iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 28/09/2026

📖 "Looking at Each Other", my cycling-meets-mythology epic, is available from: Amazon £9.60/US$12.69; Audible £3.65/US$6.36, narr Kate Walsh @katevoice.bsky.social Or read it in chunks (which may or may not be in the right order, but 🤷 ) at #LAEO. #books #booksky #poetry #cycling #mythology

Book cover, consisting of an image by Robin Reynolds showing a bicycle chainwheel superimposed on a blurred eye and behind the chainwheel, two helmeted cyclists eyeballing one another. The text of the cover reads: "Looking at Each Other or Orpheus Re-Cycled: The Perils of Reciprocal Oculation by Simon J. Reynolds Illustrated by Robin Reynolds" followed by a blurb that says "Poets, prophets, and bloody cyclists! A wonderful take on a peerless sport.–Ned Boulting".

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 24/09/2026

Certainly not deliberately. And I doubt if people are that easily confused, especially as I (almost) only refer to him prefaced as the "US SoD" in periodic posts linking to a clip of his disgusting "not a fair fight" spiel in March. And, er, I did fact-check his full name first. Then there's this:

The Hon Peter B Hegseth testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 21.

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 19/09/2026

Told y'all so: “The Field of Blood”, by the Quentin Tarantino of US political history Joanne B Freeman, is an entertaining, poignant, intriguing tale of duels and fisticuffs in antebellum Congress. Pertinent in this age of that sentimental bruiser Markwayne Mullin. #history #books #booksky

Front cover of the book "The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War" by Joanne B. Freeman. (Recommended)

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 17/09/2026

A man with “morals so loose they flapped when he walked”—no, not the usual suspect but a character in #KatherineRundell ‘s new Glimouria book. Dazzling wordplay from a goddess of English prose (if prose can dance). That 300 yet? (keen to get back to ch3) #books #booksky #kidlituk #childrensbooks

Picture of a book called “Impossible Creatures: The Neverfear” by Katherine Rundell (Bloomsbury). The cover is dominated by a soaring phoenix(?) while far below a child (11 or 12ish) standing on an ornate tower waves to it.

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 17/09/2026

#LAEO 78 #books #poetry #cycling #mythology Hanna concurs: ‘And never – Not even hurt or sickly – Shall anybody catch me!’ But what of our heroine? To a stats table, wherein (As if dying weren’t enough!) We ﬁnd this slight epitaph: Eurydice – DNF. [That's it. Tomorrow I'll post some Notes.]

Slight epitaph: Under a stunted tree on a nondescript hill in a commonplace wilderness stands an overgrown, crumbling tombstone marked “Eurydice D.N.F.”, those measured full stops like the beat of muffled funeral drum. Even the fact of a bike race is only fleetingly acknowledged with a representation of a bicycle wheel cut into the marble. A shovel leans casually against the headstone, suggesting that perhaps the work was unfinished, the labourer (Orpheus himself, maybe) intending to return to his task, but in the end couldn’t be arsed. Only the constellation Lyra, twinkling in the darkening sky, carries a hint of an echo of the legend of Eurydice and Orpheus. ©️ 2023 Robin Reynolds

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 17/09/2026

Safely under lock and Lunakey! @oldenoughtosay.com , many thanks. 🙏

Black cat called Lunaki with a paperback copy of Uncle Dynamite by PG Wodehouse.

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 16/09/2026

Unwanted catnip? Does not compute. And Lunaki knows her catnip science...

Black cat on her back on a red bedsheet, being stroked by a possibly human hand.

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 15/09/2026

“The Field of Blood”, by the Quentin Tarantino of US political history Joanne B Freeman, is an entertaining, poignant, intriguing tale of duels and fisticuffs in antebellum Congress. Pertinent in this age of the sentimental bruiser Markwayne Mullin. #history #books #booksky @jbf1755.bsky.social

Top hats fly as the gentleman on the left (as we look at it) delivers a telling blow to the jaw of the gentleman on the right, in the cover drawing of "The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War" (2018) by Joanne B. Freeman. It's out of print, in the UK at least, but available as a Kindle ebook (e for electrifying, in this case).

