Matthew Parrott
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parrottmatthew.bsky.social
Matthew Parrott
@parrottmatthew.bsky.social
140 followers 220 following 49 posts
41, father of two, a fascination with wildlife and aviation, manager at RAF Air Defence Radar Museum, Norfolk @rafadrm.bsky.social
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Reposted by Matthew Parrott
scientits.bsky.social
Every Far Side cartoon is amazing, but having a science background, this is my personal favourite

The cow slapping the man and his glasses coming off sends me every time
Gary Larson Far Side cartoon Testing whether or not animals “kiss” A group of male scientists in white lab coats are in a lab, one of the men is kissing an Armadillo At the back a cow standing upright has slapped one of the men round the face and his glasses have come off One of the scientists is standing at a chalk board writing out the results
December 12, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
zeets.bsky.social
Will Arnett was on Conan and told a story about how Conan dealt with the death of his parents by accusing Jason Bateman of killing them. It’s so funny.
December 9, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
happytoast.co.uk
Away in a tower
His bare feet all red
Little lord John McLane
Leaves terrorists 4 dead.

Breaks necks ina staircase
Ties a hose round his waist
Jumps out ofthe building
& crawl through the vents

He'll take their machine gun
Make the bad guys all pay
Drop Hans frm the top floor
& shout Yippee Kay-ay
December 2, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
rspb.bsky.social
"You seem happier"

Thanks, I deleted all my emails and went to look at birds instead.
November 28, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
disappoptimism.bsky.social
So going to start a thread of good news stories (positive impacts imho) to counter the tide of terrible things - not here to debate but share with quoted sources etc:
November 17, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
ericdienstfrey.bsky.social
I feel like we have the opportunity to turn David Lynch's quote into this moment's "Keep Calm and Carry On" and it's a far better rallying cry too.
The words "FIX YOUR HEARTS OR DIE" placed over David Lynch's face (a still from TWIN PEAKS THE RETURN).
November 7, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
ihr.bsky.social
Are you studying, researching or teaching digital histories? Try using the Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH). It contains 670,000+ resources from 55 BCE to today! Find out how to use BBIH buff.ly/yD11954 @brepols.net
Using BBIH online: a help pack for students and lecturers
For the academic year, we've a help pack offering guides to BBIH in undergraduate and graduate teaching and research. With embeddable content for VLEs.
www.history.ac.uk
November 6, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
privateeyenews.bsky.social
Minority representation on TV causes outrage

From the new Private Eye, in shops now.
October 29, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
ofalafel.bsky.social
I want a plaque on a park bench in my memory when I die and just before I go I’m changing my name to Wet Paint.
October 20, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
scalzi.com
Remember our mantra:

Don't Engage, Just Block.
October 17, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
hetanshah.bsky.social
This is such a clever idea on taking kids to museums/galleries
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Nadia from London has an idea that sounds such fun you'll be booking a day out asap. "I've always loved museums," she says, "but they can be overwhelming for children. For decades now, I've done something called 'playing postcards' We do the museum backwards, visiting the gift shop first. Each child gets to choose three postcards. Then they take it in turns to find that particular artwork in the museum and give us a little information about the piece from the details on the postcard, or from any gallery plaque. At the end of this treasure-hunt-style activity, we vote for our favourite in the cafe."
October 12, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
fidhw.bsky.social
Birds in stained glass, freestanding #art or wall sculptures, rarely window panels. My birds are celebrations, explanations, rants and sometimes tears; but like the birds that inspire them, they are all beautiful dancers-with-light…
October 5, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
stephencollins.bsky.social
Autumn days when the grass is jewelled
[Scene is a 1960s suburban sitting room, with a grand piano in it. The religious songwriter ESTELLE WHITE is sat at the piano, with a rotary phone sat on top of the lid. She is on the phone to her music publisher, someone I've made up called JERRY] 1 ESTELLE WHITE: OK Jerry I’ve got another banger for you 2 ESTELLE WHITE: Listen to this! [She slams the receiver on the top of the piano]. 3 ESTELLE WHITE [hammering on the piano]: AUTUMN DAYS WHEN THE GRASS IS JEWELLED AND THE SILK INSIDE A CHESTNUT SHELL! JET PLANES MEETING IN THE AIR TO BE REFUELLED, ALL THESE - JERRY [voice from the phone handset]: Eh? 4 JERRY: What was that last bit, Estelle? ESTELLE WHITE: “Jet planes meeting in the air to be refuelled”… 5 JERRY: Is that a thing you often see in autumn? ESTELLE WHITE [Smoking from a long cigarette holder]: All the time, Jerry. Aaaaall the time.... 6 JERRY: Nothing to do with it being the only thing that rhymes with ‘jewelled’? ESTELLE WHITE: No! 7 ESTELLE WHITE: It’s one of the high-speed, high-altitude feats of military aviation one often sees in autumn time. 8 JERRY: What about leaves and squirrels and - ESTELLE WHITE: Now listen, Jerry. 9 ESTELLE WHITE: Do you want a crap hymn about conkers… 10 ESTELLE WHITE: Or do you want an all-time earworm banger that everyone who hears it will sing in their heads, every single time they see a fallen leaf, until the day they die? 11 JERRY: OK… sorry… carry on… 12 ESTELLE WHITE: FROS-TY WINDOWS ON HARR-IER JUMPJETS AND THE SMELL OF NUCLEAR SUB-MAR-INES… JERRY: How about acorns? [ends]
September 23, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
kobacake.bsky.social
my friends and i constantly quoting this post to each other whenever we feel bad about productivity
September 20, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
thetnholler.bsky.social
STEWART: “Comedy doesn’t change the world, but it’s a bellwether— we’re the banana peel in the coal mine… authoritarians are the threat to comedy, music, art, thought… progress.”

