Simon Varwell
@simonvarwell.bsky.social
Loves trains, the outdoors, travel, Esperanto, ambient and post-rock music, dystofic, good food and scrontous beer. Hates car-centric societies, late stage capitalism and courgette. He/him. Inverness | 🏴 | 🇪🇺 Work: @hisasimon.bsky.social
Could well believe this.
I now firmly believe Trump’s handlers are constantly showing him AI slop content - created to support those handlers own individual, often-clashing agendas.
GenAI companies have created Grima Wormtongue as a service.
GenAI companies have created Grima Wormtongue as a service.
January 8, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Could well believe this.
Reposted by Simon Varwell
mayors - steal this idea!
vienna has a new profession - klimagaertner (climate gardener)
🌿 greening facades & roofs
☀️ creating shady places
🚧 de-paving surfaces creating more room for roots
🌻 choosing climate adaptive plants
⛈️ incorporating sponge city principles
youtu.be/1OanZ7tEOak?...
vienna has a new profession - klimagaertner (climate gardener)
🌿 greening facades & roofs
☀️ creating shady places
🚧 de-paving surfaces creating more room for roots
🌻 choosing climate adaptive plants
⛈️ incorporating sponge city principles
youtu.be/1OanZ7tEOak?...
Lehrberuf Klimagärtner
YouTube video by Wirtschaftskammer Wien
youtu.be
January 8, 2026 at 9:47 PM
mayors - steal this idea!
vienna has a new profession - klimagaertner (climate gardener)
🌿 greening facades & roofs
☀️ creating shady places
🚧 de-paving surfaces creating more room for roots
🌻 choosing climate adaptive plants
⛈️ incorporating sponge city principles
youtu.be/1OanZ7tEOak?...
vienna has a new profession - klimagaertner (climate gardener)
🌿 greening facades & roofs
☀️ creating shady places
🚧 de-paving surfaces creating more room for roots
🌻 choosing climate adaptive plants
⛈️ incorporating sponge city principles
youtu.be/1OanZ7tEOak?...
So much selfish treachery, unnecessary conflict, careless hurt, psychopathic behaviour, and deeply unsettling unpredictability.
But enough about the Traitors…
But enough about the Traitors…
January 8, 2026 at 10:11 PM
So much selfish treachery, unnecessary conflict, careless hurt, psychopathic behaviour, and deeply unsettling unpredictability.
But enough about the Traitors…
But enough about the Traitors…
My sentiments. Hard to find the words beyond that. The West is experiencing terrible days.
I have no takes about Minnesota I just feel a sense of crushing despair about it
January 8, 2026 at 7:02 PM
My sentiments. Hard to find the words beyond that. The West is experiencing terrible days.
Soup! and snow. Kind of ready for the snow to piss off now tbh.
January 8, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Soup! and snow. Kind of ready for the snow to piss off now tbh.
A good thread about how AI doesn’t understand storytelling or myth as mirror. Often a story’s power is that we suspend disbelief: a good ghost tale is nothing if we loudly emphasise “this is made up nonsense” at the start. AI cannot discern, and so the line between story, myth and reality blurs.
Quite unintentionally (although not totally unexpectedly) my clearly labelled FICTION has totally captured AI search results for 'urban legends east bristol'. My guess is that it'll start to leak into 'urban legends bristol' soon, too.
January 8, 2026 at 1:20 PM
A good thread about how AI doesn’t understand storytelling or myth as mirror. Often a story’s power is that we suspend disbelief: a good ghost tale is nothing if we loudly emphasise “this is made up nonsense” at the start. AI cannot discern, and so the line between story, myth and reality blurs.
Reposted by Simon Varwell
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but we have the best parties in Glasgow.
January 6, 2026 at 9:39 PM
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but we have the best parties in Glasgow.
Which African country has the best hills for French speakers to look out from?
Côte de Voir.
Côte de Voir.
January 6, 2026 at 9:09 PM
Which African country has the best hills for French speakers to look out from?
Côte de Voir.
Côte de Voir.
Kiam ulo iris, mia buŝo estis plena kaj mi nur povis gesti.
Do nur manĝis.
Man ĝis? Mi akiros mian jakon...
Do nur manĝis.
Man ĝis? Mi akiros mian jakon...
January 6, 2026 at 9:06 PM
Kiam ulo iris, mia buŝo estis plena kaj mi nur povis gesti.
Do nur manĝis.
Man ĝis? Mi akiros mian jakon...
Do nur manĝis.
Man ĝis? Mi akiros mian jakon...
A striking thread. Major changes going on in Scotland, especially the CofS. Not being unsympathetic to people’s experiences, but these are often old, cold, massively inflexible spaces unsuited to their modern uses. Perhaps in the long run churches will become more welcoming/useful to communities?
We are aware that a number of churches across the country, very sadly, held their final ever services to coincide with the end of the old year.
We saw accounts of the following closures (let us know below any reports that we may have missed):
🧵
We saw accounts of the following closures (let us know below any reports that we may have missed):
🧵
January 6, 2026 at 9:04 PM
A striking thread. Major changes going on in Scotland, especially the CofS. Not being unsympathetic to people’s experiences, but these are often old, cold, massively inflexible spaces unsuited to their modern uses. Perhaps in the long run churches will become more welcoming/useful to communities?
