Wintersong
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wintersong.bsky.social
Wintersong
@wintersong.bsky.social
1.8K followers 890 following 4.1K posts
Queer, gender-complicated guy, photographer, lapsed EV journalist, kink/sexuality educator, intactivist/foreskin restoration advocate, pagan, living with Tourette Syndrome. He/They

All opinions expressed here are my own

http://wintertashlin.com
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wintersong.bsky.social
Remember kids: when working on your car, resist the temptation to eat the forbidden cranberry sauce
A dirty pale-skinned hand holds an open container of STP brand bearing grease. Inside the container is a deep red grease that resembles canned cranberry sauce
October 11, 2025 at 8:37 PM
wintersong.bsky.social
Nice to get a Cardle pretty quickly for a change! Though this one *was* pretty easy
Three columns of three dots each. The first is labeled "make" and has three green dots under it. The second is "model" with two red, and then one green dot. The third is "year" and shows three green dots, just like the first. The image shows that I got the make and year of today's Cardle correct on the first try, though it took three tries to get the model name correct.
September 29, 2025 at 7:32 PM
wintersong.bsky.social
The closing narration is pretty damn on point too

(the “he” refers to the ghost of Hitler who is a character in the episode)
Screenshot from the Wikipedia entry for The Twilight Zone S4E4 “He’s Alive” Heading reads “closing narration” and then the text: Where will he go next, this phantom from another time, this resurrected ghost of a previous nightmare – Chicago? Los Angeles? Miami, Florida? Vincennes, Indiana? Syracuse, New York? Any place, every place where there's hate, where there's prejudice, where there's bigotry – he's alive. He's alive so long as these evils exist. Remember that when he comes to your town. Remember it when you hear his voice speaking out through others. Remember it when you hear a name called, a minority attacked, any blind, unreasoning assault on a people or any human being. He's alive because through these things we keep him alive.
September 19, 2025 at 6:20 AM
wintersong.bsky.social
It's an old gripe, but it's remarkable just how awful the Kindle for Windows app is. It must be nerfed to encourage people to use Amazon devices, because it's hard to imagine releasing a product this awful by accident. E.g. I get this error for every book I download, sometimes 6 or more times
A screenshot of a dialogue box. At the top is the Amazon Kindle logo of a person (child?) in silhouette reading a book. Under that is the text Kindle The book could not be opened. Please remove the book from your device and redownload it.
September 8, 2025 at 6:34 PM
wintersong.bsky.social
Thanks! I quite like that shot and it looks really lovely printed on metal. It was a good evening for photography, I took this photo about 15min before that one, from basically the same spot, facing the opposite direction.
A portrait orientation photo of a sunset at the shore. The horizon line is about 2/3 up the frame, with a golden sun not far from sinking below it. Rays of light are radiating up and out from the sun and the sky is a mix of deep blue, gold, and white clouds. In the foreground are large blocky wet rocks in reds, greens, and golds, with pools of tidal water on some. The waves are crashing gently on the shore from about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way up the frame from the bottom and moving diagonally from the edge of the frame 1/3 of the way up to the very middle of the frame. In the far distance, two seabirds are just barely visible in the sky.
September 4, 2025 at 7:42 PM
wintersong.bsky.social
If you see this, post your blue art
A horizontal photo in a 1x2 aspect ratio. In the foreground are tan rocks, heavily weathered from sea and wind. That transitions in the right third of the frame into a curving shoreline with a blueish/white sea. The horizon bisects in the image horizontally, with a sky in a variety of shades of blue, dotted with fluffy white clouds casting their shadows back to the horizon (the sun was behind the photographer). Smooth white clouds fill the upper right corner of the image. The photo was taken at East Point Sanctuary in Biddeford Maine.
September 4, 2025 at 1:35 AM
wintersong.bsky.social
If you google "Brazil (film)" google tells you it's a sci-fi comedy.

