Lunatraktors
@lunatraktors.bsky.social
Broken folk experimentalists. If you're into weird folk music with drums and drones you might like this: https://lunatraktors.bandcamp.com/
Teaching doctors about smoking is a moral imperative. And without outside funding, it was a choice between taking the tobacco industry's money or doing nothing!
Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 7h ago“Teaching educators about AI is a ‘moral imperative’, said Randi Weingarten, the AFT president.” “And without outside funding, it was a choice between taking big tech’s money or doing nothing, she said.”
This looks worth crawling up the weed-choked steps from the river, warping your being into semblance of human shape, and heading into town for...
Emma Devlin@theactualemma.bsky.social · 5d agoVery excited to present UNDERTOW. This will be a showcase of new and emerging writers of weird and wonderful fiction. If you'd like to take part, please click here: www.seamusheaneycentre.com/news/Callfor...
The consequence of swallowing toxic #AI ideology? A dynamo of glassy-eyed energetic confidence—a blinkered worldview of seething internal contradiction, projected outward onto the hated other. The consequence of rejecting it? Anxiety, self-doubt, despair—a clear view of the horror and loss.
Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ@olivia.science · 3d agoIf useful, here's my attempt to process my feelings about how I feel sadly kinda — or rather very — sick from all this AI fascist nonsense as an academic. 😶🌫️ I'd be pleased if even one person finds something useful because there's something to be said for processing this all together, so, um, enjoy?
We've been making an #AccidentalBandName collection for a while. Looks like we should start a #ReadymadeAlbumCover list...
Brawlcats@brawlcats.bsky.social · 4d agoairbnb I’m staying at unintentionally created the toughest punk album cover of 2027
"A concentration camp, in its most basic definition, is a place where a targeted civilian population, not necessarily accused of a crime, is detained and at least some of their basic rights are suspended," writes @jwashing.bsky.social. "That’s precisely what’s happening in the United States today."
Don’t call them ICE detention centers. Call them camps | John Washington
I’ve spent a decade reporting on immigration enforcement. The word ‘camp’ best captures the political function of these facilities
theguardian.com
Almost up to 9K signatures; a worthy thing to sign in defence of the arts. Of course, we already have clear copyright laws against unauthorised electronic reproduction—ignored by the billionaire #AI firms, with major publishers all settling out of court, and so no proper legal consequences.
Julianne Regan@julianneregan.bsky.social · 4d agopetition.parliament.uk/petitions/76... In a world where art and music are increasingly viewed as 'free', more than ever we need "clear rules and regulations that ensure [our] work is used with consent, proper licensing and fair remuneration".
There is one thing #AI can do much faster and more thoroughly than traditional methods: utterly ruin your credibility. #NotTheOnion #PostIronyCondition
PBS News@pbsnews.org · 6d agoThe State Department said it takes "full responsibility" for "hastily" altering and then presenting a map of Africa at a global AIDS conference that mislabeled every single country it highlighted. An analysis by Reuters found a watermark in the map image that suggests it was made with OpenAI.
There is one thing #AI can do much faster and more thoroughly than traditional methods: utterly ruin your credibility. #NotTheOnion #PostIronyCondition
PBS News@pbsnews.org · 6d agoThe State Department said it takes "full responsibility" for "hastily" altering and then presenting a map of Africa at a global AIDS conference that mislabeled every single country it highlighted. An analysis by Reuters found a watermark in the map image that suggests it was made with OpenAI.
Absolute treat to be playing for OCM, especially since we get to mess about with our Essex / Turkish broken folk pals Masal — harp and synth, the perfect cocktail! masalbanduk.bandcamp.com/album/the-ga...
The Galloping Cat, by Masal
6 track album
masalbanduk.bandcamp.com
Oxford Contemporary Music (OCMevents)@ocmevents.bsky.social · 6d agoWe're honoured to be presenting the final night of @lunatraktors.bsky.social' UK tour. They'll appear as a double bill with Masal at The Nest, Sat 10th October. Tix: wegottickets.com/f/22708 Funders: @artscouncilengland.bsky.social @prsfoundation.bsky.social @ppluk.bsky.social #ocm #FundedbyPRSF
Strip mining knowledge. #AI data mining doesn't just mean scraping the internet and ripping off electronic copies of published authors. Their hunger for language they haven't already corrupted with slop means they're literally ripping up historical books to feed through their OCR scanners.
