Oliver Plaschka
@rainlights.net
Writer, translator & classically trained hodad
(F&SF&everything. PhD from HD, sometimes teaching at HHU. 70s proghead, middle-aged father, decent tour guide, very bad surfer.)
GER/ENG
☄️ www.rainlights.net
🖋️ leaflet.rainlights.net
(F&SF&everything. PhD from HD, sometimes teaching at HHU. 70s proghead, middle-aged father, decent tour guide, very bad surfer.)
GER/ENG
☄️ www.rainlights.net
🖋️ leaflet.rainlights.net
Reposted by Oliver Plaschka
As this is making the rounds again - here's my take with some background to it.
thetolkienist.com/2023/11/15/a...
thetolkienist.com/2023/11/15/a...
Antidepressant drug or Tolkien? - thetolkienist.com
A fun game is letting you guess what is antidepressant drug or Tolkien and I am giving you some background on it.
thetolkienist.com
February 17, 2026 at 10:36 AM
As this is making the rounds again - here's my take with some background to it.
thetolkienist.com/2023/11/15/a...
thetolkienist.com/2023/11/15/a...
First time I tried pancakes with lemon juice and sugar, and it was awesome.
Thanks @psclazzac.bsky.social for telling me about #pancakeday!
Thanks @psclazzac.bsky.social for telling me about #pancakeday!
February 17, 2026 at 1:02 PM
First time I tried pancakes with lemon juice and sugar, and it was awesome.
Thanks @psclazzac.bsky.social for telling me about #pancakeday!
Thanks @psclazzac.bsky.social for telling me about #pancakeday!
One morning of driving to different doctors, and it set me back 50 bucks, but as the old saying goes: now I can lick park benches
(Pro tipp: don't catch scarlet fever during Fasching. Not worth it.)
(Pro tipp: don't catch scarlet fever during Fasching. Not worth it.)
February 16, 2026 at 2:46 PM
One morning of driving to different doctors, and it set me back 50 bucks, but as the old saying goes: now I can lick park benches
(Pro tipp: don't catch scarlet fever during Fasching. Not worth it.)
(Pro tipp: don't catch scarlet fever during Fasching. Not worth it.)
Reposted by Oliver Plaschka
It's wet out there....fludde upon fludde - the swans don't mind though
darkcompanionrecords.bandcamp.com/track/white-...
darkcompanionrecords.bandcamp.com/track/white-...
White Swan, by Craig Fortnam & Laurent Valero
from the album Empty Vessels
darkcompanionrecords.bandcamp.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:03 PM
It's wet out there....fludde upon fludde - the swans don't mind though
darkcompanionrecords.bandcamp.com/track/white-...
darkcompanionrecords.bandcamp.com/track/white-...
I didn't know that he also narrated his own audiobook two years ago. A most welcome discovery considering I'll spend lots of hours driving this year
Happy birthday to Andrew Robinson, who played Garak on Deep Space Nine and voiced him on Lower Decks. He also directed one DS9 episode and two episodes of Voyager, and he wrote the novel A Stitch in Time, which tells the story of Garak's past.
February 14, 2026 at 6:12 PM
I didn't know that he also narrated his own audiobook two years ago. A most welcome discovery considering I'll spend lots of hours driving this year
Ha! Book fair outfit came
February 14, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Ha! Book fair outfit came
Everybody's ill, so I'm housebound and very tired. Sorry I don't have much else to share.
February 14, 2026 at 9:37 AM
Everybody's ill, so I'm housebound and very tired. Sorry I don't have much else to share.
Reposted by Oliver Plaschka
Das hatte bestimmt niemand von euch auf der 2026 Bingokarte,oder?
Alaska Art Student Arrested for Eating Another Student’s AI-Generated Art in Protest
A University of Alaska student was charged with a misdemeanor for eating another student's AI-generated art in protest.
www.artnews.com
February 14, 2026 at 12:50 AM
Das hatte bestimmt niemand von euch auf der 2026 Bingokarte,oder?
Reposted by Oliver Plaschka
👉 Nächsten Monat, nochmal Fr 13, Buchpremiere La Spezia
👉 Und April dann double feature mit Fairwater in Wien
👉 Und April dann double feature mit Fairwater in Wien
Ein Unglückstag? Ganz im Gegenteil. Verlegerin Ingrid plaudert heute mit Autor Oliver Plaschka. Es geht um die letzten Planungsschritte für “Fairwater” und einen ganz besonderen Wienbesuch.
Welches Glück ereilt euch heute? /1
Welches Glück ereilt euch heute? /1
February 13, 2026 at 2:01 PM
👉 Nächsten Monat, nochmal Fr 13, Buchpremiere La Spezia
👉 Und April dann double feature mit Fairwater in Wien
👉 Und April dann double feature mit Fairwater in Wien
Reposted by Oliver Plaschka
Snorribird! 😍😍😍😍
🚨🚨🚨🚨WICHTIG 🚨 🚨🚨🚨
Falls ihr noch nie einen schnarchenden … … Kolibri … gesehen habt, müsst ihr es SOFORT nachholen!
youtu.be/_uEfmQt34Nc?...
