Martin Grasdal 🍁
@mgrasdal.bsky.social
Old IT guy, nearing retirement. Living proof that a degree in Engl. Lit & Philosophy is far from useless. Lover of fiction (including sci-fi & fantasy), history, classics, etc,. Classical music lover.
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
Wow! Significant dimming visible across almost the entire disk, a clear signature of a powerful CME. This eruption is truly massive.
November 11, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Wow! Significant dimming visible across almost the entire disk, a clear signature of a powerful CME. This eruption is truly massive.
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
The finale of the great TV comedy show Blackadder goes Forth.
Back then I didn't expect one of the funniest programmes ever to end with a scene that makes me cry every time I see it.
Every single time.
Back then I didn't expect one of the funniest programmes ever to end with a scene that makes me cry every time I see it.
Every single time.
November 11, 2025 at 12:33 PM
The finale of the great TV comedy show Blackadder goes Forth.
Back then I didn't expect one of the funniest programmes ever to end with a scene that makes me cry every time I see it.
Every single time.
Back then I didn't expect one of the funniest programmes ever to end with a scene that makes me cry every time I see it.
Every single time.
X pests ruin everyone's experience on here, especially if there is a link between the kind of automated moderation required to keep this place civil and the unintentional (to give Bluesky the benefit of the doubt for now) silencing of important voices, like Sarah Kendzior.
My first assumption when any notable woman gets suspended from any social platform is “automated response to mass reporting targeting” because everyone sucks at moderation.
November 11, 2025 at 6:06 PM
X pests ruin everyone's experience on here, especially if there is a link between the kind of automated moderation required to keep this place civil and the unintentional (to give Bluesky the benefit of the doubt for now) silencing of important voices, like Sarah Kendzior.
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
1/10
🇨🇦 UCP BASE'S NEXT DEMANDS FOR DANIELLE SMITH 🇨🇦
CBC's Jason Markusoff writes that Premier Danielle #Smith repeatedly puts her #UCP base's wishes into action.
Now, at this month's party convention, the "grassroots will bid to push the Smith government farther than ever."
#AbLeg #UCP #AbPoli
🇨🇦 UCP BASE'S NEXT DEMANDS FOR DANIELLE SMITH 🇨🇦
CBC's Jason Markusoff writes that Premier Danielle #Smith repeatedly puts her #UCP base's wishes into action.
Now, at this month's party convention, the "grassroots will bid to push the Smith government farther than ever."
#AbLeg #UCP #AbPoli
November 11, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
standards at big news outlets is a problem & leads to so much red tape and fear and is a big part of why our media is so fucked and toothless and cowardly
bari weiss sucks and yes you need lawyers and quality control and smart journalists and editors but there is too much red tape @ corporate media
bari weiss sucks and yes you need lawyers and quality control and smart journalists and editors but there is too much red tape @ corporate media
“I’ve been hearing that standards will be eliminated or severely cut back. Bari has told people that she wants to get rid of standards and is shocked that they have so much power. She also asked openly, ‘What’s the point of standards?’” one CBS source said.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Bari Weiss wants to take down ‘too much power’ CBS News Standards unit: sources
EXCLUSIVE: Internal rumblings within the newsroom come after the S&P head resigned and the network disbanded its vaunted Race and Culture unit.
www.independent.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 3:50 PM
standards at big news outlets is a problem & leads to so much red tape and fear and is a big part of why our media is so fucked and toothless and cowardly
bari weiss sucks and yes you need lawyers and quality control and smart journalists and editors but there is too much red tape @ corporate media
bari weiss sucks and yes you need lawyers and quality control and smart journalists and editors but there is too much red tape @ corporate media
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
We’re watching Joyce Carol Oates slowly torture a Boer to death in real-time
November 11, 2025 at 5:38 AM
We’re watching Joyce Carol Oates slowly torture a Boer to death in real-time
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
Your brain is rewiring itself right now.
What you’re seeing
This video captures neuroplasticity, the process where neurons form, strengthen, or prune their connections in real time. Electrical signals and calcium bursts act as guides, showing how experience physically reshapes the brain.
What you’re seeing
This video captures neuroplasticity, the process where neurons form, strengthen, or prune their connections in real time. Electrical signals and calcium bursts act as guides, showing how experience physically reshapes the brain.
November 11, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Your brain is rewiring itself right now.
What you’re seeing
This video captures neuroplasticity, the process where neurons form, strengthen, or prune their connections in real time. Electrical signals and calcium bursts act as guides, showing how experience physically reshapes the brain.
