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Ben Stockman
@benstockman.bsky.social
250 followers 570 following 180 posts
Wordsmith, author, internet person.

Wordsmithdigital.co.uk
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Ben Stockman @benstockman.bsky.social · 11d
Do you like books, #mythology, weird shamanic powers, gods, monsters or all of the above? If so you can now buy my novel 'Atlantis: Children of the Gods' which is out today! www.amazon.co.uk/Atlantis-Chi... #BookSky #WritingCommunity
The cover of the novel 'Atlantis: Children of the Gods' - a sinister-looking man perches unnaturally on the lowst edge of a three-tiered rock plateau, with waterfalls flowing off it, while a strange red glow emits from the plateau's top The back cover of the book. Blurb reads: The sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. - Genesis 6:2 Every world mythology contains the same story, hidden in plain sight. "Understand that the sons of light watch us now; they watch us only! They are not beings who walk among us!" 15,000 B.C.E. Cleito meets a handsome stranger who will one day be known as a god. Her grandfather, the shaman, fears and mistrusts the newcomer who is changing the land, against the ancient teachings. The shaman fears too for Cleito’s young sister, who is having troubled dreams and channeling unnatural voices. But gods and lovers are wilful, and Cleito will soon have to choose between romance, destiny and her upbringing, no matter the consequences. And 'Aatlae' is not the only supernatural being with an eye on her homeland. When otherworldly forces set their sights on Atlantis, not even the children of the gods will be safe. Told across two generations, Children of the Gods brings Plato’s lost continent to life in this darkly funny epic tale, richly imagined and alive with gods, monsters, and myth.
benstockman.bsky.social
No part of me is surprised but all of me is enraged
iainoverton.bsky.social Dr Iain Overton @iainoverton.bsky.social · 2d
The owner of Facebook and Instagram has revealed in internal documents (exposed by Reuters) that around 10 per cent of its annual revenue comes from advertising placed by fraudsters.
November 27, 2025 at 11:10 PM
benstockman.bsky.social
Been meaning to post some #WIPsnips from the children's book I'm working on, and this snippet seems pretty apt for #Thanksgiving #BookSky #WritingCommunity
“What did you mean, when you said that the earth was reacting to not being connected with the otherworld anymore?” Grandpa had said it as they walked past a slightly sad-looking dry field with no crops in it. “Ye’re supposed to be concentratin’.” “No but seriously, what did you mean?” Reuben stopped and turned, partly to make a point that this one was an important question, unlike some of the other, lesser but numerous questions he had asked on the way. He had stopped and turned a few times on the journey, too. “Ye’ve heard o’climate change, o’course? That.” “But I thought that’s because of, like, pollution and stuff.” “It is! But in cuttin’ off our connection to the otherworld, humans went from livin’ in harmony with the earth to exploitin’ ‘er. Men like Abner DeLonge, or William the Conqueror, who want to chop the world up into little bits n’sell it to their mates, they did just that. It’s only been two hundred years since the so-called industrial revolution and look at what we’ve already done. Pillaged earth’s natural resources and polluted the atmosphere, killed off whole species, warmed the ice caps. The world’s reactin’ all right. Storms gettin’ worse, tsunamis floodin’ the place. Heat gettin’ hotter all over the shop. All cos o’men like that. Just look at America.” “What about it?” “Christopher blimmin’ Columbus, that’s what. No better than William the conqueror. Come along, ‘discovered’ summen that were already there, claimed it for hisself even though there were already millions o’people on it. Then them blimmin’ Pilgrims come along din’t they, got thrown out of England for being weirdos who wanted to ban theatre n’dancin’ cos they believed enjoyment was sinful, the numpties. They got to America n’woulda starved if it hadn’t been for the native Americans. Then they killed ‘em all. Thanksgvin’? They should be givin’ thanks that their ancestors weren’t all scalped. N’now they’ve elected themselves a complete n’total ninny-hammer.”
November 27, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Reposted by Ben Stockman
peterstefanovic.bsky.social
🚨The Petition calling for a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy has now rocketed past 55,000 signatures! Let’s get it to 100,000. If a petition is what it’s going to take let’s get this done!