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 14/09/2026

#LAEO 70 #books #poetry #cycling #mythology Of course, he stands not a chance With this pair—looking askance At his stare—as Hades knew Very well. For these are two Proud ladies: Hanna the Meek (She who shall inherit eke The earth and all its rainbows), And one on whom *would* rain beaux,

The world and all its rainbows: This is the final illustration inside the book (there is one more, but that is the back-cover). It shows the rider named in the text as Hannah the Meek, but whom I can now reveal to be based on Annemiek van Vleuten, the Dutch cyclist, now retired but who, at the time of writing, was making a rather ostentatious habit of winning whatever world or regional championships might be going. Against a soft-focus rainbow background, we see her attired in her rainbow jersey and, Atlas-like, holding aloft a blue and gold Earth. ©️ 2023 Robin Reynolds

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 13/09/2026

#LAEO 69 #books #poetry #cycling #mythology Eurydice, Orph-baiting As he stuffs her in: ‘Dating? You’re available, I hear! Why not try those two up there?’ He cracks his whip and is borne Off with the remains. Forlorn Orph stands, till that parting leer Goads his grudging gaze ‘up there’…

The death of hope: Eurydice is already losing her looks as Hades takes possession of her body. Her head is now a skull in a bicycle helmet, and Hades has his left arm around her neck, his right across her waist, clutching his ever-present staff of office. Clearly she is dead, and that apparent gesture of despair or surrender with her arms must be merely an involuntary nervous discharge. Must be. ©️ 2023 Robin Reynolds

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 13/09/2026

To make it unambiguously clear what Browning I'm talking about:

A composite image showing, at the top, the upper part of a book cover with the title "Robert and Elizabeth Browning An Anthology", then the word THIS with a crudely-drawn north arrow followed by the word NOT with a southbound arrow; and at the bottom a photograph of a Bren (Browning Enfield geddit?) light machine gun mounted on a tripod. The bipod that actually comes with the gun is dangling helplessly just under the foresight. But you have to ask yourself: no doubt the tripod offers marginally greater stability, but at what cost in run-away-ability (unless you abandon the weapon, which I understand is considered bad form)? Anyway, the Bren gun photo, by Joost J. Bakker (2010) has been nicked from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons licence, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en, and tightly cropped to save space.

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 12/09/2026

Seated today with my Browning, I was weary and sick of news, And my eyeballs wandered idly 'Mong Bob's poetic cues. There I chanced upon The Pied Piper, and thought the third stanza might be helpful to my American friends plagued by MICE. @hcrichardson.bsky.social @jbf1755.bsky.social #poetry

The Pied Piper of Hamelin, by Robert Browning. Third stanza:
At last the people in a body
To the Town Hall came flocking:
"Tis clear, cried they, 'our Mayor's a noddy;
And as for our Corporation - shocking
To think we buy gowns lined with ermine
For dolts that can't or won't determine
What's best to rid us of our vermin!
You hope, because you're old and obese,
To find in the furry civic robe ease?
Rouse up, Sirs! Give your brains a racking
To find a remedy we're lacking,
Or, sure as fate, we'll send you packing!'
At this the Mayor and Corporation
Quaked with a mighty consternation.

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 11/09/2026

#LAEO 64 #books #poetry #cycling #mythology That same dope, barred by hands Unseen from touching her, stands Rigid as her life dissolves. On her bike there revolves One lonely pedal, awry, Spinning slowly down… Dying’s hard and the second Time is commonly reckoned

One lonely pedal: Race over for Eurydice in this one, which, in a classy touch, is presented as the disintegration of the bicycle, components flying everywhere – handlebars, bits of frame, a lethal-looking section of chain, and of course that pedal, spinning slowly down to die. Also, just to remind us of the human component, a couple a red, white and blue check socks towards opposite corners of the image: the colours worn by Eurydice. ©️ 2023 Robin Reynolds

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 10/09/2026

#LAEO 61 #books #poetry #cycling #mythology Aghast, he sees her a few Yards short of the line; she too Is aghast – their very last Shared emotion. The steadfast Hope in her eyes is displaced By despair, meeting his, laced With guilty dews; she barely Hears the frantic crowd tearly

