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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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Reposted by Oolong Musk 🇵🇸

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · 7h

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 · 9h

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 · 9h

...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 · 9h

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 · 9h

They post solely in Italian

Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 9h

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 · 9h

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 · 9h

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

Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 9h

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 · 9h

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 · 1d

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 · 1d

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 · 1d

Great choice though. Must be Stockholm?

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

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

I didn't know Andrew. We never met, & only interacted on the odd occasion. Indeed, there would no doubt be things we disagreed on. But contact with, & access to, people like him - true experts in their field, in every sense - is what makes websites like this great, & why I stay.

I will miss him.

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

Indeed, it is a real honor of mine that an image of Tangut script taken by myself some years back made it onto his excellent - if a little complex for someone with little knowledge like myself - website: babelstone.co.uk

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

This will be abundantly clear if you've ever read anything on the Khitans, Xixia, Jurchen, etc on Wikipedia, where you will no doubt have come across his images and research.

commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Ba...

User:BabelStone - Wikimedia Commons

commons.wikimedia.org

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

I don't imagine there will be many in the West, or indeed the World, with as deep an understanding of the old languages that were once spoken in what is now China, and the people that spoke them, than Andrew had.

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

Very sad to have just learned of the passing of Andrew West. His old travel threads of his trips through parts of China that remain alien to many of us even now, in 2025, never mind the 1980s, are perhaps my favourite things on this entire website.

A true font of knowledge.

Andrew West 魏安 @babelstone.co.uk · Feb 7

For the Spring Holiday of 1985, during our year studying at the Beijing Language Institute (2nd year of SOAS Chinese degree course), my roommate (APB) and me decided to go on a big adventure overland from Chengdu to Lhasa 1/🧵

Set of three commemorative stamps (Set 特14) issued by the China People's Postal Service (中國人民邮政) in March 1956 to celebrate the completion of two highways from Sichuan and Qinghai to Lhasa (康臧青臧公路)

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

It seems that within the past hour, I have upset the Italians

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

Does anyone know if Lu is still around? It would be nice to have a catch up, see how (s)he's doing.

If you are here under a different name & don't want it known publicly, drop me a DM here or elsewhere. I'll keep it a secret. You just popped into my head & would be nice to know you're doing well 👍🏻

Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · Nov 14

Will never forgive @staunchlypc.bsky.social for posting this tweet just hours after I said the phrase 'I'll stop gushing' whilst shooting a (still unreleased) video (can't post the clip here because Bluesky apparently doesnt support video? But here it is on X twitter.com/CurtExplores... )

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

I am forever grateful that Facebook asks the real questions

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

No country has been more successful at PR than Japan in recent decades. Its worth studying.

So successful, it has Americans offended by proxy at a tepid joke on a video of people speaking Japanese, cooking a Japanese dish on Japanese equipment, posted by a Japanese account w/ a Japanese caption

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

Very blessed to be surrounded by good hearts

Oolong Musk 🇵🇸 @curtexplores.bsky.social · 3d

last day on the oblong of dreams