Taking a social media and indeed internet and telly and everything break for a couple of weeks. Back on the 17th or so. Happy August, all.
Duncan Batey
@duncanbatey.bsky.social
is allegedly a gracefully ageing rocker whose life was demolished in a freak meditation accident back when he was a computer scientist but also very definitely a singer-songwriter and t'ai-chi enthusiast based in Glastonbury, UK duncanbatey.bandcamp.com
I, for one, am [checks notes] totally unsurprised.
Ben Schwarz@benschwarz.bsky.social · last wk.Australia’s eSafety commissioner buried a report (released Friday afternoon) that shows the under 16 social media ban didn’t tangibly reduce teen social media use, and also resulted in parents tuning out of kids usage. We traded our privacy for no reason. theconversation.com/more-than-80...
I read an early copy of this and it is absolute dynamite, beautiful and ingenious.
Big Green Books@biggreenbooks.bsky.social · last wk.SIGNED BOOK NEWS! "As We Fall Through Time" by Claire North. A new epic tale of time travel, betrayal and a love that echoes through the centuries. It's published in October. Pre-order a SIGNED copy HERE! biggreenbookshop.com/signed-copie...
Interesting notes from author @natashapulley.bsky.social on the adverse impacts of AI on writers and how useless those AI detectors are. They are potentially also harmful to writers whose works are not AI (but are flagged a such). 1/2 www.instagram.com/reel/DbgHS_P...
Natasha Pulley on Instagram: "Three major writers (all Black, funnily enough -_-) have been accused of using AI in their work lately. I teach creative writing at undergraduate and postgraduate level, ...
317 likes, 17 comments - natasha_pulley on August 1, 2026: "Three major writers (all Black, funnily enough -_-) have been accused of using AI in their work lately. I teach creative writing at undergra...
instagram.com
Sunrise here today in Glastonbury. The land is very dry at the moment. Have a fabulous week everyone!
I'm reading If It Bleeds by Stephen King, a collection of four novellas, mainly for the detective story of that title as it's part of what has unexpectedly become the Holly Gibney series that started with Mr. Mercedes.
Monday morning meanders into view once more and I'm reading "The Midnight Mayor" by Kate Griffin as I've hit a bit of a wall so an old favourite seems to be fine What book(s) are you reading this week? ans welcome back! 💙📚 #BookSky #MondayReads #TBR #AmReading
Book no 26: The Dispossessed. What a wonderful book. If you don't know it, the basic premise is that an outsider from a utopian anarchic moon visits a capitalist planet and the culture shock is profound: Shevek can't understand the people of Urras, and they struggle to understand him. #Booksky 1/4
This is out now, available globally! Inkwood Books in NJ has signed stock! So does The Head and the Hand in Philly! Any indie bookstore can order you a copy! It's at all the big box stores, too: Amazon, B&N, Walmart, etc. Ask your library! And if you loved it, leave a review (Goodreads, etc)!!
Ali Trotta@alwayscoffee.bsky.social · 3w agoThis comes out…tomorrow?? Holy hell. So grateful to @clashbooks.bsky.social for being wonderful! I’m so in love with @katelanfoisy.bsky.social’s gorgeous art & grateful to @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social for being 18 kinds of fab! So excited for y’all to read it!! Thank you for all the support. XO
Swirly clouds and sun shining through the archway on this beautiful Sunday morning. Photo taken at sunrise on Glastonbury Tor.
I’m always impressed when men are revealed to be living a secret life with another family because I’m not exactly nailing one life so the idea of two or more is quite intimidating. A secret affair? I can’t even remember which days the bins go out.
Hey, you—wanna buy some poetry? Inkwood Books in NJ has signed stock! So does The Head and the Hand in Philly! Any indie bookstore can order you a copy! It's at all the big box stores, too: Amazon, B&N, Walmart, etc. globally! Ask your library! If you loved it, leave a review (Goodreads, etc)!!
Ali Trotta@alwayscoffee.bsky.social · 3w agoThis comes out…tomorrow?? Holy hell. So grateful to @clashbooks.bsky.social for being wonderful! I’m so in love with @katelanfoisy.bsky.social’s gorgeous art & grateful to @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social for being 18 kinds of fab! So excited for y’all to read it!! Thank you for all the support. XO
Phone pic of crows and the moon. Taken just now at the base of Glastonbury Tor.
Lammas blessings from Glastonbury Tor. It was a beautiful morning and lovely sunrise. Lammas means "loaf-mass," and marks the very first grain harvest of the year. Lammas/Lughnasadh A few photographs from this morning.
this reminds us of an advert in a prominent us glossy magazine for buddhists that was for electrically turned prayer wheels, so you can leave them running while you go and do more important things 😂 (the point of them, to tibetan buddhists, is that you do the turning)
Sen. Lemon Gogurt@ugarles.bsky.social · 2w agopulled over with a hundred empty wine shots on the passenger seat. i can walk on water but not in a straight line. i am speaking aramaic as i am directed to the back seat of the squad car.
If you fancy a re-read of Gene Wolfe's Solar Cycle (Book of the New Sun et al) or want to have a first read with some critical accompaniment, @alzabosoup.bsky.social podcast have just finished their commentary on the entire sequence from
I've got something really cool to show you:
Oh god - here we go. We just have to emulate the US, don't we?
madeline odent@oldenoughtosay.com · last wk.okay just to be clear everyone, cyclaspora can absolutely be spread human to human if you are infected and do not wash your hands properly after shitting and before preparing food for other people. there's a very easy way to avoid human to human spread but. it can www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Worth reading because there’s a depressing amount of lockdown revisionism floating around in 2026.
Prof Christina Pagel@chrischirp.bsky.social · last wk.🧵On @thenewsagents.co.uk yesterday, school closures and the lab leak theory were offered as two examples of legitimate questions that were hard to ask. Both have in fact been asked constantly since 2020. But here's a thread on why I think they were wrong and dangerous on school closures 1/12
🧵On @thenewsagents.co.uk yesterday, school closures and the lab leak theory were offered as two examples of legitimate questions that were hard to ask. Both have in fact been asked constantly since 2020. But here's a thread on why I think they were wrong and dangerous on school closures 1/12
As a long-term visitor to this planet I can confirm that there is a direct correlation between the presence of evil and the absence of love.
The moon having a rest on St Michael's tower at sunrise this morning. I took too many photos of both moonset and sunrise this morning so more to follow hopefully when I have had time to work through them all. 😂
Love going into work after a day off #BookPost @helenparry.bsky.social and #ZoeDuhaime Thanks to @solarisbooks.bsky.social and @dfbstoryhouse.bsky.social for sending these out
I will be closing my web-shop and art-for-sale for the summer on Monday. So, if you'd like anything in the next month or so (such as the print shown) please order soon. www.tomgauld.com/shop www.tomgauld.com/art-for-sale
These are the smiling eyes of a person who released a new album today! "Monstrous Exotic" is a creative re-exploration of 8 songs from my 2021 album "Exotic Monsters" plus 2 extra tracks, with gorgeous illustration by Dansmonsters. CDs, books and tees available!
Following my moonset photograph earlier, this was sunrise from the opposite side of St Michael's tower. I went up one side of the hill and down the other side to get the two images.
Anyone got any ideas about what might be eating my basil?
