E. Allyn Bloom 🇺🇳🇺🇸🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇺🇦

@ericallyn.bsky.social

1166 Followers 639 Following

Quipster, not hipster. I make jokes about metahumor. He/him. Grey-haired white cis-male-adjacent. Devout agnostic. Retired data geek. Black lives matter. LGBT+ lives matter. Immigrant lives matter. Facts matter. Science matters. (Aka Eric Bloomquist)

The Soiling of Old Glory, a black and white photo by Stanley Forman for The Boston Herald American, April 5, 1976 A young white man is wielding an American flag on a flag staff as a spear against a black man. This was taken during one of the protests against court-ordered desegregation busing.
White text on black background: "Hold on to your hats everybody!! President Zelensky has formally been nominated for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize!!!! YES!"
A dark image from an intentionally-stupid movie called "Iron Sky", which shows a fictional Moon base shaped like a swastika.
Photo of part of a large crowd of people on the Boston Common for #NoKings March 28, 2026.
An image of Harpo Marx, playing a harp and singing.
Two "orange" cats looking down at the viewer from the top of a tall cabinet.
This is an image of the back cover of "The Serviceberr", by Robin Wall Kimmerer. The background is a pale yellow, and there's a pair of cupped hands holding serviceberries. Most of the berries are dark purple and a few are red. Underneath the hands, some italicized text read: "All Flourishing is Mutual" In small print, the credits on the bottom left read: "COVER DESIGN BY JAYA MICELI COVER AND ENDPAPER ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOHN BURGOYNE"
Alt text: White text on black background: "Daniel Hannan @DanielJHannan A lot of good people are on a hook over Donald Trump. They voted for him for understandable reasons: to stop Hillary of Kamala, to prevent court-packing, to move the embassy to Jerusalem, to reduce regulations. They rightly applauded his toughening of immigration policy. They began to feel invested in him. Sure, he was boorish and bombastic, but he was delivering most of what he was elected to do. Naturally, they bridled at criticism from people they disliked, some of which was indeed absurd. But he has plainly now lost his mind. There is no other way of reading "I am going to threaten an ally with invasion because I didn't get the Nobel Peace Prize". It is impossible to exaggerate how high the stakes are. If Putin had put an agent in the White House, what would would be doing differently? We are talking about the survival of the Western way of life, about the world order of which the United States is the chief exemplar and beneficiary. That, surely, matters more than "liberal tears". ". Doesn't it? Because if it doesn't, we are all damned."
An image from the movie "The Godfather". There are two men dressed in tuxedos. The older of the two is seated, facing in the general direction of the camera, with his right hand at shoulder level. The younger man is facing away, bent over, evidently whispering into the older man's ear.
An image of a CDC bar chart showing the number of measles cases per year. It shows a significant spike in 2014, a bigger spike in 2019, and an even bigger spike this year.
A GIF image created from black and white movie footage of a Nazi symbol being blown off of the top of a building.
Image of a black-on-red Rebel Alliance symbol from the Star Wars universe.
Black and white image of the titular characters from the Blues Brothers movie. There is text that says "We're on a mission from God."
This an image of the following text: “America appears to be, at the moment, in a sort of benevolent hostage situation. Al-related spending now contributes more to the nation's GDP growth than all consumer spending combined, and by another calculation, those AI expenditures accounted for 92 percent of GDP growth during the first half of 2025. Since the launch of ChatGPT, in late 2022, the tech industry has gone from making up 22 percent of the value in the S&P 500 to roughly one-third. Just yesterday, Meta, Microsoft, and Alphabet all reported substantial quarterly-revenue growth, and Reuters reported that OpenAl is planning to go public perhaps as soon as next year at a value of up to $1 trillion—which would be one of the largest IPOs in history. (An OpenAI spokesperson told Reuters, "An IPO is not our focus, so we could not possibly have set a date"; OpenAl and The Atlantic have a corporate partnership.)”
A photo of a NAACP flag that was used to protest (and raise awareness of) lynching. In white letters on a black background, it says "A MAN WAS LYNCHED YESTERDAY."
