Dave T-W @davoloid@qoto.org

@cyrilpedia Ooh, there's a brilliant book about the fued between Richard Owen and his rival Gideon Mantell, worth checking out. Also other people in that fevered time of discovery, like Huxley, Anning, Darwin.
https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Dinosaur_Hunters.html?id=oxkoAQAAIAAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y

Yeah, Jaklin is my new spirit animal. For me that's the best thing about #Eurovision, that amongst the votebait and silliness there's some great new music I'd never have found.
https://youtu.be/_6xfmW0Fc40?si=pkbc17TEg2IbEhUK

@emilygorcenski I also left with a 'Huh' feeling. Thoughts here, and an link to an excellent analysis by Thomas Flight.
In short, the events that form the background, though based on real world events that represent a deep rift in society, are just background for the art of the photographers. And that's the problem in the story and in how the movie is presented.
https://qoto.org/@davoloid/112360142206224174

@norm Yeah, I found the same last year. Slightly baffling, not sure what the cause is. What's the *quality* of interaction like on BS?

@norm There's still something not quite right about it from that perspective. I'm lless bothered about the likes, happy that I get some really interesting content and zero spam and seal lions.

@eLearningTechie Definitely lots of gimmicks. Looking at their YouTube, Armenia's fusion of a whole bunch of styles seems to be their thing so I will be listening more. They're both cute as hell and deserve wider success.

@eLearningTechie Agree, skipped Switzerland entirely. I still have a playlist from previous years that I listen to regularly: Spain, France and Portugal were so much better in 22 and 23 than this round. And Sweden's one from 22. But that's part of the fun, decent song from Czechia doesn't make the finals, J-Lo clones from Slovenia and Austria do.
🤷

I haven't been to the Abba voyage thing but I think they've definitely taken some technical aspects from Ye Pan's PhD work on immersion, that I helped with about 10 years ago. But the CGI avatars are awful.

I'm afraid I have been away from home and phone, my #Eurovision chums.
But I am watching the final now and breathless with anticipation for the scores. Crossing my fingers for #Armenia, #Italy or #Ukraine. A couple of faves never made the final.

In fact, I think it was on netflix until only recently, because I remember having it dubbed in French, for reasons. It was quite effective actually.

I was telling my brother about this movie the other day, who was a toddler when it came out. I can't remember when I last saw Shallow Grave but so many of the lines are embedded (I think I may have the book with the script in). And on the last rewatch it was still perfect.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/may/09/shallow-grave-review-danny-boyles-edinburgh-noir-debut-is-a-triple-crossing-treat

Definitely going to see this.

The voting record of Natalie Elphicke speaks for itself:
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/25831/natalie_elphicke/dover/votes#environment

And here's the moment the Dover MP thought it would be a good idea to confront a protest about Hire & Fire of P&O ferry staff. Forgetting that she'd voted to allow that sort of practice.
https://youtu.be/NAOZcUbmEds

For non UK people, Dover is the main port for connections to the continent. A fact that was news to Brexit minister Dominic Raab:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5m7_JrLNDY

Normally a Tory MP defecting to Labour might be a positive development, but sometimes you wish they'd just quit politics.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/nov/11/tory-mp-who-accused-marcus-rashford-of-playing-politics-has-second-job

Couldn't recall why I knew she was a wrong'un but the internet remembers.

@darkufo I thought you might have know this one!
https://youtu.be/TxWN8AhNER0

I mean I might be showing my age, and maybe that was the year I unlocked music big time, but there's also Prince's Batman soundtrack, Simple Minds, NIN, Beautiful South, RHCP, Belinda Carlisle, UB40, Erasure.

1989 was a great year with some iconic albums, but why is Blue Nile on this list but not Deacon Blue? Heck, they even knocked Madonna off the top spot, in a month that also saw classics from INXS, Fine Young Cannibals and Guns n Roses https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1prqk6JLsFGqz8nTlbj2JfX/12-classic-albums-that-define-1989