Nailed it.
September 19, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
djlbirding.bsky.social
A brand NEW event I'm trialing at RSPB Strumpshaw Fen this autumn. If you'd like to discover a different side of this awesome reserve, why not come along. #NorfolkBirding #Birds

events.rspb.org.uk/events/13167...
RSPB Events
Come along to one of our events to enjoy quality time in the natural world and see conservation in action. Nature is in crisis. Together we can save it.
events.rspb.org.uk
September 18, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
alextomlinson.com
Flat illustration from 2022 of owls perched on a branch at night against a dark blue sky. The owls decrease in size as they get close stacked in front, while also growing bright orange. The effect resembles a flame. The owls, back to front (large to small) are Great Gray, Great Horned, Long-eared, Screech, and Saw-whet.
September 16, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
mattortega.com
A U.S. Army psychologist who dealt with the war criminals tried at Nuremberg defined "evil" as "the absence of empathy."

It says a lot about today's right who regularly disparages empathy.
mattortega.com Matt Ortega @mattortega.com · Jul 10
Tapping the sign.
September 10, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
mishellbaker.bsky.social
Hey, fellow humans.

Just a gentle reminder that horrible things and malicious acts exist alongside miracles, art, and acts of kindness. It's good to keep the whole picture loosely in mind, but to focus your camera mostly on what strengthens you and allows you to play your best part in this story.
September 12, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
leonsimons.bsky.social
I love British street art.
September 10, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
alexwild.bsky.social
The new XKCD has to be a reference to the ant paper where ants just casually lay eggs of a different species, yes? Maybe? There are so many weird bugs its hard to know.
Line drawing of a two story institutional building with a sign in front, "Welcome to the BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT. It has been 3 days since we discovered something existentially horrifying about abugs that make you question your whole reality."
September 10, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
nsousanis.bsky.social
My drawn statement on Ai as standalone from my now finished minicomic as syllabus for new liberal studies class! As promised this is shareable, printable - all from my site, feel free to make use of it, cite me & let me know how it’s received. Share away all here! spinweaveandcut.com/fall-2025-sy...
a snippet of a mini-comic, at top - straight line stretches from point A to B. Immediately below, same dot at A, then becomes a curving, meandering line that winds through the page and ends at a point with rays and a question mark emanating from it. Text reads: "Nothing can do this for you - that robs you of experience and conflates answers with learning. Rather, it's all the decisions you make along the way, the mistakes, struggles, and surprises! These pathways you create - this is learning. Pages from a mini comic Pages from a mini comic Pages from a mini comic
August 20, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
mishellbaker.bsky.social
Yes, you CAN go on like this. Because if you don't, "like this" is the end of your story.

Don't wait for things to be better. DO better. BE better. MAKE better.
September 5, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Reposted by Matthew Parrott
dmacalvert.bsky.social
Using this piece by @reallygoodwizard.bsky.social in my introductory lectures for my design students.
An image of a robot with a "NO" circle around it and the text "AI IS FOR LOSERS! REJECT FASCISM! THINK FOR YOURSELF! I CAN MAKE ART THAT'S UGLY AND BAD ALL BY MYSELF, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!"
August 31, 2025 at 3:57 AM