GrumpyMark
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grumpymark.bsky.social
GrumpyMark
@grumpymark.bsky.social
240 followers 400 following 1.6K posts
He/Him. North West England. Neurodivergent, apparently. Nerdy. Green. Socialist. Amateur artist. Very broad music taste. Particle Physics PhD. 20+ years software development. Fan of maps. Obsessed by ancient history. No Alt-Text, no re-post.
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grumpymark.bsky.social
I decided to dodge the rain and opted for a dry apple juice.
A pint of dry cider… “Real Cider” apparently. 6% ABV.
November 13, 2025 at 2:58 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
Global government debt reached $110,000,000,000 in 2025.

Only two sovereign states in the world are believed to be completely free of debt: Liechtenstein and Niue.

And still we persist with this system.
Gross national debt ranked by country: 1 U.S. $38.27 trillion 2 China $18.68 trillion 3 Japan $9.83 trillion 4 U.K. $4.09 trillion 5 France $3.92 trillion 6 Italy $3.48 trillion 7 India $3.36 trillion 8 Germany $3.23 trillion 9 Canada $2.60 trillion 10 Brazil $2.06 trillion 11 Spain $1.9 trillion 12 Mexico $1.1 trillion 13 Singapore $1.01 trillion 14 South Korea $990 billion 15 Australia $930 billion
November 7, 2025 at 1:56 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
Bloke with a poppy on staring at me… obviously wants a word.

Probably because I’m wearing this Cardiacs shirt and thinks I’m a woke leftist. He is correct.
A Cardiacs white daisy shirt, a cut-down version of the album cover to “A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window” which may look like a white poppy.
November 6, 2025 at 4:11 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
I’m now on apple juice, because it is healthy
A pint of 6.7% “whisky cask” cider which tastes just like ordinary non-alcoholic apple juice with a slight hint of whisky in the aftertaste.
November 6, 2025 at 3:06 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
A nice refreshing cola drink, honest
Actually a photo of a schooner of 7% chocolate orange porter. Very nice it is too.
November 6, 2025 at 2:28 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
Opening Bluesky for the first time each day with trepidation...
A photo from from the 1964 movie Zulu, Michael Caine and Stanley Baker's British redcoat officer characters looking away into the distance with the overlaid text 'Opinions on social media, sir... thousands!of 'em"
October 30, 2025 at 11:41 AM
grumpymark.bsky.social
I’ve given up on doing anything constructive today, so I’ve gone “shopping”.
The remaining three quarters of a pint of pale ale, in a straight glass on a wood finish table. Photographed from the perspective of someone who is about to take another sip.
October 27, 2025 at 2:30 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
Judging by the ads I am being fed online, The Algorithm has just decided that I should start dying my hair.

The Algorithm is either an imbecile or a troll.
The top of my mostly bald head, viewed from the front, with short white/grey hair visible above the ears.
October 7, 2025 at 10:03 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
Sometimes I find myself thinking:

It wasn't remotely the best of times, it was the dumbest of times...
Opening passage from A Tale Of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
October 7, 2025 at 1:25 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
Describe your Bluesky account with one image.

See the Alt Text description for further details.
An abstract image made of an interlocking number of vaguely geometrical shapes. Only three colours are used: black, medium blue and pale yellow. There is no discernible pattern to the picture, which contains both straight edges and curves used seemingly at random. How does this represent my Bluesky account? Well, it probably doesn't, except for the randomness, but at least I got you to look briefly at a piece of art I did and ponder what it means. I am thinking of calling this piece: This Artist Is Anti-Fascist. Fascists don't like art which may cause the viewer to think for themselves. They think that sort of art is decadent.
October 6, 2025 at 9:37 AM
grumpymark.bsky.social
An old digital oil painting, painted on a tablet using an app (Artrage) which simulates real art media.
A view down an English country lane, with sunlight bursting through a wooded area to the left. The viewer is on the road, looking down a long green "tunnel" into the distance. The log dark shadows of 4 thick tree stumps lie across the road indicating that the sun is low in the sky. Although not visible, the sun's location is indicated by the bright green-yellow light bursting trhough the foliage/woodland in the distance. This brightness is enhanced by the shadows cast by the denser low-lying plants/hedgerows by the side of the lane. With the advantage of hindsight the artist is fairly happy with the lighting effects created in this piece.
September 18, 2025 at 1:03 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
Britain gets more right wing every day
A lamppost with a weirdly alien-robot-head like main light, and a second light, which looks like an outstretched arm doing a Nazi salute
August 15, 2025 at 3:31 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
Rebellion Festival starts tomorrow.

Rebellion Fringe doesn’t like rules.

Just saw a band called The P45”s blow the roof off a bar that is usually a good place for a quiet drink on a Wednesday at 4pm.

#Blackpool #RebellionFringe
#ShickersTavern
An army of punks stood around outside a nondescript small bar which normally has around 5 people in it in the late afternoon. Decent jukebox.
August 6, 2025 at 4:23 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
This unremarkable terrace building was finished in the year 8817. Or perhaps even 8781.

I supposed it could be 1788 (given that a pub about a mile away was built in 1776). But that makes it nearly as old as the USA, so that can’t be right.

