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Oisín McGann

@oisinmcgann.bsky.social

7K followers 2.3K following 11K posts

Over 30 years in commercial art and more than 20 as a published author – mostly children's and young adult. No hope of ever getting a proper job. Lifelong nerd who's concerned about climate change. No AI data scraping. He/Him. http://oisinmcgann.com/

oisinmcgann.com

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · Nov 9

I've had a lot of new followers joining this weeks, so short introduction: I'm an Irish writer and illustrator who's been working since the 90's and has published 47 books for different reading levels in a range of genres, including 14 novels. I also work in a range of different illustration styles.

The cover of the third book I did with Jason Byrne, the comedian. It's in a rough-lined cartoon style, the figures rendered in black and white. The title is 'The Accidental Adventures of Onion O'Brien: The Secret Scientist'. It's a sky-blue cover framed with white flashes, where Onion, a ten-year-old white boy with a black patch over his left eye in square-framed glasses, sits in a threatening, high-tech chair. In front of him, an old man in a suit with a scarred face is pointing at his own head.

The artwork for the cover of an anthology of climate change-themed short stories and cartoons that is also a writing resource. The style is realistic, digitally painted. Two teenagers are the main focus of montage; a dark-haired, brown-skinned girl with a notebook and a white boy with blond hair with a camera. Below them is a BMW SUV. In the bottom corners, a young fox on the left and a black girl with spiked hair and yellow and red water pistol on the right. In the background, looming over them, are the ruined stones walls of an old building. Right at the back, a boy is jumping off some collapsing wooden boards.

The cover artwork for the SFF anthology, Fight Like a Girl Volume 2. It's a simple, cartoon-style, brown-skinned, fantasy warrior woman holding a wicked-looking sword against a blue background. Around her, in the style of a game menu, are various tools and weapons.

The cover artwork for my book, The First Fire of Halloween, digitally painted. An athletic human figure with the head of a goat stands over a wide bonfire in a field. Behind him, on either side, are the weird golden eyes of a goat, with their slot-shaped pupils. The background is grassy ground and a dark, cloudy sky.

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 55m

If you heard an elderly relative talking like this, you’d be taking measures to ensure they never left the house on their own.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3h

Trump: "I also did a cognitive exam. Which is always very risky because if I didn't do well, you'd be the first to be blaring it and I had a perfect score. And one of the doctors said he's almost never seen a perfect score. I had a perfect score. That made me well good ... not the easiest test."

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Kevin J. CREATURE @kevinjkircher.com · 1h

Over 40% of corn grown in Indiana is used to make ethanol that cars burn. One acre of corn yields about 16,500 vehicle-miles per year of ethanol, which sounds high until you realize that one acre of solar yields about 2,700,000 vehicle-miles per year: 16,000% more driving for a given plot of land.

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 1h

The aim of football is to win the game, but if you tell a footballer, or a football fan, that they can win every game without even playing, they‘ll immediately ask ’What’s the point of that?’

Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 1h

there’s this weird idea a lot of people seem to have about how all of us writers and artists must secretly want to use AI and are merely resisting temptation for ethical reasons, and like, no, it’s not hard for me to resist drinking the bowl of Piss With Glass In It actually

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 1h

This is literally why democracies have elections.

Heather Cherone @heathercherone.bsky.social · 4h

Hamilton: “The president’s power is unreviewable.”

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Tom Reagan’s Hat @rufustsuperfly.bsky.social · 2h

Guillermo Del Toro is 61.
Here he is on the Weinsteins:

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Anonymous @youranoncentral.bsky.social · 2h

As a show of sincere commitment to Trump’s so called “Gaza Peace Deal,” Israel is continuing to bomb civilians through out the night.

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Shana Gadarian @sgadarian.bsky.social · 3h

Everyone who studies research methods just had an aneurysm

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 5h

RFK Jr on Tylenol and autism: "It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 4h

Given that he proved to be just another facile finance guy with no depth of character or appreciation of what was important, I’d say he’ll fit right in.

