iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Look, I speak as a 40-something midwestern college professor: it's September 30th and it's still too hot most days to wear a sportcoat on top of a long-sleeve dress shirt.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The only way for Ed Sheeran to salvage this is if he gets Ms. Rachel to open for him at Gillette Stadium.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

hmm, currently 559,000 people are ahead of me in line to buy tickets for Stevie Wonder at the United Center. Seems sketchy.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Lonnie Bunch turns 74 in two months. Right wing interference at the Smithsonian sucks, and I’m not optimistic about his successor being nearly as good as him, but I also think the man should be able to retire. He has run his leg of the relay!

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

This is my favorite of hers. The last song on her Grammy-winning record "New Moon Daughter." I mean, what else where you going to put after this? www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHbc...

youtube.com

Harvest Moon

YouTube video by Cassandra Wilson - Topic

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Introduce yourself with five artists you've seen at least twice Wilco/Jeff Tweedy Radiohead/Thom Yorke/The Smile Bob Dylan Stevie Wonder Lucinda Williams

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Put on a sport jacket this morning, since it's the first day of teaching for me. It feels kind of weird, like it's too tight, and then I figure out that I've got something thick in the interior chest pocket. What could it be? I don't remember. I reach inside and see that it's a packet of tissues.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

The thing about being snuck off in the catering truck is funny, but this is the real scandal.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Driving around the Dakotas and selling pianos out of the back of a truck to farm families. I would probably be pretty good at this, actually.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

My very uninformed take is that this seems reasonable. None of the likely candidates are from one of the early voting states, except Whitmer from MI (and I guess also Buttigieg). Decent demographic mix and geographic balance.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Ummm, I think I just got my settlement payment in the college price-fixing lawsuit. Might be going record shopping tomorrow.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Reminder that it is 88 degrees with a 75 degree dew point in Miami right now.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Chicago Valencia, Spain Wellington, NZ Pittsburgh New Orleans

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Reposted by John Paul Meyers

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 14/07/2026

This morning in Biddeford, Maine, a 26-year-old man said goodbye to his wife and daughter and left for work. Moments later he was dead, shot in the head by ICE agents, the second man ICE has killed in six days. ICE is killing our neighbors. ICE cannot be reformed. Abolish ICE.

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Reposted by John Paul Meyers

Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Abolish ICE. Really.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

We lost D'Angelo this year, but here is this utterly transcendent and joyous version of "Untitled (How Does it Feel)" from a concert exactly 11 years ago that I saw in Detroit. www.facebook.com/john.meyers....

facebook.com

Video

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

New Kacey Musgraves album is very enjoyable. This is my verdict from spending 48 hours in Texas. Nothing on it is as ear-catching as "Golden Hour," "Oh, What a World," or "Dinner with Friends," but 14 good songs. I appreciate the restraint in the production. (1/2)

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

My older sister graduated from a Fancy East Coast University in 1999, and they gave Alan Greenspan an honorary degree at commencement. He got a rapturous reception from the crowd of parents and families. Even at 16, I thought this was more than a bit weird.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Ye is performing on September 3 and 4th at Soldier Field. Or you could walk a mile north to Millennium Park and go to the Chicago Jazz Festival those nights and see some musicians who aren't antisemitic sexual harassers. Bill Charlap and Dee Dee Bridgewater on the 3rd, Robert Glasper on the 4th.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

19 year old kid on my flight was in the wrong row, messing up a family of 4 that was trying to sit together. He was nice and apologized profusely for it. Now he’s reading the hardcover edition of “Atomic Habits” and using a dollar bill as a bookmark. I’m kinda rooting for him.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

I just want to say that I think that I have assembled the correct linkage of zip ties to keep the loose plastic skid shield on the bottom of my Honda Fit from flapping in the breeze at highway speeds. One of those things that is stupidly expensive to replace, so I've been DIYing it for 3 years.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

I took my bikes for a few short turns around the block to check on some things and I'm thinking, "You know, it's 92 with a 75 degree dew point, but it doesn't feel so bad." And then I work on my bikes in my shed, with no air flow, for three minutes and I'm sweating a medium-size lake.

