iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

The current Town Council has put nonpartisan elections on the ballot in November, which would remove party labels in local elections. Many people spoke thoughtfully and eloquently at the hearing tonight. Aaaand....I did a little show and tell.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Pirate Cove goes weapons hot. Friday, it's Cockpit Knife Fight, pulling 3.2 Gs in 7/8 time. Saturday belongs to Hegseth's Death Boner, set to be livestreamed. Sunday closes with Final Task of the Show, and you never know what they're gonna do. Also buzzing: Col Legno Battuto and The Lobster Trick.

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands Cockpit Knife Fight, Hegseth's Death Boner, and Final Task of the Show. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

PCMF is waaay above glideslope. Friday: The Furry Pilots, serving flight-deck plushcore. Saturday belongs to The President’s Ass Box, whose sonic fluctuations are guaranteed to astound. Sunday, it's Bear 89, Ketchikan's hottest folk quintet. Bring a third-class relic and a jar you're afraid to open.

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands The Furry Pilots, The President's Ass Box, and Bear 89. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

PCMF puts a few downrange: Friday, Snipers And Drones delivers precision threatcore from beyond this horizon. Saturday, Goatapult launches crwth-driven folk. Sunday, the bouba-kiki effect closes with synesthetic art-pop-pop-she-bop. Bring ear protection, a CharlieCard, and something plum-shaped.

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands Snipers And Drones, Goatapult, and the bouba-kiki effect. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

Square album cover showing an upside-down photograph of the Toronto skyline, with the CN Tower and Rogers Centre reflected in calm water. The image has a cool blue-gray palette and a slightly disorienting mirrored effect. In one corner, black lowercase text reads “the bouba-kiki effect,” and small white text along the opposite edge reads “last exit from owl creek bridge.” Unedited photo: John McDaid.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Kathy Mar, the wonderful writer, singer, and human, has passed on. Kathy radiated the radical hospitality that is the core of filk; to be in a circle with her was to feel utter unhesitating acceptance. Like all of our community, I am so sad today. Kathy's "Bamboo Wind" was the first filk 1/3

Cover of the album "Bamboo Wind" (2985) by Kathy Mar

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

PCMF gets up in your space: Friday, Elbows Up brings cross-check punk. Saturday, proxemic intrusion violates the buffer zone. Sunday, Gell-Mann Amnesia closes with media-theory pop you’ll forget you believed. Also: Gowanus Bouquet, Weil's Hermitian Form, and Trunnion. Bring room for one more chair.

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands Elbows Up, proxemic intrusion, and Gell-Mann Amnesia. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Last night's office at the Portsmouth Town Council candidate forum. Link to the Portsmouth Times story in first comment (may be paywalled).

View of the Portsmouth Middle School auditorium from the stage.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

So, hey, Portsmouth folx, should have posted this earlier, but we had family visiting this weekend. If you want to hear from all the Town Council candidates, the League of Women Voters is holding their candidate forum tomorrow night at the Middle School. If you're around, fall on by.

CANDIDATES FORUM
Town Council Candidates Forum
Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Hear directly from the candidates before you vote in the November 3 election.
DATE & TIME
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 • 6:30 - 8:00 PM
LOCATION
Portsmouth Middle School
Little Theatre
MODERATOR
Scott Pickering
Publisher, East Bay Media Group
QUESTIONS FOR THE CANDIDATES? forms.gle/ne5UdKAQb3fJbr8t7
Submit your questions in advance
FREE & open to the public

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

PCMF's odd claims weekend: Friday, The Moon Is Ours brings lunar entitlement psychedelia. Saturday, RLM Harness bucks the reward model. Sunday, Itsy Bitsy Blood Clot closes with nursery-rhyme thrombocore. Also: Fate of the AMOC and France Is Bacon. Bring a vial of trinitite and the good mustard.

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands The Moon Is Ours, RLM Harness, and Itsy Bitsy Blood Clot. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Greeting primary voters with Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) at PHS were Portsmouth Democrats State Rep. Michelle McGaw (D-71), Karen McDaid (School Committee), Juan Carlos Payero (Town Council), John McDaid (candidate, Town Council). If you haven't voted, make a plan to get to the polls. Every vote counts!

A group stands outside the Portsmouth High School gym. State Rep. Michelle McGaw (D-71), Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Karen McDaid (School Committee), Juan Carlos Payero (Town Council), John McDaid (candidate, Town Council).

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

PCMF optimizes hidden states: Friday, Rabid Goat Yoga spreads zoonotic wellnesscore. Saturday, The Softmax Bottleneck collapses all melodies to three chords. Sunday, Chain Refoulement serves border-policy doom with no safe third country. Bring a thorny koan and a casserole dish you don’t need back.

