The Grumpy Nihilist
@andycowan.bsky.social
Fluent in sarcasm, and inconvenient truths. Occasionally funny, mostly kind, occasionally feral.
Pinned
One of These Days
YouTube video by Neil Young - Topic
youtu.be
This one always takes me back to the tribes I found, and lost, along the way. UK, Russia, South Africa… people I’ll probably never see again, but who shaped me all the same.
youtu.be/XtRTA4u5QkU?...
youtu.be/XtRTA4u5QkU?...
After an absurdly scenic seaplane ride, we arrived at LUX Maldives. Where we were greeted by the charming Gabriella, with a lemon-scented towel — the first of many unbearable luxuries. Cocktails, signatures, then our villa with flower messages, fruit, cake, and champagne. The suffering continues. 😉
October 13, 2025 at 5:18 AM
After an absurdly scenic seaplane ride, we arrived at LUX Maldives. Where we were greeted by the charming Gabriella, with a lemon-scented towel — the first of many unbearable luxuries. Cocktails, signatures, then our villa with flower messages, fruit, cake, and champagne. The suffering continues. 😉
Good morning. The sun has risen over our beach villa. It’s glorious.
Our first night at LUX set the tone at East Market — imagine an Asian street market floating over turquoise water, live cooking stations everywhere, food so good it should come with a warning.
The suffering continues, beautifully
Our first night at LUX set the tone at East Market — imagine an Asian street market floating over turquoise water, live cooking stations everywhere, food so good it should come with a warning.
The suffering continues, beautifully
October 13, 2025 at 5:06 AM
Good morning. The sun has risen over our beach villa. It’s glorious.
Our first night at LUX set the tone at East Market — imagine an Asian street market floating over turquoise water, live cooking stations everywhere, food so good it should come with a warning.
The suffering continues, beautifully
Our first night at LUX set the tone at East Market — imagine an Asian street market floating over turquoise water, live cooking stations everywhere, food so good it should come with a warning.
The suffering continues, beautifully
Breakfast at Lux Maldives, bare feet mandatory. Sandy beach, thatched roofs, breezy perfection. Buffet so generous it’s a heroic struggle. Staff already know our names. Everything you could wish for. The suffering continues, deliciously.
October 13, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Breakfast at Lux Maldives, bare feet mandatory. Sandy beach, thatched roofs, breezy perfection. Buffet so generous it’s a heroic struggle. Staff already know our names. Everything you could wish for. The suffering continues, deliciously.
Just stumbled across this on Apple and… wow. Instantly transported me back to the early ’80s—vinyl on the hi-fi, hairspray in the air, that mix of nostalgia and drama that only that decade could pull off. It’s easy to forget just how incredible Streisand’s voice is.
music.apple.com/gb/album/gui...
music.apple.com/gb/album/gui...
Guilty (Duet With Barry Gibb) by Barbra Streisand on Apple Music
Song · 1980 · Duration 4:26
music.apple.com
October 8, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Just stumbled across this on Apple and… wow. Instantly transported me back to the early ’80s—vinyl on the hi-fi, hairspray in the air, that mix of nostalgia and drama that only that decade could pull off. It’s easy to forget just how incredible Streisand’s voice is.
music.apple.com/gb/album/gui...
music.apple.com/gb/album/gui...
Well, my CT angiogram yesterday evening didn’t quite go to plan — my heart refused to slow down below 60 bpm, despite heroic efforts from IV beta blockers 😅 Radiology were excellent and have rescheduled it for after I get back from the Maldives, so the sun, sand, and cocktails won for now.
October 7, 2025 at 2:58 AM
Well, my CT angiogram yesterday evening didn’t quite go to plan — my heart refused to slow down below 60 bpm, despite heroic efforts from IV beta blockers 😅 Radiology were excellent and have rescheduled it for after I get back from the Maldives, so the sun, sand, and cocktails won for now.
More war crimes
I'm very concerned about all the #GlobalSumudFlotilla detainees, but especially Hannah Schafer, who seems likely to be held in extended detention in Israel. Israeli armed forces have committed grave and multiple breaches of international law in attacking the flotilla and mistreating its crew.
October 6, 2025 at 7:04 AM
More war crimes
Just finished Smith’s Rewriting the First Crusade—where half the “eyewitness letters” turned out to be monks play-acting at crusading with quills. Now I’m waiting on The Third Crusade (1189–1192): New Interpretations. Curious to see what’s left once the scholars are done with the myths.
October 5, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Just finished Smith’s Rewriting the First Crusade—where half the “eyewitness letters” turned out to be monks play-acting at crusading with quills. Now I’m waiting on The Third Crusade (1189–1192): New Interpretations. Curious to see what’s left once the scholars are done with the myths.
Consequential Culture” equals Cancel Culture in a clown suit: the powerful get banquets, the powerless get cancelled, and language bends itself into Kafkaesque/Orwellian pretzels to make it all feel inevitable. Lee’s point: the rules aren’t applied equally.
www.thenerve.news/p/stewart-le...
www.thenerve.news/p/stewart-le...
DOUBLETHINK DOES DOUBLETIME
STEWART LEE
www.thenerve.news
October 5, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Consequential Culture” equals Cancel Culture in a clown suit: the powerful get banquets, the powerless get cancelled, and language bends itself into Kafkaesque/Orwellian pretzels to make it all feel inevitable. Lee’s point: the rules aren’t applied equally.
www.thenerve.news/p/stewart-le...
www.thenerve.news/p/stewart-le...
