@simonvarwell@mastodon.scot
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simonvarwell

@simonvarwell@mastodon.scot

Loves trains, the outdoors, travel, Esperanto, ambient and post-rock music, good food and scrontous beer. Hates car-centric societies, late stage capitalism and courgette. Slow reader, infrequent writer. Day job in education but I never talk about it here. He/him. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Avatar: white 40ish man with black woolly hat and backpack, standing in front of old red phone box and ruined church.
Banner: text saying “Geesperantistoj el la tuta mondo agu energie kontraŭ la internacia faŝismo!"

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

simonvarwell, to random Esperanto
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What an awful shame for Trump.

Sorry I meant what an awful shameful Trump.

simonvarwell, to random Esperanto
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I’ve finished Daniel Kalder’s Dictator Literature, or as it was titled in the USA (with in my view a better title) The Infernal Library - a darkly humorous dive into the writings of dictators. It’s an often enlightening insight into some horrible minds, and a call for scepticism and critique of our leaders. A big book and a long read, and the first change in my reading list for a while. Not sure I’ll add anything at the moment.

simonvarwell,
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@cmniciosaig an unusual book but quite compelling.

TheBreadmonkey, to random
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One does not simply block into Mordor

https://geektyrant.com/news/lego-reveals-massive-5471-piece-lord-of-the-rings-dark-tower-of-mordor-set

simonvarwell,
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@TheBreadmonkey Build-o Baggins.

simonvarwell, to random Esperanto
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I have a soft spot for Stroma (not stoma - that’s something else). We have friends round and… nobody else wanted any. Is it wrong that I made this imprint by myself?

A bottle of Stroma liqueur next to a glass. The bottle is half-full.

simonvarwell,
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@HighlandLawyer ah interesting. It’s lovely stuff. And no, no driving!

simonvarwell, to random Esperanto
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Grim but sensitively written article about life in - and now furth of - Grindavík, the Icelandic town closed down by volcanic activity.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/25/theres-a-volcano-in-our-backyard-life-in-the-icelandic-town-that-keeps-erupting

acf, to random
@acf@masto.alancfrancis.com avatar

Hope and I are in Glasgow and just had to duck into a Markies on Argyle Street as a mob of masked rangers fans passed by shouting and breaking stuff. M&S security was shouting into his microphone to get someone down to lock the door. Seems to have calmed a bit now but I assume there’s an old firm game today that I’m going to have to try and avoid with Hope.

simonvarwell,
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@acf yeah, the cup final. First time they’ve met in the final for 22 years apparently. Terrible circumstances.

simonvarwell,
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@acf kick off 3pm; 4:40 onwards will be worth avoiding. Good luck.

simonvarwell,
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@acf are you both ok?

basic_charnel, to random
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made some really boss saltnpepper tofu and the struggle not to eat it all before the mrs gets home is Real

simonvarwell,
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@basic_charnel sounds fair enough! Fried tofu really is good. I’ve found baking is good but doesn’t get that satisfying crispiness of frying.

simonvarwell, to random Esperanto
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It’s been a busy week, ending thankfully with an afternoon off enabling a wee wander round the city centre to get a few things. We moved house a month ago to the edge of town so it was nice to be in the centre for the first time since then. In a way I suspect I’ll enjoy the city centre more because I’ll plan ahead and make the most of it: visiting the spice shop, off-licence etc.

Now sitting in the garden listening to music, enjoying a beer (Aldi, sadly) and mulling over the General Election.

simonvarwell,
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@peterbrown I’m in the Inverness, Skye and Wester Ross one. Some absurd boundaries round here, but inevitable and an impossible job for the commission to have done.

simonvarwell,
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@peterbrown @HighlandLawyer I never vote tactically however because that’s what FPTP wants us to do.

paka, to Scotland
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A cheese vending machine in the Highlands? Yes please!

Where can you find the #cheese vending machine?