I only saw "Brazil" for the first time a few months ago, so maybe it's just that I watched it from the perspective of living in a burgeoning authoritarian hellscape, but WOW did I not perceive that film as a comedy.
Screenshot of a portion of a google search. In the search bar is written "Brazil (film)." Beneath that are the tabs for "AI Mode, All, Vidoes, Images, Shopping, News, Short Videos, More" and the one labeled "All" is underlined to show it's selected. Under that is the world "Brazil" under which is written R 1985 - Sci/Fi/Comedy - 2hr 22min" and then bubbles for "Overview, Cast, and Reviews" Under all of that are images showing four different posters that were used to represent the film.
August 6, 2025 at 6:55 PM
wintersong.bsky.social
The world is pretty shit right now. But the altar for our little summer solstice ritual was lovely, so I’m sharing that in the hopes it makes someone smile
A long narrow table is up against an outside wall. The table has a green cloth patterned with leaves and a Green Man. In the center of the table is a tall, lit pillar candle. In front of the candle is a sheathed knife, along with a variety of small objects representing different deities and spirits. From left to right, there’s a partially empty bottle of wine, a blue glass wine glass, a small bowl of salt, a small lit candle, then the pillar candle and charms, then a small mortar and pestle, a bowl of water, a crystal bell, and an empty bowl that had held bread. There are roses, mums, and other fresh flowers declaring empty space on the altar.
June 22, 2025 at 5:41 AM
wintersong.bsky.social
Failed today's Cardle again. This thing was apparently made for a LONG time without all that much in the way of facelifting. Or I just suck.
A screenshot of today's (6/3/25) playcardle.com. The lower bumper of a white vehicle is visible at the top of the image. Below that are three columns labeled from left to right "Make, Model, Year" with five circles under each heading. All the circles under "Make" are green. The first circle under "Model" is red, then the rest going down are green. All the circles under "Year" are red.
June 3, 2025 at 5:16 PM
wintersong.bsky.social
This part from @davelevitan.bsky.social’s piece is to me, one of the greatest challenges of this moment. I have tried to talk to so many people about all this, and they (especially Boomer/GenX) are simply too bought into American exceptionalism to believe any of it could be happening here
A screenshot from an article by David Levitan reading: “Accurately describing all this in the terms that quite obviously apply — fascism, dictatorship, authoritarian, lawless — is still largely beyond legacy media. The only bright spot to consider now is that the vast bulk of the country still likely has no idea these sorts of things are happening, and might not believe it if they heard the details. Though yes, some…”
March 19, 2025 at 2:33 AM
wintersong.bsky.social
As much as I’m fond of many EVs, and loved the i3 in particular, my old Th!nk City will always have an extra special place in my heart. The red one was mine, though a family member has him now.
Two subcompact hatchback cars of the same make/model are parked side by side in 2/3 profile with their fronts towards the camera. The closer car is red, the farther black. Both have two doors and silver roof rails. They are wet with rain, making their a plastic body panels look rich and new instead of their usual faded appearance. The cars have large round integrated headlights and no visible front grills beyond a narrow long gap at the base of their hoods.
March 12, 2025 at 3:04 AM
wintersong.bsky.social
I have owned MANY kink toys in my life/career. But very few have made me smile before I even get to use them like the Catch of the Day from @funkittoys.bsky.social.

