Johnny Profane Âû
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johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
Johnny Profane Âû
@johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
2.6K followers 990 following 620 posts
One Voice. Raw. Real. Fiercely Neurodivergent. Since 1953.

Podcast, YouTube, Newsletter.

Find Me on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/johnnyprofane1
Posts Replies Media Videos
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
I forgot the #alttext.

Here 'tis.
Black‑and‑white abstract illustration with frantic, gestural linework in a diagonal, vortex‑like composition. A suggested figure emerges in upper middle of a male in a hat, suit & tie. A dense dark tangle with a circular “eye” anchors the lower left; another dark ring with a faint face floats at upper right. Lighter scratched lines sweep through the center. The style is expressionist and reminiscent of Franz Kline and Cy Twombly, evoking sensory overload and inner psychological chaos.
December 9, 2025 at 12:55 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
never thought of the illustration possibilities til 2018. just the soothing, in the flow intensity of process

never thought of myself as an artist either. that was something special. done by special people with special secret powers. not me.

just another cool kids table i'd never get to sit at.
December 9, 2025 at 12:46 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
🧵
Well... I didn't see THAT coming. A few people had questions about this scribblecore image for "My Friend Billy."

So I thought I'd share it with the #alttext.

Ballpoint pen on paper. With glitchy digital wash.

Full spoken word piece:
open.substack.com/pub/johnnypr...
Black‑and‑white illustration of an old gravestone in a small rural cemetery. A tall, narrow 19th‑century headstone stands in the center, rounded at the top and slightly leaning, so it almost feels like a tired body rather than a simple marker. Any original inscription is worn away or not shown. On the left, a sugar maple tree frames the stone; its trunk and foliage are built from dense, scratchy ballpoint lines. In the upper right, a few smaller gravestones and another tree appear more faintly, suggesting the rest of the village graveyard.The whole image is drawn in restless pen strokes over a pale digital watercolor wash, so there are no flat whites—everything shivers with layered marks and soft gray tone. The technique echoes engraving or scratchboard, but with a looser, more anxious energy and automatic writing markings. Visually, it connects to the themes of “My Friend Billy”: a grave that is clearly old, yet still vibrantly present, like a memory that refuses to fade; grief that doesn’t resolve neatly; and the sense of a friend who remains upright and alive in the mind long after the body is gone.
December 9, 2025 at 12:39 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
About 400 or 500 in two different sites in Bedford, Indiana.

About 13,000 population.

Not bad.

#NoKings
October 18, 2025 at 9:29 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
Honestly, I hope for the best.

Fighting the fear.

Stay safe. Stay weird. Stay fierce.

#NoKingsInAmerica #Neurodivergent #ActuallAutistic
October 18, 2025 at 4:08 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
Caption anyone?

.
September 25, 2025 at 12:59 AM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
🧵
“There… there. that smudge in the sky.”

UFO Cult. Chooses Suicide. Thirty‑nine bodies in matching Nikes.

A short from a live reading—faith, grief, and what families do with impossible signs.

What do you think they saw in the sky?

#Autism #AutisticAdult #SpokenWord

1/2
September 20, 2025 at 9:53 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
How would YOU communicate thru a short-circuiting transistor radio?

Plain language becomes revolutionary.

My live piece explores dancing close to the edge of the noise.

#WritingCommunity #SpokenWord #ActuallyAutistic #ADHD #AuDHD #DisabilityPoetry #WriteSky #MentalHealth #Neurodivergent
September 9, 2025 at 7:32 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
From the Amazon book, “every clock is a handgun pointed at my head”, songs of autistic innocence… and experience.

#ActuallyAutistic #AutisticElder

a.co/d/gDD1tqb
September 5, 2025 at 11:43 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
From my upcoming collection - spoken word about one common autistic experience.

When you can't see faces clearly...

Yet still find human connection.

Full video: johnnyprofaneknapp.substack.com/p/living-tru...

#BookSky #AutisticAuthors #NeurodivergentWriters #ActuallyAutistic
September 4, 2025 at 1:37 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
Mental health includes handling neurological differences.

Like not processing faces. Even those of your loved ones.

Sharing my experience of human connection beyond surface recognition.

#BlueskyMentalHealthMatters #MentalHealthAdvocacy #NeurodivergentMentalHealth #MentalealthPoetry
September 4, 2025 at 1:35 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
How do you write about loving someone whose face you can't see?

When clinical terms fail to communicate, rhythm & rhyme fill the gap.

My live piece explores finding connection thru 'a swirl of flesh-colored fog.'

#WritingCommunity #SpokenWord #Poetry #DisabilityPoetry #WriteSky #MentalHealth
September 4, 2025 at 1:30 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
Not remembering faces isn't being 'bad with faces.'

It's navigating human connection through other senses. My live piece about loving someone you can't see.

Full video: johnnyprofaneknapp.substack.com/p/living-tru...

#Neurodivergent #Prosopagnosia #NeurodivergentCreatives #AutisticAdult
September 4, 2025 at 1:26 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
At 72, diagnosed autistic late, I wrote this about not seeing faces.

