Mark Sample
@samplereality.bsky.social
Professor of Film, Media, and Digital Studies at a small liberal arts college.
Digital skulduggery and more
☞ https://www.samplereality.com ☜
Digital skulduggery and more
☞ https://www.samplereality.com ☜
Today I updated my procedurally-generated million-stanza ode to the daily news fugitivetexts.net/acts/
![A series of short pieces of flash fiction. From top left: "The librarian secretly kept copies as fictional characters were exiled." - "This evening a person came up to Yamileth and haded a letter to her. The air was thick with anticipation." - "Sculpture" - "Rory was let go from the National Endowment for the Humanities. By a 22-year-old intern." - "Kaylani didn't see herself as a poet but she tried writing a poem about war anyway." - "The blue light of Noemi's phone bathed her face. Could the news be any worse?" - "Ring camera footage shows ICE arresting Blanca Camacho Navarro, a union organizer and legal immigrant with an American spouse." - "portrait" - "The shell casing dropped to the asphalt, the word 'delay' scribbled on it with a red sharpie." - "Fight." - "7 professors and students executed in Oklahoma with a Sig Sauer p226. RFK Jr. says the victims should have learned CPT." - "With bitter fury Taylor read poetry in allews where cameras couldn't see." - "More files were released today. Including photos of [name redacted] and [name redacted] in a hot tub." - "Simone wrote poetry that remained when monuments fell. Her poems filled Danielle's heart with a mixture of resignation and hope." - "Just after midnight you came across the message 'POWER TO THE PEOPLE' chaled on the street sign." - "See that salt water, and paper and gasoline, causing a fire"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:gpmpz7xi4k5efyma3cfuxen3/bafkreiea3qopz3lhcwgoyvd3jzqf2w2ir6w54ovze5tiqlhs3ofuekom2i@jpeg)
January 12, 2026 at 3:01 AM
Today I updated my procedurally-generated million-stanza ode to the daily news fugitivetexts.net/acts/
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
10 - The Clock (always capitalized, even when spoken)
10 - The Clock (always capitalized, even when spoken)
January 5, 2026 at 11:07 PM
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
10 - The Clock (always capitalized, even when spoken)
10 - The Clock (always capitalized, even when spoken)
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
9 - the woods
9 - the woods
January 5, 2026 at 11:06 PM
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
9 - the woods
9 - the woods
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
8 - the miner lamps
8 - the miner lamps
January 5, 2026 at 11:04 PM
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
8 - the miner lamps
8 - the miner lamps
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
7 - the old books about the paranormal
7 - the old books about the paranormal
January 5, 2026 at 11:02 PM
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
7 - the old books about the paranormal
7 - the old books about the paranormal
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
6 - dismembered dolls
6 - dismembered dolls
January 5, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
6 - dismembered dolls
6 - dismembered dolls
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
5 - oil of cloves
5 - oil of cloves
January 5, 2026 at 10:57 PM
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
5 - oil of cloves
5 - oil of cloves
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
4 - deadfall in the woods
4 - deadfall in the woods
January 5, 2026 at 10:55 PM
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
4 - deadfall in the woods
4 - deadfall in the woods
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
3 - bundles of sticks in a wicker basket
3 - bundles of sticks in a wicker basket
January 5, 2026 at 10:52 PM
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
3 - bundles of sticks in a wicker basket
3 - bundles of sticks in a wicker basket
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
2 - dried bunches of ancient herbs and flowers
2 - dried bunches of ancient herbs and flowers
January 5, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares
2 - dried bunches of ancient herbs and flowers
2 - dried bunches of ancient herbs and flowers
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares 🧵
1 - a porcelain cat next to an old fruit press
1 - a porcelain cat next to an old fruit press
January 5, 2026 at 10:47 PM
Creepy things at my in-laws' that give my kids nightmares 🧵
1 - a porcelain cat next to an old fruit press
1 - a porcelain cat next to an old fruit press
You know what? Probably worth putting into dialogue the two most high profile pieces of banned media of the past two weeks: the video game Horses and the 60 Minutes report on the U.S.'s use of the CECOT prison in El Salvador.