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands Rabid Goat Yoga, The Softmax Bottleneck, and Chain Refoulement. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Met a couple of my heroes at Worldcon. I had a chance to tell David Gerrold how much his work — past and present — means to me (and get an autograph, because, yes, I am a fanboy.) And an all-too-brief chat with Gay and Joe Haldeman, reminiscing about swapping songs the week he taught at Clarion ‘93.

Cover of hardcover book, “The Trouble WIth Tribbles” autographed by David Gerrold

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

PCMF: Friday, Prodromal Scromiting brings warning-symptom emesiscore. Saturday, Roman Face Massage kneads cheekbones with imperial spa-rock. Sunday, The Theatre Kids close with tech-week maximalism. Also buzzing: Partisan Voting Index and The Veterinary Exorcists. Bring electrolytes and a pillowcase

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands Prodromal Scromiting, Roman Face Massage, and The Theatre Kids. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Sneak peek at an artifact from the current theatrical WIP, featuring gorgeous artwork by @baileychumas.bsky.social. If you're at Worldcon, I'll be showing this off.

A white-haired person wearing glasses holds a theatrical program for "Breakfast With Moloch."

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

It's that time. If you're in LA, fall on by.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Thatcher Harrison, a local guitar legend -- no, seriously -- returned from his Masters program at UWM for a sold-out concert at Rough Point on Friday evening. Harrison's eclectic approach to both performance and composition blends classical guitar with an invigorating mix of jazz, blues, 1/4

Guitarist Thatcher Harrison on stage at Rough Point; chatting with local musician Timmy May, program from his Puddingstone Music series concert.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

PCMF: Friday, Decoy Plane spins up diversioncore. Saturday, Collusive Litigation arrives fully briefed and mysteriously uncontested. Sunday, the invisible watermarks sling slamming provenance-pop hooks. Bring a jug of mRNA, a certified copy of Ayn Rand's death certificate, and a foam Minecraft sword

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands Decoy Plane, Collusive Litigation, and the invisible watermarks. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Early voting starts today! Takes five minutes at Town Hall. It’s the primary, and there are no town contests, but be sure to cast your vote in the statewide races. Not gonna tell you who to vote for, just that every vote is gonna count, so make a plan and get to the polls.

A white-haired man in a blue shirt with an “I Voted” sticker stands in front of Portsmouth Town Hall.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

PCMF: Friday, Enshittify This! brings platform-collapse punk. Saturday, Compliance Glove extends a firm electric grip. Sunday, Mysterious Fastnachts closes with PDutch hauntwave. Also buzzy: Horseshoe Left and The Six Native UK Reptiles. Bring wax paper, a tuning fork, and an extra-long Torx T-15.

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands Enshittify This!, Compliance Glove, and Mysterious Fastnachts. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Last night at Portsmouth Town Hall, the Council voted to confirm the Town Administrator's pick for Finance Director — and a motion to create a Council subcommittee to insert itself into future hiring quietly died for lack of a second. Here's what that looked like from the floor. A line 1/4

A screenshot from a live-streamed public meeting in an official room. In the foreground, an older man with white hair, glasses, and a blue-and-white plaid short-sleeved shirt stands at a wooden podium, looking toward an unseen board or audience.

In the background, three people observe: a woman in a patterned blue-and-white dress and white cardigan standing near a multi-pane window, a man with glasses and a denim shirt holding papers, and a man in a patterned short-sleeved shirt.

A white semi-transparent text box overlay in the lower left reads:
"The Charter draws a line, and it draws it on purpose. Selection is the Administrator's job. Approval is yours. That structure isn't an accident — it's how a town keeps hiring about competence instead of politics."

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

PCMF peels back the layers: Friday, Jacobian Lens brings silent-thought math rock. Saturday, The Content Creators monetize recursioncore. Sunday, Shadermaxxing renders high-poly glam at unsafe resolution. Also: The Stupidest Timeline and The AI Moats. Bring a laminar flow hood and a decent nectarine

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands Jacobian Lens, The Content Creators, and Shadermaxxing. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

At least two people have made a joke about me being number six on the Portsmouth ballot in November. So...I made a meme. No AI, just photoshop.

An image featuring a portrait of a person with fair skin, white hair, and glasses, wearing a plaid shirt and dark jacket with a button pin. The background shows the distinctive domed and pastel architecture of Portmeirion. Large white text overlaid across the lower portion of the image reads "Vote for Number 6".

