Ian M
@ianm70.bsky.social
330 followers 470 following 1K posts
computer geek, book person, Tolkien nerd, history researcher, science, occasional politics. He/Him.
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“Books are sufficient to themselves. They ask for nothing and they are silently patient, but they are always there for you”.’
Karl Largerfeld
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I always associate batik tambal, a batik motif from Yogyakarta, central region of Java, with Samwise Gamgee. The classic earthy colors and the patchwork motif represent down-to-earth wisdom, protection, and healing power under the humble face. 1/4

🎨: Miriam Ellis
#TolkienTrewsday #TolkienTuesday
A painting of a comfortable and warm Hobbit burrow, with a fireplace lit. Sam, a hobbit wearing green vest, white shirt, and knee-length black pants, sitting on a green seat holding his baby daughter Elanor, gazing lovingly at her. Rosie, his wife, a beautiful Hobbit with curly, braided hair, standing next to his seat and looking at him affectionately. A fabric with tambal motif. Each grid is filled with dots, leaves, and curved line patterns. The main colors are ivory, light brown, and blue.
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Final Destination had nothing on British public information films.
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Some nice timeline synchronicity for me today
Below Moose’s original picture, I see a post by the Journal of Animal Ecology which uses the same “overlapping ridges” style a.k.a a Joy Division plot to show how the date at which deer give birth varies across different parts of Europe
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"That there is some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for."

-The Lord of the Rings
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Would Hooklanders in London exile like to hear me talk in an East End pub about the origins of the county and its folklore next year?
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ONLINE TALK: Saturday 8th November at 8pm

IRISH DEATH CUSTOMS
with Michael Fortune of folklore.ie

Tickets £5 + booking fee, including recording, from

bit.ly/flaevents

An intriguing one-hour long talk on the superstitions, beliefs and practices surrounding death in Ireland, plus audience Q&A.
Join us for an intriguing one-hour long talk from Michael Fortune (folklore.ie) on the superstitions, beliefs and practices surrounding death in Ireland.

November is a month associated with the dead and remembering in Ireland, and the talk will range from death customs and funeral practices to signs and omens. This talk will be relaxed and informal and he will share content he recorded, heard and experienced over his life.

About the speaker:

Speaking in October 2016, the late writer and broadcaster

Manchán Magan stated that

“There have only been a few true pioneers in the field offolklore collection in Ireland, guardians, sacred recorders of ourlore, who have collected and documented the treasures of folktradition, and without doubt, Michael Fortune is one of them. Inyears to come, he may be regarded as Ireland’s Alan Lomax.”

This talk will be presented online, via Zoom, and will be followed by a Q&A with the audience. All ticket holders will receive access to a recording of the talk after the event, so if you cannot attend the whole event live you won't miss anything.
Almost all the external insulation fitted under the previous government’s energy efficiency scheme was installed so poorly it will have to be repaired or replaced, an investigation has found. www.theguardian.com/environment/... Almost as if it was designed to help cowboy builders
Almost all external insulation fitted under Tory scheme needs repair or replacing, report finds
Homeowners who took advantage of government programmes left with cladding likely to cause damp
www.theguardian.com
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October 13: Aragorn and the hobbits reach the Last Bridge over the River Hoarwell and find the beryl left by Glorfindel. Taking it as a sign that the bridge is safe to cross, they do so, but then take to the woods north of the Road.

#LOTR #MiddleEarth #Hobbiton #FellowshipOfTheRing #TolkienFans
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Old #English: "The term ēarendel (≈ eorendel, earendil) is used in certain contexts to interpret the Latin oriens (rising sun), lucifer (light-bringer), aurora ('dawn') or iubar (radiance)."
It is the earliest and most distant known #star.
#Hubble #Tolkien #myth
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The mid-century wonders of the Sainsbury's supermarket archive online.

www.sainsburyarchive.org.uk/catalogue/
The cover of a flyer in pop art mod style with sans serif typography and a big blue arrow pointing to a supermarket: ”Women – better pay and prospects at... J. Sainsbury". A flyer advertising Sainsbury's Fish Department with three fish drawn in minimalist style. The illustration from a packet of own-brand cornflakes that looks like something from The Wicker Man – a pagan sun with an enigmatic face rising above a field of corn. A detail from a cat food level with a black cat in silhouette, its eyes narrowed menacingly. The background is blood red. The text is in something like Helvetica.
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🏥 UCLH has delivered 20 years of world-class care but also 20 years of mega PFI profits.

💸 £462m has gone to shareholders since it opened, money that could’ve gone to staff, patients & services instead.

Another example of what a costly mistake PFI was!

🔗 www.islingtontribune.co.uk/article/its-...
It’s 20 years of world class hospital care (and 20 years of mega cash PFI profits)
We have lots to thank UCLH for in its first 20 years of life-saving care and innovation, but could it have achieved even more if it had not been saddled with PFI obligations? Tom Foot investigates
www.islingtontribune.co.uk
I finally got around to buying @jonathanhealey.bsky.social book. It has joined a mighty pile of illustrious peers on the to-read pile. Perhaps it will will one day be read.
where do you take this walk and have you asked the walk where it would like to go? One mustn't assume and allow the walk to have a choice. Perhaps the walk would want to do a crossword?
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'The law seeks to strike a balance between harm, which includes disorder and our right to freedom of expression. And I think in this specific case, the appeal judges got it right.' @andrewcopson.bsky.social on @lbc.co.uk

Full interview ⬇️

soundcloud.com/humanistsuk/...
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🚨 NEW BOOK🚨
💪👩‍🦳 Fierce. Powerful. Preaching. In the 1600s, Quaker women were ministers from day one! @ericanela.bsky.social tells this empowering story.. 🎙️📜

🎧 pod.fo/e/333c3b
📖 Buy the book: uk.bookshop.org/a/10...

#Mythbusting #17thCentury #History #Podcast #Booklaunch
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I've got a new book out in spring #TalkingClassics: about why it's still worth bothering about ancient Greece and Rome. Now till Friday 17th Oct you can preorder through Waterstones. Enter OCTOBER25 at checkout & get 25% off RRP. #WPreorder tinyurl.com/TalkingClass...
Talking Classics by Professor Mary Beard | Waterstones
Buy Talking Classics by Professor Mary Beard from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.
tinyurl.com
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There are huge wealth inequalities between different ethnicities, from household averages of £34,000 where the household head identifies as Black African, to £314,000 for White British. But how do these inequalities get built?
Read more: equalitytrust.org.uk...
A graphic that reads "We know wealth isn't equal - what about wealth building?"
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Happy birthday to us! It's October 14th - and 123 years ago, Gladstone’s Library was officially opened by Earl Spencer as the National Memorial to W.E. Gladstone. 🎂

The books in this image date back to that time.
A leather chair in a nook between bookshelves. The books are from the Gladstone collection so they are 100+ years old.