Helen McCarthy
@glider.bsky.social
Glider in the night, dancer in the dark, lover of lost rivers and paths in the woods and libraries and half-open doors. Moonlights as a writer.
All images and poems mine unless credited elsewise. AI is only acceptable if it's consensual.
All images and poems mine unless credited elsewise. AI is only acceptable if it's consensual.
In London on 3 March? Why not book a ticket for my book launch? Hear about how - and why - the book came into being, some of the stories it contains, be among the first to get a copy, and if you like I'll sign it!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-manga-...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-manga-...
January 20, 2026 at 10:27 AM
In London on 3 March? Why not book a ticket for my book launch? Hear about how - and why - the book came into being, some of the stories it contains, be among the first to get a copy, and if you like I'll sign it!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-manga-...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-manga-...
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
I love Marlowe and Con is so good as Tamburlaine, but it's very funny that the producers for this adaptation were like "What do scary shepherds sound like?" and the whole room replied "Northerners."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9A...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9A...
Tamburlaine - Marlowe - Con O’Neill - Oliver Ford Davis - Subtitles - 2012 - Restored 2025 - 4K
YouTube video by Shakespeare Network
www.youtube.com
January 20, 2026 at 10:20 AM
I love Marlowe and Con is so good as Tamburlaine, but it's very funny that the producers for this adaptation were like "What do scary shepherds sound like?" and the whole room replied "Northerners."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9A...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9A...
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
Barbara, the gray witch - Witch’s love song [USA, Folk, Electronic, Esoteric](1968) The only song off a spoken word occult album
https://redd.it/fc99wo
https://youtu.be/5dGcZ6S4IoQ
https://redd.it/fc99wo
https://youtu.be/5dGcZ6S4IoQ
Barbara, the gray witch - Witch’s love song [USA, Folk, Electronic, Esoteric](1968) The only song off a spoken word occult album
youtu.be
January 20, 2026 at 10:09 AM
Barbara, the gray witch - Witch’s love song [USA, Folk, Electronic, Esoteric](1968) The only song off a spoken word occult album
https://redd.it/fc99wo
https://youtu.be/5dGcZ6S4IoQ
https://redd.it/fc99wo
https://youtu.be/5dGcZ6S4IoQ
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
Lara Saint Paul - So [Italy / Funk - Soul - Afrobeat] (1975)
https://redd.it/f7je7j
https://youtu.be/gJ2WPNH3X_I
https://redd.it/f7je7j
https://youtu.be/gJ2WPNH3X_I
Lara Saint Paul - So [Italy / Funk - Soul - Afrobeat] (1975)
youtu.be
January 20, 2026 at 9:15 AM
Lara Saint Paul - So [Italy / Funk - Soul - Afrobeat] (1975)
https://redd.it/f7je7j
https://youtu.be/gJ2WPNH3X_I
https://redd.it/f7je7j
https://youtu.be/gJ2WPNH3X_I
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Gutted to hear about the passing of the drummer of legendary Australian band Midnight Oil.
Hirsty was the engine to powerhouse activist anthems like this one, an anti-war, anti-US imperialism banger which is more relevant in 2026 than I am wholly comfortable with
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Hirsty was the engine to powerhouse activist anthems like this one, an anti-war, anti-US imperialism banger which is more relevant in 2026 than I am wholly comfortable with
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...
Midnight Oil - US Forces (Official Video)
YouTube video by MidnightOilVEVO
youtu.be
January 20, 2026 at 8:26 AM
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
He wouldn't know a nuclear code from a map of Greenland, but he is surrounded by people who will tend to his every obsession and proclivity. It's his enablers who we need to worry about.
It’s 1:45 AM & the President posted 10 times this hour—calling for investigations of sitting members of Congress, threatening to jail protesters, sharing alleged diplomatic messages, and posting AI-generated images of himself conquering Greenland. This is the person with access to the nuclear codes.
January 20, 2026 at 7:23 AM
He wouldn't know a nuclear code from a map of Greenland, but he is surrounded by people who will tend to his every obsession and proclivity. It's his enablers who we need to worry about.
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
The #Black #Panthers are back. In 2026, a group operating as the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense has re-emerged, in defense of Black and marginalized communities.
Not the same organization that operated from 66-82, its mission echoes the same demand: dignity, justice, and power to the people.✊💪
Not the same organization that operated from 66-82, its mission echoes the same demand: dignity, justice, and power to the people.✊💪
January 20, 2026 at 3:59 AM
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
Star Trek Phase II Enterprise
Drydock and Starbase HQ and Matt Jefferies Space Tug design #lightwave3d #startrek
Drydock and Starbase HQ and Matt Jefferies Space Tug design #lightwave3d #startrek
January 19, 2026 at 9:17 AM
Star Trek Phase II Enterprise
Drydock and Starbase HQ and Matt Jefferies Space Tug design #lightwave3d #startrek
Drydock and Starbase HQ and Matt Jefferies Space Tug design #lightwave3d #startrek
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
Incredible how men absolutely refuse to learn what mansplaining *actually is* and as a result mansplain it to us, in this way.
January 19, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Incredible how men absolutely refuse to learn what mansplaining *actually is* and as a result mansplain it to us, in this way.
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
Good morning! 🌱
If flowers can bloom even during grey, cold months, so can we.
Stay strong and have a terrific Tuesday! 🫶
If flowers can bloom even during grey, cold months, so can we.
