Monthly Archives: February 2025

  • Muskrat less popular by the day

    Steve WoodsOddities, Politics, Social Media, Tech

    With the inauguration of the disgraced 47th and 45th president of the United States, insurrectionist, convicted felon, adjudicated sexual predator, business fraudster, congenital liar and golf cheat commonly known as Donald John Trump, it has been noticed that a certain level of authoritarianism – or even fascism – has entered American politics in The Felon’s desire to Make America Grate Again (or something like that. Ed.).

    Of course, The Felon is not implementing his far-right agenda in isolation.

    One of his biggest aides and pro-tem best buddy is the fascist known as Elon Reeve Musk, a man of capable of wielding vast wealth but very few brain cells. He is currently leading the charge to destroy US federal government departments in the drive for alleged efficiency; and is messing up badly, on account of which his approval rating in the USA is rapidly declining, but has yet to reach the levels seen in the UK.

    The Muskrat is of course best known for being the man who invested in Tesla cars, which was incorporated by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning in 2003. The Muskrat was only involved in the company’s first funding round, i.e. he just provided the money, not the technical expertise.

    Partly as a result of The Muskrat’s overt fascist sympathies, The Muskrat’s popularity has been adversely affected.

    Tesla car sales have also been affected by The Muskrat’s links to The Felon and his fascist sympathies too. As The Guardian reports, sales of Tesla in Europe in January 2025 were half what they were the previous year.

    In addition to this, the Tesla factory on the outskirts of Berlin has been used as a screen for another action by Led By Donkeys (posts passim), whilst showrooms have been targeted by demonstrators and even defaced.

    Next to Tesla illuminated sign, a projection with the word Heil and a picture of Musk giving a fascist salute

    In London, fake Tesla advertisements showing a saluting Muskrat and claiming the vehicles – renamed Swasticars – go from zero to 1939 in 3 seconds have started appearing.

    Poster showing Elon Musk giving fascist salute from a Tesla and featuring the slogan goes from 0 to 1939 in 3 seconds and at the foot the words Tesla and TheSwasticar

    Finally, in other news, The Muskrat, who also hold Canadian citizenship via his mother, is the subject of a federal petition seeking to revoke his citizenship. At the time of writing it has over 237,000 signatures.

  • A put-down from Linus

    Steve WoodsLanguage, Linux, Open Source, Politics, Social Media, Tech

    Linux was once famously described as Communism by former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.

    The non-corporate, contributive and sharing nature of free and open source software and operating systems is one aspect that has always made it attractive to your ‘umble scribe, who comes from a family where both branches have been left-leaning for three generations and possibly longer.

    Linus Torvalds, the creator and chief developer of the Linux kernel, the heart of the operating system, has a reputation for plain speaking, to put matters politely.

    Linus has responded forthrightly – but mostly politely to someone who aimed the phrase “woke Communist propaganda” in his direction via social media recently and set out his political views plainly for all to see, as shown in the following screenshot.


    Thank you, Linus, for your humanity, never mind the kernel. 😀

  • Farewell, Onj (1958-2025)

    Steve WoodsBristol

    Earlier this week, you ‘umble scribe received a text message after 10pm in the evening – never a good sign.

    And so it proved: my old friend André Sparkfield, affectionately known as Onj, had passed away on Monday.

    I first met Onj at a mutual friend’s house party some 30 years ago and was instantly attracted by his generosity and warmth.

    That was before I really knew of his artistic and creative side, which was truly impressive.

    Onj was a stalwart of the party and festivals scenes in the south west, providing decor for the likes of Bearded Fiend, Marcel Mouton, Mutant Dance and Tribe of Frog.