What you’re seeing
This video captures neuroplasticity, the process where neurons form, strengthen, or prune their connections in real time. Electrical signals and calcium bursts act as guides, showing how experience physically reshapes the brain.
Lol
I think this one has got to him because he's posted at least three separate responses to this over the last 10 hours:
November 11, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Lol
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
Thanos couldn’t snap me up fast enough if she said this about me
November 10, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Thanos couldn’t snap me up fast enough if she said this about me
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
BILLSON FILM DATABASE (kindle or pbk)
"super pithy (like Halliwell but without the snobbery)"
"the best film guide ever"
"The wittiest & funniest film reviews I've ever read"
"tremendously informative and very, very funny"
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1546443118
"super pithy (like Halliwell but without the snobbery)"
"the best film guide ever"
"The wittiest & funniest film reviews I've ever read"
"tremendously informative and very, very funny"
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1546443118
November 11, 2025 at 11:24 AM
BILLSON FILM DATABASE (kindle or pbk)
"super pithy (like Halliwell but without the snobbery)"
"the best film guide ever"
"The wittiest & funniest film reviews I've ever read"
"tremendously informative and very, very funny"
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1546443118
"super pithy (like Halliwell but without the snobbery)"
"the best film guide ever"
"The wittiest & funniest film reviews I've ever read"
"tremendously informative and very, very funny"
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1546443118
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
The BBC is in crisis in the same way that GB News would be if you put Owen Jones on the board armed with a veto and plenty of coffee.
November 11, 2025 at 7:48 AM
The BBC is in crisis in the same way that GB News would be if you put Owen Jones on the board armed with a veto and plenty of coffee.
Very good blog post on the hysteria surrounding an edit of Trump's comments. if BBC and other broadcasters, both public and private, can't stand up to the lies and pressure from the right and vested interests, we are in a dark place. BBC is both bulwark and bellwether in this moment.
November 11, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Very good blog post on the hysteria surrounding an edit of Trump's comments. if BBC and other broadcasters, both public and private, can't stand up to the lies and pressure from the right and vested interests, we are in a dark place. BBC is both bulwark and bellwether in this moment.
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
Great read here. I love the concept of the BBC; public broadcasting is so important. The reality of the BBC is that like any other newsroom it has several glaring blind spots - not least Gaza - but it is also a soft target for the far right because of how powerful it is when done properly.
The reaction to the Panorama edit has been nothing short of hysterical. Yes the BBC has some impartiality problems. But its biggest isn't the one you think.
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
New piece from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
The truth about impartiality at the BBC
And the hysteria of the current "crisis"
open.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Great read here. I love the concept of the BBC; public broadcasting is so important. The reality of the BBC is that like any other newsroom it has several glaring blind spots - not least Gaza - but it is also a soft target for the far right because of how powerful it is when done properly.
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
If BlueSky suspends someone, natural justice requires, surely, that they be given some explanation? @jay.bsky.team #sarahkendzior
November 11, 2025 at 5:04 AM
If BlueSky suspends someone, natural justice requires, surely, that they be given some explanation? @jay.bsky.team #sarahkendzior
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
The Man Who Tracks Silicon Valley's 'Nerd Reich' thetyee.ca/News/2025/11...
The Man Who Tracks Silicon Valley’s ‘Nerd Reich’ | The Tyee
Wonder what US tech titans wish for, Canada? Study their roots, says writer Gil Duran. A Tyee Q&A.
thetyee.ca
November 10, 2025 at 5:42 PM
The Man Who Tracks Silicon Valley's 'Nerd Reich' thetyee.ca/News/2025/11...
Wut?!
This makes no sense.
This makes no sense.
In a rare case of Substack notes usefulness, I just learned that Sarah Kendzior (author of They Knew and a brilliant writer) got bounced from Bluesky. What the hell? new @sarahkendzior.bsky.social
November 11, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Wut?!
This makes no sense.
This makes no sense.
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
ZZ Top – La Grange (Asian Folk Metal Cover) | NiNi Music
YouTube video by Nini Music
youtu.be
November 10, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
Brexit reduced the UK’s GDP by between 6% and 8%. That is MASSIVE. #ProjectFear #wetoldyouso
www.nber.org/papers/w3445...
www.nber.org/papers/w3445...
November 10, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Brexit reduced the UK’s GDP by between 6% and 8%. That is MASSIVE. #ProjectFear #wetoldyouso
www.nber.org/papers/w3445...
www.nber.org/papers/w3445...
