Marie Gardiner

Way past its prime: how did Amazon get so rubbish? Sick of scrolling through junk results, AI-generated ads and links to lookalike products? The author and activist behind the term ‘enshittification’ explains what’s gone wrong with the internet – and ...

'[...]the first result in an Amazon search is 29% more expensive than the best match for your search. Click any of the top four links on the top of your screen & you’ll pay an average of 25% more than you would for your best match – which [...] is located 17 places down in a [...] search result.'

A pink rose from above with green leaves blurred out in the background

To break up the terribleness of the world, here's a rose from a bunch our friends bought us.

#photography #mobilephotography

Hahaha, incredible

A pink rose from above with green leaves blurred out in the background

To break up the terribleness of the world, here's a rose from a bunch our friends bought us.

#photography #mobilephotography

Hey Darmon, a lot of people dropped off but a good amount of us are still here. Glad to see you dipping back in, hope all is well

Some people have stronger feelings about if an AI actor is real* than they do about people in Gaza being wiped out, or people in small boats dying because there are no safe routes, or people being whipped up into racist frenzies and committing hate crimes.

*it fucking isn't you weirdo.

Thank you!

a black and white photograph of tall trees on a misty day, with foliage at the top of them but bare thin trunks below

two large cooling towers in a black and white image, with stormy skies above. Various other industrial structures sit below them but pale into insignificance with the size of the towers

a narrow road leading out of sight around a corner, with a black and white guard bumper rail to the right. In the background is a storm over the sea and if you look very closely there's a tiny boat visible in the distance

A ruined, long farmhouse with foliage covering most of the right hand side of it. A chimney is still standing from the middle, and the roof is partially intact to the left. Around is grass, stone walls, and a few trees. The sky is dramatic.

You're used to seeing mostly colour images from me but I do black and white occasionally too - though not as much as I used to. Here are a selection from over the years.

#Photography #BlackandWhite #ThePhotoHour

Beyond the flags: grief, polarisation and the work of repair Amid grief, rage and division, there are seeds of hope and repair to be found in the North East. But they will not flourish if we stay silent.

Very timely and interesting statement from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Particularly interesting re my own work, but also to those who want to know just what the hell is going on.

'Engaging with the grief and anger of white working-class communities that this comment...' 1/3

Thank you, thankfully just one of a regular set!

A broken wine glass in a sink

😩

🥹

BAGELS

Am I doing it right

🖥 We have a number of online research training courses starting in October.

Visit the IHR website to register and find detailed information on each course: www.history.ac.uk/study-traini...

Library staff are wonderful aren't they. I emailed the uni library to ask for advice on some additional classes to take to brush up on my skills, and I got (in less than 24 hours mind you) a really comprehensive reply and a friendly welcome. I know I'm all shiny and new and excited, but it's great.

Aghhh dystopian hellscape timeline aghhhhhh

I've had a couple of people irl repeat some nonsense moral panic phrases to me, and when I've probed them further there's absolutely nothing. They know what they've been told to parrot and that's it, beyond that they actually don't know what it is they're supposed to be angry about.

Pocket Conker is the name of my wannabe edgy but actually quite cringe early '90s band.

hahaha, so random

Says the guy who thinks that by virtue of luck as to where you're born dictates whether you deserve to survive. Lol.

Of course the union flags are upside down as well. Of course they are 😂

Oh well if people will be unhappy about the character of their communities changing then I guess sacrificing the lives of those you deem less worthy (you've still not mentioned who they might be?) is totally worth it then, why didn't you say(!)

Cool, I love questions like this. Okay Graham, so tell us who you'd be okay with dying?

a screenshot of the Greggs website that shows a variety of bean bags and a cushion on offer including in the style of a steak bake and sausage roll

I'm sorry for rapid-fire posting but I just accidentally became aware that you can get massive bean bags from Greggs that are the shape and design of their various baked offerings, and I was compelled to share it with you, lest the horrors fester in my mind alone.

'...colonial practice and domination.'

'the grief of poor and working-class communities is being deliberately redirected away from the systems that created it, and against those who are themselves marginalised'

3/3

'...has described is not the same as endorsing racist beliefs and behaviours. But we need to recognise that this grief and anger co-exist with racism and harm, and that all these experiences emanate from the same source: an extractive, exploitative capitalist system rooted in...' 2/3

Beyond the flags: grief, polarisation and the work of repair Amid grief, rage and division, there are seeds of hope and repair to be found in the North East. But they will not flourish if we stay silent.

Very timely and interesting statement from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Particularly interesting re my own work, but also to those who want to know just what the hell is going on.

'Engaging with the grief and anger of white working-class communities that this comment...' 1/3

Scientists Finally Reveal Biological Basis of Long COVID Brain Fog Researchers employed a specialized brain imaging technique to identify a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for Long COVID. More than four years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, scien...

Scientists Finally Reveal Biological Basis of Long COVID Brain Fog.

Patients with brain fog may have disrupted AMPA receptor (AMPAR) expression—key molecules for memory and learning. Imaging of Long COVID patients showed elevated AMPAR density tied to more severe cognitive impairment.

two of each tea 😂