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Ballot position lottery results for Portsmouth, RI. I am number six. In a race where you get seven votes, the only number that really matters is how far down the list you read. Go all the way to the bottom — the lottery put some very good candidates at 8 through 11.

A table titled "Ballot order in Portsmouth" displaying the candidate names, party affiliations, and ballot order numbers for the Town Council and School Committee races. The table rows are color-coded: pink for Republicans, light blue for Democrats, and white for Independents.
Town Council:
DAVID M GLEASON, Republican
LEONARD B KATZMAN, Democrat
SHARLENE MARIA PATTON, Republican
JUAN CARLOS PAYERO, Democrat
DAVID G REISE, Republican
JOHN G MCDAID, Democrat
KEITH E HAMILTON, Republican
JOHN MARK RYAN, Democrat
ALEXANDER LEWIS ROBERTS, Democrat
M CONLEY WAKE ZANI, Democrat
DAVID P FIORILLO, Democrat
MARY ANNE MCDOWELL, Independent
School Committee:
VALERIE ANNE SEVENEY, Democrat
TASHA MARIE MACGIBBON, Democrat
ISABELLE ALTMAN KELLY, Democrat
BRETT W FOX, Independent
At the bottom is a source URL linking to the Rhode Island Secretary of State website.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

PCMF is waiving the rules: Friday, The YOLO Caucus brings whip-count punk. Saturday, Telepylus Midnight unleashes Laestrygonian doomwave. Sunday, Bean Soup Theory closes with pantry cosmology. Also: AI Kill Switch and Chocolate Psyop. Bring a bronze helmet, a sealed amphora, and comfortable shoes.

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands The YOLO Caucus, Telepylus Midnight, and Bean Soup Theory. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Worldcon program is live! If you're in LA, fall on by.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

PCMF heads for the off-ramp: Friday, Flying Bribery Palace serves elevated griftcore. Saturday, dig the garage band grunge of The Seized Calipers. Sunday, Pinky Herman's chiptune opera "Diminished Capacity" is pure nightmare fuel. Bring a folding chair and light jacket in case it gets chilly later.

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands Count Binface, islamic republic of japan, and Yasak Bölge. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Last takeaway from my ELO presentation on LLMs and writing. For when the deck alone isn't quite enough, but a fifteen-minute video is too long; something scrollable and skimmable. Et voila. Annotation. It's not quite slides, it's not quite video, but it comes with a slice of cantaloupe at the end.

A screenshot of a presentation titled "Slide 35 Affordances and limits." The main focus is a framed box containing a numbered list from 1 to 6. The first three items are faded out and difficult to read, while items 4 through 6 are in solid black text.
Item 4 is titled "LLMs work by forward association," describing it as a snowball rolling down a hill and noting a Best Practice: "Don't expect song lyrics or crossword puzzles."
Item 5 is titled "Beware shiny, researchable objects," explaining that LLMs try to make sense of non-sequiturs and reach for handy metaphors, with a Best Practice to "Anticipate 'eager puppy fetching a stick'."
Item 6 is titled "Bring your own depth psychology," stating that LLMs have no "objet petit a" and cannot probe their own depths, with a Best Practice to "Look for rabbit holes that lead to gold mines."
Below the framed box is a partial paragraph of body text that expands on points four and five, ending abruptly after the words "Five: beware shiny,".

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Presenting at the Electronic Literature Organization conference was a blast. Judith Pintar and I did talks on AI and writing (Stuart Moulthrop was unable to attend, and Judith did a great job presenting his slides, a timely report back on undergrad versus grad student attitudes on LLMs.) 1/4

Presentation slide titled 'And there's a bunch of theory to make sense of all this' featuring photos and summaries of six theorists. Top right: speaker John McDaid on video. Theorists: 1. Marshall McLuhan (Understanding Media): medium as extension/auto-amputation of human sensorium; computer as nervous system extension. 2. Donna Haraway (Cyborg Manifesto): blurring of human and machine; no ontological separation. 3. Sherry Turkle (Alone Together): traits tricking humans into categorizing devices as 'alive enough' (relational, not biological). 4. Jacques Lacan (Four Fundamental Concepts of Psycho-analysis): 'objet petit a' as the cause of desire. 5. N. Katherine Hayles (How we became Posthuman): transcending the liberal humanist subject; intelligence relating to 'non conscious cognizers'. 6. Francesca Ferrando (Philosophical Posthumanism): humans must radically deconstruct the human as a fixed notion to 'osmose with the robot ontology.'