“Went to this place and asked for fish and chips. The guy gave me a funny look and said the only sides were rice or pitta bread. I asked if he meant he’d run out of chips, and he said no, no-one had ever asked him for chips with fish before, and personally he didn’t think they’d go together.” JF
October 3, 2025 at 9:07 PM
“Went to this place and asked for fish and chips. The guy gave me a funny look and said the only sides were rice or pitta bread. I asked if he meant he’d run out of chips, and he said no, no-one had ever asked him for chips with fish before, and personally he didn’t think they’d go together.” JF
So Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, has taken the position that it’s unacceptable to protest against Israel’s ongoing campaign of mass killings, not because of legality or public safety, but because such protests might ‘hurt the feelings’ of Jews living in the UK. How is it not antisemitic?
October 3, 2025 at 9:03 PM
So Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, has taken the position that it’s unacceptable to protest against Israel’s ongoing campaign of mass killings, not because of legality or public safety, but because such protests might ‘hurt the feelings’ of Jews living in the UK. How is it not antisemitic?
Jane Goodall’s gone. The world has lost more than a scientist today—it lost a lens into the soul of another species. She showed us that understanding and compassion aren’t just human traits—they can be a bridge between species, a guide for how we care for the world
Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist, dies aged 91
Jane Goodall Institute says ‘tireless advocate’ for natural world died in California during US speaking tour
www.theguardian.com
October 1, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Jane Goodall’s gone. The world has lost more than a scientist today—it lost a lens into the soul of another species. She showed us that understanding and compassion aren’t just human traits—they can be a bridge between species, a guide for how we care for the world
This one always takes me back to the tribes I found, and lost, along the way. UK, Russia, South Africa… people I’ll probably never see again, but who shaped me all the same.
youtu.be/XtRTA4u5QkU?...
youtu.be/XtRTA4u5QkU?...
One of These Days
YouTube video by Neil Young - Topic
youtu.be
September 30, 2025 at 11:47 AM
This one always takes me back to the tribes I found, and lost, along the way. UK, Russia, South Africa… people I’ll probably never see again, but who shaped me all the same.
youtu.be/XtRTA4u5QkU?...
youtu.be/XtRTA4u5QkU?...
A well-executed notice at Fulham Palace
September 30, 2025 at 10:31 AM
A well-executed notice at Fulham Palace
1936: August Landmesser refused to salute Hitler while everyone else obeyed. One man, arms crossed, defying hate.
Mobs are easy. Courage is rare. Be a Landmesser, not a follower.
Mobs are easy. Courage is rare. Be a Landmesser, not a follower.
September 29, 2025 at 8:07 PM
1936: August Landmesser refused to salute Hitler while everyone else obeyed. One man, arms crossed, defying hate.
Mobs are easy. Courage is rare. Be a Landmesser, not a follower.
Mobs are easy. Courage is rare. Be a Landmesser, not a follower.
Found this old photo. I’m 21, home on leave after my first year as a Cunard officer. Mum insisted on taking a photo. The result? Terrible lighting, a random straw fan stealing the spotlight—but somehow it nails the moment. First time in uniform at home, first time I really saw what it meant to her.
September 29, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Found this old photo. I’m 21, home on leave after my first year as a Cunard officer. Mum insisted on taking a photo. The result? Terrible lighting, a random straw fan stealing the spotlight—but somehow it nails the moment. First time in uniform at home, first time I really saw what it meant to her.
Copy and paste this if you know someone, or know someone who knows someone who vaguely remembers someone touched by someone. Don’t know anyone? Heard of anyone who doesn’t know anyone who isn’t secretly someone else? Still copy this. I’m watching. I know which friends will. Spread it.
September 29, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Copy and paste this if you know someone, or know someone who knows someone who vaguely remembers someone touched by someone. Don’t know anyone? Heard of anyone who doesn’t know anyone who isn’t secretly someone else? Still copy this. I’m watching. I know which friends will. Spread it.
Yes, I’ve posted this before. No, I don’t care. If cows are out there murdering more people than sharks, you deserve the reminder. Public safety announcement disguised as comedy. Also, skeleton knocking one out in a biscuit tin levels of funny.
September 29, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Yes, I’ve posted this before. No, I don’t care. If cows are out there murdering more people than sharks, you deserve the reminder. Public safety announcement disguised as comedy. Also, skeleton knocking one out in a biscuit tin levels of funny.
“Now is the time for peace,” he says—after bombing nuclear sites and lighting the fuse. No remorse, no strategy, just ego and spectacle. We’ve learned nothing. The world drifts, leaderless, into ruin. This is how empires die—cheering their own madness.
June 22, 2025 at 9:30 AM
“Now is the time for peace,” he says—after bombing nuclear sites and lighting the fuse. No remorse, no strategy, just ego and spectacle. We’ve learned nothing. The world drifts, leaderless, into ruin. This is how empires die—cheering their own madness.
Only a philistine would deny the unequivocal splendor and importance of Britain's lost and living pubs.
May 6, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Only a philistine would deny the unequivocal splendor and importance of Britain's lost and living pubs.
The Sagan Series – End of an Era by Reid Gower
This video pays homage to Carl Sagan’s timeless vision of cosmic exploration.
youtu.be/3wJYpRJQVbo
This video pays homage to Carl Sagan’s timeless vision of cosmic exploration.
youtu.be/3wJYpRJQVbo
THE SAGAN SERIES - End of an Era: The Final Shuttle Launch
YouTube video by Reid Gower
youtu.be
April 28, 2025 at 3:15 PM
The Sagan Series – End of an Era by Reid Gower
This video pays homage to Carl Sagan’s timeless vision of cosmic exploration.
youtu.be/3wJYpRJQVbo
This video pays homage to Carl Sagan’s timeless vision of cosmic exploration.
youtu.be/3wJYpRJQVbo
My childhood would’ve had you asking for the manager in ten minutes
April 20, 2025 at 10:24 AM
My childhood would’ve had you asking for the manager in ten minutes