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Jonathan Pinnock

@jonathanpinnock.com

800 followers 590 following 1.2K posts

Writes software and fiction. Tries to keep the two apart. Books published by Farrago and others. Supremo and Grand Panjandrum at the Worldwide Subbub Organisation. He/him. https://linktr.ee/jonpinnock

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Jonathan Pinnock @jonathanpinnock.com · Nov 12

Welcome my new followers. I clearly seem to be on some kind of list. In case any of you are interested, I write things. I've written seven novels, six of which are in the Mathematical Mystery series: moderately clever plots, quite funny, diverse cast. Also...

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Jonathan Pinnock @jonathanpinnock.com · 1d

Oh, that's sad.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 1d

Diane Keaton, Oscar-winning star of Annie Hall and The Godfather, dies aged 79

The Oscar-winner best known for her many collaborations with Woody Allen, as well as films including Reds, The First Wives Club and The Book Club, has died Diane Keaton, one of the best-loved film stars of the past 50 years, has died at the age of 79 in California. The news was confirmed by People magazine. Further details are not available at this time, and her loved ones have asked for privacy, according to a family spokesperson. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

Jonathan Pinnock @jonathanpinnock.com · 2d

Will be skeeting vaguely about this from time to time, so you may wish to block that hashtag in case the vagueness gets too annoying.

Jonathan Pinnock @jonathanpinnock.com · 2d

WIPWMNSTLOD (WIP Which May Never See The Light Of Day) now up to 12384 words. #WIPWMNSTLOD

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Reposted by Jonathan Pinnock

NevereverDave.bsky.social @nevereverdave.bsky.social · 3d

The British by Poet Mr #BenjaminZephaniah

Home

English Poets

The British by Benjamin Zephaniah

"Take some Picts, Celts and Silures And let them settle, Then overrun them with Roman conquerors.

Remove the Romans after approximately 400 years Add lots of Norman French to some Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings, then stir vigorously.

Mix some hot Chileans, cool Jamaicans, Dominicans, Trinidadians and Bajans with some Ethiopians, Chinese, Vietnamese and Sudanese.

Then take a blend of Somalians, Sri Lankans, Nigerians And Pakistanis, Combine with some Guyanese And turn up the heat.

Sprinkle some fresh Indians, Malaysians, Bosnians, Iraqis and Bangladeshis together with some Afghans, Spanish, Turkish, Kurdish, Japanese And Palestinians Then add to the melting pot.

Leave the ingredients to simmer.

As they mix and blend allow their languages to flourish Binding them together with English.

Allow time to be cool.

Add some unity, understanding, and respect for the future, Serve with justice And enjoy.

Note: All the ingredients are equally important. Treating one ingredient better than another will leave a bitter unpleasant taste.

Warning: An unequal spread of justice will damage the people and cause pain. Give justice and equality to all."

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Reposted by Jonathan Pinnock

Mayfair Cynic @mayfaircynic.bsky.social · 3d

"Yes, she's Venezuelan. Yes, 'she'."

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Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 5d

We have built a society in which people of different skin tones, religious backgrounds & cultures get along, share power, work alongside each other, procreate with each other, recognise the each other’s humanity and democratic rights. It is a STUNNING ACHIEVEMENT OF WORLD HISTORIC PROPORTIONS.

Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 5d

I know statistics are poorly understood and are misused. But facts matter

Between the 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2021 Census *every* ethnic group in the UK has become *less* geographically segregated and *all* groups, majority and minorities, are more likely to interact with people not like them

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Juno Rylee Schultz @junoryleejournalism.com · 4d

David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)

SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.

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Jonathan Pinnock @jonathanpinnock.com · 4d

Renowned author Dan Brown turns off the live stream, sits back and sighs. "Next year," he says to himself. "Next year."

Jonathan Pinnock @jonathanpinnock.com · 4d

Got published, several times.

Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 5d

Has anything great happened in your life because of social media?

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Jonathan Pinnock @jonathanpinnock.com · 5d

Now playing. I think this is my favourite KB song. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW5h...

Kate Bush - Moments of Pleasure - Official Music Video

YouTube video by KateBushMusic

www.youtube.com

Reposted by Jonathan Pinnock

Dan @danxduran.bsky.social · 7d

If you'd asked me which celebrity would posthumously unveil a list of people she wanted fired into the sun, I would not have guessed Jane Goodall

KOJAMF🤘🖤🤘 @kojamf.bsky.social · 8d

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

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Jonathan Pinnock @jonathanpinnock.com · 6d

Important post.

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 6d

Let’s talk about ‘whoa.’

First of all, ‘woah’ is not yet considered an established spelling variant of ‘whoa.’

While ‘woah’ has grown in prevalence since the late 20th century, ‘whoa’ is still about 5 times as common as ‘woah.’

Jonathan Pinnock @jonathanpinnock.com · 7d

I had no idea it was this bad

Jonathan Pinnock @jonathanpinnock.com · 7d

My God, these are magnificent

Sooz Kempner @soozuk.bsky.social · Oct 18

🧵Some real Jilly Cooper quotes from her Rutshire Chronicles, the series of books that Rivals is from.