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

PCMF: On Friday, Passenger Sucked Out, serving up their decompression-core anthem, "Henry's Law". Saturday belongs to Slopulism, whose AI-rally griftwave album just went gold. Sunday, taste the rainbow with Interstellar Sugar. Free on the beach. Bring the thing that would make Greg most proud to own

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands Passenger Sucked Out, Slopulism, and Interstellar Sugar. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

PCMF deploys countermeasures: Friday, Count Binface brings municipal glam. Saturday, islamic republic of japan delivers alternate reality j-pop. Sunday, Yasak Bölge closes with *all* the stringed instruments. Also: Little Bobby Tables and AI Bidet. Bring sunscreen, rosin & a notarized cheeseburger.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

All our Portsmouth RI candidates have gotten enough signatures for their nomination papers, more than twice as many as we need. What amazing turnout. Thanks to everyone who stopped by one of our events! It was great having conversations with so many folx who are excited about moving the town forward

Screengrab from the RI Secretary of State web site showing the number of signatures for local Portsmouth candidates.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

PCMF: Friday, Humphrey’s Executor brings for-cause removalcore. Saturday, Angry Sports Parents unleashes fetid sideline ragewave. Sunday, Tungsten Threesome closes with Palm Beach griftcore. Also buzzing: Fulton County Mischief and alleged enemy of the state, Partisan Gaps In The Crosstabs. Spoot.

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands Humphrey's Executor, Angry Sports Parents, and Tungsten Threesome. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Posted the slides from my Media Ecology Association talk on LLMs over on my personal site. Of interest mostly to academics; obviously not complete without the verbal presentation. johnmcdaid.com/academic.html

A four-box matrix headlined "Historical and philosophical context (a crazy wall)" drawing connections among items bucketed into the history of non-conscious composition, the philosophy of text gene4ration, technology of text generation, and cultural representations of the non-conscious text.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Picked up my nomination papers at Town Hall. Now I need 50 signatures from registered Portsmouth voters to get on the ballot — signing isn't a vote for me, just a yes to putting my name on the list. Come find me at two local events: Sunday, July 5, 2–4 — Foodworks Monday, July 6, 7–9 — Ragged Island

John McDaid, white-haired and in a blue plaid shirt, smiles in a selfie outside Portsmouth Town Hall on a clear day. He holds a clipboard with a Democratic nomination paper — a pen clipped to the top, the signature lines still blank.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

The Media Ecology Association convention in Winnipeg was a fantastic weekend of papers and conversations. Everything from the typology of ghost towns to Northern Irish music videos to the cutting edge of generative AI,

A collage of images from the 2026 Media Ecology Association convention in Winnipeg.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

An “only at a Media Ecology” event, as (l-r) Jaqueline McLeod Rogers, William Buxton, Gary Genosko, and David Howes perform a reading from Buxton’s “Museum as Large-Room Pinball Machine,” a new book that recovers lost material from McLuhan’s 1967 Seminar at the Museum of the City of New York.

Four academics on a stage reading from manuscripts.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

PCMF this weekend: Friday, TSA Compliant Ranch launches precheck prairiecore. Saturday, Anticipated Delamination sheds with uncanny stealth metal. Sunday, Two Box Day closes with 9-piece nostalgia. Free on the beach. Bring very small rocks, a recent utility bill, and your second favorite pudding.

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands TSA Compliant Ranch, Anticipated Delamination, and Two Box Day. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

This afternoon’s office at the Media Ecology Association conference at the University of Winnipeg.

A computer screen at the front of an empty classroom with rows of long desks.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Today I filed papers to run for Portsmouth Town Council as a Democrat. I'm a third-generation Portsmouth resident — my grandparents bought our cottage in Island Park in 1925, and Karen and I raised our son Jack here. For nearly three decades I've given back to the town I love by 1/4

An older man with white hair and wire-rimmed glasses, wearing a navy blue blazer over a blue and white plaid shirt, sits at a desk looking at the camera with a slight smile. His hands rest on a clipboard holding a document titled "Declaration of Candidacy," and he is holding a pen as if preparing to sign or fill it out. The background shows an office setting with a computer monitor, a small patriotic gnome figurine, a United States Postal Service bin, and a corkboard decorated with red, white, and blue paper fans, a calendar, and a pennant that reads 'MY OFFICE MAKES VOTING HAPPEN'.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

If you can get to NY and have a taste for offbeat theatre, go see “I’m Almost There,” a powerful musical[?] written and performed by Todd Almond. Structured as an extended monologue at the piano that flows in and out of songs and recitative passages that defy synopsis, orbiting around 1/3

Poster shot from the Brooklyn Academy of Music production of “I’m Almost There” that depicts an off balance man dressed in black holding a coffee mug on a roof.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

PCMF: Friday, The Greenshoe Option drops prospectus-core surf funk. Saturday, Halfway to Gravy ladles out aspirational rouxwave; (don’t miss filk-inflected Wraith of Kahan's delicious covers!). Sunday, Walking on Lego closes with leather-clad barefoot pain-pop. Bring a Faraday pouch and algaecide.