    Onj and myself worked together every year for 15 years on Trinity‘s free annual fireworks party. I lit the bonfire, Onj lit the fireworks, usually by hand (a spectacularly dangerous looking activity, says someone standing next to and tending several cubic metres of flaming wood. Ed.) until he got sophisticated in the latter years and used electronic firing so he could appreciate his handiwork. 😀

    Label on firework reads Fork Handles
    Onj with a humorously-named display firework

    Of those times, Emma has written as follows:

    Onj lit up the night sky at countless gatherings and events; not least through his many incredible free fireworks displays over the years at Trinity. These spectacular shows captured the spirit of creativity, joy and community. Displays that stopped traffic, attracted thousands and served as a cornerstone of what makes a city like Bristol sparkle.

    I can’t better Emma’s words.

    Thank you for being my friend, Onj

    Rest in peace, dear.

    Update 13/03/2025: the celebration of Onj’s life was attended by over 300 people despite the coldness of the day. A great send-off for a great man.

  • Nanny meets fascism

    Steve WoodsLanguage, Media, Politics, Social Media

    In 1964, Walt Disney released Mary Poppins starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, the man with the worst Cockney accent ever to be recorded for release on celluloid.

    One of the film’s biggest song and dance tunes was a catchy little number sung by the two stars and entitled “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious“.


    According to the song’s Wikipedia page, songwriters the Sherman Brothers have given several conflicting explanations for the word’s origin, in one instance claiming to have coined it themselves, based on their memories of having created double-talk words as children. At another time they are on record as having written the following:

    When we were little boys in the mid-1930s, we went to a summer camp in the Adirondack Mountains, where we were introduced to a very long word that had been passed down in many variations through many generations of kids. … The word as we first hear it was super-cadja-flawjalistic-espealedojus.

    Scroll forward sixty-one years from Mary Poppins on the silver screen and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious has become part of the English language.

    Furthermore, as my social media timeline this week has revealed, the word itself has been parodied and used as a pun in connection with one person in particular, the disgraced 47th and 45th president of the United States, insurrectionist, convicted felon, adjudicated sexual predator, business fraudster, congenital liar and golf cheat commonly known as Donald John Trump, who is currently dealing enthusiastically and vindictively with punishing political opponents, as well as dismantling the federal government as part of his mission to Make America Grate Again (or something like that. Ed.)

    Cardboard sign bearing the handwritten slogan Super Callous Fragile Racist Sexist Nazi Potus
    Sounds about right!

  • Daleks preferable to Musk

    Steve WoodsMedia, Oddities, Politics, Social Media

    Dalek on display at MediaCityUK in ManchesterAs part of the background to TV science fiction series Dr Who, which has graced TV screens since 1963, one learns that the planet Skaro, home of the Daleks, suffered a thousand-year war between two societies: the Kaleds and the Thals. During this period, many natives of Skaro became badly mutated by fallout from nuclear weapons and chemical warfare. The Kaled government believed in genetic purity and swore to “exterminate the Thals” for being inferior. Believing his own society was becoming weak and that it was his duty to create a new master race from the ashes of his people, a Kaled scientist named Davros genetically modified several Kaleds into squid-like life-forms he called Daleks, removing such “weaknesses” as mercy and sympathy whilst enhancing other behaviours such as aggression and the survival instinct.

    The Daleks are just about the nastiest characters ever to appear on Doctor Who: they are portrayed as violent, merciless and pitiless cyborg aliens, completely absent of any emotion other than hate, who demand total conformity to the will of the Dalek with the highest authority. Your ‘umble scribe well remembers cowering behind the settee fifty-two years ago.

    However, there are worse creatures in the universe according to your correspondent’s social media timeline.

    Goose-step forward fascist man-baby Elon Musk, a man with a now undisputed reputation for gesture politics.

    In a poll by British science fiction writer Charlie Stross, the South African-born man-baby and best buddy of the disgraced 47th and 45th president of the United States, insurrectionist, convicted felon, adjudicated sexual predator, business fraudster, congenital liar and golf cheat, one Donald John Trump, is beating the Skaro aliens hands-down over the most evil incarnation of government.

    Post reads Listen, we face a choice! Which would be less evil: government by: Elon Musk 2% Daleks 98%
    You will obey or you will be exterminated!

    Where’s a Tardis when one’s needed?

    .