #writingcommunity
A plucky band of characters tries to brave The Cat Dimension.
I woke up with a pounding headache, which Olga reassured me was normal the first time with this catnip. It had been the plant I saw when I was walking through the "forest", and apparently it was extra concentrated, which was how it could affect humans. I was also told my phone wouldn't be able to make calls, but I should save the battery so we could use it as a flashlight. Roger had been vaccuuming under his bed when he ended up here. It was good at scaring the bigger cats away, she explained, but the vaccuum didn't have much charge left, so they had been conserving it for emergencies. "Alright, let's get some food." "Your cat brought you here, didn't they?" "She did. I followed her under the bed-" Roger didn't let me finish the sentence. "I wonder, whether they bring you here because they think you'll like it and they love you, or if they bring you here because they know you'll hate it, and they hate you." For him, I could tell it was definitely the latter. "Don't freak her out, Roger," said Olga. She turned back to me. "This is our little slice of heaven. Get used to it." "Wait!" I protested. "Can't we just use the way I came in?" "It won't work," Olga replied. "The cats get you in, only the cats can get you out. Did you see your cat on the way here?" I hadn't.
December 13, 2024 at 7:32 PM
helpimteaching.bsky.social
Writing horror is like
a scientist will see a mouse and say put that beast in a situation
December 12, 2024 at 12:38 AM