The unique device is located just five minutes from Inverness Airport at Connage Highland Dairy.

The vending machine can be found on the family farm at Ardersier.

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands-islands/6479695/cheese-vending-machine-highlands/

#Scotland #Highlands #food #vending #dairy

simonvarwell,
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@paka isn’t it? Been there but ages ago. I must go back.

fanjo, to random Esperanto
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Se estas tiom da programistoj en Esperantujo, kial la oficialaj Esperantaj retejoj aspektas kvazaŭ el la 1990-aj jaroj? (Mi estas programisto, sed mi ne kreas retejojn. Ne rigardu min.) 😂

simonvarwell,
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@fanjo @shevek vere!

simonvarwell, to random Esperanto
@simonvarwell@mastodon.scot avatar

A long time ago on a social media platform far, far away (well, October 2020 on Twitter) I began a chronological watch-through of the Star Wars canon. I am barely on Birdville now, so have moved the thread here.

Below is a link to a pdf with a very crude copy & paste job of my entire thread so far, so you can go back to the beginning and read the whole story. I will pick up the thread again below this tweet.

Happy reading, and may the force live long and shiny.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/9nmjj0sd7jth1kq4e94q9/Star-Wars-tweets.pdf?rlkey=vyndd40d23y05ph7ng83dwpa3&dl=0

simonvarwell,
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And what stands out for me is how much it fits the canon, sitting well in the flow of the story: the links to the crime syndicates, the same grittiness of Clone Wars and Bad Batch, and the same sense that the Empire’s grip is strong and brutal. And similarly we almost forget about “proper” Star Wars with the Jedi, the Force etc. This is a film instead about spirit and guile.

simonvarwell,
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So how would stand up these years later, and more importantly how would it fit in the canon? Well, some thoughts about…

simonvarwell,
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And next is fun because it’s a further nod to “proper” (perhaps “core”) Star Wars, with the Obi Wan Kenobi series, bringing us back to… well, Luke, Leia and the business we left behind seemingly ages ago at the end of film Episode 3. I’ll start watching that at some point. And then we’ll no doubt run into Han Solo again soon…

simonvarwell,
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Ok so we’ve been in a fairly steady timeline since Solo: the prequel films, Clone Wars and Bad Batch have all been about the rise of the empire and the decline of the Jedi and republic supporters. Solo was quite the departure from this albeit, as I say, fitting into the broad context and atmosphere. But now with OWK we are back to “core” Star Wars, if you will.

simonvarwell,
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I confess I was intrigued and doubtful when I heard there’d be a series about Obi Wan. As we remember from the end of film Episode 3, Obi Wan went into hiding - partly to monitor the baby Luke but also to train with Qui-Gon Jinn. I’m not convinced there’s an entire series to squeeze out of watching Ewan MacGregor in the desert glued to binoculars by day and having mock fights with a ghost by night. We meet him again in A New Hope as something of an enigma so surely that’s enough?

simonvarwell,
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OBI-WAN KENOBI

simonvarwell,
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Well, this is Star Wars so there are always stories to squeeze out of the situation. And the series starts well with a recap of the first three films that almost makes them seem quite good, and emphasises that continuity of the story.

simonvarwell,
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And episode 1 feels slow, but rebuilds Obi-Wan well, and the contrast between the loves of alike and Leia is done well: world that are lush and worlds that are dusty. The inquisitors are suitably baddy-like, and it’s fun to see characters like Senator Organa back. It perhaps feels predictable so far, but mostly enjoyable. Episode 2 has a bit of a Bad Batch feel to it, with a plucky narrow escape, and it’s good to see Obi-Wan start to rediscover himself.

simonvarwell,
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@drnoble 😂 sorry!

simonvarwell,
@simonvarwell@mastodon.scot avatar

And a nice cliffhanger at the end of ep3. Obi-Wan’s vulnerability coming through - some poignant moments, and some fun action.

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