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swisslet
@swisslet@mas.to
mastodon 4.7.252% intelligent, 9% modest. More monkey than bear.
#MultipleSclerosis #SPMS #Cats #History #Cricket #books #ScottWalker #JohnnyCash #BillyBragg #Music #Rock #earworm #Running #Rowing #ColdWaterSwimming #Skyrim #WWFC #SciFi #Fantasy #cats #Politics
I tried really hard to be cynical. Sadly, I turned out to be positive and was just as surprised as everyone else. But here we are.
Based in the UK, but try to think beyond borders.
594 Followers
387 Following
50 Posts
Joined April 25, 2022
Pronouns:
He / Him
Clearly it needs saying again:
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/apr/29/sophie-corcoran-gb-news-sue-charity-not-offering-internships-white-people-legal-action
Fuck these people.
Replying to
@fak@cupoftea.social I’m on a parkrun core team and we occasionally get those mega-tourists wearing “bring back the stats” t-shirts. I find it infuriating that there’s a thing they love and that this is all they bring to the party. Meanwhile, the event - which at a local level has fuck all to do with the decisions of head office - is put on by a team of volunteers for them to enjoy. They also often hunt for easy volunteer credits. No, I don’t need a single 27 minute pacer, but I’ve spent all week chasing a timekeeper and three marshals. Thanks for your contribution.
I’m old enough to have grown up with candles in the dining room cupboards for the power cuts. Now I have solar panels on my roof, and a battery in my loft.
🤷♀️
What the fuck is wrong with focusing on the football? This superfluous bullshit is embarrassing and demeans the whole thing.
Did I ever tell you about the time a photo of me watching Shakin’ Stevens at Glastonbury with a cup of wine and a croissant became an advert in Egypt?
(At this gig, Shakey uttered the words you never want to hear, “here are some songs from my new album”. There was an audible groan. Some lads had brought into the festival an actual green door, and he didn’t even play it! WTF!)
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@DJDarren for lack of anything else, Dr Caitlin has Monkey Wrench by the Foos and Last Train to Clarkesville by the Monkees.
EDIT: She’s on a roll now.
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The clapping song by the Belle Stars (lot of monkey action here)
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Over and Over by Hot Chip (the monkey with a miniature cymbal)
On my first #BastilleDay as a French citizen, I’d just like to point out that, not only is La Marseillaise an absolute banger, but the lyrics are superbly bloodthirsty.
—
Let's go children of the fatherland,
The day of glory has arrived!
Against us tyranny's
Bloody flag is raised! (repeat)
In the countryside, do you hear
The roaring of these fierce soldiers?
They come right to our arms
To slit the throats of our sons, our friends!
Grab your weapons, citizens!
Form your battalions!
Let us march! Let us march!
May impure blood
Water our fields!
Boosted by @welcome@friends.deko.cloud
I’ve never done an #Introduction post, so...
I’m Tim. I have #MultipleSclerosis, and although that’s only a part of me, it’s shaped my life hugely since diagnosis (in 2009, after 4 years of symptoms). I’m a much kinder person than I used to be and I’m grateful for that, even if the disease itself is a bastard. I used to run marathons, but #MS eventually put paid to that, so now I swim in a lake and row on a river instead. I try to focus on what I have and not what I’ve lost.
I have an MA in medieval history; I work as a PM for a large corporation, (but not very hard); I’m a trustee/director of a Nottingham-based charity combatting domestic violence. As a middle aged, white, CIS guy, this has been a real eye-opener; I’m a member of my local #parkrun core team; I’m a qualified running coach. I have loads of tattoos.
I’m interested in politics but try to focus on being a force for good myself. Nauseating, no?
❤️ animals (esp cats!)
❤️ music
❤️ books
Motto: don’t be a dick
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A man whose life’s work is to show us the beauty of this planet and how fragile it is.
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What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
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Blackened by Metallica. His favourite band (kidding. It’s about the destruction of the natural world)
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Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell (as above)
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Island in the Sun by Weezer (because of the video https://youtu.be/0C3zgYW_FAM)
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Animal by Def Leppard
Dr Caitlin Swisslet offers up “I like Birds” by eels and will think on.
