Giles Sparrow is adrift in the vortex

@gswrites.bsky.social

878 Followers 1239 Following

Pop science writer/editor consultant for hire, specialising in astronomy and its history. Regular nerd with @somethingwho.bsky.social

Logopolitans, from the Doctor Who story Logopolis, holding the Universe together through the mental arithmetic of Block Transfer Computation.
A multi-coloured hat with a propeller on top. And all that implies.
Jurassic Park, Isla Nubar: Dr Alan Grant, poised to fumble at his sunglasses.
There’s a Terry and June marathon on, apparently. In 2026.
Lying in a stupidly awkward position on her back, our tux cat Sooty twists to see who's trying to get her attention.
A selection of Google image search results dominated by AI or, let's be fair, possibly human-generated hallucinations or the Mare Orientale showing an impossibly wide, deep and high crater on the Moon - the majority of results being from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok but X.com and even LinkedIn deserve disonhourable mentions.
Victorian Megalosaurus reconstruction.
Healdine: "British public wrong about nearly everything, survey shows"
Headline: "British public wrong abut nearly everything, survey shows"
An attempt at getting a decent photo of my “build a model solar system” brass orrery, thwarted by the fascination of Lyra, our dilute tortie cat.
Renowned jazz trumpeter and master of the double entendre, Humphrey Lyttelton.
La-la-la-la-la Look-in, the Junior TV Times, from August 1979. Sapphire and Steel, Mork and Mindy, the Famous Five, Dick Turpin, the Bionic couple and Smurfs. I mean what more do you want? Blood?
Jazz trumpeter par excellence and noted purveyor of filth, the one and only Humphrey Lyttelton.
Glasgow's statue of Wellington, completed by a glorious traffic cone. Credit: Germanlphoto via Wikipeda, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
Portrait of a small dragonfly who just stopped off on my sandal while I have my feet up at the Freibad…
Kraftwerk with their robot alter egos
Four minimalist teutonic plinths at the Royal Albert Hall
Sergant Wilson wonders whether that's really wise, sir.
Old Mother (Eileen Way) in the very first Doctor Who, reckons the invention of fire is generally a bad idea.
Out tuxedo cat Sooty vigorously making biscuits on the arm of my hoody accompanied by demented purring.
David Mitchell's 70s-sitcom-inspired boss screams for the hapless Hennimore. There's been another improbable mix-up.
Vitality Health Insurance are apparently offering "7 new partners you'll love - in May 2026"
A big institutional toilet paper drum, sitting there all innocent, like it’s not about to steal minutes of my one Wild and Precious Life and chunks of skin off the back of my hand.
Father Jack Hackett says: I like cake!
Mr Blair added: "We got his hand and said, 'Come on, you don't want to die. You can't do that. Listen to us'. "He did a double take, but then said, 'No I want to go'.
Me and Brian Cant from the seventies…
Charles Hawtrey as King Tonka (Walter Bagley to his friends) in Carry on Up the Jungle. Tonka, Tonka, stick it up yer honker...
The shopfront of the memorably named German lifestyle store Wanka Tonka.
Peter Mannion from The Thick of it declares "I Call App Britain."
That wild-eyed conspiracy theorist with a wall covered in bits of paper connected by red string (why is it always red?)
A grey squirrel that’s clearly Never Been Fed In iIs Life, doing it’s best Victorian orphan impression.
Fresh from the shower, a great horned owl wrapped in a towel that looks like a dressing gown prepares to greet the week ahead with an appropriate thousand-yard stare.
Julie who's from Farnham and Simon who is from Space prepare to be rotated on Numberwang.
Kathleen Hale's Orlando the Marmalade Cat in a box at the opera, complemented by cigar and white shirt-front. His wife Grace and the three kittens Blanche, Pansy and Tinkle are decked out in their finery, while the kittens have looks ranging from bewildered to horrified. Tinkle the black kitten has his paws clamped over his ears.
Ming the Merciless's weather control panel from Flash Gordon (1980) - setting: Hot Hail.
Hey hey! Here comes everyone's favourite corrupt Swiss football bureaucrat, Sepp Blatter!
The Dune 3 poster but the text is simply "Thin Desert Boy"
David Schneider on The Day Today as physical cartoonist "Brant", performing a lame icarus metaphor with some cardboard wings, standing on a blue circle labelled "Choppy Waters" with a yellow Sun labelled "The Political Heat" hanging behind him.
The wonderful Vicki from TV's Doctor Who, as played by the equally wonderful Maureen O'Brien. (source sez "Vicki Pallister" for some reason?)
The Caesar Fan Club arrives, togate - they’ve all got it in for him, you know…
The Distracted Boyfriend Meme but now it's Bret Vyon in The Nightmare Begins looking affronted as Fandom appreciatively eyes up Representative Zephon from Devil's Planet. Depth of shot vaguely matches the new screenshot, idk?
Distracted Boyfriend meme again, but now it's me getting diverted from The Nightmare Begins by realising they've also found Devil's Planet
William Hartnell discovers "Daleks!" in the newly found Doctor Who: The Nightmare Begins.
The Distracted Boyfriend Meme, but it's Film is Fabulous offering a welcome distraction for Everyone from the ongoing Everything.
Distracted Boyfriend meme, but it's me getting diverted from The Nightmare Begins news by realising they've also found Devil's Planet
Richard Osman (Gigantopithecus Osmanii) to scale with a Normal Human Man.
Nancy's cat Mew in Vol 2 issue 15 of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl...
Matt Goodwin mumbles something unhinged about sectarianism instead of taking the L.
The one and only Humphrey Lyttleton, dirty bopper and master of the single entendre.
At top: Responding to a post about the Pentagon planning to use Grok AI for tech development, a poster remarks :"Can't wait to see the first AI-designed vehicle that definitely won't look like Homer's car" Below: 5 German tourists rescued from an ice flow carrying a sauna tent, motorised saw and onboard motor after attempting to create their own floating sauna.
Ellen Ripley has strong opinions about dealing with San Francisco before it metastasises.
We have your parcel - but as a ransom note.
Zlatan Ibramovic (apparently) in an advert for some trading platform or another, apparently tapping ineffectually at the rear side of his phone (since the phone is in the foreground with screen facing us)
The one and only Humphrey Lyttleton
Tom Hollander as Cal "The Fucker" Richards in The Thick of It.
Latest blurting from the mind of former genius and ketamine enthusiast Elon Musk: "For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon... (snip) That said, SpaceX will also strive to build aMars city and begin doing so in about 50 to 7 years..."
Regular Harry Hill correspondent Bunty Hoven
Elon Musk's latest brain shart: "For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon... (snip) That said, SpaceX will also strive to build aMars city and begin doing so in about 50 to 7 years..."
an irate goose inquires persistently about Green Day's choice of song.