Darren Elliott-Smith

Exterior view of Armstrong Building, Newcastle University, red brick, neo-Gothic-ish architecture with many windows.

Newcastle University staff invited to a ‘Doodling for Wellbeing’ session (‘Let your pen dance across the page' in 'a perfect escape from the everyday hustle and bustle'. Invites sent on same day 153 academics were informed of their location in 'redundancy pools', with 38 redundancies planned. 1/2

If trans people have to do this then everyone has to do it, because there's no way to know if someone is trans just by looking, and apparently self-ID is a threat to civilisation.

Congratulations to those whose bigotry brought us here.

YouTube video by Russell England "Brexit five years on - It has been a disaster" GB News interview with fisherman Andy Dixon

GB News : "Brexit is a good thing?"

Brexit Fisherman : "It's been a disaster"

"But exports?"

"Red tape is 100 fold, our main market is the EU"

"But EU fisherman?"

"They didn't come here"

"But charge more?"

"They can buy in the EU"

"How would you vote?"

"I'd vote for Remain in a heart beat"

Bring it on !!! 🤍🩷🩵

Her remarks come after a Supreme Court ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex. The Welsh government said it was "carefully considering" the court's decision.

The BBC keep doing this. This isn't true. This is straightforwardly wrong in law. The ruling *only* applied to the Equality Act 2010. Trans women are still legally women for the vast majority of purposes! That's the whole point of the Gender Recognition Act.

I've put in a complaint. So can you.

They're going after Parkrun again, you know, that event where lots of people of all ages, abilities and genders run around a local park and it not, in any form, a race?

Oh hello, THE VOURDALAK has landed on Channel 4's free streaming service. A ripping adaptation of the Tolstoy (also seen in Mario Bava's BLACK SABBATH, of course). Love the commitment to having the titular blood-sucking cadaver portrayed by a life-size walkin' talkin' marionette, good stuff...

The supreme court didn’t rule on the definition of ‘a woman’ – this is what its judgment does mean | Sam Fowles The judges had to interpret the law as set down by parliament. But it must be remembered this is not an abstract debate; it concerns real people, says barrister Sam Fowles

A great article here on the ruling yesterday and how it immediately changes very little but how its implemented has some impact… www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

This is not the answer, cracking jokes at the expense of a minority group reveals another agenda. Just gross. #transrightsarehumanrights

Scottish Green Party graphic with the words "Trans rights are human rights"

Today and every day

Nintendo Halts Switch 2 Pre-Orders Over Trump's Tariffs New tariffs threaten massive price hikes on gaming hardware and other consumer goods

BREAKING: Nintendo is halting Switch 2 pre-orders due to Trump tariffs. The console is still set to launch in June. But the price might increase

Here's @ethangach.bsky.social with more:

kotaku.com/switch-2-pre...

Post Edited: Adolescence (Netflix, 2025) Hits the US by Kim Akass https://cstonline.net/adolescence-netflix-2025-hits-the-us-by-kim-akass/

The human face of all those bullshit, blue tick Twitter accounts full of racism, lies, cowardice & cruelty…

This segment from @maryannefranks.bsky.social is an incredibly tight argument that captures the breadth of the Trump assault on free speech perfectly and in less than a minute.

Spread it far and wide.

I've already suffered with shortages of meds for past two times now... this shit is real.

Collaborators with the fascists.

a young woman (Susan Kohner) clutches a casket adorned with flowers, crying. from Douglas Sirk's Imitation of Life (1959)

RIP Linda Williams. we've lost an intellectual giant whose debts to film studies & pornography studies can never be repaid. i'm grateful that she got her flowers before she passed, with a symposium & special issue honouring her work in recent years. long may her writing be taught in our classrooms.

Treasury earmarks billions in spending cuts ahead of Spring Statement Cuts to areas including welfare will be put to the official forecaster ahead of the Spring Statement.

Looking for the bit that says she'll tax the rich...can you check and see we've missed that part?

#AusterityIsAPoliticalChoice

And they talk about disrespect!!!

🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦

Disgusting treatment of Zelensky by the Trump administration they should be ashamed... revealing where their sympathies lie... with Putin.

Two Weeks In The Death Spiral Of Cardiff University - Reading Time: 4 minutesBy an anonymous academic. Cover image by Adwitiya Pal On the second day of classes…

Grim reading... voice.cymru/two-weeks-in...

Are you interested in #BodyHorror? If so, you need to check out @horrorhomeroom.bsky.social special issue 9: Body Horror - released today! 17 completely free short essays on various aspects of the genre (including one by me 😁). It’s a superb issue! Please check it out and share. #HorrorSky #FilmSky

A Flight of Dragons ! To celebrate my run up to 50... gulp.

The analogy stretches to the fact that he is trying to take over as many Government departments and hubs of data as he can, because in his mind, they are “power ups” to “buff” his character.

Time to speak up for our universities Malign forces threaten our Scottish tradition of liberal higher education

Fight for our universities! Fight for education!

#Education
#Scotland
#University

So pleased to be cited and also have a Videographic work featured alongside some amazing work in Monstrum Journal's special edition on Queer Horror. www.monstrum-society.ca/monstrum-v7-...

The cover of the book "Queer Slashers" with an adorable pastel-colored, cartoon drawing of killer Jason Voorhees, who's gathering flowers into a bouquet, his face in a happy squint.

Friends of Dorothy, meet lovers of Leatherface. @thepetermarra.bsky.social's "Queer Slashers" is now out in ebook from Indiana UP, focusing on films made by queer filmmakers like ALL ABOUT EVIL, SERIAL MOM, and STRANGER BY THE LAKE. Paper formats coming soon.
iupress.org/978025307194...

Prompted by another thread, I was reading about the history of Birkbeck College. The horror of educating the working class beyond what was needed to do their jobs echoes down the ages