Anne Billson
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annebillson.bsky.social
Anne Billson
@annebillson.bsky.social
7.3K followers 280 following 12K posts
Auteur en filmcriticus, screenwriter, vertaler, fotograaf, evil feminist, wicked spinster, international cat-sitter. Likes frites, beer & chocolade. The Low Countries.
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annebillson.bsky.social
Sad news. Jeff's post are some of the very few US-based political comments I can bring myself to read nowadays, not only because they express all the fury and outrage many of us feel, but also because they also frequently make me laugh.
jefftiedrich.bsky.social Jeff Tiedrich @jefftiedrich.bsky.social · 4h
thank you to the thousands of people who have posted, commented, private messaged, texted, and phoned to offer condolences over yesterday morning’s passing of my wife Claudia Long. I deeply regret that I can only reply to the smallest fraction of you, but I want you to know that ... [1/2]
Claudia Long, R.I.P.
February 7, 1950 – February 11, 2026
bit.ly
February 12, 2026 at 2:56 PM
annebillson.bsky.social
Increasingly fed up with amazon incompetence (having to wade through "sponsored" posts before you get to the author you were searching for; awful customer service that can't tell me how to update my billing address on kindle invoices; physical delivery failed b/s deliverer couldn't find my address).
February 12, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Reposted by Anne Billson
greyskiesthinking.bsky.social
Lino Ventura would like to know what the f*** is this?
February 12, 2026 at 1:27 PM
Reposted by Anne Billson
stephenmcgann.uk
There's no patriot like a Monaco-based patriot.
February 12, 2026 at 9:23 AM
Reposted by Anne Billson
pastpostcard.bsky.social
The discos are a great laugh. I've got glandular fever.
February 12, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Reposted by Anne Billson
abbeythelab.bsky.social
50% of my usual walk is currently a swim
Abingdon under water
February 12, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Reposted by Anne Billson
dandouglas.bsky.social
honestly judge i’m as surprised as you are, never in a million years could i predict my pack of 10 fucking insane mutant cunt dogs might turn violent
BBC News: XL bully owner says he could not predict attack Ashley Warren, 41, appeared to become emotional as jurors were shown videos of the 10 XL bully dogs, which have since been destroyed BBC News: A man whose XL bullies killed his mother-in-law has told a jury not "in a million years" could he predict his "gentle" dogs attacking her. Esther Martin, 68, was alone with a child and 10 of the dogs when she was mauled to death at Ashley Warren's house in Jaywick, Essex, on 3 February 2024.
February 12, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Anne Billson
leerandall.bsky.social
My PA taking her duties seriously. Lap warmed? Yes, siree!
February 12, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Reposted by Anne Billson
pastpostcard.bsky.social
Sorry, sorry, sorry.
February 12, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by Anne Billson
adrianchills.bsky.social
#50: Drill
A screenshot of a Guardian headline to a column by Adrian Chiles. It reads 'At the age of 58, I've bought my first drill. Can it make me a new man?' After the fire and the funeral, and when the inquest had been satisfactorily concluded, I found myself, nearing sixty, moving in with my older brother Stanley. I anticipated that it would only take a few months for the details of the estate to be settled, at which point I could begin a new chapter in my life, perhaps abroad, but with my former brother-in-law Marcus as sole executor—a man who had, despite my best efforts, never remotely warmed to me—things seemed to slow to a snail’s pace, leaving me marooned indefinitely in fraternal co-habitation. If I had found my marriage to be a trial of perseverance, a regular gauntlet of annoyances to be endured, then life with Stanley was a whole new magnitude of ordeal. The man’s habits were simply unbearable; from his daily pre-dawn exercise routine—fifty army-style press-ups on the living-room rug, each accompanied by an agricultural-sounding grunt—to his diet of the most anemic and flavourless vegetables—”best for a healthy bowel”—to his doting over the flea-laden, slack-jawed, rodent-faced canine—’Miss Pennywhistle’—with whom he shared his bed, everything he did seemed designed to pluck at my already taut nerves. I began to think that I might once again have to resort to the most drastic of actions, until I stumbled across a documentary on one of the lesser-known television channels, detailing the practice and efficacy of the ancient art of trepanning, how, by the careful placement of holes in the skull, the trepanee might find his behaviours and even personality permanently corrected. The very next day I ordered a brand new Black & Decker Cordless, with battery and ten-piece drill bit set—my first ever foray into the world of do-it-yourself—and began to make a plan. In a few hours Stanley and Miss Pennywhistle will settle down for the night and I—having honed my aim on Stanely’s decorative phrenology bust—will get to work on adjusting him, drillhole by drillhole. By morning I’m hoping he’ll be a brand new man.
February 12, 2026 at 1:29 PM
annebillson.bsky.social
First 2 Seichō Matsumoto novels I read, Tokyo Express & Inspector Imanishi Investigates, were absorbing but almost cosy crime stories compared with the ones of his I'm reading now, centred on obsessed characters making increasingly terrible decisions, reminding me of Georges Simenon's romans durs.
February 12, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Reposted by Anne Billson
dtfooty.bsky.social
My youngest (16) discovered HOUSE (1977) the other day and said "dad you have to see this", and showed it to me. I loved it, and afterwards I said, let's check the book, and sure enough there it was as a MAJOR CAT MOVIE. She was delighted! Great book.
annebillson.bsky.social Anne Billson @annebillson.bsky.social · 6d
CATS ON FILM (kindle or paperback)
"the perfect book for cat lovers"
"Bonus: includes My Day by Jones, AKA Alien from the cat's PoV"
"one of the finest pieces of specialist film scholarship published in recent years”
"possibly the greatest book ever"
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1978038747
February 12, 2026 at 1:08 PM
annebillson.bsky.social
Astridplein (2025) photograph by Anne Billson
A busy pedestrian crossing after dark, with an equally busy tram stop behind it. It has been raining, so the wet ground reflects the coloured lights, principally the crossing's little green man signal.
February 12, 2026 at 1:04 PM
annebillson.bsky.social
Anna May's knee (2024) photograph by Anne Billson
A child's leg, with a cat's face stitched into the knee of her leggings. The light is pink.
February 12, 2026 at 12:54 PM
Reposted by Anne Billson
cinecalendar.bsky.social
Feb 12th 1809 - Abraham Lincoln was born.

