Zen Mouse
@zenmouse.bsky.social
Looking for a breath of fresh air in the middle of this shit-storm
Reposted by Zen Mouse
In case anyone wants a little break, here are a few of my favorite facts that I learned in 2025, in no particular order.
Some trees benefit from, and may even encourage, getting struck by lightning because it kills their nearby competitors nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Some trees benefit from, and may even encourage, getting struck by lightning because it kills their nearby competitors nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
January 28, 2026 at 3:44 PM
In case anyone wants a little break, here are a few of my favorite facts that I learned in 2025, in no particular order.
Some trees benefit from, and may even encourage, getting struck by lightning because it kills their nearby competitors nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Some trees benefit from, and may even encourage, getting struck by lightning because it kills their nearby competitors nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Reposted by Zen Mouse
Italian voice actor Carlo Bononi was the voice of all of the characters on Pingu. A trained clown by trade, he used a theater technique called grammelot, which consists of "speaking" in a mix of babbled gibberish noises. He improvised all the voices live and unscripted.
January 20, 2026 at 3:49 PM
Italian voice actor Carlo Bononi was the voice of all of the characters on Pingu. A trained clown by trade, he used a theater technique called grammelot, which consists of "speaking" in a mix of babbled gibberish noises. He improvised all the voices live and unscripted.
Reposted by Zen Mouse
The main story on BBC 6 Music News this morning is that a ‘boat carrying migrants is on its way to France’
Delivered in the same upbeat tone as England winning the women’s Euros.
The migration ‘debate’ in this country is unmoored from reality, and the media-political complex is feeding it
Delivered in the same upbeat tone as England winning the women’s Euros.
The migration ‘debate’ in this country is unmoored from reality, and the media-political complex is feeding it
September 19, 2025 at 6:32 AM
The main story on BBC 6 Music News this morning is that a ‘boat carrying migrants is on its way to France’
Delivered in the same upbeat tone as England winning the women’s Euros.
The migration ‘debate’ in this country is unmoored from reality, and the media-political complex is feeding it
Delivered in the same upbeat tone as England winning the women’s Euros.
The migration ‘debate’ in this country is unmoored from reality, and the media-political complex is feeding it
Reposted by Zen Mouse
What a deranged country. Are we gonna have this as the number one headline for each *person* we remove? A cruelty spectacle.
September 19, 2025 at 7:11 AM
What a deranged country. Are we gonna have this as the number one headline for each *person* we remove? A cruelty spectacle.
Reposted by Zen Mouse
The hysterical reporting of the deportation of two (TWO!!) undocumented migrants is just what we need. I feel the mood becoming more sensible already. Well done everyone.
September 19, 2025 at 7:15 AM
The hysterical reporting of the deportation of two (TWO!!) undocumented migrants is just what we need. I feel the mood becoming more sensible already. Well done everyone.
Reposted by Zen Mouse
He's one of Britain's richest men. So why does Asif Aziz's property company keep leasing London gift shops to overseas students based in abandoned offices or flytipped car parks — before vanishing without paying millions of pounds in taxes? www.londoncentric.media/p/asf-aziz-l...
The billionaire and the tax evading gift shops
Asif Aziz's Criterion Capital manages a row of high-profile shops at Piccadilly Circus. So why does his team keeping renting them to students who vanish without paying millions of pounds in taxes?
www.londoncentric.media
July 22, 2025 at 6:48 AM
He's one of Britain's richest men. So why does Asif Aziz's property company keep leasing London gift shops to overseas students based in abandoned offices or flytipped car parks — before vanishing without paying millions of pounds in taxes? www.londoncentric.media/p/asf-aziz-l...
Reposted by Zen Mouse
Most of UK stranded in 'junk bond' territory as London dominates, research says www.reuters.com/world/uk/mos...
Most of UK stranded in 'junk bond' territory as London dominates, research says
Britain's regions outside the capital are languishing in "junk bond" territory in terms of their attractiveness for investment, largely because local financial systems have been hollowed out by London's dominance, according to new research.
www.reuters.com
July 11, 2025 at 7:31 AM
Most of UK stranded in 'junk bond' territory as London dominates, research says www.reuters.com/world/uk/mos...
