Sign in

Insubstantial Pageant

@baseless-fabric.privac.ie
577 followers 2K following 3.2K posts

Our revels now are ended Cypherpunk • SigInt • InfoSec • Harlequin Privacy evangelist Equal among corvids Cover: Rime looking like frosted grass

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
Yoïn van Spijk @yvanspijk.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The more than 550 infographics I've made have always been a hobby for me as a linguist and writer. However, since 2023, people have been able to support my work by giving me the equivalent of a coffee or a sandwich per month. I'd be thrilled if you became my patron too! patreon.com/yvanspijk
Since I started on Twitter in 2021, I’ve created two etymological infographics a week – more than 550 in total. Each one takes me between three and six hours.

I base them on scientifically reliable etymological dictionaries on my pc, the internet and my bookshelves, along with other linguistic literature. The only tool I use – and need – is PowerPoint. No form of AI is ever involved.

The infographics have always been a hobby for me as a professional linguist and writer. However, in 2023 I started a Patreon account because people were telling me they wanted to support my work.

On patreon.com/yvanspijk, you can become a member at two levels. The other image tells you all about the
perks you get by becoming my patron.Tier 1 · $ 2.50 / € 2 a month
75 articles (and counting) that delve into fascinating aspects of the infographics they go with; 300 to 1300 words each, 600 on average.
Tier 2 · $ 6.50 / € 5 a month
The tier 1 bonus
An audio file containing the reconstructed pronunciation of all historical words featured in the infographic, such as Latin and Old English, and the Proto-Germanic reconstructions, included with every infographic since March 2024; 193 files (and counting).
0308
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 24/09/2026
🚨🚨 BREAKING 🚨🚨 OBSERVE THIS EXQUISITE PRODUCTION AT FULL VOLUME
111
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 17/09/2026
Go get 'em! Fluck's hard-coded API key: HaJ3FgupAm8RrDJW3MHgT9X7Ft27eVaD
000
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
eschneider @eschneider.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Cock pix 🐓
Rooster on a perch
3748
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 07/09/2026
Information doesn’t want to be private and nobody wants to give us our own agency. We fight for it in the small windows we have, or we cede it entirely.
030
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 30/08/2026
🚨🚨 BREAKING 🚨🚨 URGENTLY IMPORTANT POST
040
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 29/08/2026
Make your favorite film sound as boring as possible without giving away the title: An army colonel retires early and receives some guests from a patrol boat.
050
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 23/08/2026
Make a band bigger. Beastie Men
010
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 23/08/2026
Make a band bigger Destiny's Parent
081
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 21/08/2026
I'd like to wish everyone a Happy James Dobson is Dead Day. May the christofascist, bogoted prick rest in piss. #antifascist #holiday
031
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 12/08/2026
Breathtaking #Eclipse
000
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 12/08/2026
Twas cloudy in Cork, but darkness descended and all the wildlife held their breath. #SolarEclipse
010
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 08/08/2026
🚨 IMPORTANT 🚨
110
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 04/08/2026
Happy 30-50 feral hogs day to all who celebrate. xcancel.com/WillieMcNabb...
011
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 01/08/2026
Copium
000
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 28/07/2026
Need more turtles
010
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 21/07/2026
Excuse me, do they make these for other people's children?
000
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 18/07/2026
I'll bet €1 the Starbucks COO thought a word-guessing program could manage their inventory because a chatbot said he was smart.
010
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
lukelukeluke @lukelukeluke.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Don’t ever loop me in
712316
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Many, many years ago I worked for a certain legal news website to which Lindsey Graham subscribed. Anyway i hardcoded it to always spell his name wrong in the top corner, no matter how many times he tried to manually correct it.
643849506
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 12/07/2026
That's not who I wanted, but I'll take it.
010
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 11/07/2026
Holy shit
010
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 09/07/2026
The perfect post exists.
020
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 02/07/2026
Unnecessary violence
030
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 27/06/2026
In 1975 Elton won "Outstanding Rock Personality Of The Year". Dylan had the best album, Stevie and Joni were best vocalists, and Eagles got best band. Separate RnB awards went to LaBelle (single) and EWF (album) Cher and Diana, presumably, each got the🖕😅 #at40
051
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 27/06/2026
Hyperrealism is so feckin cool #art #hyperrealism
030
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 26/06/2026
It's Friday again! A whole week since Shitler opened the Strait of Hormuz. Look how great it's going! (Narrator: It's not going.) #Iran #Shitler
Screenshot from Marine Traffic of the Strait of Hormuz on 26 Jun 2026 at 14:00 UT with less than ten possibly making the transit. Hundreds are bunched up, waiting on either side.
000