Unofficial Guardian (UK) Bot @guardian-uk-rss.bsky.social · 4h

Rishi Sunak takes advisory roles with Microsoft and AI firm Anthropic

Former UK prime minister told post-ministerial jobs watchdog roles would not involve lobbying or UK policy influence

www.theguardian.com

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Juno Rylee Schultz @junoryleejournalism.com · 18h

David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)

SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.

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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 4h

breaking: man who got over £10million book advance doesn't known the price of a book

Indie bookshops absolutely CANNOT discount a £30 to £20. We'd be making a loss. We sell books at RRP, unlike big chains.

www.thebookseller.com/comment/richard-osmans-sums-dont-add-up?

Osman's sums don't add up

Despite widespread belief, indies just can't afford to discount books.

www.thebookseller.com

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Steven Kindlon @kinford.bsky.social · 4h

Will a single US-American ever learn what a communist is?

Razzball @razzball.bsky.social · 23h

Zohran Mamdani hops on a Citi Bike and a woman heckles him, shouting “communist!” He responds, “That’s cyclist”

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dillo (yakubian mamba) @dillo.media · 18h

i will vote for anybody who fixes the headlight brightness situation

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 4h

I had no idea bats could kill birds, but it also chewed it down for TWENTY-THREE MINUTES . . . while still flying.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 4h

Grisly recording reveals bat catching, killing and eating robin mid-flight

Before the Spanish study, some scientists had been sceptical about the mammals attacking migratory birds Bats are generally viewed as harmless, if spooky, creatures of the night. But scientists have revealed a more savage side, after witnessing a greater noctule bat – Europe’s largest bat species – hunting, killing and devouring a robin mid-flight. The grisly recording reveals the bat as a formidable predator, climbing to 1.2km (4,000ft) before embarking on a breakneck-speed dive in pursuit of its prey. On capture, the bat delivered a lethal bite and subsequent chewing sounds, recorded between echolocation calls, indicated that the bat consumed the bird continuously during flight for 23 minutes without losing altitude. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 4h

Given that he proved to be just another facile finance guy with no depth of character or appreciation of what was important, I’d say he’ll fit right in.

Unofficial Guardian (UK) Bot @guardian-uk-rss.bsky.social · 4h

Rishi Sunak takes advisory roles with Microsoft and AI firm Anthropic

Former UK prime minister told post-ministerial jobs watchdog roles would not involve lobbying or UK policy influence

www.theguardian.com

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Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 5h

I really have come to 100% believe that the younger, equally evil members of the Trump administration are constantly using AI slop to manipulate their elders.

Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 5h

we are governed by Facebook Grandpas who passionately and irrevocably believe that AI images of five-boobed ladies are real

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 5h

RFK Jr: "Somebody showed me a TikTok video of a pregnant woman at 8 months pregnant -- she's an associate professor at the Columbia Medical School -- and she is saying 'F Trump' and gobbling Tylenol with her baby in her placenta. The level of Trump Derangement Syndrome is now a pathology."

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John Rogers @johnrogers.bsky.social · 5h

ME: Now Mom, just remember, there's a lot of disinformation and AI in your social feed and your friends' Facebook.
MOM: I know! My friend sent me this crazy post where someone used AI to make an image of a giant frog fighting Army troops!
ME: ... okay, no, that one's ... goddamit, Portland.

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Grudgie the Whale @grudgie.bsky.social · 5h

I cannot fucking believe this man’s cognitive abilities get no coverage

FactPost @factpostnews.bsky.social · 5h

Trump: These massive vaccines that are twice the size of a jar like that. A glass of water like that into a baby's body.

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Sarah Weinman @sarahweinman.com · 7h

I *really* want more reporting on this because the book was pretty heavily vetted by lawyers in advance of publication….

Maris Kreizman @maris.bsky.social · 9h

This is so damn scary. The book claimed that Jeffrey Epstein was the one who introduced Donald and Melania. Now the CEO of Harper UK is out.

Jay Rayner @jayrayner1.bsky.social · 14h

In other news Charlie Redmayne, the long serving CEO of HC in the UK, resigned yesterday.

