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markpaleo.bsky.social
Mark Paleologopoulos
@markpaleo.bsky.social
760 followers 670 following 2.9K posts
Nearly-retired IT Professional and Curmudgeon
Registered Independent Political Consultant
Wokester
Fashionista
Author of Riverwalking - a Young Adult Fantasy Adventure Buddy Comedy that would be perfect for a major motion picture
https://www.markpaleo.com/
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markpaleo.bsky.social
Mark Paleologopoulos @markpaleo.bsky.social · Jan 20
And so it begins. January 20th MLK Day 2025. Trump will be replaced by Vance due to advanced dementia via 25th Amendment by June 2026. #Resistance
Trump is a cancer. Resist. Resist. Resist.
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
jesseduquette.bsky.social
Those saying the attack on Ilhan Omar was “staged” are the same gullible dopes who actually think this moldering meat scarecrow took a bullet to the ear
January 28, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
brucespringsteen.net
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

Stay free
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen
youtu.be
January 28, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
jangoeswriting.bsky.social
From: ‘Just Stay Calm!’
Prompt: ‘Procrastinate’

#WiPSnips
The sounds of the night, the constant noise of traffic, the inevitable sirens, the occasional blazing rows that happened far more frequently than anyone would dare to expect, sometimes that she was involved in, were all utterly absent during that first night in Michelle’s new ‘home’ and it kept her up and staring into the darkness. Sometime around four in the morning, she managed to drift off, more due to being unable to keep her eyes open than anything else, and then the birds started. All the birds. Every single bird in the world had decided to sing outside her window. Then, around nine, when the birds had decided that the full production including dancers, full orchestra and tenor and soprano declaring their love for each other had started to diminish, she decided to stay in bed and procrastinate before getting up and seeing what the town could offer on a Sunday. Coffee being her primary objective. And to see if the game shop had Sunday opening hours and had possibly the one thing that could, almost certainly not save her life. Which was when someone knocked on her door. Which was a little odd because people had to go through the shop to get to that door, which could only mean … “It’s Fran.” The girl was a menace! A book reading, largely ambivalent menace.
January 28, 2026 at 9:17 AM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
thegodpodcast.com
Bless Ilhan Omar for standing up to these racists all these years!
January 28, 2026 at 3:27 AM
markpaleo.bsky.social
If I could write music, play an instrument and/or sing well, I'd be a rock star.
www.markpaleo.com/post/murder-...
MURDER ONE
When it’s good vs evil, they choose Murder One
www.markpaleo.com
January 27, 2026 at 10:19 PM
markpaleo.bsky.social
You know what I noticed? It's fing cold out.
January 27, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
authorgmacshane.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #RM #WriteSky #HistFic

Into the *storm* with man's best friend...
The hound ran to the door, eager for her to come. Unable to stand, she found it easiest to slide along the floor on one hip, dragging the injured leg behind her, repeating her instructions to Blue with every breath she took. “Take him home. Take Alec home. Don’t leave him. Take him home.” The hound was dancing in anticipation when she finally gained the door. The latch was too high for her to reach from the floor―she had to pull herself up, using the wall for support. She fell once, landed heavily on her elbow and cried out with the pain. She tried again and got the door open. The wind blew it wide, almost toppling her. But Blue flew out into the storm. It took every ounce of strength she had to close the door against the wind. She sank to the cold floor, bowed her head into her hands and cried.
January 27, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
tempestteapot.bsky.social
#WIPSnips #amquerying #writesky #epicfantasy 💙📚 🪐📚

From my Epic Fantasy novel Demon’s Bargain. Ambushed in an alley, the soldiers protecting the Tamrin children are outnumbered. Barely trained, Kahyla chooses to stand up and fight back.
The cries of a younger soldier, scrambling to crawl out from under the soldier that Niklos had skewered, jangled in disharmony. Choking and coughing on his own blood, the dying soldier rattled in his shattered armor. The sounds faded from notice as the squat Grath soldier locked eyes with her. Momentum carried her closer as his heavy sword bore down toward her chest. Muscle memory brought her arm up, defecting his sword, but the strength of the blow sent her stumbling against the cobblestone. His return swing aimed at Abber, skimming across her side and stomach. A flap of velvet fell open as the sword tip slid across the metal strips sewn into the boning channels of her bodice. A darker red stained her side where the boning stopped and the blade ripped flesh. With a hand pressed to her side, Abber fell against the plaza side of the crossing square. “Stay down,” said Despard. He placed his left hand on her shoulder as he charged around her, Kirrik’s sword in his right hand. Kahyla’s hand splashed in the clouded stormwater draining down the middle of the alley. Raising her head, she gasped for breath. At the end of the passage, an archer readied his next shot at Despard. Her hand closing on her rapier hilt, Kahyla pushed against the gritty cobblestones to stand. “You want a Tamrin, shoot me!” Kahyla yelled. The bow moved a few degrees and Kahyla dove to the ground. Pain tore across her back. Her hands brushed Despard’s boots, but failed to cushion her fall as her forehead hit the cobblestones. Her nose pressed into the river silt mud, smelling of decaying algae and sewage. While the archer nocked another arrow, Niklos sprinted. His first stroke knocked the bow aimed at his chest to the ground. His second opened the archer’s belly. Nausea sent Kahyla coughing bile into the alley’s drainage ditch.
January 27, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
tarasgeir.bsky.social
Rain rain go away. Channelling my sodden feet into this snip which involves too much rain courtesy of a storm! Grio thinks why it’s not the best idea to make a bargain with this particular god. #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity
Snip
January 27, 2026 at 11:20 AM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
pamelaelaela.bsky.social
Had quite a few instances of this word, thanks to a nickname my MC earns. This one’s from awfully close to the end, but what can I say, I love a little romance. Even when it’s complicated. Ah, young love. ☺️

#WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #AmQuerying
📚💙
A swell of music drifts out of the ballroom, the cello striking a mellow, wistful note that ambles toward us. Cyrus wordlessly offers his hand. I take it, a warm rush flooding my body as it folds against his. In the evening light, his eyes have the color and intensity of dark coffee. He smells like campfires and inky blackberries and the spruces where we walk together, and when our gazes collide, I am sure. I know what I feel, and I know what I see in his eyes—heat and desire and, yes, the bitter tang of uncertainty—but more than anything, there is longing. “You can tell me.” My eyes track back and forth between his as we sway. “Whatever’s holding you back. I want to know.” His quest over my face. “What do you think about promises, Storm Cloud?” I don’t understand. What will be the cost of my answer? No matter what I say, I suspect it’ll be painfully high. Finally, I reply. “I think they’re like cut flowers—prettiest when they’re new, ordinary when they die, small miracles when they endure.” His dimple flashes. “You and your poetry.” “Which you like to vandalize.” Our gazes snag. My fingers float to the back of his neck. “I found your drawing in my book, Cheap Shot.” His jaw ticks, but he says nothing.
January 27, 2026 at 12:46 PM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
nerdcactus.bsky.social
In which Beren makes the god of divine ecstasy sad. At least until he realizes he's sad and is then delighted by her ability to make him sad. Which gives Beren a headache. #WIPSnips #writingcommunity #writesky
“I’m used to being distrusted. But I didn’t expect it from you.” “From me?” Beren couldn’t bear his sadness. Guilt tore at her insides, punishing her for a sin she didn’t even realize she’d committed. “Why not me?” Frustration tugged at Dionysus. Beren could see it in the tension he held in his shoulders, in the sharp line of his jaw. She couldn’t keep up with the dizzying variety of his emotions, his reactions. He was everything all the time, dancing between them so rapidly and so deeply, she might go mad trying to keep up. It was all she could do to numb herself, to hold her head upright and focus on the things her limited mind could comprehend. The way the sun bounced off his curls, gold on black. The cool breeze brushing across the back of her neck, leaving goosebumps in its wake. Or was that just a reaction to Dionysus suddenly squeezing her hands, flesh like marble, unyielding and adamantine. He could break her if he wanted. Crush her like limestone if he squeezed too hard. How could he not understand? How could he not realize how dangerous he was? “You are one of mine.”
January 26, 2026 at 7:11 PM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
acturek.bsky.social
#fantasy #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WIPSnips #commit

Rushak and Lara stuck at an impasse.

