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Ian Simmons

@iansimmons1960.bsky.social
773 followers 273 following 1.9K posts

Curator, Fortean Times news editor, science communicator, author of Haunted London and the forthcoming Little Book of London Lore, cognitive dissident and discontent provider. Also, Grumpy Quaker socialist with cat - all opinions are my own

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Ian Simmons @iansimmons1960.bsky.social · 11h
It seems the Green 'zionism is racism' is massive own goal. While I am trenchantly opposed to the Gaza genocide and Netanyahu and Co, over the years 'zionism' has meant so many different things that defining it so bluntly ends up as basically an antisemitic dog whistle
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Scandal from Bohemia @scandalfrombohemia.bsky.social · 14h
"You're an author? Would I know anything you've written?" "Have you heard of the book Eat Pray Love?" "Oh wow. I have, actually!" "Well, in one of my books I make fun of the author for being a sanctimonious fake."
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Alom Shaha @alomshaha.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Of course it’s 88 feet long.
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Working Class History @workingclasshistory.com · 03/10/2026
#OtD 3 Oct 1937 almost a year after their defeat at Cable St, Mosley's Blackshirts attempted to march through Bermondsey, South London. Met with strong local opposition and barricades in the streets, the march never arrived at its intended destination workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e35-...
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Angry People in Local Newspapers @apiln.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
We don’t do the Daily Mail, but as a public service, here is someone with far too much money being attacked by an owl.
Princess Beatrice's friend Alice Naylor-Leyland is attacked by rogue owl during chaotic photoshoot.
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Ian Simmons @iansimmons1960.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Just met BRIAN ENO!!!🤯
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BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
One got assassinated within months of saying he would investigate Israel's illegal nuclear program. The other got voted out of office after 4 years to be replaced by Reagan "America has never flinched from the commitment to the State of Israel" I wonder who was behind both?
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Papa Woof und Krampus und Bleaken @papawoof.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
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Garth Marenghi's Catbus @catbus.phd · 30/09/2026
don't bother addressing a congregation unless you're in the baroque creature pulpit
Baroque pulpit ca. 1750, rebuilt 1856, Parish church in Dobroszów.

