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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 17m

Later: “If members of professions think of themselves as groups with common interests, with norms and rules that oblige them that oblige them at all times, then they can gain confidence and indeed a certain kind of power.”

Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 21m

Today’s reminder from Timothy Snyder’s ON TYRANNY:

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Remember professional ethics.
When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become more important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants, and concentration camp directors seek businessmen interested in cheap labor.

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 45m

DO NOT FUCK WITH HOT-DOG CITY

Sign that reads Don’t fuck with hot dog city with a teeny monster hot dog at the bottom

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Reposted by Juan Martinez

Patton Oswalt @pattonoswalt.bsky.social · 2h

This is why I love Chicago so much. Their “we will fuck with you” reserves are BOTTOMLESS.

NowThis Impact @nowthisimpact.bsky.social · 3h

This is amazing.

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 2h

Nonspoiler alert: I’ve designed a series of gentle, fun, weekly ways for writers to hold themselves accountable without it feeling like homework.

Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 2h

Spoiler alert: We will be talking so much about structure early on—how to think about narrative structure, how to outline, what type of outline models are out there for you, why it’s such a labor-saving part of the process.

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 2h

Hi, everyone! I‘ll be teaching Novel-in-a-Year with @storystudiochicago.bsky.social in 2026. This will be my third iteration of the class, with first drafts as the focus this time around. Registration is now open and will close November 7:

www.storystudiochicago.org/advanced-wri...

Novel in a Year: First Draft with Juan Martinez - StoryStudio Chicago

This is the year to write your novel Novel in a Year: First Draft is a unique opportunity to join a writing cohort, study novel craft, workshop key scenes, measure your progress, meet deadlines, and g...

www.storystudiochicago.org

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 5h

hey man, cool book, mind if I steal it to generate a shittier book by yelling prompts at my phone?

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 6h

It’s free if you’re a student! And $5 if you use the code below! Join us!

StoryStudio Chicago @storystudiochicago.bsky.social · 6h

Join our amazing instructor @fulmerford.com at the Univ. of Chicago Divinity School this Friday 10/10 at 6:30 pm for a panel discussion about religion, spirituality, and horror writing hosted by the American Writers Museum.

Use the code AWMFriends to get a ticket for just $5!

buff.ly/noaUPuN

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Reposted by Juan Martinez

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 6h

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson: "This president is unstable, unhinged, a double-minded individual that quite frankly is a threat to our democracy. It's certainly not the first time that Donald Trump has called for the arresting of a Black man unjustly."

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 7h

some of the details has made the rounds on social media, but they weigh heavier here:

yes, the man that ICE shot had just dropped off his children at daycare

& yes ICE shot pepper spray deliberately inside a journalist’s car

& border patrol is in Chicago bc they claim Lake Michigan is a border

Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 7h

Excellent, thorough, damning account by the @nytimes.com Daily of everything leading to the present situation in Chicago.

TLDR: federal aggression &overreach, improper use of force, persistent pattern of lying about events that have resulted in deaths and injuries:

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/p...

Trump Claims ‘Rebellion’ in American Cities

www.nytimes.com

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 7h

The second half of the show dives deep into the administration’s legal reasoning, which is flimsy if you’re reading it kindly and could be more accurately described as bullshit.

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 7h

Excellent, thorough, damning account by the @nytimes.com Daily of everything leading to the present situation in Chicago.

TLDR: federal aggression &overreach, improper use of force, persistent pattern of lying about events that have resulted in deaths and injuries:

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/p...

Trump Claims ‘Rebellion’ in American Cities

www.nytimes.com

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 8h

“I thought my house was haunted
I used to live with ghosts

(…)

Life is a song, it ends when it ends
I was wrong
But my Mama told me
It's alright
You were dancing through the lightning strikes
Sleepless in the onyx night”

Close up of the same doodle: a silhouette of woman dancing w ghosts in her house at night, w a streak of lightning zigzagging on top

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Reposted by Juan Martinez

Dr. Allison Betus (she/her) 🌈 @allisonbetus.bsky.social · 14h

Folks, if ICE shot a pastor in the head with a pepper ball on camera, what do you think they do to people behind closed doors?

Kurt @flglchicago.bsky.social · 22h

Here’s video of the incident

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Reposted by Juan Martinez

Danielle Kurtzleben @titonka.bsky.social · 9h

People.

Daniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · 21h

Good reporting on the South Shore raid from South Side weekly here.

Confirms one thing I was told but didn't put in my own piece because I didn't have a second source and it seemed too insane: border agents segregated arrested residents by race

southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...

Federal Agents Storm South Shore Building, Detaining Families and Children

Families were woken by flashbangs and helicopters as hundreds of federal agents raided their homes. Days later, neighbors are still searching for the missing.

southsideweekly.com

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 10h

Today’s #lunchbagdoodle is a verse from “Opalite,” the third song in Taylor Swift’s LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL, brought miraculously to life through the magic of coloring pencils and ink.

A woman dancing with ghosts in her house while lightning strikes at night

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 10h

I really appreciate that my daughter’s school is starting them early on ransom notes.

Photograph of a vowels worksheet that looks a lot like a ransom note

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 1d

"Ooh-ooh, oftentimes it doesn't feel so glamorous to be me
All the right guys promised they'd stay
Under bright lights, they withered away
But you bloom"

close up of a bright blooming tentacled creature and some other lesser creatures withering away

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 1d

Today’s #lunchbagdoodle is a verse from “Elizabeth Taylor,” the second song in Taylor Swift’s LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL, brought miraculously to life through the magic of coloring pencils and ink.

A bright tentacled creature and a bunch of smaller tentacles cyclops creatures withering away in fear

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 1d

Did I ever tell you he was partly inspired by Robertson Davies? He wore a cape in college!

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 1d

Omg Machulín! He’s in the next long thing after I’m done revising the current long thing

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Reposted by Juan Martinez

Elise Wang @elisewang.bsky.social · 1d

One of the more incredible stories out of LA this year has been how a taco review blog became the best on-the-ground coverage of ICE raids in the city.

They do a dispatch every day, follow-up on the kidnapped people (which almost no media outlet has done), and fact-check government claims.

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 1d

@lataco.bsky.social first began as a blog documenting local Mexican cuisine. Now, it’s an essential reporting powerhouse to the city as Trump’s mass deportation plot unfolds.

Check out the latest from our friends at Reveal: tinyurl.com/4cm2bsdr

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 1d

I’ve followed @inauthenticity.bsky.social ‘s amazing, sharp rundown of horror oddities every October & it’s a revelation every year.

Plus, I have a four year old so this is really the only way I get to experience movies these days.

Tadd Adcox @inauthenticity.bsky.social · 6d

Alright, let's go: Oct 1 is The Giant Claw (1957), produced by Sam Katzman & directed by Fred F. Sears

Title screen for The Giant Claw, featuring the words THE GIANT CLAW in front of, yes, a giant claw

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Juan Martinez @fulmerford.com · 1d

favorite moment in Wednesday so far

Screenshot: woman in comically teeny monster hybrid pilgrim/sombrero hat, caption reads “we are transporting you back to ye olde Mexico””