Reposted by Zen Mouse
July 12, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Reposted by Zen Mouse
Please don’t ignore this the next time you’re told “it’s either these guys or Reform” coz this is also what Reform would do and you should rail against it no matter what colour the tie is.
Incontrovertible evidence, now, of *police* investigating families supporting their kids with gender affirming healthcare in the UK. For trying to do the best for your child, following best practice in most of the world, here you get a visit from the police.
Thank you, Wes Streeting.
Thank you, Wes Streeting.
July 11, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Please don’t ignore this the next time you’re told “it’s either these guys or Reform” coz this is also what Reform would do and you should rail against it no matter what colour the tie is.
Reposted by Zen Mouse
I really love gardening as ecosystem engineering
June 21, 2025 at 1:26 PM
I really love gardening as ecosystem engineering
Reposted by Zen Mouse
Yvette Cooper repeatedly refused to give a straight answer just now on Today to straight Q “Will councils get more money to pay care workers more?” She repeatedly committed to higher carer pay but wouldn’t commit to money so councils can fund it. Think that speaks volumes about the mess we are in.
May 13, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Yvette Cooper repeatedly refused to give a straight answer just now on Today to straight Q “Will councils get more money to pay care workers more?” She repeatedly committed to higher carer pay but wouldn’t commit to money so councils can fund it. Think that speaks volumes about the mess we are in.
Reposted by Zen Mouse
Some thoughts sparked by a great event in Leeds yesterday on neighbourhood health and the UK government's Test, Learn and Grow intiative. How do we make neighbourhoods engines of change?
medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com/@jamestplunk...
Neighbourhoods as engines of change
On the need for bridges from the edges to the centre
medium.com
May 9, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Some thoughts sparked by a great event in Leeds yesterday on neighbourhood health and the UK government's Test, Learn and Grow intiative. How do we make neighbourhoods engines of change?
medium.com/@jamestplunk...
medium.com/@jamestplunk...
Reposted by Zen Mouse
I’m glad to see this article but it’s after 24 hours of unchallenged corporate guff dominating the news cycle. Tony Blair is a tech lobbyist who is literally writing naive, venal & dangerous policy for Starmer’s government. Call it out.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
April 30, 2025 at 8:29 PM
I’m glad to see this article but it’s after 24 hours of unchallenged corporate guff dominating the news cycle. Tony Blair is a tech lobbyist who is literally writing naive, venal & dangerous policy for Starmer’s government. Call it out.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Zen Mouse
So basically there's a cabal of billionaire broligarchs, far right propagandists, and reactionary centrist journalists all on group chats radicalizing together and exerting coordinated narratives and influence on media and politics
www.semafor.com/article/04/2...
www.semafor.com/article/04/2...
The group chats that changed America
A loose private network on Signal and WhatsApp helped usher in the new alliance between Silicon Valley and Donald Trump’s new right.
www.semafor.com
April 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM
So basically there's a cabal of billionaire broligarchs, far right propagandists, and reactionary centrist journalists all on group chats radicalizing together and exerting coordinated narratives and influence on media and politics
www.semafor.com/article/04/2...
www.semafor.com/article/04/2...
Reposted by Zen Mouse
Someone on Threads noticed you can type any random sentence into Google, then add “meaning” afterwards, and you’ll get an AI explanation of a famous idiom or phrase you just made up. Here is mine
April 23, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Someone on Threads noticed you can type any random sentence into Google, then add “meaning” afterwards, and you’ll get an AI explanation of a famous idiom or phrase you just made up. Here is mine
Reposted by Zen Mouse
🧵NOT BY ME, this is a post from someone who wants to remain anonymous but works extensively with trans people pre-transition. They were asked by someone “why do you think that’s so much [coverage of trans people] in the news at the moment?”
This was their response:
This was their response:
April 20, 2025 at 7:54 AM
🧵NOT BY ME, this is a post from someone who wants to remain anonymous but works extensively with trans people pre-transition. They were asked by someone “why do you think that’s so much [coverage of trans people] in the news at the moment?”
