iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Helen McCarthy

Surgeons trying to eliminate pain eventually arrived at anaesthesia – but not before a contest with older, more unusual therapies. Why was mesmerism so magnetic? ⌛️ Last chance to read this article for free buff.ly/uQ8IWEA

buff.ly

Mesmerism: Pain Management before Anaesthetics

Surgeons trying to eliminate pain eventually arrived at anaesthesia – but not before a contest with older, more unusual therapies. Why was mesmerism so magnetic?

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Reposted by Helen McCarthy

History Today @historytoday.com · 8h

The Fisk Jubilee Singers began their first national tour 155 years ago #OnThisDay Three years later they would tour Britain, singing songs that confronted American racism. Victorian audiences had never heard music like it. 🔓 This article is free for 7 days www.historytoday.com/archive/feat...

historytoday.com

The Fisk Jubilee Singers Across the Atlantic

In 1874 a choir of African American singers concluded a successful tour of Britain, singing songs that confronted American racism. Victorian audiences had never heard music like it.

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 11h

You can't eat beautifully painted miniatures but the're much easier to export than raw fish.

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Inequality News @inequalitynews.bsky.social · 12h

🙂 Maybe not...? The fightback against unasked for, unwanted, and unnecessary AI is gathering pace... #RejectAI www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

theguardian.com

‘Pull the plug’: protesters resort to direct action against AI firms

Campaign groups report surge in membership after a spate of AI safety alerts and apocalyptic warnings

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 11h

New post: Burnham has opened the door to a "rejoin" manifesto pledge. The politics make more sense than a lot of people seem to realise. I look at what it would involve at every step from pledge to referendum. There are significant barriers but it can be done. samf.substack.com/p/the-route-...

samf.substack.com

The route back into the EU

Back in 2022 I wrote about the long-term prospects for undoing Brexit and made two predictions.

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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 11h

Not a dunk on @zekehausfather.com btw, who is far more thoughtful on the use of these tools (which were used to produce the data in the post above) than most www.theclimatebrink.com/p/the-real-e...

theclimatebrink.com

The real energy use of agentic AI

Agents use about 600x more energy than simple AI prompts

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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 11h

Something worth adding is demand is political and social and malleable A car company wants to build an electric SUV and have you drive it, rather than have you take public transport. I love renewable energy + see it as precious + want it used to make my life safer, not to serve that company's ends

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 11h

#AI steals not just the work of real artists but their signatures. #ChatGPT users who do this are not just entitled and arrogant, they're evil.

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Bluemoose Books @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social · 12h

A third TV adaptation of a Bluemoose novel? Heavens to Murgatroyd. @thebookseller.com @northernfiction.bsky.social

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Giada Zavarise ➡️ AdvX @cheerfulgoth.bsky.social · 22h

The funniest/saddest reaction to this amazing article has been people going "wait, Stellaris has WRITERS?" Yes folks, if a game has words... someone probably got paid to write them... even if that game isn't an RPG or a visual novel...

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 12h

A different vibe from Japan to start your Tuesday. Have a good one, butterflies!

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Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 12h

People often think that life in #Japan is all about high school intrigue and high-tech gadgets; but it's also about repelling a frightened mother bear with a stick. Not many #anime show you this necessary woodland survival skill. mainichi.jp/english/arti...

mainichi.jp

TOKYO -- A black shape came charging toward him at tremendous speed. There was no time to escape. Video footage recorded in a mountain forest in north

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Reposted by Helen McCarthy

Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 13h

Via @leijinews.eurosky.social, the official teaser for Cosmoship Yamato 2199, coming soon from co-directors Hideaki Anno and Yutaka Izubuchi! Its website is now online yamato-r2199.jp #LeijiMatsumoto #Yamato #anime

yamato-r2199.jp

宇宙戦艦ヤマト √2199

「宇宙戦艦ヤマト √2199」公式サイト。

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Reposted by Helen McCarthy

Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 12h

“If there is no more festival, our ties with each other, gratitude to the land and prayers will dissipate." Japanese shrine festivals struggle with the problem of an ageing population and its impact on many historic traditions. www.asahi.com/ajw/articles...

asahi.com

Centuries-old festivals on verge of extinction across Japan | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

After parading through downtown Aomori accompanied by shouts of “rassera, rassera,” a Panasonic Nebuta appeared at a “nebuta” float-building shed on Aug. 6, prompting cheers and applause from the crow...

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Vintage Obscura Radio @vintageobscura.net · 22h

The Dead Presleys - Return To Sender [Canada, Outsider Country] (1987) Some absolutely freaked out lo-fi outsider country redd.it/lmc73d youtu.be/ZW73wAlBlAU

youtu.be

The Dead Presleys - Return To Sender [Canada, Outsider Country] (1987) Some absolutely freaked out lo-fi outsider country

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

In summer and early autumn us kids stuffed ourselves with fruit from the garden: strawberries, apples, blackberries, plums, pears, tomatoes. Around mid-October Mum would make cinder toffee as a treat with Sunday afternoon TV. November was treacle toffee time. www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes...

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

It's Monday, and I'm on a train to Leicester, so let's head back to the 80s!

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Reposted by Helen McCarthy

David Osland @davidosland.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

Attention BBC and Daily Mail newsdesks. It is being reliably reported that Reform UK MP Richard Tice dodged a £600,000 tax bill. Where's the media coverage?

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Reposted by Helen McCarthy

Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

As art shows go, this one at Slough Museum is worth a visit

Artwork by Steve Kyte surrounded by a collection of scratch built models, puppets and props from the TV series Thunderbirds. The show also features classic art from TV21 and contemporary work by Graham Bleathman.

