Mark Elliott
@thatmarkelliott.bsky.social
Music, cycling, political and other random ramblings. Work: computer scientist/language tester/psychometrican in some order. Once drew trees and was told it was "better than felling them", which is a start, I guess. Views my own, cat photos will happen.
Pinned
Mark Elliott
@thatmarkelliott.bsky.social
· Jan 11
This is Hněvín Castle – a picturesque little Czech castle atop a hill, poking out above a sea of clouds. But what fairytale village lies beneath those clouds – are you perhaps already packing your bags to visit? If so, hold on for one moment before you do, for this is The Most 🧵. It will be long. 1/
🚨UPDATE🚨
A cat wants to eat my foot. We've discussed the matter, and I've expressed my reservations, but he's adamant.
A cat wants to eat my foot. We've discussed the matter, and I've expressed my reservations, but he's adamant.
January 26, 2026 at 11:00 AM
🚨UPDATE🚨
A cat wants to eat my foot. We've discussed the matter, and I've expressed my reservations, but he's adamant.
A cat wants to eat my foot. We've discussed the matter, and I've expressed my reservations, but he's adamant.
This is all very well, but I went to the Place de la Concorde and they didn't even have a Concorde.
#ParisSyndrome
#ParisSyndrome
The best things to do in Paris
From sights not to skip on a first visit to hidden gems Parisians don’t know, this is how to make the most of any trip to the City of Lights
www.telegraph.co.uk
January 25, 2026 at 12:57 PM
This is all very well, but I went to the Place de la Concorde and they didn't even have a Concorde.
#ParisSyndrome
#ParisSyndrome
Keep your friends close and your enemies outside of parliament.
January 25, 2026 at 12:23 PM
Keep your friends close and your enemies outside of parliament.
Psychodrama incoming
January 25, 2026 at 12:19 PM
Psychodrama incoming
Well, this is a good start to Sunday
January 25, 2026 at 11:51 AM
Well, this is a good start to Sunday
I mean this in the nicest possible way, but in the politcal parties version of Top Trumps, the Labour Party's score for "avoiding a psychodrama" is ... not good.
Labour must avoid ‘psychodrama’, says Mahmood, as NEC meets to decide if Burnham can stand
Home secretary is chair of party’s NEC, which will decide if Greater Manchester mayor can seek return to parliament
www.theguardian.com
January 25, 2026 at 11:35 AM
I mean this in the nicest possible way, but in the politcal parties version of Top Trumps, the Labour Party's score for "avoiding a psychodrama" is ... not good.
I for one welcome the return of Tories Who Don't Make Me Reflexively Angry.
This is a very exciting initiative. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
Ruth Davidson, Andy Street and their bold new project to save the Tories
The former Scottish Conservative leader and ex-West Midlands mayor are starting a movement to attract 7 million ‘politically homeless’ voters
www.thetimes.com
January 24, 2026 at 5:29 PM
I for one welcome the return of Tories Who Don't Make Me Reflexively Angry.
So, here we go...
I have today written to the Chair of Labour’s National Executive Committee seeking permission to enter the selection process for a candidate for the forthcoming Gorton and Denton by-election.
Read my letter here.👇🏻
Read my letter here.👇🏻
January 24, 2026 at 5:14 PM
So, here we go...
This is one of the best, most heartfelts laments/rants about the state of the world I've read for a very long time. Chapeau, @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk
Airport Book Brain
How faddish ideas keep seducing.
www.joxleywrites.jmoxley.co.uk
January 23, 2026 at 2:00 PM
This is one of the best, most heartfelts laments/rants about the state of the world I've read for a very long time. Chapeau, @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk
OK, that last sentence is too far. I have many books on my shelves that I read decades ago, and seeing the physical book, with the cover as I read it, is a trigger for memory that takes me back to specific moments in my life, often just while passing. A bookshelf is a warehouse of menories.
- There are vastly more interesting things to put on bookshelves than books
Book spines are actually not particularly compelling things to look at (the point of a book is, after all, to read what's inside).
