iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 8h

Off to see the wonderful Madra Salach with @onlyindevon.co.uk tonight. Very much looking forward to an evening of alternative Irish folk and drones. This one especially I am sure will be a highlight: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2Gn...

youtube.com

Madra Salach - The Man Who Seeks Pleasure (Live From London)

YouTube video by Madra Salach

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 29/08/2026

Did a secondhand book buying spree ready for the coming autumn evenings. Because my already teetering pile of unread books might somehow not be enough...

Four books : The Given World by Melissa Harrison, Parable of the Shower by Octavia Butler, The Ghost Who Bled and The Devil's Highway by Gregory Norminton.

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 19/08/2026

Apparently this is a solvable sudoku. If you don't hear from me for the next three months you know why.

An apparently solvable sudoku puzzle with only two numbers in the grid: a "1" in the bottom left, and a "2" in the third column of the bottom row.

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 06/08/2026

Some neighbours are having a party and the singing is just beautiful

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 05/08/2026

I'm loving all these hashtags of the everyday and the mundane on here. Thanks to @tamarphotography.bsky.social for bringing #wheelieBinWednesday to my attention. -- #photography

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 28/07/2026

@tamarphotography.bsky.social This is just what you were asking me about earlier :)

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 28/07/2026

I've just posted my second article (a mere four months since my first one!) at simonblackbourn.offprint.app/a/3mrq5qxc2n... . I doubt it will win any literary or photographic prizes, but I'm starting to feel that I might be able to slowly start to enjoy the process of writing. -- #photography 📷

simonblackbourn.offprint.app

hello yellow

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 28/07/2026

I love Pixies for their mastery of extremely short but perfectly formed songs: most tracks on their first three albums are way under three minutes and only one is over four minutes.

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 27/07/2026

'Accidentally' setting my phone to Do Not Disturb mode for the whole of Monday morning is from now on my new way of starting every week. Highly recommended.

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 25/07/2026

Apocalyptic is a massively overused word, but there really is no other word for scenes like this 😢

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 25/07/2026

The bravery of these fire crews is beyond words

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 25/07/2026

Not many activities are as deeply satisfying as shelling broad beans freshly picked from the allotment

A pile of freshly shelled broad beans on a wooden table, with the pile of shells on the left.

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 14/07/2026

This, all the other RTS street parties, squatting, anti roads and climate change protests, the free party scene... Feels like a very long ago time of youthful optimism and demand for change that the governments of the time very quickly decided had to be comprehensively stomped on.

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 07/07/2026

Standing with the stones at the entrance to West Kennet long barrow near Avebury on a beautiful June evening just before sunset. -- #tombTuesday

A black and white photograph taken at West Kennet neolithic long barrow at sunset in summertime. The sun is behind me and the standing stones and me cast long shadows across the grass. Arable farmland is in the distance and the sky is clear.

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Reposted by simon blackbourn

Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Devonians were horrified to learn last week of plans for a massive AI data centre near Great Torrington, north Devon. The proposals from company XLinks Ltd would cover 850 acres of farmland. But who owns the land? I decided to investigate. 1/ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Plans for massive data centre near Great Torrington in Devon

Xlinks wants to build a Devon data campus but is facing opposition from residents.

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 03/07/2026

I took my little wooden 35mm pinhole camera along to an analogue photowalk in Exeter last weekend. I'm not used to shooting with it in such bright sun so I about half my shots are over-exposed. I do like this one, even though I have absolutely no idea why it came out pink and orange! -- #pinhole 📷

A photograph made with a pinhole camera of a young man sitting on a BMX bike. The camera has a very wide angle of view, so the front wheel of the bike appears huge and the man quite small. The entire photo is tinted with shades of orange and deep pink.

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 29/06/2026

I'm sure that Tidal is nowhere near ethically perfect, but it's at least an improvement on Spotify and I have no regrets about switching last year. Their new policy on AI generated music and royalties seems pretty good.

A screenshot of Tidal's policy on AI generated music, theft and royalties.

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 29/06/2026

Until recently, my dad regularly wore a pink La Coste t-shirt that I gave to him when I became a goth aged 17 and started dressing in nothing but black. I am now 55, so that t-shirt must have lasted at the very least 35 years.

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Reposted by simon blackbourn

Abbey @abbeyarletto.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

When reality surpasses fiction! Top: fictional forecast for August 2050, broadcast by French TV in 2014 to warn about the consequences of global warming. Bottom: Real French forecast for yesterday, June 22, 2026.

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Reposted by simon blackbourn

Dr Charlie Gardner @charliejgardner.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Reform UK councillors have introduced a motion to rescind King's Lynn and West Norfolk's climate emergency declaration and deprioritise decarbonisation efforts The council were going to vote on it on Thursday But the meeting has been postponed due to extreme heat

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 06/06/2026

The entire Cure concert from last night is up on YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvHG... (probably won't stay there long I imagine). I've been feeling a bit wobbly all day, so I wasn't in the least bit surprised when I had a big old cry to Pictures of You. Feel much better now. Thank you Mr Smith 🖤

youtube.com

The Cure - Primavera Sound Barcelona 05/06/2026

YouTube video by Tony Sousa

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 05/06/2026

I have come to realise that it is impossible for me to drive along this stretch of the B3212 over Dartmoor and not stop to photograph it. -- #Dartmoor #photography

A black and white photograph looking west along the B3212 road on Dartmoor. The photograph is taken standing in the middle of the road. It is long and straight, then bends off to the left as it reaches the hills on the horizon. Low, grey clouds obscure the tops of three tors.

