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markdudley.bsky.social
Mark Dudley
@markdudley.bsky.social
1.2K followers 2.1K following 250 posts
Writing crime 'High Water' - shortlisted: 2024 Yeovil Novel Prize, longlisted: 2025 Retreat West Opening Lines: Top 100 Bath Novel Award 'Dead Wood' - longlisted: 2022 Exeter Novel Prize and 2023 Grindstone Literary Prize https://linktr.ee/markdudleyauthor
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hookland.bsky.social
hookland.bsky.social @hookland.bsky.social · 1h
Folklore has it that any avatar of the Queen of Owls becomes her eyes. Every carved effigy, every tempera icon is part of intelligence. A thousand wooden spies whisper our secrets to her. – #CLNolan
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markdudley.bsky.social
Mark Dudley @markdudley.bsky.social · 1d
Everyone should be more Virginia Woolf
womensartbluesky.bsky.social
womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 1d
I will cut adrift—I will sit on pavements and drink coffee—I will dream; I will take my mind out of its iron cage and let it swim—this fine October.

- Virginia Woolf
#Womensart
Monochrome photograph featuring a white woman sitting sideways on a patterned armchair dressed in a dark jacket and skirt and with her hand raised to her face
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
littleblackduck.bsky.social
littleblackduck @littleblackduck.bsky.social · 3d
Cows they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
There’s many things I could have done
But cows got in my way
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
sturdyalex.bsky.social
Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 3d
Watching the Bibi & Don Show treat this like some grand victory, while people returning to northern Gaza dig the rubble for loved ones' remains, is pretty revolting.
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
beatraxa.bsky.social
@beatraxa @beatraxa.bsky.social · 3d
So far, the content and presentation at the Knesset hardly bodes well for future peace. No mention of hope or reconciliation. No recognition of the suffering of Palestinians. It’s just a glory fest for a bunch of out of control narcissists.

Peace and Freedom for all. I hope for better leadership.
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
8letters.co.uk
Iain @8letters.co.uk · 6d
Joanna Lumley killing it as usual.
"I'm an immigrant"
I say this frequently when bigots are complaining about immigration and they immediately stop because they can't say what they are thinking. Except that one Brit in Spain who literally said "but you're white" before realising what he had said.
implausibleblog.bsky.social
Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 6d
After pointing out that she's an immigrant Joanna Lumley asks why we don't fix the problems that create asylum seekers and address climate change
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
13sarahmurphy.bsky.social
Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 3d
Corrupt chancers urged to come up with an economic plan that isn’t utter bullshit. So, no tax cuts and austerity on steroids for a country already stuck in Farage’s Brexit dead end.
But hey, some super wealthy industry big (k)nobs will come on board to help con the little guy.

(Times)
Times Farage to abandon manifesto's big plans for tax cuts Extracts: Farage will break with his manifesto pledges of £90 billion in tax cuts as he attempts to bolster his party's economic credibility. The leader of Reform UK will promise not to reduce taxes before reducing spending, deep cuts to the civil service and a ban on borrowing to fund government expenditure in his first big speech on the economy next month. "Reform will never borrow to spend, as Labour and the Tories have done for so long; instead, we will ensure savings are made before implementing tax cuts. I will have more to say on all this in the coming weeks." Speaking on the campaign trail before the Caerphilly by-election to the Welsh parliament on October 23, he did not respond to demands to name his shadow chancellor but suggested he would soon be able to draw on backing from the business community. Several high-profile figures from industry have privately indicated they would be willing to serve in a Reform cabinet, party officials said Farage said: "We will be launching between now and the budget, a new campaign — an economic campaign ... it's going to be very impactful. It'll another high-profile individual coming into politics from outside of politics, who's been supremely successful in their world." Promising a "total change of attitude" on the economy, he said: "We are not a party dominated by corporate thinking. The Tories and La-bour are both dominated by corporate thinking." The IFS has questioned whether Reform's economic plans are credible warning last year that the party had overestimated how much it could save through spending cuts: "Even with the extremely optimistic assumptions about how much economic growth would increase, the sums in this manifesto do not add up." Right-leaning think tanks have also urged the party to set out more credible policy. The Institute for Economic Affairs last month called for Reform to "put some serious economic policies on the table".
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
ukdefencejournal.org.uk
UK Defence Journal @ukdefencejournal.org.uk · 3d
A video released by Andrew Snowden MP has sparked bemusement after he accused Labour of misunderstanding fighter aircraft while misidentifying one himself in the same video.
ukdefencejournal.org.uk/tory-mp-conf...
Tory MP confuses fighter jets while accusing Labour of same
A video released by Andrew Snowden MP has sparked bemusement after he accused Labour of misunderstanding fighter aircraft while misidentifying one himself in the same video.
ukdefencejournal.org.uk
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
rsthomaspoet.bsky.social
R S Thomas (poet) @rsthomaspoet.bsky.social · 4d
‘Seventieth Birthday’ - #RSThomas
(Between Here and Now, Macmillan)
#Bardd #Barddoniaeth #Cerdd
#Poet #Poetry #Poem
Text of poem - Seventieth Birthday. Made of tissue and H20, and activated by cells firing - Ah, heart, the legend of your person ! Did I invent it, and is it in being still? In the competition with other women your victory is assured. It is time, as Yeats said, is the caterpillar in the cheek's rose, the untiring witherer of your petals. You are drifting away from me on the whitening current of your hair. I lean far out from the bone's bough, knowing the hand I extend can save nothing of you but your love.
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
g0blinegg.bsky.social
NearlyKnowledgeable @g0blinegg.bsky.social · 4d
I adore this ghost ridden land 🦇

#ghosts #Shropshire #paranormal #Folklore
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
herne-thehunter.bsky.social
Dean @herne-thehunter.bsky.social · 5d
I can find 11 and it’s ruined my weekend
lbflyawayhome.bsky.social
Helen Day @lbflyawayhome.bsky.social · 5d
An observation test for you - for your inner 8 year-old

“The artist has hidden 12 things in this picture. How many can you find?”