Nor do you need to see a book in your living room to remember you once enjoyed it.
Book spines are actually not particularly compelling things to look at (the point of a book is, after all, to read what's inside).
Nor do you need to see a book in your living room to remember you once enjoyed it.
January 23, 2026 at 1:32 PM
OK, that last sentence is too far. I have many books on my shelves that I read decades ago, and seeing the physical book, with the cover as I read it, is a trigger for memory that takes me back to specific moments in my life, often just while passing. A bookshelf is a warehouse of menories.
Does anyone know where the off switch is?
I appear to have activated a cat.
January 23, 2026 at 12:31 PM
Does anyone know where the off switch is?
I appear to have activated a cat.
January 23, 2026 at 12:22 PM
I appear to have activated a cat.
Reposted by Mark Elliott
“Why am I so sad today?” I ask myself after staring at my little handheld sadness machine and clicking all the sad little things that will definitely make me sad
April 17, 2025 at 5:25 PM
“Why am I so sad today?” I ask myself after staring at my little handheld sadness machine and clicking all the sad little things that will definitely make me sad
Five great short books (well, novellas really):
Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Trueman Capote
Heart of Darkness by Jospeh Conrad
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
The Rider by Tim Krabbé
Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Trueman Capote
Heart of Darkness by Jospeh Conrad
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
The Rider by Tim Krabbé
Agree on this however.
I am all for short books.
I am all for short books.
One bonus, heretical thought: if you’re interested in a topic, a long essay can be more informative than a (non-fiction) book.
There is a silly publishing convention that a "serious" book needs to be 300 pages++. The result is tomes that are mostly filler.
Might the 5,000-word New Yorker be better?
There is a silly publishing convention that a "serious" book needs to be 300 pages++. The result is tomes that are mostly filler.
Might the 5,000-word New Yorker be better?
January 23, 2026 at 11:58 AM
Five great short books (well, novellas really):
Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Trueman Capote
Heart of Darkness by Jospeh Conrad
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
The Rider by Tim Krabbé
Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Trueman Capote
Heart of Darkness by Jospeh Conrad
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
The Rider by Tim Krabbé
Following the Andy Burnham discourse, it's remarkable to read Starmer supporters, as they circle the wagons, exhibit the exact behaviour they pilloried in Corbyn supporters. One of those irregular verbs:
- I support a leader who is unfairly maligned by a biased media.
- You are a member of a cult.
- I support a leader who is unfairly maligned by a biased media.
- You are a member of a cult.
January 23, 2026 at 11:56 AM
Following the Andy Burnham discourse, it's remarkable to read Starmer supporters, as they circle the wagons, exhibit the exact behaviour they pilloried in Corbyn supporters. One of those irregular verbs:
- I support a leader who is unfairly maligned by a biased media.
- You are a member of a cult.
- I support a leader who is unfairly maligned by a biased media.
- You are a member of a cult.
I have offically added "different" - or rather "differnt" - to the long list of words I can never spell correctly.
January 23, 2026 at 11:46 AM
I have offically added "different" - or rather "differnt" - to the long list of words I can never spell correctly.
Heads-up for any Uk-based folk with an interest in psychometrics, theoretical or applied: February 13th sees the UK Rasch and Psychometrics User Group Meeting 2026, at the Triangle in Cambridge again, and what's more, it's free.
UK Rasch and Psychometrics User Group Meeting 2026 | Cambridge Assessment Network and Research
UK Rasch and Psychometrics User Group Meeting 2025
www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk
January 23, 2026 at 11:33 AM
Heads-up for any Uk-based folk with an interest in psychometrics, theoretical or applied: February 13th sees the UK Rasch and Psychometrics User Group Meeting 2026, at the Triangle in Cambridge again, and what's more, it's free.
This is true. Also, a sprawling social media thread can also be better than a book - if you're interested in the weird and occasionally wonderful history of Most, for example, what better way to learn about is than from my BlueSky thread👇😀?
bsky.app/profile/that...
bsky.app/profile/that...