It is BRILLIANTLY made, and the head has great thud while the tail is stingy as hell.
A long, thin, fish is propped up on a wooden table. The fish is made of silicone, and is a marbled silver and blue color. In the middle of the silicone fish is a dark blue vertical seam.
March 6, 2025 at 4:25 AM
wintersong.bsky.social
An older macro photo of mine that I still find fun
Pictured is a macro photo, very close up, of a kitchen faucet with water flowing. The faucet itself takes up only the very top 10% of the image, with the flowing water occupying the rest of the picture. The water forms an interlaced diamond pattern, sort of like a chain link fence, due to the angle of the holes in the faucet. The picture is lit by two gelled flashes, so it the faucet is blue on the left side of the image and purple on the right. The two colors swirl and mix on the surface of the water, looking not unlike trans pride colors in spots.
February 20, 2025 at 2:00 AM
wintersong.bsky.social
Here's my screenshot taken a moment ago. I even tried in both incognito and regular tabs to see if it made a difference. Same address you're listing. I have to assume this kind of unreliability and uncertainty is a feature rather than a bug from the administration's perspective.
Landing page for the National Parks Service's Stonewall National Monument, showing the url https://www.nps.gov/ston/index.htm and a Temporary Server Error (503) message
January 31, 2025 at 11:10 PM
wintersong.bsky.social
Stopped by the piercing shop to look at plugs and couldn’t walk out without this one
Photo is of a 5/8” plug for a stretched earlobe. The plug is clear glass with a sparkly rich blue background. Suspended in the plug of is a small piece of opal (or opal-like glass) in the shape of a Starfleet delta from Star Trek.
January 7, 2025 at 12:47 AM
wintersong.bsky.social
Out scouting photo spots for next week's Winter Solstice vigil, I snapped this photo with my Sony mirrorless camera wearing a Nikon lens from the 1960s
Photo shows a landscape orientation close up shot of the top of a lighthouse. In the right third of the frame is the Fresnel lens, which is made up of clear segments and a red primary lens, which is only visible in the lower corner of the photograph. Spanning the frame from about 10% in from the left, the viewer can see the framing of the windows that make up the light's enclosure. Blurry in the background, one can just make out the horizon where the sea meets a very grey sky.
December 16, 2024 at 12:40 AM
wintersong.bsky.social
Maggie, a middle age puggle, with tan fur, a white face, and black nose, lies on her side in bed with only her head sticking out from under the covers
December 2, 2024 at 7:56 PM
wintersong.bsky.social
When you upload an image, there's an "Alt+" button on the top. If you click that, you get a text field where you can write an alt text description of the image, which is then read by screen readers for folk who are blind or vision impaired. Click on a posted image to see it's alt text description
Picture is of an elderly shiba inu. Her fur is red and brown, but her face is almost completely white. She's sitting with her head resting on a red couch cushion, with one paw tucked up under her cheek, looking up at the person taking the photo.
November 22, 2024 at 12:48 AM
wintersong.bsky.social
A couple of recent mushroom photos from a visit to western Washington state that I'm pretty pleased with.
It's a horizontal photo is 1:2 aspect ratio, of leaf little and moss on a rotting log, with a small, semi-translucent white mushroom growing out of an opening in the surface centered in the frame. There's a somewhat blurry fern in the background occupying much of the left side of the frame. Taken with a Sony A7iii w/Sony 24mm f1.4 A portrait orientation photo in 2x3 aspect ratio (I think, it could be 3x4) showing a close up photo of the rotting stump of a branch on a fallen log. The base of the stump is covered in moss, there's green lichen on the stump itself, and growing out of the right side of the inside of the stump is a delicate white mushroom. Taken with a Sony A7iii w/Sony 90mm F2.8 Macro
October 21, 2024 at 5:41 PM
wintersong.bsky.social
Not nearly as low as my Fetlife account number, but still, it's nice to get in early-ish. I'd love to delete my account over on the hellsite many of us came from, but I don't want my username there becoming available.
September 16, 2024 at 11:41 PM
wintersong.bsky.social
A picture of a child playing with a ball & cup toy, but instead of the usual wooden cup and wood or rubber ball, it’s the Demon Core
July 2, 2024 at 4:11 AM
wintersong.bsky.social
Seriously, riding in the Detroit Electric was one of the cooler automotive experiences I’ve had. Though the 1931 Chevy Phaeton might be the most beautiful car I’ve ever ridden in.

(I know the Detroit Electric says 1914 but the museum thinks it might really be 1917)
A picture of a green carriage-like automobile with black spoke wheels. Under the window on the door is painted “Detroit Electric 1914” It’s a long yellow drop head car with orange spoke wheels and whitewall tires.
June 8, 2024 at 6:49 PM
wintersong.bsky.social
One more photo of the aurora over Henry Hagg Lake, this time in portrait orientation
May 12, 2024 at 1:03 AM
wintersong.bsky.social
I know everyone shot the aurora, and there are far better photos from better photographers in better locations, but I'd never seen it before, and I'm glad I took my camera when I went out
May 12, 2024 at 12:56 AM
wintersong.bsky.social
May 6, 2024 at 4:50 PM