Christian Algar@ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 6d agoRe Anthropic, AI, and (ab)uses of historical, rare and early printed books, their ‘capture and destruction’ As someone immersed in the world of historical books, a friend asked me “is this true?” My thoughts are … novaramedia.com/2026/07/29/a...
Final ticket link is up! 💥 The first date of our tour is the Norwich Puppet Theatre one month from today on August 29th: www.tickettailor.com/events/norwi... Any #Norfolk fans of #queer #traditional #folk we'd love to see you there.
Book Tickets – Lunatraktors Our Deepest Sympathies Autumn 2026 tour. – Norwich Puppet Theatre
Lunatraktors Our Deepest Sympathies Autumn 2026 tour. – Norwich Puppet Theatre, Sat 29 Aug 2026 - Award-winning neo-trad duo Lunatraktors Lunatraktors return to the UK for their Autumn 2026 tour. Our...
tickettailor.com
Lunatraktors@lunatraktors.bsky.social · 2w ago🌜❤️🔥🔔🥁🎙️🪗🪈🎹❤️🔥🌛 Announcing OUR DEEPEST SYMPATHIES — Lunatraktors' Autumn 2026 tour of the haunted isle of Albion. Ticket links are all live (except for Norwich)... www.lunatraktors.space/events #MusicSky #NeoTrad #AltFolk #LiveMusic #Traditional #Folklore #FolkHorror
'But suspicions about his far-fetched tale began to emerge in 2016. Archaeologists called in to investigate by Italy’s Carabinieri military police discovered the "ancient" structure contained fibreglass, PAPIER-MÂCHÉ COLUMNS, rendered blocks and plaster statues dating from the early 2000s.'
Cat Vincent (he/him, Useless Eater)@catvincent.bsky.social · last wk.
The new Prime Minister is writing a "10-year plan" for the UK. The arts & culture MUST be part of it. We've signed @campaignforthearts.org's petition urging @andyburnham.bsky.social to revitalise the arts – to revitalise the whole nation 🌱 Join us: www.campaignforthearts.org/petitions/10-year-plan/
Prime Minister – put the arts in your 10-year plan for the UK | Campaign for the Arts
Sign our petition urging the UK Government to build a country where the arts are available from childhood, accessible to all and thriving everywhere.
campaignforthearts.org
I absolutely stand by this description of folklore. #FolkloreSunday
Simon Spanton@simonguy.bsky.social · 2w ago"Folklore is part of our conversation with the land...It is our access to the psychic shrapnel of event, embedded around us. A collective line of transmission. It is echo memory. Folklore is narrative constantly cheating death by changing its jacket. Folklore is the liar that tells the truth..."
🌜❤️🔥🔔🥁🎙️🪗🪈🎹❤️🔥🌛 Announcing OUR DEEPEST SYMPATHIES — Lunatraktors' Autumn 2026 tour of the haunted isle of Albion. Ticket links are all live (except for Norwich)... www.lunatraktors.space/events #MusicSky #NeoTrad #AltFolk #LiveMusic #Traditional #Folklore #FolkHorror
"interest in stone circles and Avebury and landscape and... energy lines or whatever. Also that that aspect had a social and political critique built into it. It wasn’t just about sort of goofy stuff. It was about the fact that what was going on in politics was it was a... form of occult energy"
Ray Newman@raynewman.bsky.social · 2w ago“I know they despise the surrealists in some ways, but they behave exactly like them... They have a kind of philosophical vision which all disagree about, and then they go out and get drunk and that's the whole thing.” thelostbyway.com/2026/07/what...
This is just begging for a treatment of Blade Runner as a musical comedy.
