Mark Tough
@marktough.bsky.social
Doin' stuff at the nexus of tech, community development, and education. Geezer Xer. Iowa farm boy, 33-year Baltimore City rowhomie. Indie music, Patterson Park, pinball, disc golf, hiking, cat appreciating, econ/soc.
Or "Hocus Pocus" by Focus
January 28, 2026 at 2:12 AM
Or "Hocus Pocus" by Focus
So take/
These dampened wings/
And let them dry again ...
These dampened wings/
And let them dry again ...
January 25, 2026 at 5:47 PM
So take/
These dampened wings/
And let them dry again ...
These dampened wings/
And let them dry again ...
Reposted by Mark Tough
Hey, the excellent Minneapolis arts and culture magazine Racket took down their paywall for the day, so you can go read their coverage of the occupation unhindered. Start here: racketmn.com/voices-of-th...
January 23, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Hey, the excellent Minneapolis arts and culture magazine Racket took down their paywall for the day, so you can go read their coverage of the occupation unhindered. Start here: racketmn.com/voices-of-th...
Defector but for music.
Infinitely better option than sending Conde Nast your dollars for a long-since hollowed out Pitchfork.
Infinitely better option than sending Conde Nast your dollars for a long-since hollowed out Pitchfork.
if u want to subscribe to an independent, worker-owned music and culture pub w/great criticism (and features, interviews, blogs etc) from five ppl you know and love, hearing things launched in october 2024 in the wake of conde nast's pitchfork layoffs :)
www.hearingthings.co
www.hearingthings.co
Hearing Things
Independent music journalism. No algorithms. We promise.
www.hearingthings.co
January 20, 2026 at 9:47 PM
Defector but for music.
Infinitely better option than sending Conde Nast your dollars for a long-since hollowed out Pitchfork.
Infinitely better option than sending Conde Nast your dollars for a long-since hollowed out Pitchfork.
DC has reverted to black and white.
January 19, 2026 at 9:42 PM
DC has reverted to black and white.
Reposted by Mark Tough
I was old enough when ICE was formed that I already had gray hair. I'm still young enough for the mosh pit, the racquetball court, and the Billy Goat Trail. So, like, yeah.
I'm just going to point out that ICE is about 23 years old. It was formed as part of the response to 9/11 and was reactionary, performative, and racist from the start.
Its not eternal. This is not a thousand-year Reich.
Its not eternal. This is not a thousand-year Reich.
January 16, 2026 at 4:32 PM
I was old enough when ICE was formed that I already had gray hair. I'm still young enough for the mosh pit, the racquetball court, and the Billy Goat Trail. So, like, yeah.
A conscious uncoupling at the confluence.
Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers are separating after 19 seasons, sources tell @diannarussini.bsky.social.
January 13, 2026 at 9:01 PM
A conscious uncoupling at the confluence.
Only salient for the Baltimoreans but . . .
It's like Martin's South.
It's like Martin's South.
The White House has added a new sign above the Rose Garden reading “The Rose Garden.”
January 13, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Only salient for the Baltimoreans but . . .
It's like Martin's South.
It's like Martin's South.
Oh yeah, game goes on/
Long after the thrill of game is gone . . .
Long after the thrill of game is gone . . .
January 10, 2026 at 2:55 AM
Oh yeah, game goes on/
Long after the thrill of game is gone . . .
Long after the thrill of game is gone . . .
Was just now reading something about a Dead Kennedies show in Toronto but then nodded off fiercely but briefly; popped up and felt like I couldn't breathe but then realized it was just my mouth full of coffee that I hadn't yet bothered to swallow prior to nodding off. So that's today so far.
January 8, 2026 at 12:20 PM
Was just now reading something about a Dead Kennedies show in Toronto but then nodded off fiercely but briefly; popped up and felt like I couldn't breathe but then realized it was just my mouth full of coffee that I hadn't yet bothered to swallow prior to nodding off. So that's today so far.
Iowa' Finest!
House of Large Sizes - 40 Orange Cookies [Cedar Falls, IA USA, Alternative Rock] (1988)
https://redd.it/17brx1m
https://youtu.be/wGNAM117IiE
https://redd.it/17brx1m
https://youtu.be/wGNAM117IiE
House of Large Sizes - 40 Orange Cookies [Cedar Falls, IA USA, Alternative Rock] (1988)
youtu.be
January 5, 2026 at 1:28 AM
Iowa' Finest!
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide/
Call me -- uh -- Jack and Diane.
Call me -- uh -- Jack and Diane.
January 1, 2026 at 11:12 PM
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide/
Call me -- uh -- Jack and Diane.
Call me -- uh -- Jack and Diane.
I won't respond to this silliness again until at least 2028. But please.
Liz Phair -- Exile in Guyville
Guided By Voices -- Alien Lanes
Pavement -- Slanted & Crooked
Elliott Smith -- Either/Or
Loud Family -- Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things
Flaming Lips -- The Soft Bulletin
MBV -- Loveless ...
Liz Phair -- Exile in Guyville
Guided By Voices -- Alien Lanes
Pavement -- Slanted & Crooked
Elliott Smith -- Either/Or
Loud Family -- Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things
Flaming Lips -- The Soft Bulletin
MBV -- Loveless ...
Wait, I'll do it again.
Post a perfect album from the 90s that isn't Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden or Alice in Chains.
Post a perfect album from the 90s that isn't Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden or Alice in Chains.
