Bodie A. Ashton
LightNews LightNews
banner
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
Bodie A. Ashton
@manwithoutatan.bsky.social
3.9K followers 1K following 2.5K posts
historian | pet shop boys fanatic | australian in germany | very bisexual | constantly podcasting | "oh, dr. bodie!" per jordan gray | they/them | latest book: “the pet shop boys and the political”
Posts Replies Media Videos
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
Saw it recently on a trip to Australia. Well done Vicky 💜
On a book table, the cover of a book picturing a beached Messerschmitt Bf-109. The title reads “Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain.” The author is Victoria Taylor.
November 16, 2025 at 11:09 AM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
O R B
A grey and white cat, Bucky, sits on a white couch and a crocheted blanket, ready to pounce. Her eyes are the size of dinner plates.
November 9, 2025 at 11:09 PM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
“I couldn't have anticipated [backlash]”, says a man who built an Auschwitz-themed Halloween float for a kids’ Halloween parade. I think this tells us an awful lot about more than we might like, to be honest.

(Reposted screenshot with alt text.)
Galen S. Shelly, who identified himself as the head designer of the float, told Harrisburg news outlet PennLive on Saturday that he had made a mistake but had "no ill intent. Senior said the approved design of the float did not contain the gate. Shelly told PennLive he added it later, after another part of the design fell through. "I wanted to illustrate the idea none of us get out of this life alive," Shelly told PennLive. "I never intended anything to be like this. I couldn't have anticipated it. I made a mistake and I ask everyone's forgiveness."
November 2, 2025 at 9:32 AM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
And now I know how Johnny Marr felt.
On a stage with lots of blue backlight, a man wearing dark denim jacket and jeans plays a guitar. On a stage, a man wearing dark denim jacket and jeans plays a guitar.
November 2, 2025 at 9:03 AM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
The world is nonsense so Cap and Bucky are here to brighten your lives.
A black and white cat, Cap, lies upside-down on a crocheted blanket. He has wide eyes and a pink nose. A grey and white cat, Bucky, stands among bags of coffee. She is looking to her left, with big orb eyes.
October 30, 2025 at 10:07 PM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
Let me add to this both Kenneth Branagh and Stanley Tucci in “Conspiracy” (2001).
A man wearing an SS uniform and a black leather coat is smiling tightly. He wears a hat with the very distinctive skull and crossbones of the Totenkopf, which is not at all to be mistaken for the Jolly Roger. A man wearing an SS uniform stands in the snow. He wears a hat with the very distinctive skull and crossbones of the Totenkopf, which is STILL not at all to be mistaken for the Jolly Roger.
October 22, 2025 at 4:42 PM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
I don’t know what it says about me that an hour-long dissection of a plane crash might brighten my mood but here we are.

Bucky agrees.
A grey and white cat, Bucky, sits on the lap of a person wearing a green jumper. Bucky has wide, green eyes.
October 20, 2025 at 5:22 PM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
Look why not. @lgmsam.bsky.social says it gives “Murder, She Wrote” vibes. I’m just thrilled the shirt involves cats.

(Though I feel like I get my hair from my Nanna; I feel like a fluffy puppy.)
A person sits on an off-white armchair. They have big-framed transparent glasses. They’re wearing a collared pale yellow top with embroidered cats, and a dark floral skirt.
October 11, 2025 at 2:03 PM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
It freaking wimdy today.
A person is walking down a street. They are wearing transparent glasses, a colourful crocheted scarf, and a magenta all-weather jacket. It is clearly quite windy because their hair is being blown towards Berlin.
October 4, 2025 at 3:56 PM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
They’re back.
An extremely tired person sits on a blue train seat. Their hair is messy and they need a shave. They’re wearing a jumper with brown, red, pink, and green stripes.
October 1, 2025 at 2:41 PM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
Twitter user Thomas Violence says “I’m one of the dozens of people worldwide that live in a country that’s not America.” Arguably it’s the best tweet that was ever twote.
September 26, 2025 at 11:55 AM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
The world is hard. I’m an orphan, which feels frighteningly Victorian. I don’t know what my future looks like, my heart breaks and then mends a little and then breaks again and again. I’m so exhausted. I don’t have anywhere that is home any more.