This was their response:
This was their response:
Reposted by Zen Mouse
STOP what you are doing, find some headphones or a secluded location, and watch this. I am crying with laughter and admiration at an idea seen through to its (nearly) bitter end. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD3Q... Sound--as they say--on.
Hlavní nadraží Praha - znělka 02 (Dlouhá verze)
YouTube video by Pavel Jirásek
www.youtube.com
April 15, 2025 at 8:01 AM
STOP what you are doing, find some headphones or a secluded location, and watch this. I am crying with laughter and admiration at an idea seen through to its (nearly) bitter end. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD3Q... Sound--as they say--on.
Reposted by Zen Mouse
Their strategy is “improve the NHS, don’t raise the headline rate of income tax or national insurance, get business to do social policy for us” and to sacrifice everything else on those altars.
It is really difficult to understand what Labour's political strategy is. Steadily alienating core supporters in the hope of winning them back in a few years seems unwise.
March 20, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Their strategy is “improve the NHS, don’t raise the headline rate of income tax or national insurance, get business to do social policy for us” and to sacrifice everything else on those altars.
Reposted by Zen Mouse
There’s been a lot of debate over whether Trump means this as a threat or it’s a troll. But the actual answer is it’s both. He dropped it as a throwaway line but his clinical narcissism does not allow him to believe any idea of his is less than perfect and brilliant, so he’s become committed to it
Trump: "To be honest with you, Canada only works as a state. We don't need anything they have. As a state it would be one of the great states. This would be the most incredible country visually. If you look at a map, they drew an artificial line right through it."
March 13, 2025 at 7:07 PM
There’s been a lot of debate over whether Trump means this as a threat or it’s a troll. But the actual answer is it’s both. He dropped it as a throwaway line but his clinical narcissism does not allow him to believe any idea of his is less than perfect and brilliant, so he’s become committed to it
Reposted by Zen Mouse
Some thoughts on the European response to the chaos now emanating from the White House - on Ukraine and more broadly, based on chats with senior European policymakers directly or indirectly involved in formulating the bloc's response 1/
March 7, 2025 at 7:36 AM
Some thoughts on the European response to the chaos now emanating from the White House - on Ukraine and more broadly, based on chats with senior European policymakers directly or indirectly involved in formulating the bloc's response 1/
Reposted by Zen Mouse
Huge win! Government announces plans to open up the Land Registry.
If delivered, will finally reveal more about who owns land in England and Wales.
Read my blog post for more details & how you can write to the Minister to make sure this now happens:
whoownsengland.org/2025/03/06/h...
🧵1/
If delivered, will finally reveal more about who owns land in England and Wales.
Read my blog post for more details & how you can write to the Minister to make sure this now happens:
whoownsengland.org/2025/03/06/h...
🧵1/
Huge win! Government announces plan to open up Land Registry
This post is by Guy Shrubsole. Today the UK Government has announced plans to open up the Land Registry – which, if delivered, will finally reveal more about who owns land in England and Wale…
whoownsengland.org
March 6, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Huge win! Government announces plans to open up the Land Registry.
If delivered, will finally reveal more about who owns land in England and Wales.
Read my blog post for more details & how you can write to the Minister to make sure this now happens:
whoownsengland.org/2025/03/06/h...
🧵1/
If delivered, will finally reveal more about who owns land in England and Wales.
Read my blog post for more details & how you can write to the Minister to make sure this now happens:
whoownsengland.org/2025/03/06/h...
🧵1/
Reposted by Zen Mouse
Jack Kirby, forty-nine years ago:
February 22, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Jack Kirby, forty-nine years ago:
Reposted by Zen Mouse
Reposted by Zen Mouse
Would be good, IMV, if instead of 'some MRPs that are, at this point, basically entrails', there was a lot more talk about their quite radical plans for schools, or whether their local government reorganisation is the right size, or etc. etc.
December 28, 2024 at 7:21 PM
Would be good, IMV, if instead of 'some MRPs that are, at this point, basically entrails', there was a lot more talk about their quite radical plans for schools, or whether their local government reorganisation is the right size, or etc. etc.