- If you’re interested in a topic, a long essay is often more informative than a book (2)
Obviously there are thousands of books worth the length. Robert Caro wouldn't have fit into a year's worth of New Yorkers. But all too often "serious" books are just long for ego reasons.
Obviously there are thousands of books worth the length. Robert Caro wouldn't have fit into a year's worth of New Yorkers. But all too often "serious" books are just long for ego reasons.
January 23, 2026 at 11:08 AM
This is true. Also, a sprawling social media thread can also be better than a book - if you're interested in the weird and occasionally wonderful history of Most, for example, what better way to learn about is than from my BlueSky thread👇😀?
bsky.app/profile/that...
bsky.app/profile/that...
On #1, I half agree. It's quite rare to come across a favourite book that way, but it's a nice way to spend your time (especially if there's a café), so don't really care. Re: choosing great books to read, I really miss Quality Paperbacks Direct, through whom I bought so many great books in the 90s.
I have three heretical thoughts about books:
- Time spent browsing in bookshops is mostly wasted
- Books make for terrible gifts. Don't give books.
- There are vastly more interesting things to put on living-room shelves than books
Come at me! Add to the list!
A 🧵 for book-lovers
- Time spent browsing in bookshops is mostly wasted
- Books make for terrible gifts. Don't give books.
- There are vastly more interesting things to put on living-room shelves than books
Come at me! Add to the list!
A 🧵 for book-lovers
January 23, 2026 at 11:00 AM
On #1, I half agree. It's quite rare to come across a favourite book that way, but it's a nice way to spend your time (especially if there's a café), so don't really care. Re: choosing great books to read, I really miss Quality Paperbacks Direct, through whom I bought so many great books in the 90s.
I have just realised that "stoically" and "heroically" rhyme, so I'll be logging off for a while to write an award-winning poem now.
January 22, 2026 at 10:56 PM
I have just realised that "stoically" and "heroically" rhyme, so I'll be logging off for a while to write an award-winning poem now.
"Five members of the NEC told the Guardian they believed it would be impossible for Burnham to make it through ... They said this was not just down to personal animosity to Burnham"
There's an awful lot to unpack in that 'just'...
There's an awful lot to unpack in that 'just'...
Starmer’s allies launch ‘Stop Andy Burnham’ campaign to block parliamentary return
Speculation has spread over whether Burnham will attempt to return to pursue a Labour leadership bid
www.theguardian.com
January 22, 2026 at 9:12 PM
"Five members of the NEC told the Guardian they believed it would be impossible for Burnham to make it through ... They said this was not just down to personal animosity to Burnham"
There's an awful lot to unpack in that 'just'...
There's an awful lot to unpack in that 'just'...
Reposted by Mark Elliott
Danish PM in Chequers today
January 22, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Danish PM in Chequers today
I only half the the "country music is conservative" thing - while I have no doubt (from across the pond) that the culture is conservative, it's not hard to knock out a list of (often very) left-wing musicians who are country of some sort:
- Johnny Cash
- Kris Kristofferson
- Willie Nelson
...
- Johnny Cash
- Kris Kristofferson
- Willie Nelson
...
Zach Bryan’s anti-ICE song drew ire from Trump officials. Is country music waking up?
Emerging stars are starting to critique Trump’s immigration crackdown – defying the genre’s legacy of conservatism
www.theguardian.com
January 22, 2026 at 7:33 PM
I only half the the "country music is conservative" thing - while I have no doubt (from across the pond) that the culture is conservative, it's not hard to knock out a list of (often very) left-wing musicians who are country of some sort:
- Johnny Cash
- Kris Kristofferson
- Willie Nelson
...
- Johnny Cash
- Kris Kristofferson
- Willie Nelson
...
Reposted by Mark Elliott
January 22, 2026 at 5:11 PM
But anyway, I still need someone to explain how you can go "along" a watchtower. I enclose an image of a watchtower.
January 22, 2026 at 5:47 PM
But anyway, I still need someone to explain how you can go "along" a watchtower. I enclose an image of a watchtower.