Image from the Lord of the Rings. There are lines of towering pillars, and to give perspective, our group of heroes in the distance, very small.
I don't know how helpful this is as Alt text, but; Is it expressly allowed by law? if yes then DO IT if no then: Is it forbidden by law? if no then DO IT if yes then: Can courts stop you before you establish facts (?) on the ground? if no then DO IT if yes then: Could 5 SCOTUS justices allow it? if yes then DO IT if no then: Could you successfully defy SCOTUS? if yes then DO IT if no then don't do it
Photo of No Kings protesters lining both sides of a small town street.
A photo of a forest, with a trail sign in the foreground. The sign say "One Less Traveled Trail". And yes, *of course* we followed that trail. (Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park)
Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones looking at the camera, dressed in a white suit and wearing a black bow tie.
Two comments, about four months ago; Daniel Swain I am now hearing from multiple folks in the past two hours (including some who have personally been fired) that mass firings have now commenced within NOAA--including, yes, at the National Weather Service. E. Allyn Bloom Well, it'd be even worse if they were also fucking over FEMA. [checks notes] Oh, right. Crap. Goddamn fuckheads.
HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL LOSE HEALTH CARE IN YOUR STATE? • Alabama - 219,803 • Montana - 55,981 • Alaska - 39,989 • Nebraska - 78,275 • Arizona - 365,984 • Nevada - 114,500 • Arkansas - 158,745 • New Hampshire - 46,388 • California - 2,368,466 • New Jersey - 363,330 • Colorado - 240,953 • New Mexico - 111,997 • Connecticut - 86,580 • New York - 1,019,121 • Delaware - 54,957 • North Carolina - 651,982 • Florida - 1,936,421 • North Dakota - 24,488 • Georgia - 651,540 • Ohio - 489,815 • Hawaii - 62,483 • Oklahoma - 211,794 • Idaho - 72,815 • Oregon - 198,089 • Illinois - 535,849 - Pennsylvania - 483,868 • Indiana - 267,996 • Rhode Island - 47,359 • lowa - 113,979 • South Carolina - 285,857 • Kansas - 92,937 • South Dakota - 33,838 • Kentucky - 184,526 • Tennessee - 310,056 • Louisiana - 267,550 • Texas - 1,671,965 • Maine - 61,488 • Utah - 188,494 • Maryland - 245,929 • Vermont -35,242 • Massachusetts - 326,262 • Virginia - 322,984 • Michigan - 453,101 - Washington - 328,695 • Minnesota - 173,268 • West Virginia - 82,225 • Mississippi - 153,910 • Wisconsin - 276,175 • Missouri - 265,298 • Wyoming - 20,407 THAT'S 17 MILLION LIVES REPUBLICANS ARE PUTTING AT RISK
A bright yellow US Forest Service sign at Mt. Washington trailheads reads: STOP THE AREA AHEAD HAS THE WORST WEATHER IN AMERICA. MANY HAVE DIED THERE FROM EXPOSURE, EVEN IN THE SUMMER. TURN BACK NOW IF THE WEATHER IS BAD.
Julia Andrews in a scene from "The Sound of Music", playing a guitar and rick-rolling 3 unsuspecting children.
An images that's a combination of multiple images of the actor Ryan Gosling.
A panel from a Matthew Bors comic. There are two characters. One is carrying a large bundle of sticks, and there is a castle in the background, evoking a Middle Ages context. The first character says, "We should improve society somewhat." The second character, poking his head out of a well, says, "Yet you participate in society. Curious! I am very intelligent."
A photo of Spanish countryside. Green farmland in the foreground. In the background on the right is part of the town of Almodóvar. In the background on the left is a tall hill with a castle on top. (Castillo de Almodóvar)
Photo of a digital display in a high-speed train in Spain. Speed is 275 km/h, which is 165 mph.
Granada, Spain. Ornate front of a lovely old building on Plaza de Santa Ana. It's a sunny day, and there are a couple of pedestrians in the mid distance.
A photo of a falcon chick, being carefully held by a man in a white shirt. (Me!) There is a shiny green and black band around the chick's leg.