Falls ihr noch nie einen schnarchenden …
youtu.be/_uEfmQt34Nc?...
Snoring hummingbird - Super Cute Animals - BBC
YouTube video by BBC
youtu.be
February 12, 2026 at 1:13 PM
Snorribird! 😍😍😍😍
Wasting time.
I've managed to set up the Instagram app in Virtualbox Android. I can do reposts now 🎉 Let's see how long until they lock me out ...
I've managed to set up the Instagram app in Virtualbox Android. I can do reposts now 🎉 Let's see how long until they lock me out ...
February 11, 2026 at 2:17 PM
Wasting time.
I've managed to set up the Instagram app in Virtualbox Android. I can do reposts now 🎉 Let's see how long until they lock me out ...
I've managed to set up the Instagram app in Virtualbox Android. I can do reposts now 🎉 Let's see how long until they lock me out ...
February 10, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Thinking about buying myself a dumb phone, but somehow it feels like buying an expensive empty bottle just to get off alcohol
February 10, 2026 at 4:54 PM
Thinking about buying myself a dumb phone, but somehow it feels like buying an expensive empty bottle just to get off alcohol
Reposted by Oliver Plaschka
From a lot of the rest of the world, it's funny to watch Americans go "But I don't understand a word of these songs!"
Welcome to our childhood.
Some of us only figured out very late that e.g., "Agathe Bauer" was actually "I Got The Power" rather that a song about a German woman. 😉
Welcome to our childhood.
Some of us only figured out very late that e.g., "Agathe Bauer" was actually "I Got The Power" rather that a song about a German woman. 😉
February 9, 2026 at 6:39 AM
From a lot of the rest of the world, it's funny to watch Americans go "But I don't understand a word of these songs!"
Welcome to our childhood.
Some of us only figured out very late that e.g., "Agathe Bauer" was actually "I Got The Power" rather that a song about a German woman. 😉
Welcome to our childhood.
Some of us only figured out very late that e.g., "Agathe Bauer" was actually "I Got The Power" rather that a song about a German woman. 😉
Reposted by Oliver Plaschka
John William Waterhouse 🔥
† 10. Februar 1917
The Lady of Shalott (1888)
153 x 200 cm
Tate Britain, London
† 10. Februar 1917
The Lady of Shalott (1888)
153 x 200 cm
Tate Britain, London
February 10, 2026 at 1:00 PM
John William Waterhouse 🔥
† 10. Februar 1917
The Lady of Shalott (1888)
153 x 200 cm
Tate Britain, London
† 10. Februar 1917
The Lady of Shalott (1888)
153 x 200 cm
Tate Britain, London
Apparently I'm in the phase of life where I need therapy to complain about what other therapists do wrong
Would be funny if it were a sitcom
Would be funny if it were a sitcom
February 10, 2026 at 11:25 AM
Apparently I'm in the phase of life where I need therapy to complain about what other therapists do wrong
Would be funny if it were a sitcom
Would be funny if it were a sitcom
nice
February 10, 2026 at 9:26 AM
nice
Huch, die FAZ
February 10, 2026 at 4:51 AM
Huch, die FAZ
Reposted by Oliver Plaschka
![Comic. [2x2 chart. Top left quadrant: seem like dinosaurs x are dinosaurs. Silhouettes of dinosaurs stegosaurus, triceratops, tyrannosaurus, velociraptor, and long-neck dinosaur. Top right quadrant: seem like dinosaurs x are not dinosaurs. Silhouettes of mosasaur, quetzalcoatlus, dimetrodon, plesiosaur, and pteranodon. Bottom left quadrant: don’t seem like dinosaurs x are dinosaurs. Silhouettes of penguin, egret, ostrich, pigeon, falcon. Bottom right: don’t seem like dinosaurs x are not dinosaurs. Silhouettes of squirrel, stapler, plant, person, and bicycle.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreihcxd5wcrrf5nxz3g4riglsrccbucmdns6kxrtmtj6gjgwqibp3fi@jpeg)
February 9, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Best Guardian headline in a while
Rightwing critics blame Mamdani as New York snow fails to melt
Rightwing critics blame Mamdani as New York snow fails to melt
Murdoch tabloid leads charge as big freeze persists – could the mayor please do something about the weather?
www.theguardian.com
February 8, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Best Guardian headline in a while
For some reason, the worst scenes in a text always wait for your life to become just as bad until they allow to get written
February 8, 2026 at 10:41 AM
For some reason, the worst scenes in a text always wait for your life to become just as bad until they allow to get written
"how public service broadcasters plan to find out if fascism tastes bitter after all"
Es ist am Ende immer die selbe Normalisierungsmasche: Moderator*innen sensationsheischen auf der Suche nach Quote bräsige Nazis*sen und Konservative die offensichtlich Nazi werden wollen an, den Propheten des Faschismus gehört die beste Sendezeit und entzaubert wird nur der FDG-Auftrag des ÖRR.
February 8, 2026 at 9:49 AM
"how public service broadcasters plan to find out if fascism tastes bitter after all"