Their last shared emotion: What you would have seen in the reflecting pool of Orpheus’s eye, had you chosen – somewhat insensitively, we would contend – to peer into it at this climactic moment. First there are his eyelids,bordered with disgraefully unkempt lashes and edged with the guilty dews of his welling tears. Then there’s the head and shoulder image of Eurydice, reflected in his iris and aghast as promised. (In a nice touch by the artist, her gasping mouth coincides precisely with the pupil.) The upflung arms tell us that a crash is inevitable, while behind Eurydice spectators register emotions ranging from horror to Schadenfreude to the disappointment of a losing bet. ©️ 2023 Robin Reynolds

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 07/09/2026

#LAEO 54 #books #poetry #cycling #mythology Why of course! It’s Mercury – Same old jealous mockery From a frustrated junior Deity who’s no tunier Than a cat. Wings on his hat And boots! Cost him a ducat Or two, or whatever coins Rome has. He should dress his loins

The mockery of Mercury: With only a few hundred yards (this was after all, a pre-metric age) to go, Eurydice hears over the cheering and barrier-banging of the crowd, a voice raised in scorn, which she recognises as that of Mercury who, we see is naked as usual, barring those ornaments of his office, winged boots and helmets. Happily, a chance pennant waved by someone in the crowd saves our modesty. Eurydice ©️ 2023 Robin Reynolds

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 06/09/2026

And here is the text, with the full speech in the ALTs. Good luck cherry-picking the best lines for your purpose! 😇

A screenshot of the following text:
The Stranger’s Case
A reproach to anti-immigrant rioters, contributed by William Shakespeare to the play Sir Thomas More, by Anthony Munday and Henry Chettle

THOMAS MORE
Grant them removed, and grant that this your noise
Hath chid down all the majesty of England;
Imagine that you see the wretched strangers,
Their babies at their backs with their poor luggage,
Plodding to the ports and coasts for transportation,
And that you sit as kings in your desires,
Authority quite silenced by your brawl,
And you in ruff of your opinions clothed;
What had you got? I’ll tell you: you had taught
How insolence and strong hand should prevail,
How order should be quelled; and by this pattern
Not one of you should live an agèd man,
For other ruffians, as their fancies wrought,
With self same hand, self reason, and self right,
Would shark on you, and men like ravenous fishes
Feed on one another. You’ll put down strangers?

Screenshot of the following text (the concluding half of the speech in the first image:
(Thomas More is still speaking)
Kill them? Cut their throats? Possess their houses?
Oh desperate as you are, wash your foul minds with tears
And those same hands that you like rebels lift against the peace
Lift up for peace. And your unreverent knees, make them your feet
To kneel to be forgiven.
And say now the king,
As he is clement if th’offender mourn,
Should so much come too short of your great trespass
As but to banish you, whither would you go?
What country, by the nature of your error,
Should give you harbour? Go you to France or Flanders,
To any German province, to Spain or Portugal,
Nay, anywhere that not adheres to England,
Why, you must needs be strangers: would you be pleased
To find a nation of such barbarous temper,
That, breaking out in hideous violence,
Would not afford you an abode on earth,
Whet their detested knives against your throats,
Spurn you like dogs, and like as if that God
Owed not nor made not you, nor that the elements
Were not all appropriate to your comforts,
But chartered unto them, what would you think
To be thus used? This is the stranger’s case;
And this your mountainish inhumanity.

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 04/09/2026

Oops forgot the important bit…

Ned Boulting with icecream instead of microphone at the Tour of Britain.

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 31/08/2026

#LAEO 38 #books #poetry #cycling #mythology Gouging and shredding his hide As, helpless, he spins to ﬁnd Himself looking straight behind, Where Eurydice should be – But is not, mercifully! He sees, parked neatly, her bike; Of course! a quick nature hike. Relieved, he slowly remounts

He sees, parked neatly, her bike: This somewhat stark illustration shows Orpheus’s moment of betrayal by the gravel. He has come down hard on his back, his bicycle is still in the air, and to his horror he finds himself looking back down the track where he believes his late wife Eurydice to be. Miraculously, all he – and we – can see is her bike, standing at the side of the road next to some shrubbery. He draws his own conclusions about the reason for her off-bike errand, though we naturally prefer not to speculate about a lady’s private business. ©️ 2023 Robin Reynolds

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 29/08/2026

UPPERS & DOWNERS 2: Disbelief, rage, despair 😱 Call the Samaritans

Bookshelf background, badge saying “THE COURT OF HISTORY” though that last word is obscured by the title text:

Judge Luttig EXPOSES Trump’s LAST
MINUTE Scheme to SAVE HIMSELF!!!

