Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

John Bull

@garius.bsky.social

27K followers 1.1K following 21K posts

He/Him. Author. Historian (inc of obscure Military Holy Orders). Strategy streamer. Tech/Transport Strategist. Editor of @lonrec. Orient fan. Business/Writing: [email protected]. Agent: @pastpreservers.bsky.social

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

John Bull @garius.bsky.social · Mar 10

The latest in my history of home computers is live. Covers the era of Commodore, Atari and Jack Tramiel.

He was a brutal manager. But also an Auschwitz survivor, and that shaped him, and his legit drive to build a better world.

This warning from him hit home, right now.

every.to/the-crazy-on...

One day in 1982, Michael Tomczyk, who had led the project to develop the Commodore 64, found himself sitting in Jack Tramiel’s office. Tomcyzk had just returned from a trade show in Hanover, Germany. During the course of their conversation, Tomczyk mentioned how impressed he’d been with the Autobahn highway network on the way there.

"I built that road," Tramiel told him matter-of-factly.

“Jack went on to explain that during World War II as a teenager he had been selected to work on the road gangs,” Tomczyk remembered. “He said that it was one way to survive, because they had to feed the people that did that kind of hard labor, or they wouldn't work. ‘We built good roads,’ he said.”

Tramiel had never hidden the horrors in his past. He was proud that he had helped build a better future through Commodore and Atari. However, the longer he lived, the more concerned he became that people would forget what that future had cost. And that which is forgotten can be repeated.

"You know," Tramiel said once, "it's hard to believe it really happened. But it can happen again. In America. Americans like to make rules, and that scares me. If you have too many rules you get locked in a system. It's the system that says this one dies and that one doesn't, not the people. That's why I don't hate the German people. Individuals, yes. Rules, yes. But not all Germans.

21 290 800

Reposted by John Bull

Millennium Fulcrum Podcast @millenniumfulcrum.bsky.social · 14h

Tomorrow we’re back with Transformers The Movie (1986) feat. some pre-recorded insights from @garius.bsky.social

The cast of Cheers at the bar with some of the Transformers peering behind them as if part of the conversation

1 1 9

Reposted by John Bull

Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 17h

Israel used 3D scans developed by the Scottish Maritime Museum in propaganda animations, which were a key part of its attempts to justify attacks on hospitals and residential areas in Gaza, Syria and Iran. The 3D scans, developed for boatbuilding workshops, were used without the museum's knowledge.

How a Scottish maritime museum ended up in Israel’s 3D propaganda

An analysis of dozens of Israeli army animations discovered digital assets sourced not from classified intelligence but commercial libraries and content creators.

www.972mag.com

5 36 50

John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 18h

STREAM TIME!

Join me for a lazy Sunday down on the anime horse girl farm. Let's train Gold City and put her through her paces in the Twinkle Series.

twitch.tv/gariusthebrit #gaming #umamusume

screenshot of game card for Gold City, an auburn haired umamusume looking back over her shoulder

Reposted by John Bull

OldRailwayAccidents @rwldproject.bsky.social · 18h

If you're at today's University of Portsmouth open day, pop in to the exhibition space in Park Building & see our exhibition!

A great example of collaboration that's at the heart of the @uophistory.bsky.social team - incl Mike, who co-produced this exhibition!

👇

OldRailwayAccidents (@rwldproject.bsky.social)

Exhibition reassembled in the new venue! Opening Monday - at the University of Portsmouth's Park Building, on King Henry I street. Come down & discover 'The south coast's forgotten railway workers' -…

bsky.app

9 18

Reposted by John Bull

Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 18h

The sheer magic overload of Ryde's #ChristmasImaginarium made me six years old again. Located near the pier and the epic comic shop #FantasticStore - so convenient for carting your shopping back to the ferry!

Fabulous kings and legendary heroes - a whole brigade of nutcracker toys in Ryde's Christmas Imaginarium.

The larger nutcracker toys stand on the floor, glittering in uniforms or red and blue and green, with fur shakoe hats or golden crowns.

Christmas fantasies of all kinds - gingerbread houses, mechanical toys, oh my!

An Angel of Peace amid Santas, robins, snowmen and kings.

1 1 17

Reposted by John Bull

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 18h

“More than half of the work done by women in the period between the 16th and 18th centuries took place outside of the home, and around half of all housework and three-quarters of care work was conducted professionally for other households” [England]

phys.org/news/2025-10...

