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Oolong Musk 🇵🇸

@curtexplores.bsky.social

590 followers 1K following 2K posts

China. Travel. Music. Sport. Culture. Whatever. Free Palestine.

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Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · Jan 20

Decided I'll start a new project this year called 'The Year in Chinese Rail', documenting the new rail lines, stations, & anything else exciting in the world of Chinese rail in one thread.

So here it is: The Year in Chinese Rail, 2025 🧵

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Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 25m

Perhaps they thought you'd had a glow up?

Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 51m

Now I'm eating here & I love both & am much happier with my lot in life than you 👍🏻

Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 1h

My woke socialist vegetarian ass ate a full English with my non-British, non-white girlfriend as our last meal in The UK recently before flying back to our home in communist China, so it's very funny that that's now the new, forced, culture war shite of the perpetually appauled snowflake UK right

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Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 4h

Do you know what's dead fun? Supporting a team that are consistently, verifiably, statistically one of the worst teams in the English Football League every. single. year.

Just proper fun. Love it.

Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 21h

Lots of really good shoegaze-y & post-rock-y stuff coming out of East Asia in general. But I never seem to catch the names ☹️

Enjoying these guys a lot this year though - albeit a bit funky to be fully shoegaze, even if there's hints

youtu.be/glzs-susJbI?...

A Wordless Orange沉默橙 - "Wu-Chang Library天東閣" Official Audio

YouTube video by A Wordless Orange Offical沉默橙

youtu.be

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Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 22h

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Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 22h

Aware I didn't share last month's so I'll do it as screenshots here. I was quite in my own head last month & the world was getting me down a bit so it's very rambly - sorry about that.

Had a holiday & saw family since, so I'm a bit more human again this month

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Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 22h

Was thinking of skipping the monthly anonymous q&a this month & transitioning to once every two to three months to keep it fresh

But worth gauging interest I suppose? Submit your questions here: ngl.link/curtexplores...

If there's a few I'll answer now, if not I'll do it next month!

Anonymous messages!

ngl.link

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Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 1d

Fair to say I almost certainly feel the same way about him as he does me & am pleased he did me a favour by blocking me first 🙏🏻

Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 1d

If only we could have known he was actually a racist grifter. Why didn't anyone warn us!

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Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 1d

JD Vance retweeting Drew Pavlou is very 2025

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Reposted by Oolong Musk 🇵🇸

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 1d

The world's number one illegal sports betting platform, already a sponsor of PSG, Barcelona, FIBA, CAF, etc etc ad nauseam, signs yet another partnership - and with a Tour known to be a favourite playing ground for match-fixers. Nobody gives a fuck anymore it seems.
www.ggrasia.com/1xbet-announ...

1xBet announces exclusive partnership with ATP Challenger Tour - GGRAsia

Global betting company 1xBet says it has “an exclusive partnership agreement with international men’s tennis tournaments under the auspices of the ATP Challenger Tour”, presented by the Association of...

www.ggrasia.com

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Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 1d

Of course, were my team better & played somewhere like the Premier League, maybe even continental competitions like the Champions or Europa League, the competition itself mightn't be sponsored by a gambling company, but plenty of the teams are.

Priced out so watching on TV? I'd be flooded with ads.

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Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 1d

...then, once at the stadium, despite my team being one of *very* few professional teams to refuse money from any gambling companies, I'd still be met with signs, arm badges, ads & announcements reminding me I was watching the Sky Bet League Two, thanks to league rules that require it.

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Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 1d

If I were an addict & wanted to distract myself with one of my favourite pastimes (& one shared by many working class Brits) — watching my local football team — depending on the route I take, I could end up passing 3 more shops on the 20 or so minute walk to the stadium...

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Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 1d

They post solely in Italian

Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 1d

From my front door, in one of the poorest parts of one of the poorest areas of the country, I could find at least shops full of these machines within no more than a 15 minute walk. Probably more - definitely if we include pubs.

It shouldn't be so easy.

Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 1d

Well I thought it was interesting a load of Italians were blocking me, & just as interesting if Italian bots are. Wondered the motive & what the gain is. But it takes all sorts to make the World go 'round ey

Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 1d

I don't really, just interesting ain't it?

Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 1d

Scum. & if you want proof of that, here's the location of fixed odds betting machines overlayed on a map of poverty rates in. my hometown.

Scum, praying on misery.

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Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 1d

Jokes aside, having not been blocked by anyone for almost a month, I've been blocked by 6 people in less than 2 days — almost entirely Italians.

What did I do to upset you, Italy?

Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 2d

Pleased to announce that @susanjgrey.bsky.social has mastered spicy hotpot on her first day & has already earned her China-understander certificate 😁.

Pleasure to finally meet Dr Susan in person over some good food in some awful weather

Reposted by Oolong Musk 🇵🇸

Robert Bickers @bickers.bsky.social · 2d

I've written about the life and just some of the achievements of my former classmate Andy West aka 魏安, Ando, and BabelStone @babelstone.co.uk
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Andy West obituary

Other lives: Expert in encoding scripts for languages

www.theguardian.com

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Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 2d

Great choice though. Must be Stockholm?

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Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 2d

This is probably the best thread I can find to his old travel shots, since it features numerous break out threads to others he posted. If anyone has a more comprehensive one, feel free to share.

bsky.app/profile/babe...

Andrew West 魏安 @babelstone.co.uk · Sep 6

40 years ago today I walked across the Lo Wu Bridge 羅湖橋 into China for the very first time — into a world that a year's intensive study of Mandarin and Classical Chinese at SOAS University of London had woefully ill-prepared me for.

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