Legal AF 267k views 4 days ago

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 29/08/2026

UPPERS & DOWNERS 1: Relief, joy, excitement 🥳 Call a friend.

A YouTube teaser screengrab: black background with white text which says

UP NEXT

Judge Luttig EXPOSES
Trump’s LAST MINUTE

Legal AF

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 28/08/2026

And later in the same Letter, we have the quote below from the White House. Rare honesty - of course the USP et al never engage in conflicts of interest. They ignore them entirely! @hcrichardson.bsky.social (Sorry, forgot the link before). substack.com/app-link/pos...

Screengrab no 2 from Heather Cox Richardson's Aug 27 Letter from an American:
The White House claims: “Neither the President nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest.”

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 28/08/2026

Lots of good stuff (as always!) in Dr HCR's Letter last night, but I was struck by the Navy Dept quote that it is "actively managing" resources to fix a problem (pay) it claims does not exist. When things are going smoothly, "passive" management is usually enough. @hcrichardson.bsky.social

Screengrab of a paragraph from Dr Heather Cox Richardson's August 27 Letter from an American. It reads:
A spokesperson for the U.S. Navy denied that funds for maintenance and operations have been run down. “The Department of the Navy,” the statement said, “is actively managing its resources to meet current pay obligations on time. We continue to work closely with Congress to address ongoing operational demands and sustain our personnel and readiness throughout the fiscal year.”

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 28/08/2026

What a lovely way to look at it, to see in Dolly’s death a typically (and literally) self-effacing rallying cry for us the peoples of the world humbly but defiantly to

Joanne Freeman’s fingers holding an embroidered (?) slogan or mantra: “Be strong and of good courage.”

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 27/08/2026

You're not the only one... ⛈️

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 27/08/2026

I don't much care to be sworn at, so I'll not be taking up Tom's offer. Instead - purely by way of protest, you understand - I've ordered a copy from Waterstones. So there!

Waterstones order summary for Everything Will Swallow You, Author Tom Cox, £9.99 paperback.

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 25/08/2026

#LAEO 29 #books #poetry #cycling #mythology Hence, Y, thou partygator!) A little apart, stage right, A beautiful anchorite Sits silent, grave, demure, All aloof yet all allure. All adore her, all agog For her daily analogue.

A beautiful anchorite, all allure: In a Mt-Rushmore-comes-to-Greece scenario, we find the faces of four “soothsayers” carved into the flanks of Mt Olympus. From left, Polly van Glot with the legend “Sibylline Syllables”, the unnamed genial chap (“Climb & Punishment”), Revelrie and Reverie (”Dream Team”). Any resemblance to cycling commentators Jose Been, Carlton Kirby, David Millar and Ned Boulting, is by a remarkable coincidence, coincidental. Below them, riding through the gloom, we see the peleton approach a signpost labelled “Per me”, which Dante buffs will recognise from the Gates of Hell – the famous “All soap abandon, ye who enter here” passage. (I guess Satan had some sort of exclusive partnership deal with a slippery soap manfacturer.) Bottom right – not stage right, as stated in the poem, (but hey, he was doing it in a hurry and for nothing, so what can one say?) – we find our beautiful anchorite swinging on – wouldn’t you know it – an anchor. Note the gratuitous references to Ned Boulting’s Road Book cyclopaedia, and Katherine Rundell’s Super-Infinite, her award-winning look at the life and work of the poet John Donne. Both included of course to convey the supple subtlety of the anchorite’s mind, who, by no coincidence at all, represents “The Breakaway” anchor Orla Chennaoui. ©️ 2023 Robin Reynolds

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 23/08/2026

#LAEO 23 #books #poetry #cycling #mythology Now, the Music of the Spheres Back in the background one hears. Listen… in honeyed verses, Polly van Glot rehearses Names as native-intended: Vowels mystic’ly blended With consonants, fricatives And nasal prohibitives.