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
November 26, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Reposted by Ben Stockman
alyssaharad.bsky.social
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
blipstress.bsky.social violet allen @blipstress.bsky.social · 6d
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
benstockman.bsky.social
OPTIMISM
niedermeyer.online e.w. niedermeyer @niedermeyer.online · 5d
this is your regular reminder that not only will the AI bubble pop at some point, it will take Elon Musk with it
November 25, 2025 at 3:44 PM
benstockman.bsky.social
I've long believed that consciousness is the logical underlying root of the universe and that this the only thing that makes sense of psychic phenomena... so it's exciting to see a scientist finally propose just that:
phys.org/news/2025-11...
Consciousness as the foundation: New theory addresses nature of reality
Consciousness is fundamental; only thereafter do time, space and matter arise. This is the starting point for a new theoretical model of the nature of reality, presented by Maria Strømme, Professor of...
phys.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:44 PM
benstockman.bsky.social
Fairly obviously we should do this: 38d.gs/bojo_all_df ...and then fire him out of a cannon.
Sign the petition: Strip Boris Johnson of his annual former PM allowance
23,000. That's how many deaths can be blamed on Boris Johnson's chaotic Covid decisions and delays. Enough is enough, he must be stripped of his annual £115,000 handout. Sign the petition today:
38d.gs
November 25, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Reposted by Ben Stockman
paullicino.bsky.social
Almost a year now since I received this absolutely classic burn from the Canadian government.
A cropped screenshot from a Canadian government website with the prompt "What's your occupation?" The answer "Writer" has been provided, generating the red text error response "Please enter a valid occupation."
November 21, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Reposted by Ben Stockman
davidrvetter.bsky.social
You ever just sit down and realize that the rise of 21st century fascism is capital's answer to climate change?
November 21, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Reposted by Ben Stockman
benstockman.bsky.social
Do you like books, #mythology, weird shamanic powers, gods, monsters or all of the above? If so you can now buy my novel 'Atlantis: Children of the Gods' which is out today! www.amazon.co.uk/Atlantis-Chi... #BookSky #WritingCommunity
The cover of the novel 'Atlantis: Children of the Gods' - a sinister-looking man perches unnaturally on the lowst edge of a three-tiered rock plateau, with waterfalls flowing off it, while a strange red glow emits from the plateau's top The back cover of the book. Blurb reads: The sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. - Genesis 6:2 Every world mythology contains the same story, hidden in plain sight. "Understand that the sons of light watch us now; they watch us only! They are not beings who walk among us!" 15,000 B.C.E. Cleito meets a handsome stranger who will one day be known as a god. Her grandfather, the shaman, fears and mistrusts the newcomer who is changing the land, against the ancient teachings. The shaman fears too for Cleito’s young sister, who is having troubled dreams and channeling unnatural voices. But gods and lovers are wilful, and Cleito will soon have to choose between romance, destiny and her upbringing, no matter the consequences. And 'Aatlae' is not the only supernatural being with an eye on her homeland. When otherworldly forces set their sights on Atlantis, not even the children of the gods will be safe. Told across two generations, Children of the Gods brings Plato’s lost continent to life in this darkly funny epic tale, richly imagined and alive with gods, monsters, and myth.
November 19, 2025 at 4:38 PM
benstockman.bsky.social
Do you like books, #mythology, weird shamanic powers, gods, monsters or all of the above? If so you can now buy my novel 'Atlantis: Children of the Gods' which is out today! www.amazon.co.uk/Atlantis-Chi... #BookSky #WritingCommunity
The cover of the novel 'Atlantis: Children of the Gods' - a sinister-looking man perches unnaturally on the lowst edge of a three-tiered rock plateau, with waterfalls flowing off it, while a strange red glow emits from the plateau's top The back cover of the book. Blurb reads: The sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. - Genesis 6:2 Every world mythology contains the same story, hidden in plain sight. "Understand that the sons of light watch us now; they watch us only! They are not beings who walk among us!" 15,000 B.C.E. Cleito meets a handsome stranger who will one day be known as a god. Her grandfather, the shaman, fears and mistrusts the newcomer who is changing the land, against the ancient teachings. The shaman fears too for Cleito’s young sister, who is having troubled dreams and channeling unnatural voices. But gods and lovers are wilful, and Cleito will soon have to choose between romance, destiny and her upbringing, no matter the consequences. And 'Aatlae' is not the only supernatural being with an eye on her homeland. When otherworldly forces set their sights on Atlantis, not even the children of the gods will be safe. Told across two generations, Children of the Gods brings Plato’s lost continent to life in this darkly funny epic tale, richly imagined and alive with gods, monsters, and myth.
November 19, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Reposted by Ben Stockman
gwillow.me
Morning, everyone
A Venn diagram showing Drive Time DJs on one side, Sisyphus on the other, and "Bringing you the same great classic rock night after night" on the overlap.
October 22, 2024 at 3:42 PM
benstockman.bsky.social
Just saw an ad from a UK government account on insta that began with a burning bin and thought "surely they can't be this self-aware?!"
No. Fire safety ad.
November 19, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Reposted by Ben Stockman
hannahfearn.bsky.social
To paraphrase: they know they shouldn’t have included AI answers at the top of search and that it is rapidly devaluing the whole brand, and that other AI tools are better at that job too, but they can’t just remove it because it would be an admission of failure?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Don't blindly trust what AI tells you, Google boss tells BBC
Sundar Pichai candidly acknowledged concerns about inaccurate answers generated by Google's models.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Reposted by Ben Stockman
pleasebegneiss.bsky.social
let me be the first to say we should not do a nazi jurassic park
cnn image showing hitler sitting on a desk with his arms crossed with headline “researchers say they have verified and sequenced Hitler’s DNA. a new documentary reveals the findings”
November 14, 2025 at 4:07 AM
benstockman.bsky.social
"If we tax the rich they'll leave"
ips-dc.org Institute for Policy Studies @ips-dc.org · 18d
NEW: The first two years of Massachusetts' millionaire tax has raised $3 billion more than expected.

