Jasper Sharp

Puccinia lapsanae, gall on young Nipplewort leaves.

Puccinia lapsanae, galls on young Nipplewort leaves.

Puccinia lapsanae, galls on young Nipplewort leaves.

#Fungi #VC55 #galls

I'm surprised though that the field doesn't attract more critical analysis from the wider cultural sphere, and writing about games is rarely of the same death as what was happening in film criticism, for example, in the 1960s. More people game than watch films or television now, I'd say.

Well not really. I dabble. But film critics need to be aware what's happening in other cultural fields, especially the video game world given the convergence between films and games, and I guess I'm of the generation to have witnessed this new media form basically from its birth with Pong and Pacman

For me, the simplicity, the twee-ness, the lack of humour, subversion and sophistication in the world view it presents keep this far from the greatness of say, Red Dead Redemption 2, but interesting to see this take on the game pointing to a darker aspect that now seems evident in hindsight.

But there is something about the overall cultural aroma of the game I've found perturbing, and I think this video pretty much nails it. As is mentioned, there's no artistry to merely reproducing and re-presenting the imagery and iconography of a particular epoch without any critical comment on it.

I've found the game playable enough, and it sure looks pretty, but somewhat wanting in terms of a combat system that relies on hitting the parry button at precisely the right moment, and a narrative that feels all too linear after spending much of 2025 replaying Baldur's Gate 3...

YouTube video by ache Expedition 33 : Entre Nationalisme, Misogynie et Haine de l'Etranger.

This piece on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 just caught my eye. As a recent returner to the gaming world after several decades, I’ve been surprised by the lack of critical analysis in a medium now 50+ years old & with a potential narrative richness far exceeding cinema. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8M8...

As if we don’t have enough reasons at the moment to remind us why renewables are the only sensible way forward.

Please don't make me tap the sign

"A Reform UK council deputy leader [Darren Grimes, Durham County Council] has been caught using a fake AI-generated photograph to stoke tensions over housing and migration, exposing the shameless tactics deployed by politicians willing to deceive their own constituents"
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Another slug repost…

Will the constituents of Clacton or Skegness vote again for MPs who reliably fail to represent them? Will the MPs who are currently in Reform defect to Restore, or will there be another party to add to the list of UKIP/VERITAS/BREXIT PARTY/REFORM failed endeavours….

Boiling frogs and all that…

Reform renters rights opposition shows they're 'in pocket of rogue landlords' Last week multi-millionaire Deputy Reform leader Richard Tice, announced that a Reform government would tear up Labour legislation to tackle abuse of tenants and employees

Reform’s vow to scrap the Renters Rights Act shows they’re “in the pocket of rogue landlords”, the Housing Secretary has claimed

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

I would be really surprised if Reform go into the next election with even the eight MPs they have now.

Tokyo's Burning (1995) - ABC listen Tokyo's Burning was made to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the mass firebombing of Tokyo in March 1945 in which 100000 people died and several million were 'de-housed'.The feature includes ey...

Tokyo's Burning was made to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the mass firebombing of Tokyo in March 1945 in which 100000 people died and several million were 'de-housed'.

www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

Great news to wake up to. Here’s hoping it signals a shift back to decency in British politics. One thing it proves is the Reform don’t have a hope in hells chance at the next election. Green actually have more MPs who stood for election for the party they were voted in as than Farage’s losers.

Not all slugs are bad for the garden. Most “may attack some vegetables or flowers but far prefer decaying organic matter.”

A primer on jidai-geki I wrote for Japan House's upcoming 'Samurai on screen: honour, swordplay and film legends' film season in London, running 15 February – 24 June 2026. www.japanhouselondon.uk/read-and-wat...

That’s what I thought - Rickenella fibula.

My camera macro lens changed my life!

Yes, I guess the rain certainly helps!

It's the small things in life... Alder Goblets (Ciboria caucus), a tiny cup fungus that appears this time of year on very wet fallen alder catkins. #fungifriends #mycology #naturephotography #fungiphotography

Stewart Lee. I linked to his column in my post

Maybe he’ll just leave in a huff and join Restore?

“Newly-released messages between the far-right former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, reveal how Bannon worked with Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage to “overthrow” Theresa May at the height of the 2018 Brexit crisis in the UK.”

“In 2023, the OBE-nominated businessman sent out a tweet saying “someone should kill Sadiq Khan”, and announced plans to move to Spain or Dubai to avoid tax, but now is considering returning to the UK to stand as a Reform councillor because he fears Labour’s tax plans. “

The British press

Steccherinum robustius

#Steccherinumrobustius #Steccherinum #RotorangerResupinatstacheling #LangzähnigerResupinatstacheling #mushroom #mushrooms #fungus #fungi #pilz #pilze #champignons #champignon #nature #natur #FungiFriends

Thank you! My bad.