“This pub is older than your country”

#NorthernEngland
An street sign which says “BELLEVUE ?X? TERRACE”, in black on a whitewashed wall. All lettering is in capitals. The ?X? looks like an each S superimposed over a H, with numbers at top (8), bottom (87, left (1) and right (8). It reminded me of a NY/HC logo from the 80s/99s
August 1, 2025 at 2:35 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
Yesterday I "accidentally" took a half-decent, dramatic looking, photograph on my old iPhone 6.

#Blackpool
A view of Blackpool Tower looking South East from North Pier. The Tower and the other buildings on the promenade are in partial silhouette against the dramatic sky, which is a mixture of blue sky in the distance (towards South Shore) and slightly ominous looking rain clouds over the centre of Blackpool. The tide is out, and a sandy beach lies between the viewer and the sea wall. Water channels and pools of water are visible on the right, in the direction of the out-of-shot sea.
July 17, 2025 at 10:23 AM
grumpymark.bsky.social
Saw mention of (US-centric) Jock/Nerd, Preppy/Goth test so decided to do it while waiting for the bus.

The amount of Goth is about right… I listen to the music and wear dark clothing but don’t sleep in a coffin, light candles, avoid sunlight or take heroin.

Not surprised about the nerd bit. So🤷‍♂️
A 2D “spectrum” indicating that GrumpMark is nearly a total nerd, and 50% of the way to being a total goth
July 9, 2025 at 3:50 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
Lunch. Not Guinness. Not even a stout.
The majority of a pint of dark mild, on a beer mat, on a wooden table, in a traditional English pub on the Fylde coast
July 9, 2025 at 1:04 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
I’m “shopping” this Monday afternoon
A cloudy pint of pale ale on a pub bar, with blurred hints of beer pumps in the background. The pint has had one large sip taken out of it. This beer is often cloudy, so no worries there.
July 7, 2025 at 1:37 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
Music as protest...

Bob Dylan: Masters Of War (1963)
Bob Dylan: Masters Of War (1963) Come you masters of war You that build all the guns You that build the death planes You that build the big bombs You that hide behind walls You that hide behind desks I just want you to know I can see through your masks ... All the money you made Will never buy back your soul And I hope that you die And your death’ll come soon I will follow your casket In the pale afternoon And I’ll watch while you’re lowered Down to your deathbed And I’ll stand o’er your grave ’Til I’m sure that you’re dead
June 29, 2025 at 1:32 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
Woke up to find a new Public Enemy album had dropped on Bandcamp... which is to be celebrated, in my opinion.

It is "Name Your Price" ... so I paid what I thought was reasonable for 40 minutes of new music.

Just started listening to it.

Join the resistance.

#PublicEnemy
The new Public Enemy album "Black Sky Over The Projects: Apartment 2025" being played in a music player. The album cover is a drawing/painting by Chuck D, showing a stylised representation of a New York style housing project... all dark lines, and washed out, dirty, grimey sandstone and red brick. The current song being played is Track 1 of 12, "Slick"
June 28, 2025 at 9:38 AM
grumpymark.bsky.social
From this summary of his views, Aldous Huxley's concerns were totally justified...
A screenshot from Wikipedia's entry on Aldous Huxley. Late-in-Life Perspectives Biographer Harold H. Watts wrote that Huxley's writings in the "final and extended period of his life" are "the work of a man who is meditating on the central problems of many modern men". Huxley had deeply felt apprehensions about the future the developed world might make for itself. From these, he made some warnings in his writings and talks. In a 1958 televised interview conducted by journalist Mike Wallace, Huxley outlined several major concerns: the difficulties and dangers of world overpopulation; the tendency towards distinctly hierarchical social organisation; the crucial importance of evaluating the use of technology in mass societies susceptible to persuasion; the tendency to promote modern politicians to a naive public as well-marketed commodities  In a December 1962 letter to brother Julian, summarizing a paper he had presented in Santa Barbara, he wrote, "What I said was that if we didn't pretty quickly start thinking of human problems in ecological terms rather than in terms of power politics we should very soon be in a bad way."
June 26, 2025 at 10:14 AM
grumpymark.bsky.social
Nobel Peace Prize incoming...
An empty bottle with a badly doctored label stating "Trump's Peace SNAKE OIL MIRACLE ELIXIR", with a the gurning orange face of The TACO Don in the centre, and the standard "poison" skull-and-crossbones motif either side at the bottom of the label.
June 24, 2025 at 12:12 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
My favourite song at the moment is definitely Half Man Half Biscuit's alt-country, spaghetti-western theme tuneish "McCalliog And His Hens".

This is from Neil Warnock's wikipedia page, and it needs to be made TBH...

#HalfManHalfBiscuit
In Popular Culture The sleeve notes to the Half Man Half Biscuit album All Asimov And No Fresh Air describe the song "McCalliog And His Hens" as a "Theme song commissioned for brand new television crime drama due to be aired in the Autumn of 2025 in which Neil Warnock stars as an under the radar law enforcer who, along with a brood of other-worldly leghorns, confronts rural villainy in south-west England (featuring Tilda Swinton as the love interest)."
June 22, 2025 at 10:25 AM
grumpymark.bsky.social
I definitely haven’t gone “shopping in Blackpool” again.
A close-up photo of the last 25% of a pint of some sort of dark beer, which was absolutely relished with gusto.
June 13, 2025 at 2:04 PM
grumpymark.bsky.social
I’ve gone shopping in Blackpool again
Two half-pint glasses of beer. The first is a pale IPA,75% drunk. The second is a dark stout, currently untouched, but not for long.
June 6, 2025 at 12:14 PM