a fanciful scaled sculpture where the serpents open mouth serves as the pulpit
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Del Wasso @banksyfella.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
No more Merick Garlands. No more tolerating the intolerant. No more Nazi nonsense.
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Sleestak @sleestak.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
and behold a pale horse. and the name that sat on him was death. and hell followed with him
cat on a statue
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Jack Kennedy @jackkennedy.ie · 29/09/2026
Anthropic: "We are losing unimaginable amounts of cash, more every year. We are also delusional and think we are creating a vengeful god that will kill us all. Please give us more money than currently exists."
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Crystal Ponti @crystalponti.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The Great Pumpkin isn't old folklore at all. Charles Schulz invented Linus's mysterious pumpkin-patch visitor for Peanuts. That's how folklore-like traditions can begin: tell a good enough story often enough, and eventually everyone knows the rules. #FairyTaleTuesday
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Colin Smith @colinsmith.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Charles Addams, showing that the Mounties always get their nature god. (Original art for June 1958’s Holiday magazine.)
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Steg68 @steg68.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
That’s it. Elliott Page for James Bond. Yes please!
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BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Sylvester Stallone admits that War is a huge con to make profits for the Defense Industry and that at one point he was a massive supporter, but now he sees the truth.
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SimonRead @simonread.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Ed Sheeran's star has waned so far he's now satirical fodder for Private Eye cartoonists
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Rafe Meager (they/them) @economeager.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
someone should write a science fiction story called "2+2=5" set in a future where no-one has retained any ability to do the basic operations and an apocalyptic cult introduces malware into the LLMs that store all human knowledge so that the LLMs stop knowing how to do them as well
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Bean N. Curling @beancurling.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The mint is the planchette.
Ouija board mints.
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BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Benefit/Pension/NHS Spending in the UK isn't high. In fact it is pretty low, just not low enough for the billonaires.
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Ian Simmons @iansimmons1960.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Gosh, the London Science Museum has really been working hard to make itself as offensively unwelcoming to visitors as possible hasn't it. #londonsciencemusem
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SFDB @sfdb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
"Not long ago, President Trump could claim that he ran the world. Now he’s waiting at the bottom of a set of airline steps for the Chinese president." - @jonlemire.bsky.social
theatlantic.com
The Deferential President
Not long ago, President Trump could claim that he ran the world. Now he’s waiting at the bottom of a set of airline steps for the Chinese president.
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Ian Simmons @iansimmons1960.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Classic overheard tube conversation today,"I went to see The Odyssey, expecting regular Greek type stuff, but then all these f*ck off giant monsters appeared! That cyclops thing was even bigger than Andre the Giant!"
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Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Hands up who thought Roger Irrelevant was a fictional character
Dan Snow QTs a post that says “Jacob Rees-Mogg, the most stereotypically Tory conservative man of the 21st Century, responded to Suella Braverman with a long-form video criticizing her position and rejecting a race-based theory of Englishness, and in response has been ratioed by the increasingly feral British online far-right.” with the words “England is a made up thing. It has no basis in the ineluctable laws of nature. Its extent is defined by Edward II getting his arse handed to him. Athelstan conquering York.
The Welsh of Cumbria were incorporated, the Welsh of Gwynedd were not. It is a political idea, an aspiration - not taxonomy.”Someone replies to Dan Snow to say “I hate your ads for south west trains”
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Viz Comic @vizcomic.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
subscriptions >>> shop.viz.co.uk/viz358bs
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Bart⚓️ @bartgonnissen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The Facial Expressions of Tethys by artist Julius von Bismarck. A suspended high-sea buoy that moves in real time. Sensors on a twin buoy out in the Atlantic Ocean send live satellite data to motors inside the museum. This makes the indoor buoy copy the exact, real-time movements of the ocean waves.
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sam³⁰⁰⁰ @samgavin.com · 22/09/2026
this is a real pin from a real company designed by a real person and I own it
strikegently.co
Strike Gently - Horse Pin
1.25 inchesHard enamel with gold platingDeluxe clasp backingShipped with love from our warehouse in LA.
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Daniel Carpenter @dancarpenter.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Do meryls dream of electric streep?
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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 22/09/2026
Tyrannosaurus xkcd.com/3300/
Comic. [Person with long hair pointing to diagram with Tyrannosaurus Rex standing next to a person.] PERSON: We now believe the primary prey of Tyrannosaurus Rex was these humans who kept standing next to it for scale.
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BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Charlotte Church “While he has made millions and has an enormous platform and could do real good in the world. He chose consumerism and capitalism over doing the right thing. Ed Sheeran, we’re watching you. Free Palestine.”
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BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Reminder, even the evil Thatcher boycotted Israel from 1982 to until she was out of power. Now no one does. What does that say?
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South-East London for Europe (Selfe) @selfe.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Fantastic news Latest records show that #RNLI donations have increased by 5000% over the past couple of weeks after far-right backlash. The RNLI is on track to record its highest annual fundraising total in its almost 200-year history. Donate here rnli.org/support-us/g...
rnli.org
Donate to the RNLI and help save lives at sea
Your donations really make a difference. We depend on your generosity to educate people to stay safe and prevent tragedies on and offshore. Donate here.
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Daryl 𝘊𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘩𝘶𝘪𝘮𝘤í𝘯 🎃 Feehely @darylfeehely.com · 20/09/2026
It's mad that after everything, Ed Sheeran thinks it's a win to stand on stage and say he wants people who agree with genocide to be able to stand next to people who disagree with genocide, so they all can listen to his songs about love & unity. And by mad, I mean complicit. #FreePalestine
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Shiv Ramdas Mens Rice Activist @nameshiv.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
somehow the greatest anecdote that explains all politics
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Doug Aoki 青木定夫 @nantanreikan.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
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Gav @antihippy.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I've never forgotten the episode about fax maxhines... youtube.com/playlist?lis...
youtube.com
The Secret Life Of Machines Complete Series - YouTube
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
So notoriously anti-LGBTQ Lauren Boebert had a sexual relationship with a woman on her staff and then paid her hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep quiet? Republican hypocrisy is so shameless.
rawstory.com
Lauren Boebert accused of sex with three staffers in complaint alleging $200K hush payment
An explosive sworn complaint filed with the House Ethics Committee alleges Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) carried on a sexual relationship with her district director in the office, in a car and in campaig...
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Iron Spike @ironspike.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I’ll take this a step further and say, I believe we should be able to support an average-sized family on a single income at what we determine to be the minimum wage. A lot of Boomers got this. But for whatever reason, we’re considered ridiculous for proposing it.
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Claire Bygrave @clairebygrave.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Just saw this.. thought of Bodmin..
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BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
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Folklore Twitcher @folkloretwitcher.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
“The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.” ✍️ Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince #BookWormSat 🎨Kiss of Judas (1304–06), fresco by Giotto, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy
Kiss of Judas (1304–06), fresco by Giotto, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy
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BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Do you want Israel to be sanctioned? Not their settlements, some meaningless sanction that can be avoided by changing a sticker. But Israel itself, for Crimes against Humanity. Spread the word if you do.
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Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
HELLO, ARE YOU THE MEDIA? WE’VE HELD A VILLAGE REFERENDUM
The Monty Python troupe dressed as the Gumbys, all in wellies, rolled up trousers and hankies on their heads because their brains hurt
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tweety fish oh wow like a chimera or something spoooky @sifu.tweety.fish · 17/09/2026
It's hilarious that "the initial work and underlying philosophy of this massive defense-linked American industry came from a small group of sorta racist californians who were super into esoteric sex cultism" is not enough to pin down what industry you're talking about
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Richard Kadrey @richardkadrey.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I can't argue with this. "Three films a day, three books a week and records of great music would be enough to make me happy to the day I die." —François Truffaut
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NBC News @nbcnews.com · 17/09/2026
The new wild cat species is about the size of a domestic kitten and lives in Bolivia.
nbcnews.to
New wild cat species is identified for first time in 100 years, researchers say
A type of tiger cat, the animal is smaller than a house cat, slender and spotted. It lives in the Bolivian cloud forest.
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Mon Mothra @flobbert.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Maybe the folks at Anthropic will figure out the Babylon Working and usher in a new age
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sfineville.bsky.social @sfineville.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I used to have one that was “I can haz full faith & credit” 😄
Ceiling cat is now concerned with the debt ceiling: “Debt Ceiling Cat is watching you negotiate”
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Kyle Clark @kylec.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Squirrels have fired the first shots in their long-planned assault on humanity, with daring assaults that took out power in Castle Rock, CO two days in a row.
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Alom Shaha @alomshaha.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Look, there are still people with principles out there:
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