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands The Greenshoe Option, Halfway to Gravy, and Walking on Lego. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Karen and I exchanging the vows we wrote, on the lawn of Albright College, 39 years ago today. We were the kind of theater kids who thought it perfectly natural to write our own, combine readings from the New Testament and Nietzsche, and ask our friends—not the minister—to pronounce us married.

A photograph of a bride and groom in white gown and morning coat, assisted by a woman and a man holding pages with the service, standing in front of a white arch decorated with flowers.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

PCMF: Friday, Birthday Cage Match brings overdecorated combatcore. Saturday, First Prong of Glossip delivers precedent-anxiety pop. Sunday, Steam Tractor Kills Five lays down folk-industrial force (with aeolipile!). Also, too: The Rubber Moment Illusion does mental diplopia experiments with hammers.

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands Birthday Cage Match, First Prong of Glossip, and Steam Tractor Kills Five. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Voting Rights in 2027. I’ll be back for the RI-VRA. #back4rivra

photographic image: person with white hair and glasses stares into the camera; over their shoulder is the Rhode Island State House. Text says "Voting Rights 2027. I'll be back for the RI-VRA #back4RIVRA"

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Proud of our Portsmouth Democratic town committee, one of the first to support Helena Foulkes for governor. WPRI political reporter Ted Nesi quoted our press release in his weekly column.

A screengrab from RI jouralist Ted Nesi's column "Nesi's Notes" at WPRI.com with the following text:
The unforced error came as the pace of endorsements in the gubernatorial race is quickening. Helena Foulkes banked two more this week, her second labor nod (from RIBCO, the correctional officers’ union) as well as one from the Portsmouth Democratic Town Committee.
“While it is unusual for a Democratic town committee to decline to support a sitting Democratic governor, members at the meeting spoke at length about persistent East Bay frustration with Governor Dan McKee’s handling of the Washington Bridge and RIDOT,” Portsmouth Dems Chairman Juan Carlos Payero said in a statement.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

PCMF: Friday, Stupid On Stilts hoicks up elevated weirdness. Saturday, The Happy Communists collectivize the dance floor with dialectical party-pop. Sunday, Gravesend Manhole plumbs the underworld of the municipal dreadcore. Also: Hairpin at the Gunks, Diagetic Web Apps, and runaway icehouse effect.

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands Stupid On Stilts, The Happy Communists, and Gravesend Manhole. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Catch-22 + 1984 = Brazil thehill.com/policy/defen...

Screen grab of a page from The Hill newspaper dated 06/01/26 showing the headline "Pentagon designates press office as off-limits to journalists"

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

PCMF: Friday, The Patio Snakes serve up porchadelic reptile zydeco. Saturday, Kaze no Denwa brings ethereal griefcore. Sunday, September Double Tap closes with their platinum debut "The Mozambique Technique." Free on the beach. Bring a thermos of antimatter and a signed durable healthcare proxy.

A colorful poster for a music festival headlined by the bands The Patio Snakes, Kaze no Denwa, and September Double Tap. If you like this sort of bite-sized absurdism, check out "A Year of Weekends," which collects all the 2024 band posters (2025 coming Real Soon Now). Free download pdf, https://bit.ly/AYOW24 Or, you can order a deluxe trade paperback at Lulu.com, https://bit.ly/AYOW_lulu

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Memorial Day, I remember Quartermaster John P. “Jack” Milley — my mom’s first husband — who received the Silver Star for actions during the Battle of Leyte Gulf aboard USS Heermann. Wounded and alone when a shell killed the rest of the bridge crew, he took the helm and kept the ship in the fight.

Two men in Naval dress uniform shake hands: JP Milley (left) receives Silver Star from Commodore J. T. Bottom, Jr., Ulithi, 1944. Image: United States Navy, "War history of the U.S.S. Heermann" (1946). World War Regimental Histories. 159.

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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Happy Birthday to the one and only Bob Dylan. I came to Dylan by way of folk music, caroming off Peter, Paul and Mary and discovering a shared word-nerd world of sf/theater/geek high school friends. What a time to be alive, to have been young and to drop the needle on the just-released albums (1/3)

Black and white photo of Bob Dylan staring at his hand.

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