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disappoptimism.bsky.social
Disappointed Optimist
@disappoptimism.bsky.social
7.6K followers 1K following 20K posts
I’m that guy that looks just like this that did that tweet that made you laugh that one time. UK based.
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disappoptimism.bsky.social
Disappointed Optimist @disappoptimism.bsky.social · Nov 6
This is my thread of threads - the stories & tales I tell in one place for the Bluesky:
Reposted by Disappointed Optimist
drsimevans.carbonbrief.org
HUGE moment for the EU car market as battery EVs overtake petrol cars for the first time ever

But there's no "natural" demand for EVs amirite?

Article by @mollylempriere.carbonbrief.org

www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-evs...
January 27, 2026 at 2:46 PM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
I still remember when Goodwin ate his own book & everyone thought what a jolly fellow he was & how he didn’t take himself too seriously.
jaheale.bsky.social James Heale @jaheale.bsky.social · 4h
New: Reform UK unveil Matt Goodwin as their candidate for Denton and Gorton
January 27, 2026 at 2:17 PM
Reposted by Disappointed Optimist
kevinmkruse.bsky.social
You should read everything @adamserwer.bsky.social writes, but this one really stands out. He's given a gift link below.
After Friday’s protest, when thousands marched in frigid downtown Minneapolis, chanting, “No Trump, no troops, Twin Cities ain’t licking boots!” I spoke with a young protester named Ethan McFarland, who told me that his parents are immigrants from Uganda. He had recently asked his mother to show him her immigration papers, in case she got picked up. This kind of state oppression, he said, is exactly what his mother was “trying to get away from” when she came to the United States. McFarland’s remarks reminded me of something Stephen Miller, the Trump adviser, had written: “Migrants and their descendants recreate the conditions, and terrors, of their broken homelands.” In Minnesota, the opposite was happening. The “conditions and terrors” of immigrants’ “broken homelands” weren’t being re-created by immigrants. They were being re-created by people like Miller. The immigrants simply have the experience to recognize them.
January 27, 2026 at 2:09 PM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
How sweet. Belief that the system works somehow.
mayorjacobfrey.bsky.social Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey @mayorjacobfrey.bsky.social · 19h
My statement after speaking with President Trump this afternoon:
January 27, 2026 at 2:09 PM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
Month 18 of this being said and still no enterprise has ascended to God status due to AI.
January 27, 2026 at 1:38 PM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
The horseshoe is a bit like Schrödingers cat in a box in the fact it doesn’t exist until you witness it
January 27, 2026 at 12:37 PM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
You live long enough; someone, somewhere does the literal meme
trout61.bsky.social David/Trout @trout61.bsky.social · 8h
A double award winner here.

A gold medal in the, I didn't think the face eating leopard would eat my face; and

A silver medal in the Darwin Awards.
January 27, 2026 at 11:21 AM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
I see Japan has Liz Trussed itself
January 27, 2026 at 9:42 AM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
You can kinda respect conspiracy theorist mindsets at times
yasharali.bsky.social Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 1d
Something jarring about seeing Hillary Clinton and Tucker Carlson on the same speech program.

This is for a Saudi Real Estate conference starting tomorrow.
A vertically oriented promotional poster with a dark blue gradient background for the “Real Estate Future Forum,” organized by Saudi Arabia’s Real Estate General Authority (REGA). At the top are the forum logo and the REGA logo in white. Large Arabic text in the center reads “Riyadh,” described as “the capital of global real estate dialogue,” followed by a short paragraph stating that the forum affirms the Kingdom’s position as a global economic center and brings together international investors and experts to discuss the future of the global economy. Below the text are five professional headshot photos arranged in two rows. In the top row are John Kerry (left), a gray-haired man in a dark suit and tie, and Hillary Clinton (right), a blonde woman smiling and wearing a dark blouse. Beneath each photo are Arabic captions identifying them as former U.S. Secretaries of State from the United States. In the bottom row are three photos: Tucker Carlson (left), a man in a dark jacket and light shirt; Piers Morgan (center), a man in a suit jacket and open-collar shirt; and Richard Branson (right), a man with long blond hair and a beard wearing a dark jacket. Arabic captions beneath each identify Carlson and Morgan as media figures and Branson as the founder of the Virgin Group, with their respective countries listed (United States for Carlson; United Kingdom for Morgan and Branson). Near the bottom, Arabic text states “Fifth Edition,” with dates listed as January 26–28, 2026. Below that, the venue is listed as the Four Seasons Hotel at Kingdom Center in Riyadh. Along the very bottom edge are several small official logos and icons related to Saudi government housing and development programs and Vision 2030, all in white.
January 26, 2026 at 8:17 PM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
It’s worth remembering online that lots of very techie people now believe more than 60% of internet traffic is no longer organic: it’s machine code doing automated stuff in various forms. Crypto, hacking, algorithm gaming, scraping, indexing.
January 26, 2026 at 4:04 PM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
This has the hand of Badenoch all over it. The sort of dimwitted bile that belies a real lack of experience or understanding
pickardje.bsky.social Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 1d
not sure this is the classiest response from the Tories to the latest defection to Reform UK
January 26, 2026 at 3:28 PM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
Kanye is just ahead of the curve. In 18 months time major political & social figures will be saying the same thing
phillewis.bsky.social Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 1d
Ye, fka Kanye West, takes out a full-page in the Wall Street Journal to apologize to the Black community, and for antisemitism:

“I lost touch with reality”
Twenty-five years ago, I was in a car accident that broke my jaw and caused injury to the right frontal lobe of my brain. At the time, the focus was on the visible damage - the fracture, the swelling, and the immediate physical trauma. The deeper injury, the one inside my skull, went unnoticed. Comprehensive scans were not done, neurological exams were limited, and the possibility of a frontal-lobe injury was never raised. It wasn't properly diagnosed until 2023. That medical oversight caused serious damage to my mental health and led to my bipolar type-l diagnosis. Bipolar disorder comes with its own defense system. Denial. When you're manic, you don't think you're sick. You think everyone else is overreacting. You feel like you're seeing the world more clearly than ever, when in reality you're losing your grip entirely. Once people label you as 'crazy', you feel as if you cannot contribute anything meaningful to the world. It's easy for people to joke and laugh it off when in fact this is a very serious debilitating disease you can die from. According to the World Health Organization and Cambridge University, people with bipolar disorder have a life expectancy that is shortened by ten to fifteen years on average, and a 2x-3x higher all-cause mortality rate than the general population. This is on par with severe heart disease, type-1 diabetes, HIV, and cancer-all lethal and fatal if left untreated. The scariest thing about this disorder is how persuasive it is when it tells you: You don't need help. It makes you blind, but convinced you have insight. You feel powerful, certain, and unstoppable. I lost touch with reality. Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. I said and did things I deeply regret. Some of the people I love the most, I treated the worst. You endured fear, confusion, humiliation, and the exhaustion of trying to love someone who was at times, unrecognizable. Looking back, I became detached from my true self. In that fractured state. I gra…
January 26, 2026 at 2:40 PM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
This is tough one for me but here goes:
A good quality pastrami, emmenthal cheese, sliced gherkin, a Dijon mustard.

Served in slices of lightly toasted rye bread.
londonreviewbookshop.co.uk LRB Bookshop @londonreviewbookshop.co.uk · 1d
it's time to play, "the big sandwich". you are allowed to nominate six ingredients and one bread type, and must specify whether or not it is toasted. Good Luck
January 26, 2026 at 2:39 PM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
Squirrels collect nuts. More on this story as it develops.
samfr.bsky.social Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 1d
More members of Liz Truss's cabinet are in Reform than in Badenoch's shadow cabinet...
January 26, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Reposted by Disappointed Optimist
scriblit.bsky.social
Liz Truss waiting patiently by her phone for Reform to ring, not realising it's actually a penguin biscuit
January 26, 2026 at 12:34 PM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
Found a YouTube channel that makes entirely ambient videos of Skyrim with accompanying music from the game. Like, 2 hour long videos.

Amazing stuff if you have a decent projector

youtube.com/@tranquilwor...
Tranquil World
Welcome to Tranquil World – a serene musical haven inspired by Skyrim. Here, you’ll find chill, soothing melodies that echo snowy mountains, silent forests, and the calm northern skies, helping you un...
youtube.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:55 AM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
I’m just putting it out there:

In no way would Andy Burnham be a better UK leader than Starmer.

Much as I think the guy did a decent job of making people pay attention to the north.

Not actually sure who would be a good leader for UK other than Starmer right now. But it’s not Burnham.
January 26, 2026 at 9:32 AM
Reposted by Disappointed Optimist
fulelo.bsky.social
#BBCNews - UK to join major wind farm project with nine European countries
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
UK to join major wind farm project with eight European countries
For the first time, the new wind farms will be connected to more than one country through undersea cables.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 26, 2026 at 9:28 AM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
Started watching Tron Ares.

Stopped.

It bad.
January 25, 2026 at 9:25 PM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
I mean, it’s been overdue a boycott for 10 years
January 24, 2026 at 12:46 PM
Reposted by Disappointed Optimist
glennyrodge.bsky.social
I’ve lost my thesaurus. I've lost it. It's lost.
January 23, 2026 at 11:43 AM
Reposted by Disappointed Optimist
gilesyb.bsky.social
Have just subscribed to this AI/jobs newsletter and it's excellent

The AI Shift: What millions of job ads reveal about AI displacement - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @sarahoconnorft.ft.com @jburnmurdoch.ft.com
The AI Shift: What millions of job ads reveal about AI displacement
A close inspection suggests all is not what it seems
giftarticle.ft.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:20 AM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
The last carrot that slipped to the back of the cupboard.
January 22, 2026 at 9:27 PM
Reposted by Disappointed Optimist
kibblesmith.com
The main thing Elon Musk took from us when he bought Twitter was destroying the only customer service platform that corporations will actually answer you on
January 22, 2026 at 9:01 PM
disappoptimism.bsky.social
Delighted that whenever someone called Mario is on TV everyone yells “HEY ITS A ME MARIO!” At the tv in our house
January 22, 2026 at 9:09 PM