iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Tom Jones (the book, not the famous Welshman) is what I've just written an old-fashioned blog about oldgeezerrereadingblog.wordpress.com

oldgeezerrereadingblog.wordpress.com

Old geezer re-reading

40+ years of books and stuff

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

My first visit to Brisbane Rd this season, and the latest version of R Wellens's invitation XI fails to impress. Some good players (Gilbert, Connolly, El Miz) but not working as a team, and iffy defence still #lofc

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Jude Rogers @juderogers.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

...so read my long love-letter to this show, in which I explore all its complications and unanswered questions, here. juderogers.substack.com/p/the-unansw...

juderogers.substack.com

The unanswered questions of 70 Up

The death of Nick, goodbye to Neil, and the power of watching fourteen real lives in time-lapse – the return of my Mid-Week Culture Culture Blast

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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 21/09/2026

One of the less remarked-upon aspects of atheism is how it changes the way you see sunsets. If you believe in an omnipresent God, then sunsets are one of God's intentional creations, which means that the beautiful colors refracting through the darkling sky were *chosen* to produce that effect.

$Two cross-sectioned anatomical drawings of men's heads revealing their brains, which have been filled with marching robots from old pulp magazines. Their stare at one another with raw, exposed anatomical drawing eyeballs, which radiate a halo of spiky lines. The background is a psychedelic, fractal-shot colored cloudscape.$

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Russell England @russellengland.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Long thread on the killing off of VCR

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Almost 12 hours of travel today, on 4 different trains - two German, one Belgian and one Netherlands. And the only one on time was the Dutch

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👻madeline bOoOoOoOodent👻 @oldenoughtosay.com · 12/09/2026

every time I see this I am reminded that the one (1) thing stopping all of these policies is that most political parties don’t actually want democracy to be fair and equal

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Ok, as long as everyone has to learn the words to Hen Wlad fy Nhadau

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Mic Wright @brokenbottleboy.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

You know that glib thing people used to say about how things online will live forever? It’s one of the dimmest ideas. Future historians are going to struggle with so many blanks. A digital dark age.

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Joel Morris @gralefrit.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

What if we demanded the money back from all the Covid Tory-mate scams - now we know it was a fucking grift, and we’ve got some perspective, panic’s over, we can see what you were up to - and got it back and spent it on libraries or the NHS or crisps?

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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 01/09/2026

This is deliberate. And it's illegal. “This level of criminality shows that water companies do not believe they, or the government, will ever do anything meaningful to stop them.” www.theguardian.com/business/2026/s…

theguardian.com

Dry weather sewage discharges soar as water companies face scrutiny

Exclusive: 7,280 suspected illegal spills in rivers and sea recorded in first five months of 2026

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

If you read down from the top of the current #PremierLeague table the teams' initials spell out BABEHIM. Just this week, probably

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Peter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Thank goodness for real citizen journalists doing the work so many professionals failed to do

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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

The hellbound horror of GCSEs iandunt.substack.com/p/the-hellbo...

Once GCSEs started, that all ended. Education stopped being about learning and started being about passing exams. In fact, it barely counted as education at all. It degenerated into little more than a memory exercise. Can you take information from Source A - your revision notes - retain it, and then input it into Source B - the exam paper. This system produced very reliable exam results, which were used to promote the school to the next set of parents, but it did not produce, did not even aim to produce, people with a love of knowledge or a natural curiosity about the world. It was actually completely indifferent to curiosity. Speaking about it in that context would be like trying to insert Smarties into a slot machine.

At the point of GCSEs, we really do lose that greater educational virtue. We gain things - the work ethic, the need to perform - but we lose things too. And that loss, the complete absence of any genuine intellectual endeavor, is why GCSEs are often such a harrowing period.

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Re-reading Greene's The Human Factor. Struck by the number of similes used by GG - e.g. 'He gathered his papers and slipped quietly away, like a host who feels that a house party will get on much better without him' (1/2)

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David Osland @davidosland.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

How about a statutory requirement for all UK newspapers to be owned by UK companies that pay UK taxes? Especially the ones that routinely preach patriotism.

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Maire Davies @mairejed.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

You may remember something called The Leveson Inquiry which highlighted many press abuses of individuals. It made a number of sensible recommendations for press regulation. governments have ignored them. They are still available to be implemented. Also Leveson 2. @hackedoff.bsky.social

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East London Kingfishers @londonkingfishers.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Autumnal scene with the kingfisher and the blackberries at Walthamstow Wetlands. #nature #wildlife #birds #kingfisher #blackberries #walthamstow

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johndunn.bsky.social @johndunn.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Calls for Leveson 2 are fair enough but if, as happened with Leveson 1, any proposals are ignored & quietly binned, then it’ll just be a waste of energy, time, & money. Leveson 1 legislative proposals, with modifications bring social media platforms within its ambit, should be implemented first.

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

'Two dedicated subeditors', eh? The kind of job the high-ups are always keen to eliminate

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Fleur Hitchcock @fleurhitchcock.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

1/4 I want to talk about the delivery culture. There's this whole world of people ordering fast food from their armchairs. Each journey involves fossil fuels, most of the products involve packaging. The guys doing the delivering are paid bugger all and take awful risks on the road.

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Previously undiscovered part of Oxford U revealed in today's Observer

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

A great list of Kinks songs there. Top two inevitable choices, but would have ranked Celluloid Heroes and Come Dancing higher. Still have an irrational dislike of Dedicated Follower #TheKinks

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Too many extras, too few Greek gods #Odyssey

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

My initial response to Nolan's Odyssey? Too crowded

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

A debate for the ages (see thread)

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David Papineau @davidpapineau.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

It was all going so well until we scored a goal

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

England are going to lose now, aren't they?

