Merlin
@merlinhaslam.bsky.social
Don't engage much, but read alot.
I'm hearing this in my head in the voice of 'The Book' from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. As an explanation for the collapse of a civilisation, it is very Douglas Adams.
“Americans built the richest and most prosperous society ever to exist, and one part of that was the creation of an endless stream of handheld entertainments, which told them they were miserable and impoverished, and consequently the country committed immediate political and economic suicide”
April 7, 2025 at 7:00 AM
I'm hearing this in my head in the voice of 'The Book' from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. As an explanation for the collapse of a civilisation, it is very Douglas Adams.
This didn't start with Trump, this started with climate denial. The systemised lying that had been trialled by tobacco, was adopted wholesale by the GOP at the behest of the oil companies.
They learnt they could say: up was down, black was white, the sky is orange.
Now there is no truth.
They learnt they could say: up was down, black was white, the sky is orange.
Now there is no truth.
What we’re witnessing in America is what happens when disordered discourse captures a political party, then the state itself. The Republican Party was the first to fall - abandoning truth for conspiracy, ideology for grievance, and policy for performative outrage.
March 9, 2025 at 10:09 AM
This didn't start with Trump, this started with climate denial. The systemised lying that had been trialled by tobacco, was adopted wholesale by the GOP at the behest of the oil companies.
They learnt they could say: up was down, black was white, the sky is orange.
Now there is no truth.
They learnt they could say: up was down, black was white, the sky is orange.
Now there is no truth.
Very much in the spirit of open.spotify.com/track/1OHg9e...
December 26, 2024 at 12:06 AM
Very much in the spirit of open.spotify.com/track/1OHg9e...
Reposted by Merlin
Reposted by Merlin
Bashar al-Assad’s biggest mistake? Not going on Joe Rogan.
December 7, 2024 at 8:13 PM
Bashar al-Assad’s biggest mistake? Not going on Joe Rogan.
Reposted by Merlin
The fact that Disney bought Star Wars and bought the Muppets and haven’t done a Muppets Star Wars is a crime.
December 6, 2024 at 3:39 PM
The fact that Disney bought Star Wars and bought the Muppets and haven’t done a Muppets Star Wars is a crime.
Reposted by Merlin
A tour-de-force of scholarship and detective work: Fara Dabhoiwala reveals that a portrait of an 18th-century Black scientist, long dismissed as a caricature, is in fact a record of the man's mastery of Newtonian physics—and the only painting made in 1759 of the return of Halley's comet.
Fara Dabhoiwala · A Man of Parts and Learning: Francis Williams Gets His Due
The only certainty about the picture is that it shows Francis Williams. No one has ever been able to discover who...
www.lrb.co.uk
November 26, 2024 at 2:02 AM
A tour-de-force of scholarship and detective work: Fara Dabhoiwala reveals that a portrait of an 18th-century Black scientist, long dismissed as a caricature, is in fact a record of the man's mastery of Newtonian physics—and the only painting made in 1759 of the return of Halley's comet.
Reposted by Merlin
Ea-nāṣir is the recipient of the world’s oldest complaint letter. He’s reportedly the worst businessman of the 18th century, a mediocre conman whose actions should have him put out of business. Is this fair?
Here’s a thread on the most up-to-date research on this captivating figure.
Here’s a thread on the most up-to-date research on this captivating figure.
November 22, 2024 at 9:34 PM
Ea-nāṣir is the recipient of the world’s oldest complaint letter. He’s reportedly the worst businessman of the 18th century, a mediocre conman whose actions should have him put out of business. Is this fair?
Here’s a thread on the most up-to-date research on this captivating figure.
Here’s a thread on the most up-to-date research on this captivating figure.
Reposted by Merlin
the met eireann building is my favourite building in ireland. it’s gorgeous. oh descended space ship! oh 1970’s ziggurat! temple to the rain and wind! satellites pointed skyward! what storm is coming, what hail, what sunny day!
November 19, 2024 at 11:14 AM
the met eireann building is my favourite building in ireland. it’s gorgeous. oh descended space ship! oh 1970’s ziggurat! temple to the rain and wind! satellites pointed skyward! what storm is coming, what hail, what sunny day!
