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outeast.bsky.social
felt smart, might delete later
@outeast.bsky.social
140 followers 480 following 1.9K posts
Won't post much as I have no insight or expertise, but sometimes forget that when drunk with the power of a keyboard. Pronouns whatever. Writer, editor etc. of ESL materials in Prague. Interests here: Politics, climate, SFF, linguistics, i dunno
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outeast.bsky.social
My favourite point of comparison with "six-seven" is the Victorian "fat bacon" as referenced by Canadian writer Robertson Davies in "World of Wonders". Such meaningless catchphrases were common (as @greengodictionary.bsky.social will affirm) but I love how literally no one gets it. Sooooo Gen V.
There were people who sucked in their breath when I thumbed my nose while walking the tightrope; they thought I was Sir John, you see, and they couldn't imagine a knight committing such an unspeakable rudery in the presence of an Earl. But Milady told me the Earl was away behind the times; he didn't know what it meant in Canadian terms, and thought it still meant something called 'fat bacon,' which I suppose was Victorian. He guffawed and thumbed his nose and muttered, 'Fat bacon, what?' at the supper party afterward, at which Mr Mackenzie King was a guest.
December 19, 2025 at 9:21 PM
outeast.bsky.social
Picked this up as a curiosity when I was a teen because of the explicit lyrics warning. It blew my mind. Another compilation I still listen to, though the CD was damaged before I ripped it so I'm missing several tracks. They're probably on YouTube these days, of course.
CD cover, Empty Bed Blues - Best of the Good Time Mommas featuring Bessie Smith, Alberta Hunter, Memphis Minnie etc.
December 17, 2025 at 2:28 PM
outeast.bsky.social
The Golden Afrique series (HIGHLIGHTS AND RARITIES FROM THE GOLDEN ERA OF AFRICAN POP MUSIC, 1971-1983) was a revelation. So was its sister series, Desert Blues. I own albums by quite a few of these artists now but still listen to the compilations.
The cover of Golden Afrique vol 1. A plack-and-white photo of a man in a suit dancing and grinning. HIGHLIGHTS AND RARITIES FROM THE GOLDEN ERA OF AFRICAN POP MUSIC (1971-1983): MALI, SENEGAL, THE GAMBIA, IVORY COAST, GUINEA, GUINEA-BISSAU, CHAD, TOGO CD 1 1. MAITRE GAZONGA: LES JALOUX SABOTEURS 8:27 2. BÉBÉ MANGA: AMIE 7:05 3. AMADOU BALAKÉ: TAXIMEN 7:41 4. ERNESTO DJÉDJE: ZIBOTÉ 5:47 5. DE MI AMOR: LONLON NYEKU 5:51 6. SORY BAMBA DU MALI: DIS-MOI LA VÉRITÉ 6:09 7. OUSMANE KOUYATE: BENI HAMINANKO 8:48 8. AMBASSADEURS DU MOTEL: BOLOLA SANOU 4:55 9. RAIL BAND: RAIL BAND 6:28 10. AMBASSADEURS INTERNATIONAL: N'TOMAN 8:30 TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 70:00 CD 2 1. SUPER MAMA DJOMBO: DISSAN NA M'BERA 5:12 2. NO.1 DE DAKAR: YAYE BOYE 5:12 3. ÉTOILE DE DAKAR: MANE KOUMA XOL 4:49 4. ÉTOILE DE DAKAR: THIELY 4:07 5. ORCHESTRA BAOBAB: AUTORAIL 6:58 6. IDY DIOP: YAYE BOYE 4.55 7. GUELEWAR BAND OF BANJUL: WARTEEF JIGGEEN 6:49 8. SUPER EAGLES: ALIOU GORI-MAMI 2:36 9. SUPER EAGLES: GAMBIA/ZAMBIA 3:28 10. BALLA ET SES BALLADINS: PAULETTE 7:39 11. MIRIAM MAKEBA: MALOUYAME 3:35 12. ORCHESTRE DE LA PAILLOTTE: KADIA BLUES 4:43 13. AMAZONES DE GUINEE: SAMBA 4:53 14. BEMBEYA JAZZ NATIONAL: TENTEMBA 8:49
December 17, 2025 at 2:11 PM
outeast.bsky.social
This 1998 magazine freebie that I nicked off my kid brother was full of pretty obvious artists, but the songs themselves weren't all the basic hits (Sylvia for Pulp, for instance, not Common People or Sorted) and there's not a dud track on it. I still listen to it.
CD cover. It shows white clouds in a blue sky with the Time Out and PlayStation logos. The title is given as Glorious: the ultimate festival compilation. Listed are Pulp, Blur, Tricky, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Bernard Butler, Morcheeba, Dr John, Coldcut, Monkey Mafia, Simple Minds, Drugstore and more
December 17, 2025 at 2:04 PM
outeast.bsky.social
Why did no one tell me that Nina Conti has a new furry love story weird comedy road movie out??
Poster for Sunlight. A person in a monkey suit awkwardly faces a middle-aged man in a red lumberjack shirt and blue jeans. In the background, a large chrome RV with what appears to be a banana boat strapped to the roof. The setting is the New Mexico desert, probably.