So anyway it was time to get my ears pierced.
A very tired person is sitting looking at the camera. Their dyed hair is going shockingly grey at the temples and they are wearing glasses, a dark neckerchief with raspberries, a pink striped shirt over denim floral overalls, and a green jacket. There are flowers out of focus behind them. They have a small stud in their visible earlobe.
September 25, 2025 at 1:08 AM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
My sincerest and deepest thanks to everyone who took time today to honour my father Malcolm. The world will never turn quite as it should without him. I miss him achingly, and your support—all of you—has been felt, even if I don't have the words or the capacity to express my gratitude right now. 💜
On grass in front of a building, a young man runs with a German shepherd dog on a leash. The man is wearing a black waistcoat and trousers over a white shirt and red tie, and he is wearing a yellow exhibitor number, demonstrating that he is running the dog at a show. He is smiling as he looks towards his dog, and he is in mid stride. He is the best man I have ever had the privilege of knowing and everything is much dimmer without his light.
September 17, 2025 at 8:36 AM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
Extremely cool that pretty much the moment I'm even vaguely by myself I dissolve into tears. This is a very normal and healthy thing, I am sure.

I have no idea how I'm going to write this eulogy, let alone give it. I've written too many by now.

Anyway, here are my parents as I never knew them.
Two very young people stand just outside a brick carport, in front of a green bush. On the left is a woman in a short pale sundress; on the right, with his arm around her, is a taller young man wearing a white shirt and white slacks. They are both smiling happily.
September 15, 2025 at 11:57 AM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
Dad status: style council.
A young, fair-haired man stands in front of a wall of rocks and dry sandy grasses. He is wearing aviator sunglasses, a light denim overshirt, and an off-white turtleneck. He's probably just walked off the sound stage for "The Professionals."
September 10, 2025 at 2:11 AM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
My father didn’t make it to Father’s Day this year, and it will always be a bitter irony to me that it follows on the heels of his passing. But: happy Father’s Day, Dad. I miss you now and always.
A blank and white photo of a boy with fair hair, wearing a suit, smiling at the camera. A bride and groom dance in front of a white table with orange decorations. A man wearing a mustard jumper and jeans crouches next to a fluffy white Samoyed, in front of the Australian bush.
September 7, 2025 at 6:11 AM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
The best man I have ever known.

Goodbye, dad. Fair winds. I love you.
On the deck of a sailing boat stands a man with fair hair and a beard and moustache. He is wearing sunglasses and a blue singlet. He is smiling.
September 4, 2025 at 11:21 AM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
Hullo from here
A person looks at the camera through large square glasses. They have mauve hair and a blue waistcoat and a pale pink shirt with botanicals and mushrooms. They look tired and a bit sad.
August 22, 2025 at 10:26 PM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
Hello hi I know my timeline hasn’t been puppies and roses recently. But I just wanted to share this photo from my parents’ wedding, 53 years ago, because it makes me smile nearly as much as dad is here.
A black and white photo of a man and a woman at their wedding. The man is wearing a double-breasted coat and a bow tie and is beaming from ear to ear. The woman is in a white partly lace dress with a matching shawl, and is clearly very happy.
August 22, 2025 at 8:35 AM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
Here’s another. I love this one. When mum went into care, this was one of the pieces I made sure accompanied her and hung on the wall so every day she could wake up to a piece that Mike had lovingly crafted just for her. I don’t know if she knew. But I hope so.
In a black frame is a colourful watercolour depicting three cats — one white, one red, one black.
August 20, 2025 at 3:12 AM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
Mum had a whole collection of artworks specifically made for her by her dear friend Mike Dunham of Coastwind kennels in California. We had one of her favourite pieces on display at her funeral. Now I have several of them on my walls, including this cutie over my coffee bar. Feels appropriate.
On a white wall and in a white frame is a stylised picture of a coffee cup, on an orange and blue background.
August 20, 2025 at 3:03 AM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
Well. I’m home. I don’t know how this feels.

I’ve started with a lovely washed Ethiopian from Market Lane in Melbourne, and served in a cup from April in Copenhagen, because I wanted a connection to home and to my happiest time this year. The cat was one of mum’s. She’ll find her place here.
On a wooden table is a blue and white cup and a glass carafe, both filled with brandy-coloured coffee. Next to them is a porcelain cat figurine, white but with flowers.
August 19, 2025 at 6:13 AM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
It’s time to go home. I already miss everyone. I love you all and I think people — friends, family, perfect strangers — are incredible. Hold your loved ones close in your heart.
A very tired-looking person in a blue and black tartan jacket and a floral scarf looks tiredly at the camera, being tired and all.
August 17, 2025 at 9:47 AM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
Speaking of mum, chips, and Whitby, have all three in this photo that I bloody adore.

Missing you, mum.
A woman with a dirty blonde bob and wearing a dark jumper with grouse (?) on it sits at a table in a fish and chip shop and holds a half-eaten chip.
August 4, 2025 at 10:51 AM
manwithoutatan.bsky.social
You heard it first here: I’m responsible for Trump because I *checks notes* exist.
Bluesky user “antibigbro” writes: “Very disgusting indeed, and this is why America chose Trump.”
August 3, 2025 at 12:16 AM