📽️📅 Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
3 Screenshots from the movie "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" (1989): First, a man with curly hair, resembling Abraham Lincoln, sits in an office setting across from another man writing at a desk. The subtitle reads, "All right. What's your name? - Abraham Lincoln." Second, a close-up of the man writing at the desk, appearing inquisitive, with the subtitle "What's your birthday, Mr. Lincoln?" Third, the Lincoln-like character looks solemnly at the camera in the same office setting, with the subtitle "February 12, 1809."
February 12, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Reposted by Anne Billson
rickburin.bsky.social
I’m in this issue talking about one of my very favourites, and particularly what Marlene Dietrich brings to it.
Touch Of Evil ALL'S WELLES THAT ENDS WELL... WORDS RICK BURIN IT IS A sign-off for the ages. "He was some kind of a man," breathes Marlene Dietrich, with singsong sadness, at the close of Orson Welles' scuzzball masterpiece, Touch Of Evil. Her Mexican madam, Tanya, has been pressed to offer a more expansive tribute to her ex-lover, corrupt detective Hank Quinlan, than that he was "a lousy cop". Gazing at his corpse as it bobs in the dirty bay, she demurs. "What does it matter what you say about people?" she asks. Dietrich wrote later that she had never spoken a line so well, nor performed better than during her one night of shooting, while Welles considered those sequences among the jewels of his career. It is Tanya's brand of tough love, steeped in shared history, that gives his movie so much of its heart. What makes those passages even more extraordinary is that he had offered Dietrich the role only the previous day - and that Tanya doesn't even appear in his shooting script. that was Orson Welles: maverick genius.
February 12, 2026 at 12:40 PM
Reposted by Anne Billson
johnmulvey.bsky.social
One new @mojomagazine.bsky.social today, but two covers to choose from: Miles Davis at 100, or Punk at 50. Both come with all the same exceptional writing, and a beautiful Miles & Friends CD compiled by myself and @andrewmale.bsky.social. Get a copy: shorturl.at/AmnqA 1/3
February 12, 2026 at 12:42 PM
Reposted by Anne Billson
mikduffy.bsky.social
I have relatives who work in the emergency services on this island, suffice to say his and Jennifer Grey's names are basically invoked as curses.
February 12, 2026 at 12:25 PM
Reposted by Anne Billson
theunfinished.bsky.social
At the very least, a three strikes and you’re out approach to driving offences; you’re banned.

Caught driving illegally again? Ten years in prison.
February 12, 2026 at 12:14 PM
Reposted by Anne Billson
mikduffy.bsky.social
Also, as an Irishman, I have to mention Matthew Broderick. The patron saint of dangerous drivers being given nominal slaps on the wrist.
February 12, 2026 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Anne Billson
andrewmale.bsky.social
Fig. 1 Thinking of resting his chin on my elbow.
Fig. 2 Resting his chin on my elbow.
A chocolate brown oriental cat sits next to a human’s arm, a look of deep thought on his face. His chin is now resting on the elbow. He has surrendered to the call. The human is unable to move for the foreseeable future.
February 12, 2026 at 12:04 PM
annebillson.bsky.social
Sometimes dream of establishing an activist group of Militant Pedestrians as people on foot are treated as less than human, especially in Antwerp, where they are subjected to all manner of fuck-you behaviour from cyclists, scooters, car drivers & a local council that doesn't give a shit about them.
February 12, 2026 at 12:07 PM
Reposted by Anne Billson
dtfooty.bsky.social
It's not just in Belgium that motorists can get away with murder (or attempted murder) ... here's one from UK just yesterday

bsky.app/profile/road...
February 12, 2026 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by Anne Billson
mikduffy.bsky.social
Yes, this is monstrous. Drunk drivers should have the book thrown at them. Drunk drivers whose selfishness leads to deaths should serve lengthy prison terms.
February 12, 2026 at 11:49 AM
annebillson.bsky.social
This is all very well, but this guy "already had 14 previous convictions for motoring offences". So why was he still on the road? A 5-year prison sentence (4 of which suspended) and lifetime driving ban seem mild punishment. Maybe there's no such thing as manslaughter in Belgian law.
5-year prison sentence and lifetime driving ban for man that killed West Flemish family while driving drunk | VRT NWS: news
A 51-year-old man responsible for a road accident in which a couple and their young daughter lost their lives in the summer of 2024 has been given a 5-year prison sentence, part of which suspended. He...
www.vrt.be
February 12, 2026 at 11:42 AM