The Music of the Spheres: In a relatively abstract composition, we see a series of ball bearings emanating, or flying as some people call it, from the central hub of a bicycle wheel and evolving into planets. Also wafting out of that central black hole is a musical stave (no, I shan’t attempt to hum it!). Altogether, an intriguing take on the concept of the Music of the Spheres. ©️ 2023 Robin Reynolds

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 20/08/2026

#LAEO 19 #books #poetry #cycling #mythology Of doctrine and religion, The Devil always shows up. Whatever the race throws up, You’ll see him, brandishing his Great trident and whishing his Wicked tail, in case the cruel Capricious Lord of Misrule* (*See ‘Julian Calendar’ ),

Whishing his wicked tail: Brandishing a trident (from which flutters a standard comprising the flags of many nations), the Devil watches Orpheus and Eurydice negotiate a perilous bend as they traverse a cliff-face via a narrow ledge with no safety features. Across the abyss we can see the parcours snaking its purple way up a bleak mountainside and, apparently, out of Tartarus. But is it really out? ©️ 2023 Robin Reynolds

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 19/08/2026

About a year ago I stumbled on this item description on Amazon (I know, I know ☦️), one that I quickly recognised as a work of poetic genius, reminiscent of Finnegans Wake. If you want to know how it ends, the full text is in the ALT. #books #poetry #booksky #writing #streamofconsciousness

Screengrab of an item description on a retail outlet owned by fascist-leaning bozos/bezos take your pick: you are enough hoodiesweatshirtmen's fleecemens full zip hoodiegym lightweight fleece mensmens hoodie zip upjumperhoodiesweater weathermens swim shirtfleece tops for men ukfleecemens designer hoodietennis clothingmens shirtslong sleeve black topzip up hoodies for men hoodiemens cardigans with zipper and pockets
black sweatshirt mensfashion ukmen's fashionfleece mens hoodiehoodieshort sleeve hoodie menmens quarter ziptops sweatshirt mens zipped hoodie menshoodiedad hoodie hoodie mensjumpermens for runners menhoodie for menmens running accessorieshoodieanxiety hoodieblack sweatshirt mensblack long sleeve top menpride hoodiegolf jumpers for men ukv neck jumpers for men uk topmen hoodiesmens zipped hoodies
half zip fleece for menblack fleece mens fir menmens fishing plain black hoodiehoodiemens work clothesmens shirts dresssabrina carpenter hoodiehoodie with thumb holestopsrunner for menone piece hoodiehoodies menv neck jumpermens quarter zip jumperv neck jumper mens clothingmen's clothingplain black hoodie hoodieblack zip hoodie menessential hoodiefleece mens fleeces & hoodies originals menhoodygolf tops for menmens designer hoodieorange hoodie mens
black hoodie menmens essentialsgym clothes menmens long sleeve topsweighted hoodiemens regatta fleecevests for men ukfull zip fleece mencricket jumper t shirtmens regatta fleececlothes for men1/4 zip jumper mensgym equipment for mensmall for menclothes for men hoodie mens tracksuit menmen clothesgrey hoodie mensdad hoodiebrokig mens joggersmens hoodiegolf hoodie zipped hoodie men's sleeveless t-shirt for mensports jackets for men ukyou are enough hoodie hoodie fashionfleece men hoodiepatchworknorth face jacketlevis chinos menfleece menmens clothesmens gym topstracksuit tops for men uktracksuit tops for men ukgreen topsummer hoodiemens zip up hoodieslightweight fleecemens lightweight hoodie jumperpride clothesmens grey

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 18/08/2026

#LAEO 16 #books #poetry #cycling #mythology He misunderstood back there) Relents, which amps his stature. Then, as TT dispatcher, He does that foreign ﬁnger Thing, counting-down the singer – A low trick, to say the least! But at last they’re off like greased

