iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Chris Brooke @chrisbrooke.bsky.social · 9h

RIP Esther Rantzen, who was implicated in one of the most extraordinary TV clips that has ever been filmed.

youtube.com

Sir Nicholas Winton - BBC Programme "That's Life" aired in 1988

YouTube video by aggy007

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Dr Dion Georgiou 🇨🇾❤️🇬🇾 @drdiongeorgiou.bsky.social · 20h

Not to oversimplify but maybe it’s not surprising the two grossest abusers of 21st C English football’s financial regulations were clubs owned by people used to turning resource wealth into political power, linked to or parts of authoritarian regimes with equal disregard for international law.

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Was interviewed by a US journalist today who asked if we were all panicking about terrorists at Fairford, which ended with me trying to explain dogging.

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Chris Brooke @chrisbrooke.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Are Man. City fans able to see the funny side of <gestures at all this>, or are they a humourless bunch? #gaiety

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Chris Brooke @chrisbrooke.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies...

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K M Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Note Lukacs is playing for Hungary against Northern Ireland, a welcome return @michaelrosen.bsky.social

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Michael Warburton @michaelwarburton.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

DASTARDLY & MUTTLEY IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES (1969-70) #HannaBarbera

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Alastair Harper @alastairharper.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Someone’s being transferred to Slough House

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John Gallagher @earlymodernjohn.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

My fourth consecutive bedtime reading a book called Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site and I think I'm just about ready to come out against child literacy. I'm going to become the reverse Dolly Parton and devote my fortune to taking books away from children.

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MonstrousJaffa @monstrousjaffa.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

American BlueSky being teased on the definitions of dogging and fly tipping reminds me of the story of the Brit who convinced a visiting American colleague that the shipping forecast was the day's cricket scores.

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Richard Wells @slipperyjack.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Been working my way through Jan Švankmajer's short films. One that has particularly stayed with me is the quietly chilling Buñuelian allegory The Garden (1968), probably his most overtly political work. A man is invited to a country estate with a perimeter fence made of silent human 'volunteers'...

People forming a daisy chain around a grand country estate. The short is a biting Kafkaesque critique of totalitarian conformity and collectivism. It mirrors the stifling mediocrity, absolute submission, and absurd normalisation of oppression under Czechoslovakian communism.

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Times this morning. Me in December last year. It was pretty damn obvious this would happen to anyone who did the maths. samf.substack.com/p/the-oversh...

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Steven Poole @stevenpoole.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

whoever would have guessed that the AI doom/EA cult is exactly like all other cults in history inasmuch as its members' primary motivation is to gaslight women into having sex with them

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Stephen H. Jones @stphnhwrdjns.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Most academics I know were fundamentally anti-Wikipedia for a very long time. Salutary reminder that we get it quite wrong quite often.

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Old British Telly @oldbritishtelly.co.uk · 27/09/2026

[1963] Snow – Hypnotic British Transport Film showing the efforts of railway workmen to keep trains running in hazardous snowy conditions.

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Lewis Baston @lewisbaston.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Crossing the Danube in Vienna. The Impressionist look is created by twilight and a mucky train window but I rather like it.

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

First Q: “Should there be an early election?” John Curtice: “No.”

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Baroness Floella Benjamin @floellabenjamin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Today it’s 50 years since I first presented Playschool wearing my blue beads and silver heart. I adore bringing joy into the lives of my Playschool Babies during the 12 years I was on the programme. ❤️

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Will Davies @will-davies.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

We’re gonna need mass mobilisation to turn the country’s entire industrial base towards popcorn production www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...

nytimes.com

Manchester City found guilty on almost all Premier League charges relating to financial breaches

City were charged by the Premier League in February 2023.

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Declan Gaffney @greyskiesthinking.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

A speculative Joycean perspective on WBY's Easter 1916. The first stanza takes place on Stephen's Green, between the corner of Kildare St and Merrion Row. WBY is on his way from Kildare St to the United Arts Club on the east side of the Green near the corner of Hume St. 'Two Gallants' territory.

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Helen Macdonald @hjm.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Evergreen

Faux poll. "Who is our favourite Commedia dell'Arte character?"
2,500 Americans polled.
Results:
Columbine: 0%
Scaramouche: 0%
Pulcinella: 0%
Pantalone: 0%
il Dottore: 0%
Don't know: 100%

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Dinah Rose KC @dinahrose.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Magdalen water meadow this morning

An early autumn meadow. Light low mist. Deer scattered about.

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Neville Morley @nevillemorley.eurosky.social · 25/09/2026

bsky.app/profile/nevi...