Reposted by Simon Varwell
I like the implication in these pictures that on the other 364 days of the year, the zoo has only the vaguest sense of how many lions it should have
London Zoo are doing their annual stock take and it is a thing of joy (pics from Getty Images)
www.gettyimages.co.uk/editorial-im...
www.gettyimages.co.uk/editorial-im...
January 6, 2026 at 5:38 PM
I like the implication in these pictures that on the other 364 days of the year, the zoo has only the vaguest sense of how many lions it should have
Interese!
Ĉi-nokte estas la plej magia nokto el la jaro.
Ĉi-nokte estas la Tri-Reĝoj Nokto. Morgaŭ, kiam la hispanaj infanoj vekiĝos, ĉiuj el ili havos siajn donacojn.
Ĉe Hispanio, tradicie ne estas Paĉjo Kristnasko kiu portas la donacojn, sed la Tri-Reĝoj.
Sed...
Ĉi-nokte estas la Tri-Reĝoj Nokto. Morgaŭ, kiam la hispanaj infanoj vekiĝos, ĉiuj el ili havos siajn donacojn.
Ĉe Hispanio, tradicie ne estas Paĉjo Kristnasko kiu portas la donacojn, sed la Tri-Reĝoj.
Sed...
January 5, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Interese!
Reposted by Simon Varwell
this is basically just repeating @jim.londoncentric.media’s point here but I can’t believe that the UK government is just blithely saying that 10 million British households get their news from Twitter, rather than presenting that as a very concerning issue that needs to be addressed
If there is an argument then this is the argument. But lol I can’t find where this obviously false stat is coming from. And if the government does believe more than half the families in the UK are using it as their primary news source then woah maybe time to up the scrutiny of it!
January 5, 2026 at 8:55 PM
this is basically just repeating @jim.londoncentric.media’s point here but I can’t believe that the UK government is just blithely saying that 10 million British households get their news from Twitter, rather than presenting that as a very concerning issue that needs to be addressed
First day back at work and my only trip outside was to the food recycling bin. #adventures
January 5, 2026 at 8:00 PM
First day back at work and my only trip outside was to the food recycling bin. #adventures
To every actor who's just finished Pantomime season, you can finally relax, because
IT'S BEHIND YOU!!
IT'S BEHIND YOU!!
January 4, 2026 at 8:39 PM
To every actor who's just finished Pantomime season, you can finally relax, because
IT'S BEHIND YOU!!
IT'S BEHIND YOU!!
Jimmy Thelin being lined up for the Celtic job, perhaps?
January 4, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Jimmy Thelin being lined up for the Celtic job, perhaps?
More nice winter light today. It’s cold out but beautiful.
January 4, 2026 at 6:45 PM
More nice winter light today. It’s cold out but beautiful.
This is a fascinating idea and report: hospitality as resistance and community.
A true & earnest thing: Despite the fact that I live & breathe politics professionally, voted in two elections, subscribe to lots of media, engage in political discourse, and gave to campaigns, I think our weekly dinners may have been my most meaningful political act of the year.
In my personal newsletter: A look back at our 2025 resolution to host dinner every single Saturday.
Great news: We did it! amandalitman.substack.com/p/our-year-o...
Great news: We did it! amandalitman.substack.com/p/our-year-o...
January 4, 2026 at 6:42 PM
This is a fascinating idea and report: hospitality as resistance and community.
Time for some reading before The Traitors.
January 3, 2026 at 7:03 PM
Time for some reading before The Traitors.
An astonishing theft, out of nowhere, violating all right thinking ways of doing things. Hard to see a way back that doesn’t lead to more instability and potentially heads rolling. Though the powers that be will probably do nothing.
But enough about Celtic’s collapse in the lunchtime kick-off.
But enough about Celtic’s collapse in the lunchtime kick-off.
January 3, 2026 at 2:03 PM
An astonishing theft, out of nowhere, violating all right thinking ways of doing things. Hard to see a way back that doesn’t lead to more instability and potentially heads rolling. Though the powers that be will probably do nothing.
But enough about Celtic’s collapse in the lunchtime kick-off.
But enough about Celtic’s collapse in the lunchtime kick-off.
A gorgeous morning’s walk (and sledge) in the woods.
January 3, 2026 at 1:50 PM
A gorgeous morning’s walk (and sledge) in the woods.
Reposted by Simon Varwell
GamerGate should be part of everyone’s education. And yet the people involved were never really punished, and many are now part of the big companies or connected to government.
NEW: People are using Elon Musk's chatbot, Grok, to alter images to depict real women being sexually abused, humiliated, hurt, and even killed.
futurism.com/future-socie...
futurism.com/future-socie...
Grok Is Being Used to Depict Horrific Violence Against Real Women
People are asking Elon Musk's Grok chatbot to alter images to depict women being sexually abused, humiliated, and even killed.
futurism.com
January 2, 2026 at 10:16 PM
GamerGate should be part of everyone’s education. And yet the people involved were never really punished, and many are now part of the big companies or connected to government.