That foreign finger thing: Ready on his bike, Orpheus – who looks remarkably like the illustrator’s late twin Nick – appears baffled by sneaky Hades’s continental countdown. Hades himself is holding in his left hand a kind of pitchfork of which the points have been bent back on themselves, no doubt for sound health-and-safety reasons. At the bottom of the picture is a gratuitous grinning skull and a couple of skeletal fingers clutching a stopwatch. Dimly in the background we can see Eurydice waiting on her bike. She will emerge from a discreet slip-lane to feed in behind Orpheus once he's down the starting ramp.©️ 2023 Robin Reynolds

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 17/08/2026

Meet Foxy, so-dubbed (by us) because of his long-legged, fox-reminiscent build. He is a Visiting Cat, not a stray, though we know nothing of his formal home. But we have identified the breed as Nebelung, which suggests class. Dignity, however, is clearly not his priority. #blackcatappreciationday

Foxy the Nebelung cat, sitting on a fence, bum perched on a concrete fence-post, front end maybe eight inches lower, resting on the wooden panel top. Ridiculous posture but he cares not a bit; just looks blandly at the camera and asks for a snack of some sort, something fit for a Wagnerian prince. (Not sure his colour is true black but reckon it close enough for Black Cat Appreciation Day.)

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 16/08/2026

For heaven's sake, don't let USP DJT see this nostalgia-tickler from the Second WW. (My late father flew 'em - but don't worry: he survived the war.)

A Hawker Sea Hurricane on the catapult of a moored CAM (Catapult Armed Merchantman) ship, a temporary (in more senses than one) form of protection for UK merchant shipping in the early part of WW2. Having seen off the Fokkers, the pilot could either seek a friendly shore (mid-Atlantic?) or ditch in the ocean and hope for a grateful rescue. In the accompanying image, we see my father dressed for the latter outcome. This photograph was nicked from Wikipedia where it is stated to be in the public domain.

Pilot Officer DWJ Reynolds, late of the Merchant Ship Fighter Unit, ready for action, whether flying or swimming. (Photo ©️Family Archive)

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 13/08/2026

I've just taken a necessarily hasty glance at *a* New England J of M article on covid-vaccine/pregnancy (I have to assume it's the same one Ms McClain referred to; full details in alt text), and the only case of ±82% I could find was from the arithmetic in this extract. 1/4

Screengrab from The New England Journal of Medicine April 21 2021, "Preliminary Findings of mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine Safety in Pregnant Persons". Relevant sentence: "The most frequently reported pregnancy-related adverse events were spontaneous abortion (46 cases; 37 in the first trimester, 2 in the second trimester, and 7 in which the trimester was unknown or not reported),..."

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 12/08/2026

#LAEO 9 #books #poetry #cycling #mythology Well, music at any rate. Eurydice was his mate Until her death them did part. Snakebite it was stopped her heart, But – before you pass judgement – She did tread on that serpent. Orpheus wants her back home, So braves this dark catacomb

Tread on that serpent. Close-up view of a bicycle wheel running over the tail of a snake (hence “tread on serpent” geddit?} while the offended reptile, which is roughly 1.5-2 metres long and of a beautiful platinum hue, prepares to strike fatally at the exposed flesh of the leg driving the pedal. This was the first death of Eurydice. ©️ 2023 Robin Reynolds

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 12/08/2026

I see it is not just #ElephantDay today, but #WorldElephanyDay! I was not aware of that coincidence, but not unprepared. Here is a short video taken last year at the Elephant Nursery in the Lusaka National Park, Zambia. The delicately-nurtured, beware.

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 12/08/2026

Re-reading the above, I can see that perhaps a “like me” might have been judicious (after the old men, not the birds).

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 12/08/2026

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 11/08/2026

Danny Kaye said it all in 1949. (If you don't understand Danish, see the alternative text for the English lyric.)

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 11/08/2026

Three cheers for the Kayak Armada! @hcrichardson.bsky.social @bjfreeman.bsky.social @maddow.bsky.social HCR said she would be travelling, but I only realised what she might have meant when I saw Rachel Maddow's piece about Greenland...

Kayakers in Copenhagen rally for beleaguered Greenland. Long shot down the harbour.

Kayakers in Copenhagen rally for beleaguered Greenland. Foreground shows couple with Greenland pennants in yellow double-kayak.

