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jamesdmcdonald.bsky.social
Musician & historian. Drummer playing ska, reggae, cumbia, & more. Composer & sound designer. ABD historian of technology writing about convenience. Into railroad history, food history, DDR Alltag & Underground, building things large & small, &c.
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I did not have injuring myself while emptying the cats’ litter box on my to do list for the day.

Found a fix for Inkscape not displaying fonts properly and was finally able to assess it today. Used it to design decals for some RF&P livestock cars I’m building. Worked pretty well, in some aspects better than Illustrator.

Sometimes scratchbuilding the part is faster. #ModelRailroading

The city took down the tree outside my window. I can’t say it wasn’t warranted. That tree has savaged my house more than once by shedding logs that crushed my fence and poked a hole in my roof. But I miss watching the birds.

I swear, 80% of model building is hunting for stuff (tools, materials, detail parts, etc) you know you own but can’t find when needed. #ModelRailroading

Imagine taking the doodlebug up to see your best gal and your rival shows up in a flying hamburger

Always push your musical envelope.

I often wondered if it would ever happen, but I just sent my dissertation off to my committee to read.

My wife @duniabest.bsky.social and several of our friends will be playing at @lincolncenter.bsky.social in NYC tonight for a tribute to pioneering UK #punk band The Slits, fronted by our late sister Ari-Up. Free tickets here: www.lincolncenter.org/series/ameri... #music #liveMusic #womenInMusic

Here's @ladyhatchet.bsky.social & @duniabest.bsky.social singing Hatchet's song "Hair Did" at our recent Bluebeat DC show with @jamesdmcdonald.bsky.social #ska #reggae #womenInSka #womenInMusic #dc

Gave two presentations yesterday at the RF&P Railroad Historical Society meeting, one on my modeling efforts and the other on the history of fast freight lines.

Got a couple F&C kits off ebay for cheap. So here are two DL&W 1890s boxcars. Dont normally do underfloor gubbins but since they came with tichy brake sprues, figured it was worth a try. The trainline is complete nonsense, just wanted to fit it in one piece after assembly.

Eastern Standard Time is the closest thing we have to a Supernova house band, and we appreciate their support over the years. They will celebrate 30 years as a band this year and will be performing in Europe this June. Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=M55K... @easterncoyote.bsky.social

This will be amazing!

The Pioneers - Let Your Yeah Be Yeah

This was a fun show. I got to pull out all sorts of tricks to get different sounds from my drums based on the sounds of the original recordings, but drum nerd stuff aside, it was simply an honor to work with such a legend in Jamaican music as Sister Nancy!