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Chris Brooke @chrisbrooke.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

tehgraun is trolling @nevillemorley.eurosky.social: *** With such conditions in place, Xi said, “the Thucydides trap can be overcome”, refering [sic] to the phenomenon, defined by the Greek historian, of tensions that arise when an emerging power challenges the dominance of an established power.***

theguardian.com

At Trump meeting, Xi Jinping lays out terms to avoid US-China military conflict

Chinese president’s proposals for lessening tensions come amid period of intense competition between the two countries over AI and trade

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The Onion @theonion.com · 24/09/2026

Xi Jinping Impressed With How Much Trump’s English Has Improved Since Last Visit theonion.com/xi-jinping-impressed-w…

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Chris Brooke @chrisbrooke.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

"The trouble with you, Spode, is that just because you have succeeded in inducing a handful of half-wits to disfigure the London scene by going about in black shorts, you think you're someone."

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Plashing Vole @plashingvole.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Do you think it’s good for a university when an employment lawyer giggles and says things like ‘surely they know this stuff’ and ‘it’s unbelievably obvious’ and ‘anyone could take this apart’?

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Chris Brooke @chrisbrooke.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I am told that when I arrived at the hospital six years ago after a bus smashed into my head, I wasn’t compos mentis enough to able to tell them my actual name, but I did insist that “I am from Middlesex” (which I suppose is true).

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Josephine Quinn @josephinequinn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Apparently I'm giving an inaugural lecture - all very welcome! Thurs October 8th, 5pm, drinks to follow.

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Chris Bertram @crookedfootball.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The headmaster demanded that the child who had shat in a bucket confess. Silence, so the whole school was stood to attention in the car park. Anyone who moved was taken from the line, beaten, and returned to the line. (English prep school, c. 1969)

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James Butler @piercepenniless.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Piracy Act 1837 (relevant limb is "unlawfully do any act by which the life of such person may be endangered") carries a life tariff. www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4a...

legislation.gov.uk

Piracy Act 1837

An Act to amend certain Acts relating to the Crime of Piracy.

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Anna H @athenepallas.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This is me-thing, but the sight of the RNLI being abused whilst the government stands by and does nothing, makes me miss my father very much. Michael loved boats and the sea, detested fascists and was a proper Labour person - he'd be both informed and *furious* about what's happening.

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Declan Gaffney @greyskiesthinking.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Max Weber hearing the latest news from the English Channel.

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Sophie Carr @sophiecarr.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Here's some more lovely geology from the Snæfellsnes Peninsula from last month in #Iceland. #AwesomeFoursome

Big stack in the background (volcano far in the distance) and some large boulders in the foreground with tafoni (round holes erosion).

Grasses on the edge of a cliff with dandelions and volcanic platform along the coast and stack in distance.

Colourful basalt columns on a beach stack.

Another stack on the beach, with grey (black) sand, and some grassy hills beyond. The stack has lots of grey and red rocks.

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Department of Politics & International Studies, Uni of Cambridge @campolis.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Registration is now open for the 2026 POLIS Lecture. This year we are honoured to welcome Professor Lea Ypi @leaypi.bsky.social who will define and answer the question, "What is Political Progress?" Register now: www.eventbrite.com/e/polis-lect...

eventbrite.com

POLIS Lecture 2026 - What is Political Progress?

The Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge welcomes Professor Lea Ypi for the 2026 POLIS Lecture.

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The Onion @theonion.com · 22/09/2026

Russian Oligarch Bankrolls Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding After Party theonion.com/russian-oligarch-bankr…

“And yet it was still a cash bar.”

Byron Mackie, Hat Inspector

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Chris Brooke @chrisbrooke.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Prof. @josephinequinn.bsky.social's inaugural lecture, "Anarchical Antiquity", will be at 5pm on Thursday 8 October in the Old Divinity School Main Lecture Theatre, St John’s College, Cambridge. www.joh.cam.ac.uk/about-us/new...

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Dr Maha @maharafiatal.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

"Corporate rule has always coexisted with state rule, and companies don’t necessarily pursue it to advance their business interests. That means restoring the state won’t, by itself, fix the problem." On the long history of corporate power and what to do about it today: cupblog.org/2026/09/18/m...

cupblog.org

Maha Rafi Atal on When Companies Rule - Columbia University Press Blog

Maha Rafi Atal discusses the history of corporate rule, the limits of state regulation, and what it takes to hold global companies accountable.

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Chris Brooke @chrisbrooke.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

In the old days of the Twitter it was an iron law that however batshit Andrew Lilico might appear to be, and however tempted people were to identify some particular bit of nonsense as #peaklilico, it was never, in fact, #peaklilico. (And nor is it now.)

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Pete Fraser @petefrasermusic.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

If I’ve learned one thing from the internet it’s that everyone is an equally rational actor and this would work very well.

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Chris Brooke @chrisbrooke.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Deutsche Bahn did its best to derail today’s journey by cancelling the 1620 out of Aachen at short notice, but it looks as if we will be home—if not perhaps quite in bed—by midnight.

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Paul Stevenson @pdstevenson.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Not now John Lewis, not now

John Lewis advert for children’s black balaclava

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Chris Brooke @chrisbrooke.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

No particular reason for this tweet, except that I am in the Channel Tunnel, and I think it is cool that you can post from the actual Channel Tunnel.

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BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

for those who had properly embraced Palmer Thought the Boebert news did not come as a surprise

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