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markfdowling.bsky.social

@markfdowling.bsky.social
67 followers 124 following 340 posts
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I'm sticking to the very narrow criteria of 'games I enjoyed playing while growing up'. The Monkey Island series, for example, I only played years later (when it wasn't on a million disks), so is disqualified from this list. Harlequin still creeps me out a bit.
The #my9games thing of the moment. My picks, as shown by nine different box covers of the games, are Pinball Fantasies, Ruff 'n' Tumble, Theme Park, Lemmings 2: The Tribes, Harlequin, Sid Meier's Civilization, World Circuit (aka Microprose Grand Prix), Sensible World of Soccer, and Zool 2.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Simpsons image of George Bush at a typewriter, with the altered caption 'And since I'd achieved all my goals as Prime Minister in two years there was no need for another three.' From this mostly reverse angle, George Bush looks a little like a slightly withered Keir Starmer. If you squint a bit.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
An extreme example - on the left, Simon the Sorcerer (released in 1993). on the right, Simon the Sorcerer 3D, released in 2002.
A screengrab of the first Simon the Sorcerer. Set in a fantasy world with beautifully detailed 2D pixel art in a fantasy world. The scene sees Simon encountering a troll on a bridge, with a goat to the side. Wonderfully rendered rocks, trees, flowers and a waterfall included.A horribly angular Simon looks half-drunk as he faces the camera, with rather plain, muddy textures littering the background. Very little appeals.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
"And in those days, £20 notes had pictures of bumblebees on them. 'Give me five bees for a ton', you'd say. Now, where were we? Oh yeah, the important thing was that I had an onion tied to my belt, which was the style at the time..."
Grampa Simpson telling one of those stories that doesn't go anywhere. He is quite animated.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
I had to remind myself where I got this title from - it was, of course, a classic @misterabk.bsky.social sketch.
The Doctor Who 9th/10th intro titles, as a screengrab, with the overlaid mock-up title 'The crushing inevitability of the Daleks'.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
To paraphrase Red Dwarf...
Cat and Lister from the Red Dwarf episode Better Than Life, in the Observation Dome. The caption text has been changed from the episode to read 'Hey, I'm so hungry, I've just got to eat!' 'Rosie's just died.' 'Well, I prefer fish.'
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
The retro-modern Burger King logo generator used to create, between a graphic of two buns, the red text 'Never heard of them', underscored with the brown hashtag '#TOTP', echoing a phrase used by every Statler and Waldorf wannabe every Friday evening as they grumble through Top of the Pops repeats on BBC Four. *Every* Friday.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
I'd also like to express my fondness for that particular game series.
A low-effort stock Krusty the Clown promotional message where he looks blankly at the camera and dispassionately says "I heartily endorse this event or product."
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
My timeline here indicates @soozuk.bsky.social is the culprit.
A screengrab of a post by Mark Watson about his nightmare of a £250 haircut, immediately preceded by a Sooz Kempner post which is a skit about a rude hairdresser. And I, the disembodied alt text, recommend you give them both a follow.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
A Simpsons opening chalkboard gag, with Bart writing 'I no longer want my MTV' out several times. Quite what he'd done to warrant this specific punishment remains a mystery.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
The view outside is great.
Neighbourino Ned Flanders outside a window, smoking a pipe at a visible angle that implies the house has severe subsidence. The back of Homer's head is also visible, as is a chariming record player that has nothing to do with The Simpsons episode.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Homer Simpson, from the show Homer Simpson, dancing and singing 'S-M-R-T, I mean S-T-A-R-M-E-R' as everything behind him catches fire.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Today in court: Ushers emptying sackfuls of printouts of his terrible tweets before the judge.
The scene from Miracle on 34th Street where letters to 'Santa Claus' are emptied in their sackfuls before a bewildered courtroom judge. The defence lawyer is resting his arm at the judge's desk in a 'well, I did warn you' kind of way.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Ewa, six months from now:
Homer Simpson, pictured in a dream sequence after winning the lottery, covered in gold and jewels and a crown, maniacally laughing over the city.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
A template written for the benefit of The Male Online's Telegraph equivalent.
Middle-aged bespectacled moustache-wearing The Male Online doing what he does best - frothing with rage in reaction to an article on the Mail Online website, fists waving, shouting "Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Agreed. As a hint on their voting intention, here's YouGov's polling tracker for the 18-24 age bracket this year, as a trending line. Latest has it as Lab 28%, Grn 26%, LD 20%, Con 9%, Ref 8%. You can see why Labour wanted to implement this for 16- and 17-year-olds; theoretically, it helps them.
A polling graph showing the voting intention for 18- to 24-year-olds on how they would vote in a UK General Election in 2025. Labour's lead has largely been eroded during the year, with the Green party the closest challenger, Lib Dems in third. Conservatives and Reform pretty much tied for 4th.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Me, late to the party and catching up on the saga:
Simpsons episode screengrab. Lisa asks: "What's going on?" Jasper, clutching a spade, replies: "It's an old-fashioned hole digging. By gar, it's been a while."
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
I'm old enough to remember when there was a comic book series featuring Fernando Alonso as a very muscular superhero who went on some intergalactic quest...
A very muscular Fernando Alonso in blue superhero gear, heroically posing with three other characters on the front of a Sector 97 comic book made in 2005.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
CALL NOW
The inspiration for businessing businessman Brian Butterfield, the man who appeared on every daytime advert break (yes, all of them) for the Personal Injury Helpline.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
That shell makes it look like he's wearing nothing at all...nothing at all...*nothing at all*.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles logo, changed into Stupid Sexy Ninja Turtles. Cover your eyes, children.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
That meme of Celine Dion on the phone, with the caption 'je téléphone a la police', in direct response to this terrible, good, terribly good pun.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
Me: *opens big bag of crisps* Rachel Reeves, who apparently has been there the whole time in the corner of the room:
Rachel Reeves sitting down, looking straight at the camera, disapprovingly.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Everyone talks about Black Smithers, but I want to know the stories behind some of these characters in the crowd towards the end of the episode. Maybe the guy with two heads, the crude figure on the left with nine hairs and no ears, or the smiling fella who is almost entirely jaw.
A screengrab from The Simpsons Season 1 episode Homer's Odyssey, showing a crowd of incredibly crude-looking background characters, such as the twin-headed man, a smiling man comprised almost entirely of jaw, a woman whose head is bigger than her torso, a guy inexplicably wearing a red eyemask, and some poor plain soul who has nine hairs, misshapen eyes and no ears.
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markfdowling.bsky.social @markfdowling.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Agreed, but I did like this line, when Bart is trying to get strategy tips on beating Nelson...
Screengrab from Bart the General, with herman pictured. Caption text: 
Herman: Strategy? Hmm. How many men do you have?
Bart: None.
Herman: You'll need more.
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