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 5h

This is a nutty story. Israel’s military is using stock 3D imagery and other online sources to create fake ’intelligence’ footage of sites they claim are terrorist bases. They will lie in every way they can.

Jack Sapoch @jacksapoch.bsky.social · 1d

NEW: Since October 2023, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit has released dozens of 3D animations illustrating alleged Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iranian sites

The style is now unmistakable: satellite zoom-ins, black & white wireframes, and red-textured houses - a new visual language of war

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Greg Jenner @gregjenner.bsky.social · 6h

Just to say that teachers do an incredibly difficult job, with all the right intentions, and can be the defining influence on a young person's life. They are the exact opposite of poisoners because good teaching provides the antidote to so many dangers

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 6h

Nigel Farage says UK teachers are ‘poisoning our kids’ and predicts strikes as PM

Exclusive: Reform UK leader, speaking at event for private US college, also claimed the ‘Marxist left’ controls education Nigel Farage has predicted teachers would go on strike within weeks of a Reform UK government, and accused them of “poisoning our kids” by telling them that black children are victims and white children oppressors. The Reform UK leader set out his view on British schools in an event for a private US Christian college in Michigan, claiming the “Marxist left” was “now in control of our education system”. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Rónán Hession @ronanhession.bsky.social · 6h

Dublin small press fair on 28 & 29 November at Pearse St library. Free and open to the public.

dublinsmallpressfair.com

dublinsmallpressfair.com

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Joyce Park @troutgirl.bsky.social · 6h

There is no way we can host World Cup or Olympics. They must be moved.

Steven Lucy @slucy.bsky.social · 8h

2024: "we are relocating the big event from Florida to Chicago so our LGBTQ attendees don't get harassed by the government"

2025: "we are relocating the big event from Chicago to Florida so our Latino attendees don't get harassed by the government"

Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 15h

A soccer match between Argentina and Puerto Rico, originally scheduled in Chicago, has been relocated to Florida amid the federal government’s anti-immigration activity in the city.

trib.al/inR0kle

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Aidan Fitzmaurice @fancyvegaspro.bsky.social · 6h

Even being familiar with the work of Yates I can't believe he's saying this out loud

Paul Murphy TD @paulmurphy.pbp.ie · 8h

"I would smear the bejaysus out of her, simply because you've nothing to lose... you've got to create a fear... in my experience, nothing works like negative campaigning."

They're really openly saying the quiet part out loud now aren't they...🤔

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Paul Duane 🥔 @paulduane.bsky.social · 10h

Not a word in this about the plagiarism aspect of AI, but at least the piece ends like this:

He recalls a recent conversation he had with a group of fellow film-makers, one of whom had just seen the 2015 British documentary Listen to Me Marlon. The documentary makers had used what was, in 2015, cutting edge software to create a 3D rendering of Marlon Brando reciting Macbeth.

“In the future, anybody who wants to pay the rights for it can have Marlon Brando in their movie,” this film-maker had enthused to Miller. But another director – “younger and wiser than most of us”, Miller recalls – disagreed.

“[They] replied yes, you’ll have a character who looks like Marlon Brando, but you’ll have nothing close to Marlon Brando. You won’t have the engagement, that performances arise out of the collaborative effort between other actors and directors and writers and so on. You will not have the essence of Brando.

“And that applies to everything – whether it’s a song, a novel, or whatever.

“You won’t have that human essence.”

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Dr. Nick Posegay @nposegay.bsky.social · 9h

Israel is now saying the ceasefire will take effect "within 24 hours" as opposed to 10am today as initially planned. So yeah, just announced a delay for no reason and started shooting people trying to go home who thought there was a ceasefire in effect. www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-n...

Aaliyah 🇮🇪🇵🇸 ‼️SAVE GAZA‼️ @aaliyahxx.bsky.social · 9h

BREAKING: Israeli tanks fired directly at civilians on Al-Rashid Street while the latter were trying to return to northern Gaza, shortly after the ceasefire agreement had supposedly taken effect.

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