Reposted by Merlin
Reposted by Merlin
A lot of us have grown up with Paddington, across different generations. In thinking about Paddington as a story about migration & refugees, the question is whether & why we would value fables + positive stories: this idealised narrative in a children's story about Britain as a welcoming society
November 16, 2024 at 11:12 PM
A lot of us have grown up with Paddington, across different generations. In thinking about Paddington as a story about migration & refugees, the question is whether & why we would value fables + positive stories: this idealised narrative in a children's story about Britain as a welcoming society
@jay.bsky.team
Given this place had less than 15 million users when I joined last week but will reach 20 million sometime tomorrow, I assume your running costs are increasing.
Is there a way to donate or otherwise show my gratitude to help keep the lights on?
Given this place had less than 15 million users when I joined last week but will reach 20 million sometime tomorrow, I assume your running costs are increasing.
Is there a way to donate or otherwise show my gratitude to help keep the lights on?
November 16, 2024 at 8:12 PM
@jay.bsky.team
Given this place had less than 15 million users when I joined last week but will reach 20 million sometime tomorrow, I assume your running costs are increasing.
Is there a way to donate or otherwise show my gratitude to help keep the lights on?
Given this place had less than 15 million users when I joined last week but will reach 20 million sometime tomorrow, I assume your running costs are increasing.
Is there a way to donate or otherwise show my gratitude to help keep the lights on?
Reposted by Merlin
Tapping into Europe’s hidden trillions: will a Capital Markets Union meet the EU’s funding needs?
www.rte.ie/news/analysi...
www.rte.ie/news/analysi...
How can Europe tap into trillions worth of hidden funds?
When EU officials travelled to Washington recently, the US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell showed them a chart showing American productivity over a 40-year period compared to European productivity...
www.rte.ie
November 16, 2024 at 7:56 AM
Tapping into Europe’s hidden trillions: will a Capital Markets Union meet the EU’s funding needs?
www.rte.ie/news/analysi...
www.rte.ie/news/analysi...
Reposted by Merlin
I saw someone describe it the other day as "vertical morality" vs "horizontal morality" - the latter's based on empathy & consideration of the harm certain decisions may do to others. The former is governed by the moral authority granted to a person or entity - a higher power - to act as they do.
November 14, 2024 at 12:41 PM
I saw someone describe it the other day as "vertical morality" vs "horizontal morality" - the latter's based on empathy & consideration of the harm certain decisions may do to others. The former is governed by the moral authority granted to a person or entity - a higher power - to act as they do.
Reposted by Merlin
Παραδοξοκρατία.
Paradoxocracy: from the words "paradox" (something strange, unconventional) and "state" (authority)
Paradoxocracy: from the words "paradox" (something strange, unconventional) and "state" (authority)
November 13, 2024 at 1:10 PM
Παραδοξοκρατία.
Paradoxocracy: from the words "paradox" (something strange, unconventional) and "state" (authority)
Paradoxocracy: from the words "paradox" (something strange, unconventional) and "state" (authority)
Reposted by Merlin
Y'days post: How could they vote for him? mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2024/11/how-...
For those who are not political or well informed but who think the system doesn't work for them, all Washington politicians lie and are in it for themselves, and you want someone to shake things up, Trump fits.
For those who are not political or well informed but who think the system doesn't work for them, all Washington politicians lie and are in it for themselves, and you want someone to shake things up, Trump fits.
How could they vote for him?
By now you will have probably read thousands of words about Trump’s sweeping election victory, so what can I hope to add? The biggest puz...
mainlymacro.blogspot.com
November 13, 2024 at 9:03 AM
Y'days post: How could they vote for him? mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2024/11/how-...
For those who are not political or well informed but who think the system doesn't work for them, all Washington politicians lie and are in it for themselves, and you want someone to shake things up, Trump fits.
For those who are not political or well informed but who think the system doesn't work for them, all Washington politicians lie and are in it for themselves, and you want someone to shake things up, Trump fits.