Treasure magazine, 1964
Official answers coming soon

(Even if you don’t reply, could you please ‘like’ or share this one? 🙏)
Black-and-white picture of two children playing in woodland. Also in the picture, there are 12 hidden animals including an owl, a bat and a squirrel.
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markdudley.bsky.social
Mark Dudley @markdudley.bsky.social · 5d
I eventually found the twelfth. :)
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pigasuspress.bsky.social
Tony Lee @pigasuspress.bsky.social · 6d
Yeah, morning...
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
michaeljsc.bsky.social
Michael @michaeljsc.bsky.social · 10d
perfect detail
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13sarahmurphy.bsky.social
Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 11d
We flounced out of the EU on the say-so of politicians who lied to us. And what a total shitshow that’s turned out to be. The polar opposite of what they promised. Now the call to flounce out of the ECHR. By the same people. Telling the same lies. Has the country been kicked in the head by a horse?
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oxinabox.bsky.social
Frames @oxinabox.bsky.social · 11d
as a girl with a PhD in natural language processing and machine learning it's actually offensive to me when you say "we don't know how LLMs work so they might be conscious"

I didn't spend 10 years in mines of academia to be told ignorance is morally equal knowledge.

We know exactly how LLMs work.
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
alisonfisk.bsky.social
Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 12d
Something lovely for the weekend!

Ancient Egyptian gold headband decorated with heads of gazelles and a stag between stars or flowers. Second Intermediate (Hyksos) period, Dynasty 15, c. 1648–1540 BC. 📷 The Met www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...

#Archaeology
Met Museum photo of an Ancient Egyptian gold head ornament viewed from the front against a grey background. The headband is made of hammered sheet gold, the ends of which have been tapered to a narrower width and rolled to form loops. A string would have threaded through the loops to fasten the band around the head at the back. The front of the band is decorated with a central head of an antlered stag, identified as the Persian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica). The stag has two large antlers, large ears and a triangular-shaped head. It is flanked on either side by two gazelle heads. The gazelle heads have long ears and long curved horns which point outwards at the tip. Between the animal heads are four 8-pointed flowers or stars. Dimensions: height of central stag 8.9, length of headband 49.5 cm. Dated to the Second Intermediate period (c. 1648-1540 BC) when northern Egypt was ruled by the Hyksos from the ancient Near East. Said to be part of a group of objects found in the Eastern Delta near Avaris, the Hyksos capital. The headband shows a mix of ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian artistic styles.
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
adambienkov.bsky.social
Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 11d
"Milei is amazing. It's Thatcherism on steroids. Cutting and slashing. That's leadership" - Nigel Farage

Milei would be the "template" for my government - Kemi Badenoch
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kellyscaletta.bsky.social
Machine Pun Kelly @kellyscaletta.bsky.social · 12d
Somewhere in America, a young Hispanic girl is hiding in an attic writing a diary.
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
writerunboxed.bsky.social
writerunboxed.bsky.social @writerunboxed.bsky.social · 13d
No matter how weirdly different our methods, our brains do something AI will never accomplish. Author Kelsey Allagood unravels the awesome weirdness, today at WU.
Your Brain Is a Story Machine
Note: When I wrote about being a neurodivergent writer last time, many of you told me it was the first time you felt truly seen. That meant so much to me. I realized I had more thoughts about it, s…
writerunboxed.com
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
g0blinegg.bsky.social
NearlyKnowledgeable @g0blinegg.bsky.social · 17d
I just wanted to thank you for being so lovely. Thank you for all the interest in my research, my blog, and posts. I truly believe that local folklore and history deserve to be championed and have always tried my best to capture its importance.💚

#history #shropshire #folklore #localhistorymatters
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
gnofhorror.com
Ginger Nuts of Horror @gnofhorror.com · 13d
Sorry, but I found this really funny. And Casper would look amazing in a Tux
A regal figure in historical attire stands in a lush landscape, holding a hat, while a tuxedoed dog sits attentively by his side. With the text I threw a ball for my dog. Extravagant, I know. But he looks amazing in a tuxedo
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
barbarabyar.bsky.social
BOObara Byar 👻👻 @barbarabyar.bsky.social · 15d
Welcome to October Country
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Reposted by Mark Dudley
maga-crime-watch.bsky.social
maga-crime-watch.bsky.social @maga-crime-watch.bsky.social · 15d
The number of people that go bankrupt every year from medical bills:

Canada - 0

Australia- 0

France - 0

Sweden - 0

Norway - 0

Spain - 0

Portugal - 0

UK - 0

Finland - 0

Iceland - 0

Germany - 0

United States - 326,000
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drrachelclarke.com
Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 15d
Here I am in 2020 in the flimsiest, most pitful PPE - like so many other NHS staff, some of whom died from the Covid they caught in their hospitals.

Tory peer Michelle Mone - who today lost her legal case & must repay the govt £122m - dares to claim she’s been ‘scapegoated’.

What, Michelle? 🧵
Rachel wearing very flimsy looking apron, mask and visor in NHS setting
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