Ray Irving 🇺🇦
@skiingmouse.bsky.social
British ex-pat in Switzerland. TTRPGs (mainly Call of Cthulhu), Cyber Security, Philosophy, Psychology and whatever interests me…
In his Sci Fi novel “Rainbows End” Vernor Vinge has the UCSD library fed into shredders for destructive scanning while the Friends of the Library riot outside. The real life version is more covert…
Sacrifice! At the Harvest Festival@theharvestmaid.bsky.social · last wk.These fuckers have enough self-awareness to know that what they're doing is shameful. That makes it worse.
So many of the replies to this are indeed progressives embracing despair. QED I suppose…
Ian Dunt@iandunt.bsky.social · 2w agoMany progressives have embraced despair and it doesn't do them a damn bit of good www.arguably.uk/p/the-left-s...
Good thread - we don’t actually know for sure how Homeric armour looked…
Chris Schweizer@schweizercomics.bsky.social · 2w agoSomething that's worth noting: Do I want Homeric adaptations to employ preclassical Mycenaean armor instead of the classical stuff that almost always dominates? Of course. BUT it's important to note that, say, throwing in folks gussied up in Dendra panoplies ain't NECESSARILY accurate. 1/
As portrayed in Nolan’s Odyssey, the Atreus brothers come over as exactly the kind of guys who would go to considerable effort to obtain exotic wives. The scene with Menelaus in his gold spangled palace in Sparta makes it clear - Lupita fits in perfectly. It’s entirely believable.
Granite State@granitestate.bsky.social · 2w agoWhen you watch the movie, you realize casting Lupita as Helen was not „woke“ at all. It makes complete dramatic sense for Helen to be beautiful in a way that looks exotic and otherworldly in the context of the story. Casting a black Polybus also helps the viewer identify him in a crowd of suitors.
I really enjoyed The Odyssey in IMAX format, it is excellent: intense, epic, beautiful and well acted. Definitely nothing to get worked up about like folks did after the trailer…
Of course Plato was right, life would be better in a rationally structured city-state governed by enlightened philosopher-kings
Phil (UK edition)@thedicemechanic.bsky.social · 3w agoI was reflecting on how bloody annoying democracy can be, and came on the realisation one of its key problems. Right now, we need serious structural change, globally. Modern popular democracy is completely unequipped to deliver it, because it prioritises what people want over what they need
Oh my god there’s a short with him and Hugo Weaving taking a bath??
Today’s AI ick trigger (from a sales email): “No demo, no deck — just a concrete control pattern to react to”. They certainly got a reaction!
I just announced to my Swiss colleagues that my summer wish list is for England to win the world cup and the UK to get a decent Prime Minister. Oh the mirth, they are falling over themselves with laughter!
Over on LinkedIn I can’t look anymore - every post: “here’s the bind” “why this matters” “and another thing” Totally doing my head in!
Crystal Fleming クリスタル@alwaystheself.bsky.social · 2mo agoI could scarcely believe my intuition was right. I sort of said it as a joke -- "How do we know your talk wasn't written by AI?" But in truth, something in the rhetoric, argumentation, possibly even the tone, felt AI-ish. When he shifted in his seat, I thought he was offended by the implication..
Later in my 2nd Call of Cthulhu campaign I had the epiphany every single player had totally different motivations to play - I now swear by premise buy in, session zero and hooks between party members
@aroundight.bsky.social · 2mo agoOne upon a time I tried to run a pirate campaign. The premise was simple: You're the crew of a pirate ship having adventures on the high seas. Not a single one of them created a character that had any points in sailing or a background involving piracy.
And here I would have captioned it, "Trump meets with Elric of Melniboné cosplayers to ask if this so-called 'Black Blade' named Stormbringer can be used to end the war with Iran"
@flourish.org remember playing this and marvelling at the parallax scrolling?
Kimimi🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️@kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com · 2mo agoIt's been a week, and that means everyone can now read my article on Amiga classic Shadow of the Beast! It may not quite get there, but it tries so very sincerely to deliver an enthralling fantasy world: kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2026/06/07/s...
I don’t understand all the fuss about OSR - it’s an obsolete 40 year old game that is best forgotten
Flintlock. Why do all these nerds follow me? I'm not a nerd.@flintlock.bsky.social · 2mo agoWhat admission would kill your Grognard cred? I've never actually read the Elric books. I just bluff it from the knowledge picked up via Hawkwind and Blue Oyster Cult.
Brilliant how, when you add the colour, it becomes clear The Regia Marina was not loaded with mines, but Poké Balls. I wonder what types of aquatic Pokémon Mussolini managed to collect?
uoɯolɐS uɐƃɹoW uɥoſ@fuzzybunny.org · 3mo agoWell I guess you people don't care a bit about historical accuracy. "Aggressive war" my foot. The Regia Marina just wanted to catch 'em all before the British. @crusaderproject.bsky.social @dreadships.bsky.social do better next time.
Inspector Morse was a huge thing for me at the time, totally unmissable, seriously tempted to start re-watch…
Matt Colville?@mattcolville.bsky.social · 3mo agoI just watched the first episode of inspector Morse, and wow does it hold up. I love it. I had a blast. I forgot how much I loved this show and what a big impact it had on me as a young man. Super fun to watch right after the Jeremy Brett Hound of the Baskervilles! Which came out one year later!
All set for tomorrow, running the Regency version of the #callofcthulhu scenario Zennor & the Sins of St. Senara by @stygianfoxpub.bsky.social. Jane Austin’s Persuasion meets Lovecraft, well, sort of… 🤭
Inspired by @fuzzybunny.org and if anyone has a *working* version of the Tintin ttf please help me out
Land Talks #5 is soon! I'm running another evening of lightning talks about land policy. This one's got quirky stuff about the impact of driverless cars on land, and crunchy stuff about how liberalising planning can reduce trust and cause more problems. luma.com/avdjw348 Come along!
Land Talks #5: Phantom Cabs, Books on Fire & The Trust Deficit · Luma
🗺️ Where Fresh Thinking Meets Britain’s Oldest Bottleneck Land is key to economic growth and equality of opportunity, yet in Britain we’ve done almost nothing…
luma.com
#DnD has a lot to answer for - I think the issue stems from later versions containing a mini game, namely designing and levelling up your PC. Players are so invested in this mini-game that killing a PC without cause breaks the social contract with the DM. Thus the “balance” obsession. It’s absurd.
Let me tell you a story (before the ship explodes):
This would make Reform a sort of Arc B for useless MPs!
John Bull@garius.bsky.social · 10mo agoA wise MP knows you don't defect until your conference expenses claim has cleared.
A lifetime studying primates provides valuable insight on humanity…
Porcellino Spaziale@porcellinospaziale.bsky.social · 10mo agoTook me 25 minutes to download an app, create an account and set up credit card payment to charge a hire car before returning it in Germany. Ridiculous!
Huw Bowen / Sundog@huwbowen.bsky.social · 11mo agoAs a non-electric car owner I have been trying to charge my dad’s car at various commercial charging points today, and the whole experience has been utterly shitty. The future is a damn mess!
A one shot should be designed to complete in 4 hours. A good one also has safeguards to ensure it does.
Guy Milner (BurnAfterRunning / Unconventional GMs)@burnafterrunning.bsky.social · 11mo agoOne-shot #TTRPGs should be one session, no more no less - yeah? Am I being unnecessary purist about this?