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

It feels like you can’t watch a game of football without wading through annoying gambling ads. 🙄 😡It’s dangerous for young fans, and it puts a stain on the beautiful game. ⚽Find out what you can do about it. you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/pr...

you.38degrees.org.uk

Protect young fans: kick gambling ads out of football

Gambling ads are all over football, targeting young fans and risking dangerous addictions. All eyes are on the World Cup - so can you help me get them banned now? We don’t have long!

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Anne-Marie Silbiger (happimess73) @happimess73.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Please head to St Mary's Welcome Centre in Walthamstow if you can help/donate food and water to residents being evacuated due to the fire in Wood St, Walthamstow.

fire on embankment at Wood St, Walthamstow

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Our spiffy new BT/EE television package gives us everything we might want *except* the wonderful @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social channel. Why? Do we need a nationwide petition demanding its restoration?

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

How can I concentrate on the injustice of Egypt's defeat when all this other news (Farage's ridiculousness, Daily Mail gloating etc) keeps happening? To say nothing of the cricket ...

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Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

🔴 NEW Why the British Press Are Really Angry About the Government’s Planned Media ‘Prominence’ Law Julian Petley on the real reasons why the right-wing press are so worried about plans to ensure online platforms prioritise trustworthy news over…

bylinetimes.com

Why the British Press Are Really Angry About the Government’s Planned Media ‘Prominence’ Law

Julian Petley on the real reasons why the right-wing press are so worried about plans to ensure online platforms prioritise trustworthy news over disinformation

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Turnaround Books @turnarounduk.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

New release! The Spinster Cookbook by Eli Davies is a celebration and exploration of cooking for one! From #theindigopress uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

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Walden Wilde! 🦝 @waldenwilde.com · 17/06/2026

Long but interesting thread for two points: 1️⃣ Don’t let the people hyping AI convince you that you’re obsolete or worthless. They’re pushing their own agenda. 2️⃣ The French speaker in this story is a cautionary tale about how relying on AI can strip you of your faculties and your self-confidence.

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Kate Bevan @katebevan.com · 16/06/2026

Just thinking about the stupid, bad, something-must-be-done policy-by-vibes teen social media ban and sharing this excellent piece by @jamesrball.com again for those who missed it the other day www.jamesrball.com/p/a-teen-soc...

jamesrball.com

A teen social media ban is an admission of total and utter failure to govern online spaces

The UK government is currently calling for steps that fall short of a teen social media ban. Here's why it shouldn't take the next step.

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Chris Roberts @chrisjroberts.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

As others have noted, to frame this behaviour as a protest (in this case the BBC), rather than a violent riot, hugely downplays what is actually happening. It's irresponsible.

BBC website headline on 'protesters' setting fire to a bus.

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Lee Hurley @hleehurley.com · 09/06/2026

Ever seen a group of immigrants behave like this?

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👻madeline bOoOoOoOodent👻 @oldenoughtosay.com · 08/06/2026

I think every politician who proposes to ban anything on the internet for teens should be required to propose, as an alternate, a free and accessible and all weather space for teens to hang out in their own hometown

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SMD's pension @anothersmd.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Why do I have to go to the local news section to find this story? Where are the protests demanding an end to the epidemic of white Brits murdering minorities? Will there be a national debate on the ills of cocaine abuse amongst white men?

bbc.co.uk

Man who stabbed student to death in Cambridge is jailed for life

Chas Corrigan, 22, will serve a minimum of 22 years for the murder of Mohammed Algasim last August.

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We Own It @weownit.org.uk · 22/05/2026

MPs are blaming regulator OfCom for the disaster at Royal Mail. This is a red herring. Ofcom can’t fix Royal Mail. To fix Royal Mail, let’s take it into public ownership and run it in the interest of households, not the profits of a Czech Billionaire.

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Tom Davies @tomdaviese17.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Amid all the moral panic about social media, misinformation, AI etc, there's one simple thing the government could do: make media studies a core curriculum subject from 11.

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Old man yells at clouds @grovester.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

An underreported point about Arsenal is how 6 of the first team squad are London-born children of immigrants. Three we bought in (Rice, Eze and Madueke), and three are from our academy (Saka, Lewis-Skelley and Nwaneri). There’s no other major English team that represents its fanbase like this.

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Cardiff Uni wants to scrap the 2nd floor of the Arts and Social Studies Library. We're talking 7km of books and vital study space gone to make way for classrooms. Please help us save this crucial campus resource before it's ripped out in June! Add your name here: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/sa...

you.38degrees.org.uk

Stop Cardiff University from scrapping the ASSL's second floor!

7km of books and crucial study spaces are at risk. Cardiff Uni wants to repurpose the busiest library on campus into classrooms. Help protect our library and sign the petition today.

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

You're all wrong. The best Bronte novel to read is The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

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Maire Davies @mairejed.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Right Ho Jeeves is a perfect work of art: exemplary in plotting, comic tone (Bertie’s voice) and witty exploitation of the English language. If you don’t laugh til you cry at this miracle, you are not worthy to compile lists.

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David Quantick @quantick.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Honestly, almost no books without humour are good. Lit fic = when Po met Faced.

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John Davies @jrsdavies.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Having seen all 100, it's as I feared. My list would include Right Ho, Jeeves, At Swim-Two-Birds, Scoop and Tom Jones. More serious omissions include The Old Wives'Tale, The Way We Live Now, Esther Waters, Rabbit at Rest, Therese Raquin, The Radetsky March ... #booksky

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