Hands Off protesters in a small Western Massachusetts town, lining a main street. There's a church in the background.
White coffee mug on a white background. The wording on the mug says: BILLIONAIRE TEARS Warren
In the background are large desert-brown boulders. In the foreground are the crew of the NSEA Protector, from the Star Trek parody/homage "Galaxy Quest" (1999). The three main characters are in front, played by (left to right) Alan Rickman, Tim Allen, and Sigourney Weaver.
Comic panel depicting a white man yelling at several other white men. "Why is it that the greatest champions of the white race always turn out to be the worst examples of it? YOU!" Ugly white supremacist: "Wh-wh-wh-?" "WHERE THE FUCK IS YOUR CHIN?"
A close-up photo of bunches of snow drops, surrounded by a little snow. They are very small white flowers that grow and bloom in some locations in late winter or early spring. They're like a little visual appetizer for spring flowering.
Photo of a white mug with red and blue lettering: BILLIONAIRE TEARS and in smaller font: WARREN
A photo of three bearded men, smiling into the camera. ("Bear" is slang for a burly and hairy gay/bi man.)
Two orange cats, one with a white patch on their throat, looking down at the photographer from the top of a cabinet.
A photo of the main character from "Midnight Diner" looking directly at the camera.
Image from the graphic novel "Watchmen". A close-up of a vigilante named Rorschach, who is white and has short red hair. He's looking directly out from the image, his face is contorted in anger, he's weeping, and part if a clenched fist is visible. He's yelling, "DO IT!"
A black-on-white image of the Washington Post motto, except it says "Hello darkness my old friend".
A black and white photo of 4 people sitting at a long desk. On the front of the desk and on the wall in back, it repeatedly says "Weekend Update". (From an early Saturday Night Live episode.)
photo of vivid green fungi nearly hiding a tree trunk.
An image of Superman, talking to several school kids, saying: ".. AND REMEMBER, BOYS AND GIRLS, YOUR SCHOOL- LIKE OUR COUNTRY- IS MADE UP OF AMERICANS OF MANY DIFFERENT RACES, RELIGIONS AND NATIONAL ORIGINS. SO... ... if YOU hear anybody talk against a schoolmate or anyone else because of his religion, race or national origin-don't wait: tell him THAT KIND OF TALK IS UN-AMERICAN. HELP KEEP YOUR SCHOOL ALL AMERICAN!"
A photo of the titular characters of the 1971 film "Harold and Maude".
Screen capture of Clearsky numbers report for that account. Including "Blocked by 77".
Photo of two orange cats, looking down from the top of a wooden cabinet.
Photo of my ebike parked outside of the entrance to my polling location, the town offices of Williamsburg, MA.
Elon Musk's face superimposed over the king from the movie "Shreck", as he's saying, "Some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make."
Image of a large room with black and white checkerboard floor and matching checked walls. In the foreground, Tom Petty is sitting in an ornate chair and dressed as the Mad Hatter character from Alice in Wonderland.
On a white background, a simple blue line drawing of a whale, and in green letters the words, "Save the Humans".
Photo of Trump and Romney having dinner together. Trump has a very smug smile and Romney has a very awkward and cringing smile.
Screen capture of my voter registration status: ACTIVE.
Image of a Bluesky note that I (E. Allyn, @ericallyn.bsky.social) was the 2,405,168th Bluesky user. On December 7th, 2023.
The famous Wall Street bull sculpture, but with a female dancer gracefully standing on one leg on its back. There are people in the background, wearing gas masks, in what is presumably a cloud of tear gas.
Photo of David Bowie and Tilda Swinton, dressed in identical outfits and grinning at each other.
Photo of the Earth from space, showing most of North America.
An image of a refrigerator magnet that says, "Joy is a form of resistance."
Gray-bearded man in a hat, gently holding a peregrine falcon chick.
Major characters from Battlestar Galactic lined up along a table, very clearly referencing the Last Supper in setting, lighting, and at least some of the poses. (SCI FI Channel Photo: Art Streiber)