- From Brother’s Keeper, first book of my fantasy WIP about two brothers bound by a misunderstood power.
"Rush, what exactly are you doing by trying to rewrite the history of the Unicorn War, if not COMMITing foulest heresy?" He plucked a leaf and twisted it around his fingers and did not answer. "Is it some sort of revenge? You want to prove Bráthal wrong?" "Bráthal? You think this is about Bráthal?" He braced himself, but she said nothing more, only studied him as they walked. Studied him so hard that if he passed that tree close enough, she would walk into it. Between her and Drisal he had nothing resembling privacy. He gazed over the River, which sparkled no longer but darkly mirrored the afternoon tree shadows, and sighed. "I care nothing for Bráthal and his perishing, pious rubbish. But until I can prove you are all wrong about Nam-Tar's sacrifice, it seems enough to keep us apart." Brother's Keeper A.C. Turek
January 26, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
pjccahill.bsky.social
#WIPSnips - Demon King Daughter - a priceless, early interaction in book 1. Hasava has just been fully introduced to Masuyo, and now they're getting into logistics. I always giggle reading this one.
#writesky #writingcommunity #fantasy #yafiction #demon #witch #wlw
-Print/eBook: a.co/d/9WbG4e5
Masuyo did perk up, awkwardly chuckling as she waved her hands. "O-oh, d-don't worry so much. I was just... a bit... self-conscious." She cleared her throat, trying to collect herself. "R-regardless, as you can see now, we don't have the space for another full-time resident. O-obviously, you're welcome to rest here temporarily, and I can bring spare bedclothes out to make a bed of the couch for you, but you'll need a long-term solution." Hasava pondered this seriously, pinching her chin with one hand, the other folding beneath the elbow for support. "...I am better educated on the leadership of human authority rather than the basic civilians. My ignorance will risk exposure in the interim. Hm." Kyoka glanced up to Masuyo. "Mama, can we help her get situated with a place and work? She and I can falsify an identity for her." Masuyo twitched. "P-please don't commit fraud with the demon general, Kyoka," she had to say it with a straight face, but her tone was stilted as the absurdity of her life became so obvious to her. Hasava squinted, but remained obedient. Kyoka blushed, glancing off. "O-of course, Mama. I'm sorry. T-then we'll need to consider methods that don't require citizenship and avoid attention." #WIPSnips a Bluesky Writing Community Tag Hosted by rosie-j-potter.bsky.social January 26th through February 1st. January 26th - commit January 27th - storm January 28th - procrastinate January 29th - formation January 30th - suggest January 31st - academy February 1st - zeal
January 26, 2026 at 4:05 PM
markpaleo.bsky.social
I settle into her and hold. I want to revel in her luxury for a moment. With my arms locked straight, I can look down on her and commit her expression to memory. Her eyes hold surprise and impatience. She rolls her hips and clenches around me; an urgent incentive to make me move. #WIPSnips
January 26, 2026 at 5:10 PM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
jesseduquette.bsky.social
I know there are ICE agents who get off on being hated as it’s the only human emotion they’ve been able to conjure amongst anyone unlucky enough to know them. But some did not anticipate the hatred, who never thought it would follow them for the rest of their sad lives like a tribal tattoo. Boo hoo.
January 24, 2026 at 10:23 PM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
jesseduquette.bsky.social
Sure, this is how everyone else sees you but it’s DEFINITELY how your kids will see you when they get old enough to understand second-hand embarrassment.
January 25, 2026 at 10:28 PM
markpaleo.bsky.social
Ugh... I have to deal with Patriot fans again?
January 26, 2026 at 12:10 AM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
jesseduquette.bsky.social
Violence at the hands of the state is nothing new and has been the reality for many non-white Americans since the very beginning. This needs to be top of mind when confronting what happens next and where we go from here.
January 25, 2026 at 6:27 PM
markpaleo.bsky.social
Another murder by Trump's MAGAstapo. The whole world can see that America is now living under a sadistic and fascist regime. They won't stop with Minnesota. They won't stop with protesters. They won't stop with Democrats.

Make Murder Illegal Again
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4d
Pritzker: "The GOP is nowhere to be found. They're the ones that scream and yell about 'federal tyranny' about interference with states' rights. And now, their president is violating states' rights and attacking our states and Republicans are nowhere to be found to talk about it."
January 24, 2026 at 7:02 PM
markpaleo.bsky.social
I remember when we were supposed to not eat meat on Fridays
January 23, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
jpaleolo.bsky.social
HEY, HERE'S AN NOVEL IDEA. HOW ABOUT I ATTACH THE AUDIO TO THE STORY? I'M BREAKING NEW GROUND!
jpaleolo.bsky.social JPaleoWAMCNews @jpaleolo.bsky.social · 6d
For @wamc.org: In a section of Springfield with a number of empty storefronts, a new restaurant has opened its doors. It’s the product of an owner and staff with a passion for cooking, and also part of a special effort by one organization to serve “micro businesses.”

www.wamc.org/news/2026-01...
New Springfield restaurant opens doors thanks in-part to group devoted to local ‘micro businesses’
In a section of Springfield with a fair share of empty storefronts, a new restaurant has recently opened. It’s the product of an owner and staff with a passion for cooking, and also part of a special ...
www.wamc.org
January 23, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
theonion.com
ICE Agents Wait At Edge Of Delivery Table To Deport Newborn
ICE Agents Wait At Edge Of Delivery Table To Deport Newborn
January 22, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
jpaleolo.bsky.social
If I were to profile a former city councilor in a nationally-read newspaper and air their grievances, I would probably include the fact that said former councilor is in the process of suing the city, rather than emphasize what her tea mug says.
January 23, 2026 at 2:16 PM
markpaleo.bsky.social
You're Sixteen was problematic then and it's problematic now.
stevenw888.bsky.social The 70s Guy @stevenw888.bsky.social · 6d
Between 1971 and 1973 Ringo Starr had four top 5 singles in the UK & US: "It Don't Come Easy", "Back Off Boogaloo" "Photograph", and "You're Sixteen". By the end of 1973 Ringo was the most chart successful ex-Beatle. #RingoStarr
January 22, 2026 at 11:20 PM
Reposted by Mark Paleologopoulos
bobbyallyn.bsky.social
"Nearly half of all American men aged 18 to 49 maintain an online sports-betting account...Emerging research suggests that the spread of sports gambling portends a huge increase in gambling addiction, which has the highest rate of suicide of any addictive behavior."

harpers.org/archive/2026...
On Tilt, by Jasper Craven
America’s new gambling epidemic
harpers.org
January 22, 2026 at 3:42 PM