December 10, 2025 at 3:43 PM
outeast.bsky.social
It's a cursed job. Though admittedly I know more about doing it in the Paris metro than on the bus.
A double page spread from "The House that Beebo Built" by Philippe Fix. There are three long pictures showing sections of a metro station with people waiting, posters on the wall etc. In the first one, the eponymous Beebo is in a ticket booth at the end of the platform. A butterfly is fluttering from the darkness of the tunnel. The text reads: "On Monday morning Beebo returned to work. He wore his cap and uniform and carried his ticket-puncher. He did not feel happy away from the sun." "Ah well,' he thought, 'the time will pass and I'll soon be back in the fresh air. I wish I could flutter in the sunshine like a butterfly...." Next, the butterfly is fluttering by Beebo. He's leaving his booth to follow. Text: "Suddenly Beebo rubbed his eyes. He could not believe what he saw. There, coming out of the long, dark tunnel, was a pretty yellow butterfly. "Oh, the poor creature," he murmured. "What will become of it in these dreadful dungeons! I must capture it and take it back to the light." In the last picture, Beebo is at the far end of the platform, beyond all the passengers, trying to catch the butterfly in his flat cap. Text: Beebo rushed after it, trying to catch it in his cap. At this moment the first passengers began to arrive. There was no ticket-puncher! Unfortunately for Beebo, it was also the very moment that the station master decided to come and inspect the platform. He looked most annoyed.
November 30, 2025 at 12:59 PM
outeast.bsky.social
Good morning first snow of the year!
View from a window over a garden. You can see neighbouring houses and a walnut tree with a German-style Christmas star lamp hanging from it. There's a couple of centimetres of snow over everything. It's a terrible photo. But: snow!
November 24, 2025 at 7:20 AM
outeast.bsky.social
I've tried to figure it out and the closest I can come is that he associates lanyards with conferences
Lord Glasman in a lanyard at the Labour Party Conference
November 23, 2025 at 9:03 PM
outeast.bsky.social
Day of Struggle for Freedom and Democracy.
Old Town Square in central Prague, full of protesters. You can see Czech and EU flags and a sign saying "Democracy is NOT Dead". The Tyne Church is in the background.
November 17, 2025 at 3:29 PM
outeast.bsky.social
I'm sure this must have been featured many times
Sign for a village called Pratt's Bottom
November 7, 2025 at 8:58 PM
outeast.bsky.social
All else aside, I can't help thinking that public sculpture needs to be a bit more resilient than this. How long would it have been before this started to wrinkle, peel, flake etc?
Picture of the damage caused by the googly eyes. A thin layer of blue paint has peeled away in each eye location to reveal a white undercoat.
November 7, 2025 at 1:02 PM
outeast.bsky.social
I don't know if that's really the Green Party position or just that person's wishlist. This was their official position a few months ago (in July), though it was before the change of leadership.
In anticipation of the outcome of the strategic defence review being published today, Ellie Chowns MP, who holds the defence brief for the Parliamentary Green Party, said: “We acknowledge the need for greater defence spending and continued NATO membership, but also call for a more thorough reappraisal of strategic defence alliances. With Trump no longer a reliable ally, we need to deepen our defence cooperation with the EU, and review AUKUS. “A Green approach to security is not based on arms and threats, but on the three Ds: diplomacy and development as well as defence. Defence policy should not be a simple competition over spending, but based on real commitment to an international order based on human rights, equality and genuine cooperation. “If we are to avoid the horror of war, we need to look at the deeper causes of insecurity, including poverty and climate change. We strongly support the restoration of the international aid budget to at least 0.7% of GNI, with a considerable proportion spent on climate action. “And we will continue to argue that real patriotism means to stand against UK-made weapons or components being sold to dictators, human rights abusers or for use against civilians anywhere in the world.”
November 3, 2025 at 1:24 PM
outeast.bsky.social
If that's true, it's a big shift from a few months ago and this far more sensible official Green Party position as published on the Green Party's website.
Screenshot of a Green Party statement from July 2025: In anticipation of the outcome of the strategic defence review being published today, Ellie Chowns MP, who holds the defence brief for the Parliamentary Green Party, said: “We acknowledge the need for greater defence spending and continued NATO membership, but also call for a more thorough reappraisal of strategic defence alliances. With Trump no longer a reliable ally, we need to deepen our defence cooperation with the EU, and review AUKUS. “A Green approach to security is not based on arms and threats, but on the three Ds: diplomacy and development as well as defence. Defence policy should not be a simple competition over spending, but based on real commitment to an international order based on human rights, equality and genuine cooperation. “If we are to avoid the horror of war, we need to look at the deeper causes of insecurity, including poverty and climate change. We strongly support the restoration of the international aid budget to at least 0.7% of GNI, with a considerable proportion spent on climate action. “And we will continue to argue that real patriotism means to stand against UK-made weapons or components being sold to dictators, human rights abusers or for use against civilians anywhere in the world.”
November 3, 2025 at 1:21 PM
outeast.bsky.social
If you see this, quote with a vampire that is not Dracula.