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Have you ever seen this iconic image of the Ebola virus, from the first known outbreak in DRC in 1976? An electron microscopic image, it was captured by #CDC 's Fred Murphy, a virological giant and a very kind interviewee. He died yesterday. He will be missed, but his scientific legacy lives on.
184261870
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
Nash @radiodeadair.com · 24/06/2026
I still love that the main coding website is called "GitHub." What, was "DipshitCentral" already taken?
3572567
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
Matthew Green @matthewdgreen.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
So Will Cathcart is leaving WhatsApp and this is the new leader that Mark Zuckerberg has chosen.
56919
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 21/06/2026
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
020
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 20/06/2026
Love how the lack of punctuation brings _implications_
000
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 19/06/2026
Hey it's Friday! Congratulations to Shitler for opening up the Strait. Look at all the ships go! #Iran #Shitler
Screenshot from Marine Traffic showing the Strait of Hormuz from today at 14:05 UT. It's clearly not open. A couple cargo/bulk carriers (green) are loitering in the new designated channel, and dozens of tankers (red) are moored outside.
000
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
1. Neu-Kelte @neu-kelte.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
#FolkloreSunday #Celtic: `Artemidorus of Ephesus hands down a story of a harbor on the coast of the ocean whose name is "two ravens". In this harbor one could meet two ravens whose right wing was each whitish colored. 1/3
Raven, photo credit 1. Neu-Kelte
1141
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
Legacy Update @legacyupdate.net · 14/06/2026
Is the Microsoft Office Ribbon causing people to have fewer children? A provocative new working paper explores the persistent drop in birth rates since Office 2007 was introduced nearly two decades ago.
The top-left corner of Microsoft Word 2007, showing the ribbon.
11846071031
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
Raj Patel @rajio.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Posting this for a specific audience here.
7441331796
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
A Man Called Keith @angryduck78.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
This is important.
An image of a computational fluid dynamics study of a standard, shorthaired Guinea pig.
15563271468
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
Lady Becky, Baroness of Bunzy, Bestie of Kim, Co-CEO Execubetch™️ @beckybunzy.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
I aced my 12th dementia test this year. I am a genius.
1382531180
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 24/05/2026
Looks like the corrupt babysitter industry will finally be disrupted by a hedge fund hero with vibe-coded tech. A real David-and-Goliath story!
010
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
Jason Gorman @jasongorman.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
What if I were to tell you there's a way to produce less reliable and less secure software that takes longer and costs more? I can see you're intrigued.
4563269
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
warrior cop @wyattprivilege.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
I GET LOGGED OUT. BUT I LOG IN AGAIN
149155803098
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
“We have made a technology that creates nothing but will ensure you have no future while we get richer and richer wait why are you boooing?”
333095744
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
pixelatedboat aka “mr bluesky” @pixelatedboat.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
We can’t afford to take any chances. It’s time to sink the hantavirus ship, and all other cruise ships. No survivors.
842831283
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 09/05/2026
Vivaldi and Brave are alternative browsers that use the open-source Chromium engine.
000
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 07/05/2026
This is *exactly* how I became a cat owner
010
Insubstantial Pageant @baseless-fabric.privac.ie · 06/05/2026
Happy Bernstein v. United States Day to all who celebrate. #cryptography
100
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
Mike Sager @mikesager.net · 05/05/2026
Ooooh I'm in for the new meme.
031
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
Chris Addison @mrchrisaddison.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
A little bit of bolognese in my life, A little bit of pesto on the side, A little puttanesca here I am, A little bit of this goes in the pan.
A packet of Spaghetti Number Five
14547486
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
G-Lau 🇨🇦 @g-lau.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Your daily dose of Puffin. #Puffins #Birds #BirdSky #WildlifePhotography #Iceland #PhotoHour
Photo showing a group of Puffins standing on a rocky surface. One of the birds is taking flight and two of them have fish in their beaks. The bird in the center is looking sideways pensively. At least, that's what it looks like to me. And if you are reading this and disagree with my interpretation, please let me know, it'll at least prove to me someone's actually reading these descriptions I painstakingly write for each photo I post!
Watermark identifying photographer as Geneviève Laurin.
820616
Reposted by Insubstantial Pageant
Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
It’s not dawn, but it is #InternationalDawnChorusDay… m.youtube.com/watch?v=f7ar... 🖼️ Claire Mackie
Birds playing instruments and singing from branches and amongst foliage, illustration.
415240