Garrett Gilchrist@garrettgilchrist.bsky.social · 2w ago
While it is a well-established fact that the British Royal Family are indeed a kind of fungus, it's not entirely accurate to describe them as "mushrooms" in British English. Traditionally, this kind of distasteful fungal fruiting body is known as a toadstool.
Alan Baxter@alanbaxter.bsky.social · 2w agoIt's safe to assume all major LLMs are scraping Bluesky data to train future models. As an open protocol, Bluesky is one of the few sources of fresh human-generated content that anybody can gobble up. So all this is probably going in the models. The British royal family are all mushrooms.
PSA on the Victoria Line tube in London. Phillipson and every other GC weirdo needs to take note.
Religiosity on the rise again: a new generation of young male authoritarians who identify as Christian. Religious misogyny is a hell of a drug. www.sbs.com.au/news/article...
Gen Z is the first generation in history in which men are more religious than women
Religious affiliation has been in decline for decades. Now, a religious divide is appearing among gen Z men and women.
sbs.com.au
When you let religious fundamentalists into medical legislation, things start getting really weird... theconversation.com/embryo-perso...
Embryo personhood, once on the margins of abortion debates, is moving closer to the center
In vitro fertilization has become a bigger part of reproductive rights debates as a once-fringe movement to recognize embryos as people grows louder.
theconversation.com
New gig announcement - a double bill of ""broken folk"" pioneers @lunatraktors.bsky.social, and experimental Turkish-English duo Masal at The Nest, Sat 10th October. Tickets: buff.ly/GKbT1T8 Funders: @artscouncilengland.bsky.social @prsfoundation.bsky.social @ppluk.bsky.social #ocm #FundedbyPRSF
Exactly! We've all been expecting the apocalypse, fine, but honestly none of us expected it to be this badly scripted. I mean Trump as POTUS? Twice!? An evil corporation called Palantir fronted by Oswald Moseley's grandson? It just comes across as hammy, overdone satire. #PostIronyCondition
Marie Vibbert@reasie.bsky.social · 3w agoNo science fiction could have prepared us for just how stupid the end of the world can be. "The environment was on the brink of collapse, and so, rather than deal with that, we burned what fuel we had left getting computers to scam each other for money."
On the 5th August, the EHRC's Code of Practice becomes statutory guidance. It will make life even harder for many trans & non-binary people. It's unworkable & harmful. The Good Law Project is challenging & wants to hear from people affected by these exclusions. goodlawproject.org/discriminato...
‘Discriminatory’ and ‘unworkable’ trans guidance to come into force | Good Law Project
The equalities minister has ordered the government’s harmful code of practice will apply from 5 August – we’re pushing back
goodlawproject.org
"I'm following this great author on Bluesky, but he posts so much about his writing! I mean, why? Can't he share more animal photos (no, not like that), or complain about US politics? So I've decided I'll help out: I'll complain in his comments, just to model appropriate Bluesky behaviour for him."
Tom Cox@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 4w agoIf you ever get pissed off about me mentioning my books on here & decide to complain about it, do remember as I instantly block you that I'm coming from the perspective of someone who had £20,000+ of earnings stolen from him by his ex-publishers & could not give less of a flying fuck what you think.
"Verify your age" The first floppy disks I used were actually floppy.
Elizabeth Bear@matociquala.bsky.social · 3w ago"Verify your age" My favorite TV show when I was a kid was Grizzly Adams
Amnesty International put out a major report documenting the influence of UK based anti trans gender critical organizations and their funding. Within hours, GC groups threatened defamation lawsuits and Amnesty was forced to pull it down. Proving the point they're anti rights. Anyways, here it is.
Mass death is a feature, not a bug. The horrifying truth is this: for politicians and the upper class who believe in the toxic creed of eugenics and austerity, this kind of event is not a tragedy at all. Instead, they spout evolutionary "thinning the herd" rhetoric just as they did with COVID.
Zack Polanski@zackpolanski.bsky.social · 3w agoThese deaths are on the hands of politicians who failed to act over years. Putting profit over our safety refusing to take action - now failing to protect us from its impact. We need maximum working temperatures. Insulated homes. Cooling in schools, hospitals and care homes.