1) "Her breasts swayed like party balloons when the front door opens"

Jonathan Pinnock @jonathanpinnock.com · 7d

Good grief

Rhodri Marsden @rhodri.biz · 7d

A text from my mum. The general population appear to be losing their minds

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John Self @john-self.bsky.social · 10d

"My name's Kitty. I could have married, I've given gallons of blood and I can't stomach whelks, so that's me for you."

RIP Patricia Routledge.

Patricia Routledge Kitty

YouTube video by ukcomedy

www.youtube.com

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Jonathan Pinnock @jonathanpinnock.com · 10d

Also IIRC played Hildegard von Bingen in a BBC drama doc. Brilliant actor.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 10d

Keeping Up Appearances actor Patricia Routledge dies aged 96

The actor was best known for her role as the pretentious housewife Hyacinth Bucket, and for the series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates Patricia Routledge, the stage and screen actor best known for starring as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances and Henrietta “Hetty” Wainthropp in the television series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, has died at the age of 96. Routledge was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, in 1929 and attended the University of Liverpool and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She began her career in theatre and musical theatre in 1952, later making her Broadway debut in 1966 in How’s the World Treating You. Routledge would go on to win a Tony award and an Olivier for her stage work, and was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company for several years, appearing in productions including Richard III, alongside Antony Sher. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

Jonathan Pinnock @jonathanpinnock.com · 10d

FICTION? FICTION?! YOU MEAN IT WASN’T REAL? YOU MONSTERS.

Reposted by Jonathan Pinnock

Sexy Andrew Hickey Costume @andrewhickey.500songs.com · 10d

There's a thread going round by a mutual I sort of want to jump off here, but not dunk on, about genAI "art" and how some people with good ideas might be able to use the tech to make decent work in limited forms like sketch comedy where the idea is everything.
And that's true, *but*...

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Jonathan Pinnock @jonathanpinnock.com · 11d

And of course, you have to go to YouTube to see it, and that wipes off the timestamp. So it's the bit at 15:00 mins ish.

Jonathan Pinnock @jonathanpinnock.com · 11d

This bit: youtu.be/cJOW5mlhH_Y?...

Martha Argerich: Ravel - Piano Concerto in G Major | Nobel Prize Concert 2009

YouTube video by EuroArtsChannel

youtu.be

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Kaveh Taherian @ NYCC D-33 @kavehtaherian.bsky.social · 11d

Jane Goodall came to our school when I was a kid. That whole week beforehand, all the teachers and faculty were freaking out and repeatedly telling us we had to be on our BEST behavior. This wasn’t some assembly about the importance of recycling, this was THE JANE GOODALL, who none of us knew.

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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 11d

One of my favorite anecdotes from THE PREHISTORY OF THE FAR SIDE: "That doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know."

A few days after this cartoon was published, my syndicate received a very indignant letter from someone representing the Jane Goodall Institute.
Not only did my syndicate and I both get read the Riot Act, there was a vague implication that litigation over this cartoon might be around the corner.
I was horrified. Not so much from a fear of being sued (I just couldn't see how this cartoon could be construed as anything but silly, but because of my deep respect for Jane Goodall and her well-known contributions to pri-matology. The last thing in the world I would have intentionally done was offend Dr. Goodall in any way.
Before I had a chance to write my apology, another complication arose.
The National Geographic Society contacted my syndicate and expressed a

desire to reprint the cartoon in a special centennial issue of their magazine. My editor, aware of what had just occurred, declined, explaining why.
Apparently, whoever it was that sent the inquiry from National Geographic was shocked. They told my editor that "that doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know." They did some checking themselves, and an interesting fact was eventually discovered: Jane Goodall loved the cartoon. Furthermore, she was totally unaware that any of this "stuff" was going on. Some phone calls were made, and the cartoon was not only reprinted in the centennial issue of National Geographic, but was also used by her Institute on a T-shirt for fund-raising purposes.
I've since had an opportunity to visit Dr. Goodall at her research facility in Gombe. It's a wonderful place (sort of like right out of National Geographic).
"To refer to Dr. Goodall as a tramp is inexcusable even by a self-described 'loony' as Larson. The cartoon was incredibly offensive and in such poor taste that readers might well question the editorial judgment of running such an atrocity in a newspaper that reputes to be supplying news to persons with a better than average intelligence. The cartoon and its message were absolutely stupid." —Excerpt from the above-mentioned letter that started the ruckus

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Jason Hazeley @jasonhazeley.bsky.social · 11d

Nick Drake delivered the lyrics to the designer of the Five Leaves Left sleeve long before the album was finished — and this verse of ‘River Man’ went unrecorded.

Lyric:

Betty fell behind awhile,
Said she hadn't time to smile,
Or die in style,
But still she tries,
Said her time was growing short,
Hadn't done the things she ought
Where teacher taught
And father flies.

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Jonathan Pinnock @jonathanpinnock.com · 14d

"Age yourself with a movie you saw in theatres as a kid"