December 29, 2025 at 2:37 AM
I won't respond to this silliness again until at least 2028. But please.
Liz Phair -- Exile in Guyville
Guided By Voices -- Alien Lanes
Pavement -- Slanted & Crooked
Elliott Smith -- Either/Or
Loud Family -- Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things
Flaming Lips -- The Soft Bulletin
MBV -- Loveless ...
Liz Phair -- Exile in Guyville
Guided By Voices -- Alien Lanes
Pavement -- Slanted & Crooked
Elliott Smith -- Either/Or
Loud Family -- Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things
Flaming Lips -- The Soft Bulletin
MBV -- Loveless ...
Independent of EVERYTHING ELSE in play here, I want to attempt the impossible-on-Bluesky task of asking a focused question without infinite bleedover. As a matter of empiracal reality, I saw Metcalf seemingly swing to the left of the guys face and into his wig, as if to intimidate. Et tu?
The two-game suspension for Steelers WR DK Metcalf has been upheld by an appeals officer jointly appointed by the NFL and NFLPA.
Metcalf is out for the rest of the regular season and sees $45M in future guarantees voided, including $25M that was fully guaranteed for 2026.
Metcalf is out for the rest of the regular season and sees $45M in future guarantees voided, including $25M that was fully guaranteed for 2026.
December 24, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Independent of EVERYTHING ELSE in play here, I want to attempt the impossible-on-Bluesky task of asking a focused question without infinite bleedover. As a matter of empiracal reality, I saw Metcalf seemingly swing to the left of the guys face and into his wig, as if to intimidate. Et tu?
Reposted by Mark Tough
Obsessed with this — put in your zip code and get an excellent data visualization/story about the 311 calls your neighbors made this year. www.311wrapped.com
311 Wrapped
Your 2025 311 Year in Review. See what your neighborhood complained about the most.
www.311wrapped.com
December 23, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Obsessed with this — put in your zip code and get an excellent data visualization/story about the 311 calls your neighbors made this year. www.311wrapped.com
Mainlining seasonal nostalgia with a good, old-fashioned head cold. Shown here: 75% of our home's (documented) mammalian population: myself, Cisco, and Emily. Also: I need to shave!
December 22, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Mainlining seasonal nostalgia with a good, old-fashioned head cold. Shown here: 75% of our home's (documented) mammalian population: myself, Cisco, and Emily. Also: I need to shave!
Not a huge Folk Moderne guy, but I've been rolling with this little tearjerker since the week it was released.
Being middle-aged means trying to figure out why you’re getting choked up over apparently random things. Today I was sitting around singing off-beat Christmas songs, and got so verklempt on this cheery and whimsical one that I couldn’t get through it at first.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=7vgg...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=7vgg...
Dar Williams - The Christians and the Pagans (eTown webisode #1115)
YouTube video by eTown
m.youtube.com
December 21, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Not a huge Folk Moderne guy, but I've been rolling with this little tearjerker since the week it was released.
Reposted by Mark Tough
this is simply wrong
some acts may be fine in theory but not when a specific person does them, or when, or how, or why they do them
i don’t think losing the east wing is a crisis but the context, the way it was done, why it was done, and by who
— absolutely is
some acts may be fine in theory but not when a specific person does them, or when, or how, or why they do them
i don’t think losing the east wing is a crisis but the context, the way it was done, why it was done, and by who
— absolutely is
December 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
this is simply wrong
some acts may be fine in theory but not when a specific person does them, or when, or how, or why they do them
i don’t think losing the east wing is a crisis but the context, the way it was done, why it was done, and by who
— absolutely is
some acts may be fine in theory but not when a specific person does them, or when, or how, or why they do them
i don’t think losing the east wing is a crisis but the context, the way it was done, why it was done, and by who
— absolutely is
Reposted by Mark Tough
I haven't ever watched Misery (I must). But I have to admit that I find myself thinking about how _I myself_ experienced my leg being cleanly snapped above the ankle by extreme lateral impact. And honestly, from Theisman on down, it's harder for me to watch than to have personally experienced it.
December 15, 2025 at 6:46 PM
I haven't ever watched Misery (I must). But I have to admit that I find myself thinking about how _I myself_ experienced my leg being cleanly snapped above the ankle by extreme lateral impact. And honestly, from Theisman on down, it's harder for me to watch than to have personally experienced it.
I signed with Motown and now I'm being accused of Stax evasion.
I jumped out the bathroom window when he shouted "Here's Johnny" and now I'm being accused of axe evasion.
I let my body hair grow and now I’m being accused of wax evasion.
December 11, 2025 at 8:03 PM
I signed with Motown and now I'm being accused of Stax evasion.
Not an illustartor, but way back in the day in college in NYC for a semester, I'd put on the Walkman and hop on the N, RR, or D for a long roundtrip and do my homework so . . . .
Any other illustrators who find having something playing on another monitor helps them focus on intense detail-oriented work for longer?
I can't do this for creative brainstorming stages, but do for inking & more mechanical stages.
Right now on my 2nd monitor: episodes of Angel. 😁
I can't do this for creative brainstorming stages, but do for inking & more mechanical stages.
Right now on my 2nd monitor: episodes of Angel. 😁
December 11, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Not an illustartor, but way back in the day in college in NYC for a semester, I'd put on the Walkman and hop on the N, RR, or D for a long roundtrip and do my homework so . . . .