Something 36% of us navigate daily.

'A swirl of flesh-colored fog / That's my wife's face in dreams'

Full video: johnnyprofaneknapp.substack.com/p/living-tru...

#ActuallyAutistic #FaceBlindness #AutisticElders #LateDialgnosis
September 4, 2025 at 1:24 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
August 17, 2025 at 5:01 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
“every clock is a hand gun…,” Amazon Book Release 8/18

Subscribe now. aAll subscribers receive a free PDF with every word, every image. Paid subscribers support my work… and also receive a free printed copy.

#ActuallyAutistic #MentalHealthPoetry #DisabilityPoetry
August 15, 2025 at 9:43 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
What I would have told my autistic son...

In the alternate universe.

Where I had one. Cuz life went different.

Text in first alt text.
THAT SONG I’LL NEVER SING TO MY SON Like some angel With a dislocated shoulder Half f l y i n g H a l f falling Younger to older From the day I was born. Tumbling to earth Rushing up below Body on f i r e H e a r t aflame In s l o – m o , a horror picture show… To a silent piano score… Like that song I’ll never sing To my son. Like that song Like this song…. Don’t be a dick Real talk… It’s harder than you think… Listen up, listen up… Maybe… Don’t mask… protecting others Don’t please yourself Less than bosses & lovers… Hold up… Most of all… Don’t forget To have a kid Like you might Forget That call-in contest You just knew You could win Cuz you knew all the words…. Gimme a minute. I need a minute… Stay safe. Stay weird. Stay fierce. Like some angel Thrown outta heaven H a l f falling Half f l y i n g From what should’ve been… The day I was born. Like that song On that game show… That I’ll never sing… To that son I never had Hell, Like this song.
August 5, 2025 at 1:47 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
Going thru color conversion to CYMK. Not my favorite part. But last step before pub.

Front & back covers for "every clock is a handgun pointed at my head: Songs of Autistic Innocence... and Experience."

Coming at ya on Amazon... & free PDF to new subs.

Any minute now... time what a concept.

.
Complex image. I'll post alt text shortly. Complex image. I'll post alt text shortly
July 23, 2025 at 2:41 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
Going through color conversion to CYMK. Not my favorite part.

Front & back covers for "every clock is a handgun pointed at my head: Songs of Autistic Innocence... and Experience."

.
July 23, 2025 at 12:39 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
coming at ya. on Amazon. And as a gift to new subscribers. in a day or two... or three...

My autistic poetry... direct... layers .. but no hidden meanings.

#ActuallyAutistic
Digital book cover by Johnny Profane Âû, "every clock is a handgun pointed at my head." Textured background with scattered photographs and postcards in collage style. Title in typewriter font suggests urgency, anxiety. Clock imagery throughout reinforces time pressure themes. Images include vintage clocks, shadowy figures, "SUPERPOWER FREE ZONE" sign. Raw, authentic aesthetic reflects autistic experience poetry collection. Handwritten elements add personal, unpolished feel. Evokes memory fragments, time anxiety, lived neurodivergent reality. Digital tools included AI
July 8, 2025 at 11:54 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
July 1, 2025 at 1:29 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
Pictures. Thousand words. You connect the dots....

#NoKings
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Meme shows WD-40 can ad, with rolling tanks against a pink background. Text reads, "America's #1 choice for squeaky wheels!"
June 17, 2025 at 12:21 AM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
We don't need no stinking mentors.
Or coaches.
Self-help books.
Neurodivergent gurus.

We need to develop our own folk culture. That supports our needs. And pass it on to our children.

You know... like humans do.

#ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent #AutusmAtWork
Digital photo of street art mural on cream wall showing woman in dark clothing with raised fist, expressing defiance and resilience, holding a child's hand. Readable text includes '#IEP,' 'NEVER SURRENDER - 2PAC,' 'resilience,' '#JUSTBEREAL.' Stenciled crouching figure bottom left. Black railings foreground, green grass, school buildings background. Digital tools included AI.
June 12, 2025 at 12:32 AM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
I wrote this about LA & #NoKings just this Sunday. Shared my concerns...

But I'm more urgently concerned after military & court moves yesterday.

Please read or listen? Share with friends who might care?

johnnyprofaneknapp.substack.com/p/i-need-to-...
Text reads "I need to talk with you about events beyond autism today."
June 11, 2025 at 5:56 PM
johnnyprofane1.bsky.social
AI... & most non-autistics... notably caregivers & researchers... can only know published data about my internal experience.

This can lead to pain. From a kind of arrogance of false certainty.

I need your help to find words to express this.

open.substack.com/pub/johnnypr...
A surreal mechanical skull composed of colorful gears, clock parts, and intricate machinery in psychedelic colors of teal, purple, yellow and pink. Text overlay reads 'My Autism Is Surreal... Help Me Fight That?' with subtitle questioning research, media portrayals, and false certainty. The fragmented, time-distorted imagery represents the disconnect between clinical understanding and lived autistic experience.
May 23, 2025 at 4:38 PM