A page from a Victorian penny dreadful. It has an etching of a woman in a nightdress being dragged from her bed and fed on by a vampire. This vamp is no handsome seducer: his hands are like claws, his face thin and maddened, his limbs thin, dessicated corpse-flesh. Nevertheless, most would probably guess it to be Dracula, but it is his literary forebear, the dreaded Varney the Vampyre.
October 31, 2025 at 7:34 PM
outeast.bsky.social
If you see this, quote with a robot that isn’t from “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” “Doctor Who,” or “Transformers.”
A young, scared-looking boy undergoing some kind of brain scan. But is all as it seems? No - for this is Daryl, or more properly, D. A. R. Y. L. , which stands for "Data-Analyzing Robot Youth Lifeform."
October 31, 2025 at 1:23 PM
outeast.bsky.social
Still so proud of my old hometown's solution to the "but it's part of our history" crowd
Statue of Edward Colston, slave trader, being toppled during the BLM protests in Bristol, England Colston being dumped in the docks by a crowd of protestors The statue displayed in M-Shed museum, prostrate and heavily defaced with graffiti, and now part of a permanent exhibition about protest in the city and the city's links to the historical slave trade.
October 27, 2025 at 9:57 PM
outeast.bsky.social
Hmm, this slide seems to suggest that the overall ranking is based on data from the G7 countries, even though the research was carried out more widely? Odd if so. Still, with 15-minute questionnaires, it's got to be very superficial.
A slide from a presentation. There's a map showing where the research was carried out; it covers most of the world but with vast gaps in Africa and the Middle East. The text reads: RepCore® Nations 2025 Research scope- 4th Year Target: General population - residents in the 38 countries included in the fieldwork, over 18 years of age and with an Internet connection. Countries analyzed: Top 60 economies by GDP 2025-14 additional countries The overall ranking refers to the 60 countries with the highest GDP, as analyzed based on public opinion of the G7 countries Methodology: 15 minutes online survey Fieldwork period: March-April 2025 Sample size: 61.798 individual interviews
October 25, 2025 at 7:12 AM
outeast.bsky.social
Since our Booby is a San Francisco lad, here's a picture of some presumably healthy children presumably enjoying a healthy post-prandial rest at the San Francisco Children's I'm Guessing It Must Be Hotel
An archive photo of children in hospital beds in what seems to be a large circular room with windows all around. It is the Little Jim Ward of the San Francisco Children's Hospital, founded in the 1870s. The picture is from 1938.
October 24, 2025 at 2:29 PM
outeast.bsky.social
Stop scrolling and post two characters who bring you happiness.
Sink me, if it isn't Sir Ian McKellen as Chauvelin and Anthony Andrews as Sir Percy Blakeney/the Scarlet Pimpernel in the 1982 TV movie adaptation.
October 20, 2025 at 10:08 PM
outeast.bsky.social
I thought that couldn't possibly be true but apparently a survey for MoneySuperMarket agrees - for Scotland, anyway. Plus 1 in 10 tooth fairy payments are now cashless! Hell, handbasket, civilization crumbling etc
Our data revealed that the average tooth payout ranges from 51p to £1 but that the tooth fairy is significantly more generous in Greater London and Scotland, where kids are cashing in a whopping £4.51- £5 on average.
October 19, 2025 at 6:45 PM
outeast.bsky.social
Looking at the details of the image I was pretty much sure it was AI, but nope - compression. The original picture is clear.
October 19, 2025 at 8:46 AM
outeast.bsky.social
When I read "people are afraid to say it", I thought you were going to repeat the techs-on-Bluesky complaint that anything other than absolute rejection gets you added to "AI apologist" blocklists etc. I didn't know there was an even greater absolutism in the other direction in the industry.
People worry that not being seen as mindless, uncritical AI cheerleaders will be a career-limiting move in the current environment of enforced conformity within tech
October 18, 2025 at 2:10 PM
outeast.bsky.social
Lovely idiom here.
Screen grab from the judge's comments. The relevant sentence is: [The echo chamber effect of social media] makes it less likely that they will encounter someone with the decency or wit to tell people like Danielle Collins to "catch yourself on."
October 15, 2025 at 1:28 PM
outeast.bsky.social
Interesting - is this a British Vs American English divergence? I'd have gone with staunch over stanch there. Hmm. My British dictionary likes both. How about ngrams? "Staunch" well outweighs "stanch" in BrE but they track each other closely in AmE.
Part of the beginning of an entry for staunch (verb) in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Stanch is given only as a variant spelling. The entry for stanch in the sOED. It says only that it's a variant of staunch. Ngram for staunch Vs stanch the bleeding in British English. Both are similarly prevalent till about 2000, after which staunch really takes off. Ngram for staunch Vs stanch the bleeding in American English. Stanch dominated in the 19th century but they track each very, very closely from 1900 on.
October 14, 2025 at 3:27 PM
outeast.bsky.social
Then maybe you can answer the call ;)
A screenshot of a skeet by Duncan Jones: Someone scan those pages, get them online, and get them Steisanding, at!
October 9, 2025 at 2:42 PM