December 23, 2025 at 2:40 AM
You know what? Probably worth putting into dialogue the two most high profile pieces of banned media of the past two weeks: the video game Horses and the 60 Minutes report on the U.S.'s use of the CECOT prison in El Salvador.
As I say in the Artist Statement, the Devil Card reflects one’s temptations and compulsions while suggesting the possibility of overcoming them. The glitches eventually subside, only to begin again, an endless cycle that calls to mind the reality of addiction and obsession...
December 17, 2025 at 5:09 PM
As I say in the Artist Statement, the Devil Card reflects one’s temptations and compulsions while suggesting the possibility of overcoming them. The glitches eventually subside, only to begin again, an endless cycle that calls to mind the reality of addiction and obsession...
This Taper issue is themed around the idea of midpoints and intersections, and other associations of the number 15. My second piece in the issue (again, under 2Kb!) is a Tarot Card reading in which the Devil card is repeatedly drawn and increasingly corrupted.
taper.badquar.to/15/you_are_c...
taper.badquar.to/15/you_are_c...
December 17, 2025 at 4:30 PM
This Taper issue is themed around the idea of midpoints and intersections, and other associations of the number 15. My second piece in the issue (again, under 2Kb!) is a Tarot Card reading in which the Devil card is repeatedly drawn and increasingly corrupted.
taper.badquar.to/15/you_are_c...
taper.badquar.to/15/you_are_c...
Taper #15 is out. Each issue contains tiny computational poems centered around a theme. The complete code must be under 2Kb. One of my pieces in the issue is an interactive erasure of Shakespeare's Sonnet 15, in which only half the poem can ever be visible at once.
taper.badquar.to/15/sonnet15....
taper.badquar.to/15/sonnet15....
December 17, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Taper #15 is out. Each issue contains tiny computational poems centered around a theme. The complete code must be under 2Kb. One of my pieces in the issue is an interactive erasure of Shakespeare's Sonnet 15, in which only half the poem can ever be visible at once.
taper.badquar.to/15/sonnet15....
taper.badquar.to/15/sonnet15....
Sample image from the book (and link to the interactive online version: notime.now)
November 24, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Sample image from the book (and link to the interactive online version: notime.now)
Wait! One brief coyote sighting!
November 20, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Wait! One brief coyote sighting!
I keep hoping to catch glimpses of the coyotes that I know come around the back yard, but instead I got this little feller.
November 20, 2025 at 3:19 PM
I keep hoping to catch glimpses of the coyotes that I know come around the back yard, but instead I got this little feller.
Like, my American Postmodernism grad seminar from 2005, back when postmodernism was still a distinct thing and not just *waves hands all around*. Banger of a reading list... www.samplereality.com/gmu/fall2005...
November 14, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Like, my American Postmodernism grad seminar from 2005, back when postmodernism was still a distinct thing and not just *waves hands all around*. Banger of a reading list... www.samplereality.com/gmu/fall2005...
November 6, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Spent part of my Saturday afternoon writing a FOIA request to my town's police department regarding their use of Flock cameras. Their public records request portal only gives you 1000 characters to work with, but I made good use of those characters.
November 1, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Spent part of my Saturday afternoon writing a FOIA request to my town's police department regarding their use of Flock cameras. Their public records request portal only gives you 1000 characters to work with, but I made good use of those characters.
Penn's alumni email list was hacked. Got several of these within a 5-minute span. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
October 31, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Penn's alumni email list was hacked. Got several of these within a 5-minute span. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What new DRM bullshit is this? Seeking to buy an ebook from Princeton UP, only to be locked into their exclusive app.
October 23, 2025 at 1:47 AM
What new DRM bullshit is this? Seeking to buy an ebook from Princeton UP, only to be locked into their exclusive app.
Tuesday afternoon study break: making granola
October 7, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Tuesday afternoon study break: making granola
If you see this, quote skeet with a screenshot from a video game that released the year you were born.
I was there at the beginning.
I was there at the beginning.
September 27, 2025 at 3:35 PM
If you see this, quote skeet with a screenshot from a video game that released the year you were born.
I was there at the beginning.
I was there at the beginning.