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
Wonder if my @cardiffuni.bsky.social leaders understand this? It’s an amazing bit of research and impact. It’s what humanities scholars at universities are so good at and necessary.
What's lost when we lose staff, departments, programmes and faculties in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and what's that got to do with organ donation?
Amid the looming losses faced by Cardiff, Edinburgh, Lancaster, Leicester and Nottingham (among many others), here's a worked example. 1/8
Amid the looming losses faced by Cardiff, Edinburgh, Lancaster, Leicester and Nottingham (among many others), here's a worked example. 1/8
The organ donation ‘opt-out’ has been a fatal failure | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Wonder if my @cardiffuni.bsky.social leaders understand this? It’s an amazing bit of research and impact. It’s what humanities scholars at universities are so good at and necessary.
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
Hi Bluesky 👋
Small life update: I’m at the centre of a multimillion dollar lawsuit in Alberta launched by a failed candidate for Jason Kenney’s UCP
It may be the longest and most expensive media trial in Canadian history
I’m ready to go public about it and I want to share more details with you 🧵
Small life update: I’m at the centre of a multimillion dollar lawsuit in Alberta launched by a failed candidate for Jason Kenney’s UCP
It may be the longest and most expensive media trial in Canadian history
I’m ready to go public about it and I want to share more details with you 🧵
November 7, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Hi Bluesky 👋
Small life update: I’m at the centre of a multimillion dollar lawsuit in Alberta launched by a failed candidate for Jason Kenney’s UCP
It may be the longest and most expensive media trial in Canadian history
I’m ready to go public about it and I want to share more details with you 🧵
Small life update: I’m at the centre of a multimillion dollar lawsuit in Alberta launched by a failed candidate for Jason Kenney’s UCP
It may be the longest and most expensive media trial in Canadian history
I’m ready to go public about it and I want to share more details with you 🧵
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
The Greek χλωρός (chlorós) means both 'grass-green' and 'pale, pallid'. In Tyndale's translation, therefore, Death, the fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse, rides 'a grene horsse'. And apparently it's now just a thing in some translations that Death has a green horse.
November 9, 2025 at 6:32 PM
The Greek χλωρός (chlorós) means both 'grass-green' and 'pale, pallid'. In Tyndale's translation, therefore, Death, the fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse, rides 'a grene horsse'. And apparently it's now just a thing in some translations that Death has a green horse.
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
From an amazon user review of THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME: "A product of the times, rife with satanic and antichrist subliminal messaging. True to its anti-theology the storyline has no aspect of hope or redeeming characterisations."
November 9, 2025 at 12:53 PM
From an amazon user review of THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME: "A product of the times, rife with satanic and antichrist subliminal messaging. True to its anti-theology the storyline has no aspect of hope or redeeming characterisations."
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
More red and green washing from the Government of Canada. No, an LNG terminal through critical habitat is NOT in the nations best interest, PM @mark-carney.bsky.social.
1/2
youtu.be/Lt6Hmp9ndkI
1/2
youtu.be/Lt6Hmp9ndkI
Honest Government Ad | MAGA is coming to Canada
YouTube video by thejuicemedia
youtu.be
November 9, 2025 at 6:00 AM
More red and green washing from the Government of Canada. No, an LNG terminal through critical habitat is NOT in the nations best interest, PM @mark-carney.bsky.social.
1/2
youtu.be/Lt6Hmp9ndkI
1/2
youtu.be/Lt6Hmp9ndkI
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
Brilliant reporting and writing here. An absolute pleasure to read.
The ostriches have been culled and that particular H5N1 outbreak has finally been contained.
Here is @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social's reliably excellent account of the entire ordeal.
www.msnbc.com/news/news-an...
Here is @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social's reliably excellent account of the entire ordeal.
www.msnbc.com/news/news-an...
Why the conspiratorial right rallied around a flock of ostriches
The anti-vaccine, anti-government crusade to save "the miracle cure birds" is over — and the fringe activists lost.
www.msnbc.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Brilliant reporting and writing here. An absolute pleasure to read.
Reposted by Martin Grasdal 🍁
Going thru my phone, I found this reminder of the importance of sending books to people in prison. This was from a man who had been in solitary confinement for several years & received PRISON BY ANY OTHER NAME, my book with @mayaschenwar.bsky.social
November 8, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Going thru my phone, I found this reminder of the importance of sending books to people in prison. This was from a man who had been in solitary confinement for several years & received PRISON BY ANY OTHER NAME, my book with @mayaschenwar.bsky.social