Oreo cat!

For @bluejo.eurosky.social and others.

On this 163rd anniversary of Gettysburg. youtu.be/AsbOxtk_3pk?...

Jules Verne’s famous Three Laws of Automata, as recounted by Kim Stanley Newman. www.google.com/amp/s/johnny...

I'm going to tell you three things that are no fun at all: 1 Heatstroke. 2 Not being able to get an ambulance, because lots of people are suffering from heat-related conditions. 3 Not being able to get prompt attention at A&E, because lots of people are suffering from heat-related conditions.

Seems like a particularly good day to recommend (as I have before) this story by Dr. @hntdove.bsky.social reactormag.com/the-eighth-g...

The armorer who made padded jackets began to use lower and lower qualitye material. Thogh a profit was made, the knightes noticed the difference and appealed to the royal authorities. Being led to trial, the armorer exclaimed "Well, well, well, yf it ys not the consequences of myne own aketons!"

Ooh, there's a new Enid Blyton book! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Please suggest some prequels to well-known books. I'll start - Early-morning tea at Tiffany's.

BREAKING: Just five minutes before Trump's announcement to halt the attacks on Iran, massive trades hit the market. $1.5 billion in S&P 500 (ES) futures was bought while $192 million in oil (CL) futures was sold. These orders were 4–6x larger than anything else. They made huge gains. Unusual.

Sharing this for the USians here.

From @tomgauld.bsky.social, for Tolkien fans everywhere. bsky.app/profile/tomg...

What the Autumn Budget means for DEMENTIA (as explained by our Chief Policy and Research Officer, Professor Fiona Carragher) 👇 ‘With winter pressures mounting on the NHS, today’s budget has left us still feeling uncertain about support for dementia. (1/5)

@levostregc.bsky.social hath hitte the naile upone the head.

For love ys so ancient a worde And love dareth thee to care for The folke upon the brinke of despayre And love asketh thee to chaunge ower waye of Caringe about owerselves Thys ys ower last daunse Thys ys ower laust daunse Thys ys owerselves undir pressure undir pressure pressure

Yf tech billionaires reallye reade their Tolkien thei wolde understande that it was the obsessive searche by Sauron for selfish immortalitye, individual power, vain conquest, hoarded wealth, and exploitation of othirs that above all else broughte disaster to Middle Earthe.

@levostregc.bsky.social never fails to hit the naille upon heade.

A doorway and two windows.

John Clute.

Throwback Thursday

I have no complaint about the individuals operating the HSBC telephone banking dis-service, but whoever designed the system, trained the staff, and cut costs to this extreme needs to be forced to watch The Sound of Music re-runs non-stop for the rest of their lives. #wunchofbankers

Did anyone send these to us? They were addressed to me and Sarah Wells.

I appear to be the father of a ten year old.

For @mariebreta.bsky.social and others.

One catte doth onlye lie, and the othir catte doth onlye telle the trouthe, and both cattes saye thei have not been fed.

I have finished my re-read of The Book of Lost Tales Part 2 by JRR Tolkien, edited by CJR Tolkien. Later today, I will start to re-read The Lays of Beleriand.

And you may saye to yourselfe These are not my lone and level sandes And you may saye to yourselfe These are not my vast and trunklesse legges of stone

#SomethingBeautiful a little orange dragon from a medieval manuscript

An even older photo.

#SomethingBeautiful a morpho butterfly

A very old photo.

Here's a little New Year quiz for you all. Which of these are Trump's attacks on Venezuela *not* about? a) Oil b) Distracting attention from the Epstein files c) Pandering to the MAGA fan base d) Drugs

I used to think I had a great joke about Orpheus and Eurydice. . . . . . . . Looking back, not so good.

Among many other books, I re-read the first five of these during 2025, and am about a quarter of the way through BoLT II. How much more of the legendarium will I read in 2026?

From Punch magazine, Vol CXCVIII No 5160, February 21 1940, page 194, "War Notes".

The hallway of Canon Jenkins' lodgings, Tom Quad, Christ Church, Oxford, c1950. Photo sourced from www.st-annes.ox.ac.uk/life-here/li... but I was first alerted to it by "The Stones of Christ Church: The Story of the Buildings of Christ Church, Oxford", by Judith Curthoys; pub Profile Books, 2017.

As usual, we are sending very few physical cards this Christmas. We will be sending emails, though; please message me with your email address if you would like one & aren't sure you will be on our list.

On 10 May 1941, the Royal Navy's Force Z, consisting of the battleship Prince of Wales, the battlecruiser Repulse, & escorting destroyers, were attacked by 88 Japanese planes. Despite a skilful defence, both big ships were sunk, with the loss of 840 men; a further 18 Japanese aircrew were killed.

GANDALF: Can you see anything? FRODO: There's nothing…Wait. There are markings. It's some form of Elvish. I can't read it. GANDALF: There are few who can. The language is that of Mordor, which I will not utter here. In the common tongue it says, "Light the lamp, not the rat."

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends and family.

I am really quite impressed by this. greekreporter.com/2025/10/12/a...

Please sign this open letter. Please. www.facebook.com/share/p/17ZG...

Seen somewhere - Me: What's a haiku? My teacher: Five, seven, five Me: That's great - thank you.

Spydere Man, Spydere Man Doth al things a spydere kan Sondry webbes he kan weaven Thieves lyke flyes he kan cacchen Lo! anon cometh Spydere Man

Please take a moment to read and sign this. It is really important. Please. asgsfprotest.com/add-your-sig...

Breaking news - people wearing ragged ribbons in their hair are trying to take over the French government. Messy bow coup. You're welcome.

Two rather special shelfies.