Weezer - Island In The Sun (Spike Jonze Version)
Popped into a new restaurant today to see if we could get in for an early dinner tomorrow. No, they’re full, which is great. Whilst there, one of the waiters stopped and rolled the sleeve up of my t-shirt to check out my tattoo.
“Lovely tattoo. Where did you get it done?”
“Most of it at vellum round the corner”
“Oh. Here? Not in Malaysia?”
At this point, he lost interest and wandered off. I think he was of Malaysian origin.
It did get me thinking though. My tattooist is Australian and she does a lot of Japanese type work. It’s not out of the question there’s some Malay influence in there. Interesting.
“AMERICA IS A GUN” by Brian Bilston ( @brianbilston@mastodon.online)
England is a cup of tea.
France, a wheel of ripened brie.
Greece, a short, squat olive tree.
America is a gun.
Brazil is football on the sand.
Argentina, Maradona’s hand.
Germany, an oompah band.
America is a gun.
Holland is a wooden shoe.
Hungary, a goulash stew.
Australia, a kangaroo.
America is a gun.
Japan is a thermal spring.
Scotland is a highland fling.
Oh, better to be anything
than America as a gun.
A day late, but I liked this. Via PlasticAction toy photography.
Replying to
ND musings AND WEIRD SEX STUFF (but also quite interesting that I'm curious about)
Well, that ruins Bastille Day.
The most worrying thing about this photo (from Glasgow, when I was there for the last Commonwealth Games in 2014) is that implies the existence of non-quality bagpipes. Or maybe just inferior quality shops and the bagpipes are the same quality everywhere?
It’s the 842nd anniversary of the Erfurt Latrine Disaster today, when a castle floor collapsed and saw about 60 nobles to drown or suffocate in a cesspit. Mmm.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erfurt_latrine_disaster
This has naturally sent me down a wiki wormhole.
For your consideration:
Toilet related injuries and deaths: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilet-related_injuries_and_deaths
List of people who have died while on the toilet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_have_died_while_on_the_toilet
You’re welcome.
Replying to
@nxskok@cupoftea.social I wore my France shirt coaching tonight and sang the Marseillaise to them as we stretched and cooled down at 8pm (so, anthem time, not randomly).
Ah well. There’s always tomorrow.
Today’s was by far the better anthem. I don’t sing that for the king, so I’m not likely to wheel it out for anyone else!
To anyone voting today, 💪
I know you’ll all do the right thing. Well, or that at least you won’t do the WRONG thing.
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
Replying to
@csgraves she’s the worst kind of contrarian grifter, hawking her shitty opinions for ££ in the outrage economy. Of course, GB News hired her. It’s just the latest attention grab by this ghoul.
Replying to
@woe2you @astronomerritt @DJDarren that Toots and the Maytals is a banging suggestion (dr Mrs Caitlin just sang that to me as she remembers it as an Amy Winehouse song!)
Replying to
@theothersimo @Alexjusino “fair” is the key word here. If 999 / 1000 schemes favour white people, ask yourself why are they going after the one that seeks to offer opportunities to other groups.
If you think the system isn’t rigged, then that means you’re in the group that’s benefiting… although I admire your optimism. Of course everyone should be treated equally. The problem is that they are not.
Replying to
@theothersimo @Alexjusino I’m reminded of a story about the Viennese philharmonic orchestra. They had no women members, and swore this was because, in audition, female players just weren’t as good as men. They introduced auditions behind a screen, and lo and behold, quickly began recruiting female musicians. Affirmative action is needed because the playing field isn’t level. Far from it. If the vast majority of interns are white, it assuredly isn’t because white people are better qualified.
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@edchivers@dice.camp fantastic job! 💪
Always good to have a run you actively enjoy whilst you’re doing it. They’re rare, in my experience. Enjoy it!
Went out for a gusty row on the Trent this evening. We did lots of feet out stuff to try and work on our connection with the footplate. A friend saw us and filmed us. We look okay, I think. We’re not trying to row fast, we’re trying to be controlled in our movements.
#rowing
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