Kayakers in Copenhagen rally for beleaguered Greenland. Close-up of diverse group.

Kayakers in Copenhagen rally for beleaguered Greenland. Half a dozen kayaks on a small patch of water, and onlookers crowding the quay.

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 09/08/2026

#LAEO 3 #books #poetry #cycling #mythology Another boot, the other foot. This time things are looking moot For the breakaway: barely Two minutes and, unfairly, Thirty K. Fishes in play, But that’s bike racing, they say: Slog on, all hope abandon. Meanwhile in the peloton,

"Fishes in play": a colourful shoal of bicycle helmets (representing the breakaway) huddles together like fish threatened by a large hook (representing the imminent peloton. Art copyright Robin Reynolds.

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 08/08/2026

This is Lunaki. She came to us in 2019 when her owners were on the verge of reproduction and feared that a scratchin' cussin' cat might be a hazard (or a bad example). But she has mellowed over the years (I have the scars to prove it). Still quick to resent a liberty though. Lovely girl.

Tightly cropped view of cat's face gazing suspiciously at the camera across a copy of Varjak Paw by SF Said, which itself features an open-eyed, black cat on the cover.

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 07/08/2026

📖 Over the coming timeframe, I’ll be posting, chunk by chunk, my cycling-meets-mythology epic: Looking At Each Other or Orpheus Re-Cycled: The Perils of Reciprocal Oculation Amazon £9.60/US$12.69; Audible £3.65/US$6.36, narr Kate Walsh @katevoice.bsky.social #LAEO #books #poetry #cycling #mythology

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 06/08/2026

I mean, consenting adults and all that, but it'll be days before I can shake this image:

Screenshot quote from Abdul el-Sayed, apparently saying "I can't wait to sit across RFK Jr."

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 06/08/2026

As a newcomer not just to Bluesky but to social m, I was not aware of FRP either here or, I'm ashamed to say, in hard copy. But I've now followed it on Bsky in an act of faith, and will visit at my earliest convenience. On the website I found evidence of the famous dry wit, under Admission Prices:

Excerpt from Admission Prices listed on the Fishbourne Roman Palace website. It says
Under 5 - Free
Essential Carer - Free
Members of The Sussex Archaeological Society - Free

Please note, essential carers must be accompanied by a paying visitor.

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 01/08/2026

For a moment, I thought this said “Trump is too pretty to keep America safe”. First of the month, time to clean the specs!

Youtube listing with photo of President Trump over the caption “Trump is too petty to keep America safe, Senate report”

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 31/07/2026

On a trip down memory lane (sentimental, I know), I came upon this assertion by the US President that there were 21 trillion illegals in America (million million=trillion, right?). More than the global population. I remember at the time thinking it odd nobody seemed to pick up on that. #history

Screen-grab from Trumpstruths.com from a copy of Donald J. Trump's Truth Social post dated May 26, 2025, showing the first four lines, which read [oh God, do I really have to retype all this? Very well, but I'm not doing it in capitals]: "Happy Memorial Day to all, including the scum that spent the last four years trying to destroy our country through warped radical left minds, who allowed 21,000,000 million people to illegally enter our country, many of them being". It's the split infinitive that really hurts.

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 29/07/2026

It takes a Heather Cox Richardson to turn the story of a political party into a gripping yarn. “To Make Men Free”, along with (alt text), debunks the cowboy myth—ironic as HCR is exemplary in that very pantheon. John Wayne would be proud of her. @hcrichardson.bsky.social #history #books #booksky

Two books by Heather Cox Richardson, to Make Men Free and How the South Won the Civil War, supported by,appropriately, elephant bookends. I chose the spine angle as a statement about the author’s backbone, and the elephants’ names are Chutzpah on the left and Hubris on the righr.

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Simon J. Reynolds @semperaliquid.net · 28/07/2026

Cats, but not as we know them. “On Cats” is the late Doris Lessing’s unsentimental tribute to the moggies in her life, this collection from 2008. By turns affectionate, disturbing, funny, heart-breaking, all in her silky perilous prose, it’ll make you weep. And purr! #cats #booksky #books #history

Black cat with the book On Cats by Doris Lessing. Harper Perennial 2008.

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