And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*

Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
Millionaire Tax That Inspired Mamdani Fuels $5.7 Billion Haul in Massachusetts
A millionaire levy in Massachusetts that New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani holds up as a model for taxing the rich has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing...
www.bloomberg.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Reposted by Ben Stockman
benstockman.bsky.social
Speaking of gods, I think we're probably close enough in time for me to be able to reveal this, the kick-ass cover of my first book which is coming out VERY SOON INDEED NOW
The cover for the upcoming book "Atlantis: Children of the Gods", by me (!) A sinister-looking man with long blond hair perches unnaturally, like a bird, at the edge of a tiered plateau. Waterfalls run off the edges, while at the top a mysterious red light glows. We hope this cover screams 'buy my book' (please buy my book)
November 5, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Reposted by Ben Stockman
patrickzircher.bsky.social
BlueSky is automatically hiding posts with cuss words in them.
You may want to adjust your settings:
astridoverthere.bsky.social I said abolish and I fucking meant it @astridoverthere.bsky.social · 24d
Wondering why no one likes your posts anymore, even among your friends? It's because @jay.bsky.team and team have decided to hide a huge amount of content from all of our feeds by default.

Here's how to turn it off.

First go to the hamburger menu in the upper left corner
Screenshot of the top of a Bsky feed, with a red circle around the hamburger menu in the top left.
November 7, 2025 at 3:03 AM
benstockman.bsky.social
Speaking of gods, I think we're probably close enough in time for me to be able to reveal this, the kick-ass cover of my first book which is coming out VERY SOON INDEED NOW
The cover for the upcoming book "Atlantis: Children of the Gods", by me (!) A sinister-looking man with long blond hair perches unnaturally, like a bird, at the edge of a tiered plateau. Waterfalls run off the edges, while at the top a mysterious red light glows. We hope this cover screams 'buy my book' (please buy my book)
November 5, 2025 at 4:55 PM
benstockman.bsky.social
Ye gods! Inject this directly into my eyeballs
November 5, 2025 at 4:45 PM
benstockman.bsky.social
I hadn't realised until just now that we're not calling it #Nanowrimo anymore but I'm still going to try and write 1667 words a day in November anyway! 1983 today.
November 1, 2025 at 2:46 PM
benstockman.bsky.social
Support independent bookstores, please.
Also, fuck Jeff Bezos right in the ear #booksky
bookshop.org Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · Oct 30
Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House.

Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.

They are not the same.
October 31, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Reposted by Ben Stockman
direkris.itch.io
You'll pry these Oxford commas out of my cold, dead, third thing hands
October 23, 2025 at 7:30 PM
benstockman.bsky.social
The thing that surprises me most about this statement is that Facebook has a privacy and data policy beyond "you have no privacy" and "we're harvesting your data."
jathansadowski.com Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · Oct 2
What an unsurprising decision by corporations that desperately need to make money with AI. If every other company with a chatbot isn't already doing this, then expect them to be following Meta's lead soon. The chatbot is not your friend; it's a corporate listening device. www.ft.com/content/22f7...
Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour. https://www.ft.com/content/22f7afc3-8ac0-4ca1-9877-fd3f8ddcc986?desktop=true&segmentId=7c8f09b9-9b61-4fbb-9430-9208a9e233c8#myft:notification:daily-email:content Meta will use conversations people have with its chatbots to personalise advertising and content across its platforms, in a sign of how tech companies plan to make money from artificial intelligence. The owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp on Wednesday said it would use the content of chats with its Meta AI to create advertising recommendations across its suite of apps. “People will already expect that their Meta AI interactions are being used for these personalisation purposes,” said Christy Harris, privacy and data policy manager at Meta.
October 14, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Ben Stockman
frankiam.bsky.social
Here’s the truth: Twitter no longer exists. X is something else entirely.

It’s a megaphone for extremism, controlled by a deranged oligarch who has declared his hostility to sane, democratic politics.

writesbright.substack.com/p/why-you-sh...
Why you should leave X
A rallying cry to progressives everywhere...
writesbright.substack.com
September 14, 2025 at 9:20 PM