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 29/05/2026

So it turns out that slicing your thumb open with a serrated carving knife produces a surprising amount of blood

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 27/05/2026

A lovely evening pottering on the allotment then a very leisurely bike ride to Devil's Point for the sunset.

Sunset over the Tamar estuary in Plymouth, UK

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 25/05/2026

Slept out under the stars last night by the coast in Cornwall. Temperature was perfect. Back home in the city tonight and I just know it's going to be clammy and horrible... 😩

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 16/05/2026

Five motorway services in one day is not good for the soul.

Bins and a tree at a motorway service station

Picnic tables at a motorway service station

Three crows, one of them with bread in its beak on a picnic table

Plastic bags and other rubbish in a hedge

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 06/05/2026

Erik Satie played on the theremin and trombone by a bunch of weird Italians called Decostruttori Postmodernisti is even more wonderful than I imagined it would be www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q19x...

youtube.com

Gnossienne n°1 (Satie) - Decostruttori Postmodernisti

YouTube video by Decostruttori Postmodernisti

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 06/05/2026

Plymouth friends! 'The Land' is showing at Plymouth Arts Cinema from this Friday (with a panel discussion on Tuesday). Highly recommended if you are interested in the countryside, right to roam, ownership of land and rivers, etc. plymouthartscinema.org/whats-on/our... @righttoroam.bsky.social

plymouthartscinema.org

Our Land (12A) | Plymouth Arts Cinema | Independent Cinema for Everyone | located at Arts University Plymouth.

Our Land dares to tread where few have trespassed before, asking the timely question of who has the right to roam in the English countryside?

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 04/05/2026

A misty morning at the allotments earlier this year. Tried to take some more photographs up there this weekend but it was just too sunny. Seems I really struggle to take photos in good weather these days! -- 📷 #blackandwhitephotography

A moody black and white photograph of an allotment in Plymouth on a very misty day. A shed, a greenhouse and various bits and pieces, including a rusty metal arch and a sack of compost. In the distance, some houses and two tall buildings loom up into the mist.

A moody black and white photograph of an overgrown allotment in Plymouth on a very misty day, with a homemade polytunnel and bare bushes and trees.

A moody black and white photograph of allotments in Plymouth on a very misty day. Various sheds, and a path leading in the direction of some houses and two tall buildings looming up into the mist.

A black and white photograph of a homemade shed on an allotment in Plymouth. The shed has the number 38 on it, a trellis and a water barrel.

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Reposted by simon blackbourn

Bob Hitchcock 〓〓 @tamarphotography.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

#ECK #HumansofBluesky #ClassicMono #UrbanGaze 'The Joy of Multi-Storey Car Parks' Photographers must be the only group of people who actually like car parks. Thanks to @simonblackbourn.net (pictured) the joy is infectious. #Monochrome #BnW #BlackandWhite #StreetPhotography #Urban #carparks

A multi-storey car park - with a shaft of light creating artistic possibilities for two photographers.

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 18/04/2026

Finally starting to fall in love with my Bombtrack after putting some chunky gravel tyres on it. Amazing what a difference it makes, feels like a completely different bike. Did a lovely ride in the sunshine along Drake's Trail for an obligatory sausage sarnie and cake at The Larder in Yelverton.

A blue bicycle leaning against a fern-covered bank next to a disused railway line that has been converted into a cycling and walking route. The entrance to a tunnel is about 50 metres away. The landscape around is forested with deciduous trees covered in ivy.

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 13/04/2026

Been hoping for a new Maustetytöt song for a while now and this doesn't disappoint. Extra special bonus marks for having a word with FIVE umlauts in the title (pärjääkään).

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Reposted by simon blackbourn

Nick Stone @typejunky.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Will someone please just nut that mad cunt.

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 06/04/2026

This song with the original video is possibly the most melancholy combination of music and video ever made. It's less than 3 minutes long but every time I watch it, it stays in my head for days afterwards www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vgc...

youtube.com

Jane - Its A Fine Day - (Official Video, 1983)

YouTube video by Cherry Red Records

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 01/04/2026

I do like a Shag on the rocks on a Wednesday lunchtime. 📷

A shag (type of bird) sitting on rocks at Plymouth seafront. The bird is about 40cm tall, black with a splash of very bright yellow around its beak, and a little tuft of hair sticking up on top of its head.

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Reposted by simon blackbourn

Wild Justice @wildjustice.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Good news - High Court rules parts of Dartmoor have been mismanaged! Overgrazing has been damaging protected sites on Dartmoor. Read the Press Release about our latest legal challenge: wildjustice.org.uk?p=52680&prev...

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 12/03/2026

Very disappointing given that up until then he had a flawless record of never making any dubious decisions whatsoever.

A headline from The Guardian reading "Mandelson documents raise questions about Starmer's decision-making"

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 11/03/2026

Just heard this track by Madra Salach on 6music and had to immediately stop what I was doing and give it my undivided attention youtu.be/J4CSU6KPcZY

youtu.be

The Man Who Seeks Pleasure

YouTube video by Madra Salach - Topic

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 08/03/2026

And to absolutely nobody's surprise here's Tony Blair popping up to give his unwanted opinion. He's like a turd that just won't flush.

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simon blackbourn @simonblackbourn.net · 05/03/2026

Went for a relaxing lie down on the sofa. Watched an in-depth video explaining why WW3 is now under way. I think I may need to work on my relaxation techniques.

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