Worldcon trip report over on Medium.

Worldcon LA trip report

Filk concerts started at noon on Thursday, and I planned to get there for them, but Delta had other ideas. My connecting flight from…

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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.

Proud to have earned a positive rating on the Bodily Freedom Forever Index from the Womxn Project. While these issues may never explicitly come before the Council, I feel it’s important that Portsmouth voters know where I stand.

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

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.

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

"We recognized that sometimes its signature was written in pencil." — Canadian PM Mark Carney, on negotiations with the US. Worth reading his whole speech to get a perspective on what it's like to make a deal with Washington these days. NYT analysis in comment.

Read Mark Carney's full speech after trade talks with the U.S. collapsed | CBC News

Below are Prime Minister Mark Carney's remarks after Canada suspended trade talks with the U.S. and the Trump administration imposed new 50 per cent tariffs:

cbc.ca

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

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

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.

Portsmouth Times story on last week's Town Council meeting. The line at the podium all opposed the Council participating in the hiring process (delegated by Charter to the town administrator.) Multiple letters to the editor, including one from Karen and I as former Charter Review committee members.

Council clash exposes charter divide in Portsmouth - EastBayRI.com

PORTSMOUTH — A proposed two-member town council advisory panel became the focus of a heated 75-minute debate last week, as the town administrator, one of the town’s co-solicitors and several …

eastbayri.com

Today's piece from Cory Doctorow is a particularly good analysis and framework for understanding AI at this moment.

We issued a statement on the Governor's temporary pause on ALPR camera installations: www.riaclu.org/news/aclu-of...

ACLU of RI Statement on Governor's Pause on ALPR Camera Installations - ACLU of Rhode Island

"In light of the many abuses of the Flock Safety ALPR system that have already been documented across the country, it cannot be overstated that safeguards need to be as protective as possible in…

riaclu.org

Nixon goes to China

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.

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

RAMP AGENT (Waving glowing orange ground-crew wands) Bring it left. Bring it left. Okay, you are clear to flee in abject terror.

Trump Said to Have Secretly Used Military Jet to Leave Turkey Amid Threats (Gift Article)

President Trump hid in an airport catering container and was taken to a military jet for a secret flight out of country after the NATO summit last month.

nytimes.com

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

Happy "Soft Rains" day! One of my favorite of Bradbury's. (h/t Lis for the link!)

There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury

The voice-clock sang, breakfast was ejected, but no doors slammed. The garage chimed and lifted its door to reveal the waiting car. The house sat alone in a city of rubble and…

short-stories.co

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.

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.

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.

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

Sort-of-new, sort-of-academic content. I gave a talk at the Media Ecology Association in 2024 on the musical "Kimberly Akimbo." With the show now getting its UK premiere — at Hampstead Theatre this autumn — I've turned that talk into annotated slides. The pitch: 1/2

Limited run worth the trip to your local multiplex. The leads are top-notch performers -- DeShields, Gray, Page, Noblezada, and Carney reprising their Broadway roles, and they are a delight. If you saw it on Broadway, it's worth revisiting, and if you've never seen the show, you are in for a treat.

Bleecker Street

HADESTOWN: THE MUSICAL In Theaters July 24, The live theater capture of the hit musical Hadestown, Directed by Brett Sullivan and Starring Reeve Carney, André De Shields, Amber Gray, Eva Noblezada, Pa...

bleeckerstreetmedia.com

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.

Happy birthday Marshall McLuhan. Been meaning to record this. Seemed like a good occasion. Enjoy.

The Ballad of Marshall McLuhan (demo), by John McDaid

track by John McDaid

johnmcdaid.bandcamp.com

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.

Dave Carter's days between, July 19 through their Aug 13 birthday, come round every year, and we pause, and remember. And maybe say thanks to the universe for this sweet time we have to be alive, the music we get to hear, and Dave. Here's my favorite. Forest of light. Forest of light.

The Mountain, by Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer

from the album Tanglewood Tree

tracygrammermusic.bandcamp.com

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