A woman's place was not in the home: Challenging the assumptions about women's work in early modern history

New research has revealed that women played a fundamental role in the development of England's national economy before 1700.

phys.org

4 160 340

Reposted by John Bull

priscilla page @priscillapage.bsky.social · 1d

Diane Keaton in her Manhattan apartment with Buster, an Abyssinian, photographed by Jill Krementz in 1977

black & white photograph of young Diane Keaton smiling and standing next to a white refrigerator in a barren-looking kitchen. her cat Buster is crouched on top of the fridge playing with/swatting her hair in the upper right hand corner. she's wearing a long skinny white scarf with a dot-grid pattern, a high-neck white blouse with an ascot/kerchief around the neck, and a black blazer/skirt or blazer dress over what looks like a vest

14 440 3.1K

Reposted by John Bull

Aaron Stewart-Ahn @badideas.bsky.social · 22h

Holy shit someone uploaded the entire stage play adaptation of the Yakuza videogame series with English subtitles and it’s glorious and 500x better than the Amazon show youtu.be/Z2Msr4si6dU?...

67 1.9K 5.3K

Reposted by John Bull

Kimimi🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️, but spooky 🦇 @kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com · 1d

If you've got some time to kill this weekend, or just like the idea of treating yourself to a little surprise, then a quick click of my site's magic random article button won't hurt :)

kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com?random

A photo showing a lot of Japanese PlayStation games laid out on the floor in an orderly fashion.

5 47 130

Reposted by John Bull

John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 1d

The Tortie lives an entirely vibes based existence. Her vibes say this jumper is comfy. And also that if Max attacks her then Napoleon will beat him up.

She has no idea why the boys fight. It just happens. Boys are weird. They think about stuff too much.

1 69

John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 1d

1 69

John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 1d

Yes. The chaos is only suspended.

1 9

John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 1d

Chaos is suspended. Good night from her.

9 13 350

Reposted by John Bull

Anime Herald @animeherald.com · 1d

From Anime to Transformers to Tabletop: How the VF-1 Valkyrie from Macross Became an Icon in 3 Fandoms: Caelyn Ellis explores the history of the Valkyrie VF-1, and how it became an iconic, irreplaceable part of three distinct fandoms.

#macross #transformers #battletech

From Anime to Transformers to Tabletop: How the VF-1 Valkyrie from Macross Became an Icon in 3 Fandoms

The end result of this massive tangle of licensing and legal kerfuffle is that, 42 years after it was created, there are now three distinct robots you can see on screens and buy figures of that are all, at heart, the VF-1S Super Valkyrie

hera.fyi

32 62

John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 1d

uuuugh wait. it's just a reskin. that's so lazy.

1 110

John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 1d

NEW FRENCH PM JUST DROPPED

get them while you can. it's a limited pull.

10 10 210

Reposted by John Bull

Leyton Laureate @leytonlaureate.bsky.social · 1d

ICYMI, check out my interview with Leyton Orient majority owner David Gandler, exclusively for @leytonorientear.com, where he talks about the new stadium plans, his first six months in charge and his vision for the club #LOFC
theleytonorientear.substack.com/p/i-have-a-t...

"I have a track record of never giving up"

O’s majority owner David Gandler speaks exclusively to the ‘Ear about his plans for a new stadium and his vision for Leyton Orient

theleytonorientear.substack.com

2 5

John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 1d

The game of the ancient Mariners

4 2 44

Reposted by John Bull

Cortana 👻 @cortanav.bsky.social · 1d

When will my husband return from the Mariner’s game

Oil painting of a woman waiting by the sea

62 580 4.9K

Reposted by John Bull

William Dalrymple @willdalrymple.bsky.social · 1d

Don't miss our new @EmpirePodUK double bill on:

OTTOMAN GAZA:

From Selim the Grim to Allenby & the WW1 Battles of Gaza
With the great Eugene Rogan, Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of Oxford
podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/2...

3 35 110

Reposted by John Bull

rbnc @rarebutnobodycares.bsky.social · 1d

You may be cool, but you'll never be as cool as having your Stratos delivered to you via helicopter.
#weirdcarbs #carsky #photography

3 14 94

John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 1d

There's a cat in this photo. See if you can spot it.

Tortie badly concealed under the lip of a box

16 12 320

Reposted by John Bull

The Wildlife Information Centre @twic.bsky.social · 1d

Come see us at Apple Day at Woodside Walled Garden nr Ancrum! We'll be here 10am-4pm today and tomorrow. Free entrance and parking.

3 9

John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 1d

But yeah. I guess if you're an established gaming group who already twitch or podcast and want a guest GM for a 5-ish session series then shout me. Every group should play the MLP rpg at least once.

John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 1d

I'd GM a podcast or twitch campaign in a heartbeat. I just don't have an established gaming group who haven't played it already.

And part of the fun is watching/experiencing a gaming group play it for the very first time, and seeing them resist then embrace it.

attackmonkey.bsky.social @attackmonkey.bsky.social · 1d

Having watched all of Friendship is Magic more times than I care to count with my daughter, it’s legit brilliant. Picked up the RPG after you mentioned it a while back and you’re right, it’s EXCELLENT.

3 1 35