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Reposted by Helen McCarthy

Younity @younityuk.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

☀️🫐 Nearly 12,000 solar panels are now towering over a blueberry field in Germany. The panels sit 10 to 13 feet above the crops, allowing farm machinery to pass underneath while generating renewable electricity. And before construction, bomb disposal teams even found hand grenades in the soil. 😳

autonocion.com

Nearly 12,000 solar panels raised 10 to 13 feet over a blueberry field went live in eastern Germany, set high enough for farm machinery to pass underneath, and before the first post went in, ordnance ...

In the eastern German state of Thuringia, it did. On October 1, the solar arm of the state's biggest utility switched on an array of nearly 12,000 solar

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Dumb Robot Stuff @dumbrobotstuff.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

My new kitbashed captain and ancient, plus decorative ammo servitor

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Younity @younityuk.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

🌬️🇩🇪 Germany has just built the world’s tallest wind turbine. Standing 365 metres tall, the GICON pilot in eastern Germany is designed to capture stronger, more consistent winds at higher altitudes. The project will test whether going higher can significantly increase electricity generation. ⚡

interestingengineering.com

World’s tallest wind turbine reaches nearly 1,200 feet in Germany

A 1,197-foot wind turbine has reached its full height in Germany, making it the world’s tallest wind turbine.

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Edgy stuff from post-punk Denmark

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History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

🚨New Substack🚨 Barbara Cartland is remembered today as one of 20th century's best-selling writers and as an iconic socialite. But as @jhdavey.bsky.social explores, much of her life was also deeply political.

historyofparliament.substack.com

On Barbara Cartland

I have just finished the new biography of Barbara Cartland by Matthew Sweet, which takes its subject - with all her cerise chiffon and dizzying daily word counts - seriously.

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Reposted by Helen McCarthy

G. Willow Wilson @gwillow.me · 04/10/2026

The cetaceans are unionizing

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Colleen Doran @colleendoran.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

The Lakes International Comic Arts Festival: a truly unique experience with dedicated creators from around the world in a lovely UK town with great warmth and character. I highly recommend you consider attending this lively event in future. licaf.co.uk

licaf.co.uk

The Lakes International Comic Arts Festival

LICAF will return to Kendal 2nd to 4th October 2026. Featuring the Maestro Bill Sienkiewicz.

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Reposted by Helen McCarthy

Tony Lee @pigasuspress.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Repeat this message until the UK gov. regains its sanity about what 'terrorism' actually means.

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

That was in the time of legend ... and before the clean air movement.

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

There's a heavy mist over Slough Trading Estate this morning. It hasn't managed to turn it into Innsmouth, but at least it's having a go.

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Peaceful protest is an inalienable right and a community superpower.

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Reposted by Helen McCarthy

Robot Wig @robotwig.com · 04/10/2026

It's time yet again for my weekly roundup. All my miniature practically shot photos posted this week in one big bundle just in case you missed any. Hope you enjoyed what I posted this week. All behind the scenes shots are available to view in the original posts. #photography #hireme #photographer

Grid of photos posted this week from top right:
Tmnt
Robocop and Cain
Star Wars A New Hope Vader and Leia
Indiana Jones
M3gan
Scream
Pennywise

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

How do you erase a culture? You go for its history, music and literature.

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Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

The magnificent #YayoiKusama was treated as an annoying and uncomfortable female at home, finding creative acceptance abroad decades before she was embraced by Japan's art world. Why are artists, especially women, so often spurned in life and romanticised later? www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2...

japantimes.co.jp

Yayoi Kusama and the cost of recognizing artists too late

Her later global success can tempt rewriting the past. Once an artist becomes profitable and internationally validated, national pride arrives easily.

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Mike Okuda @mikeokuda.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Peter Wolchak interviewed us about Matt Jefferies, who is our hero, and the man who designed the Enterprise and its bridge for the original Star Trek. Our interview is up on CollectingTrek. collectingtrek.ca/2026/10/02/j...

collectingtrek.ca

Matt Jefferies made Star Trek look believable

Michael and Denise Okuda reflect on a humble visionary.

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I haven't rewatched this in far too long. Sometimes you just need a dose of Cowboy and Perfect Tommy.

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Your Sunday morning shot of skank. Have a good one, butterflies!

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Reposted by Helen McCarthy

Duncan Mackay @theduncanmackay.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Sometimes you see an artefact where myth, magic & reality all seem to converge… Behold, the Iron Age Torrs Pony Cap; pulled from a Scottish bog in the 19thC & dating to the 3rdC BC, the horns were still attached when found. Chariot ponies knew they were cool. National Museum Scotland #FindsFriday

Decorated bronze pony cap with long, slender curving horns

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Every weekend needs a bit of that art punk vibe.

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Far From The Madding Crowd Bookshop @ffmaddingcrowd.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Happy Saturday everyone and today we say: Let's hear it for the BOYS! Three astonishingly good titles have just landed, and all of our copies are signed, exclusive first editions: not bad! From the godfather of punk poetry, to fathers and sons, to David Byrne (who is simply himself), enjoy boys!

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Reposted by Helen McCarthy

The Cosmic Shambles Network @cosmicshambles.com · 01/10/2026

Podcast version out now

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

A great band name if ever there was one.

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

On a train to Slough for a rare chance to support my beloved as he signs autographs, shows some artwork and hopefully sells a few prints. He is my wingman and I'm his, but he rarely steps into the spotlight, so this is a real treat for me. www.facebook.com/sloughcounci...

A poster for the opening weekend of "Thunderbirds - The Big Screen and Beyond" at Slough Museum, 3-4 October 2026.

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Happy Saturday butterflies! History with a very modern application to start the weekend: so many people go on about "native Britons" but our ancestors comprehensively marginalised and erased them. Our idea of "British" is part wishful thinking, part theme park.

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