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Reposted by John Paul Meyers

Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦 @michaelhendricks.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

The ADA called the cops on attendees--one of them a former ADA president--for distributing reprints of an article pulblished in the ADA's flagship journal. "Failing to meet the moment" is starting to feel like the understatement of the century when it comes scientific organizations in the US.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Buenos Aires is not exactly the end of the world. It's a city of 3 million people with two international airports and six metro lines. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/w...

nytimes.com

Why Peter Thiel Is Decamping to the End of the World

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Introduce yourself with 10 bands/musician's you've seen live: Stevie Wonder Prince Herbie Hancock Aretha Franklin Chick Corea Paul McCartney Radiohead Bob Dylan Wilco U2

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

dark thoughts here, but what are the prediction markets saying about the canvas hack and outage?

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Look, uh, today might be a good day to sell some investments before the next round of manufactured crisis.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

are they miking the rim? It sounds so LOUD when they miss a shot. Also, can we get some more light? Looks like they're playing in my basement.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

I don't really know how this works, but someone is transmitting "One Wish" by Ray J to the Bluetooth speaker in my office.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

The Iranian government is brutal and authoritarian. There is also no possibility that a military campaign led by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu leads to a safer, freer, more properous future for the Iranian people. Impeach Donald Trump. Impeach Pete Hegseth.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

If only someone with a trash bag didn't walk by me several times during the course of a flight asking if I had any trash, including 15 minutes before landing.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Illini women get a ranked road win against the Huskies, 75-66! Let's get it done against Oregon on Wednesday.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

If Chris Rufo is criticizing your ethnic heritage, you’ve done something right.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

Feds can't be trusted to run this investigation. Arrest the shooter. ICE out of Minneapolis. ICE out of everywhere.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Oof. Good riddance to 2025. I'm still standing. I've got my wife, my family, my friends, my students, and my job. But a ton of other things in the world have gone to pieces. A lot easier to tear things down than build them back up, but that's going to be the task for the next phase of our lives.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

The gospel musician and composer Richard Smallwood has died at the age of 77. His song "Total Praise" is a modern gospel anthem, maybe THE modern gospel anthem. Shout out to the University of Illinois Black Chorus for singing this tune about every other concert. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVmw...

youtube.com

Total Praise (Live)

YouTube video by Richard Smallwood - Topic

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

love love love coming across ChatGPT-hallucinated sources in my undergrad research papers.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Just make Honda sell the Fit again in the US and we'll be good.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Look, I'm not big on self-promotion, but my book "Same Old Song: The Enduring Past in Popular Music" is 50% off today for Cyber Monday, with free shipping. In fact, everything from @upmississippi.bsky.social is 50% off! www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/S/Same...

upress.state.ms.us

Same Old Song

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

I wrote 6 pages on D'Angelo for my book, and I titled its last chapter after a line from his song "Back to the Future." To my ears, he was one of the most important artists, musically and politically, of the past 30 years.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

Second student has told me that I remind them of a particular stand-up comedian. It's the one I share some superficial age/race/demographics with (you can probably guess) but otherwise I look and sound nothing like him.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Bonkers disco-funk version of "Eres para mi" by Julieta Venegas, with orchestra. What a time to be alive! www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye3c...

youtube.com

Eres Para Mí (Sinfónico En Vivo)

YouTube video by Julieta Venegas - Topic

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Gearing up for a bunch more concerts in the next week. Hyde Park Jazz Festival this weekend, including Jason Moran doing a solo Ellington set. Back to Urbana for Nidia Gongora at the Krannert Center. Then back to Chicago for Makaya McCraven and Tom Skinner at Thalia Hall.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

My aunt, who is probably about 80 years old, has gone all in on the AI-generated Ch@-ie K!rk Facebook memes depicting him as some kind of Christian martyr/saint. I doubt if she had ever heard of him before last week. Yikes on bikes.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

I took "The Radical Tradition in America" taught by Eric Foner and "Intro to South Asian History and Culture" taught by Partha Chatterjee. Wild times at Columbia in the early 2000s. Absolute embarrassment of riches that I hope was not completely wasted on me.

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John Paul Meyers @johnpaulmeyers.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

Wednesday is National Hot Dog Day, but Devil Dawgs sent me a promo code for a free Chicago dog today--apparently they're going to have promos via email all week. I fucking love Chicago.

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