Stay strong and have a terrific Tuesday! 🫶
January 20, 2026 at 8:33 AM
Good morning! 🌱
If flowers can bloom even during grey, cold months, so can we.
Stay strong and have a terrific Tuesday! 🫶
If flowers can bloom even during grey, cold months, so can we.
Stay strong and have a terrific Tuesday! 🫶
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
Watch out: the guy who bombed Iran, kidnapped a foreign leader, and is currently invading a city in his own country is going to stop being so peaceful
January 20, 2026 at 1:18 AM
Watch out: the guy who bombed Iran, kidnapped a foreign leader, and is currently invading a city in his own country is going to stop being so peaceful
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
Dying because you haven't enough money for care, is not choosing to die.
Just fyi. On Friday, Lord Falconer, who's shepherding the assisted dying bill through the Lords, admitted that he thought it was fine if someone chose to die because they didn't have enough money for care
If you're left wing and support the principle, I really need you to look at the bill's details
If you're left wing and support the principle, I really need you to look at the bill's details
January 19, 2026 at 7:53 PM
Dying because you haven't enough money for care, is not choosing to die.
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
It has been one month since the Trump administration's deadline to release the Epstein files passed. To date, they have only released 1% of the files they have.
The party of pedophile protectors.
The party of pedophile protectors.
January 20, 2026 at 3:05 AM
It has been one month since the Trump administration's deadline to release the Epstein files passed. To date, they have only released 1% of the files they have.
The party of pedophile protectors.
The party of pedophile protectors.
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
Happy Birthday Larry!
🥳 🎉🎂🎁❤️
This week, Larry the Cat from Downing Street in the UK turns 19 years old. That's >90 yrs old in comparative human years.
#cat #celeb #larrythecat #uk
🥳 🎉🎂🎁❤️
This week, Larry the Cat from Downing Street in the UK turns 19 years old. That's >90 yrs old in comparative human years.
#cat #celeb #larrythecat #uk
January 20, 2026 at 6:17 AM
Happy Birthday Larry!
🥳 🎉🎂🎁❤️
This week, Larry the Cat from Downing Street in the UK turns 19 years old. That's >90 yrs old in comparative human years.
#cat #celeb #larrythecat #uk
🥳 🎉🎂🎁❤️
This week, Larry the Cat from Downing Street in the UK turns 19 years old. That's >90 yrs old in comparative human years.
#cat #celeb #larrythecat #uk
"Globally, 18% of species facing threat of extinction are negatively affected by utilities and service lines (mainly electrocution), while 11% are negatively affected by wind facilities." The casual impact of the alpha predator.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘We thought they would ignore us’: how humans are changing the way raptors behave
Experts call for tighter regulation as GPS tracking reveals how people’s behaviour affects the lives of some of the world’s largest birds
www.theguardian.com
January 20, 2026 at 8:35 AM
"Globally, 18% of species facing threat of extinction are negatively affected by utilities and service lines (mainly electrocution), while 11% are negatively affected by wind facilities." The casual impact of the alpha predator.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
This is the fucking limit. I had no idea that Amazon drivers AREN'T ALLOWED TO SING
wat
CRUSH this monopoly wtf my levels were already redlining
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
wat
CRUSH this monopoly wtf my levels were already redlining
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
January 18, 2026 at 4:56 PM
This is the fucking limit. I had no idea that Amazon drivers AREN'T ALLOWED TO SING
wat
CRUSH this monopoly wtf my levels were already redlining
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
wat
CRUSH this monopoly wtf my levels were already redlining
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
January 19, 2026 at 2:36 AM
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
i feel like Americans don't get the level of eye-rolling this is getting from Europe
January 19, 2026 at 4:06 AM
i feel like Americans don't get the level of eye-rolling this is getting from Europe
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
"Living your life to impress other men by hating women is one of the most embarrassing things I can imagine. Looking up to any of these men for how to live your life is even sadder."
(rebecca shaw)
(rebecca shaw)
I knew one day I’d have to watch powerful men burn the world down – I just didn’t expect them to be such losers | Rebecca Shaw
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg’s desperation to be cool as they suck up to Donald Trump is so cringe it makes my skin crawl
www.theguardian.com
January 17, 2026 at 8:13 PM
"Living your life to impress other men by hating women is one of the most embarrassing things I can imagine. Looking up to any of these men for how to live your life is even sadder."
(rebecca shaw)
(rebecca shaw)
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
Here is something. Beautiful.
#SomethingBeautiful The first time I saw an orange tree with oranges growing on it I said "Just as if they were real!"
January 18, 2026 at 6:38 AM
Here is something. Beautiful.
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
The Green Arrows - No Delay [Zimbabwe/South Africa, Pop-Rock/Afrobeat] (1975)
https://redd.it/7f059x
https://youtu.be/_9njxMnMl6E
https://redd.it/7f059x
https://youtu.be/_9njxMnMl6E
The Green Arrows - No Delay [Zimbabwe/South Africa, Pop-Rock/Afrobeat] (1975)
youtu.be
January 19, 2026 at 6:52 AM
The Green Arrows - No Delay [Zimbabwe/South Africa, Pop-Rock/Afrobeat] (1975)
https://redd.it/7f059x
https://youtu.be/_9njxMnMl6E
https://redd.it/7f059x
https://youtu.be/_9njxMnMl6E
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
The Popcorn Explosion - Hurricane [Oslo, Norway ; Garage Rock] (1989) Cover of the Rochester, UK band The Prisoners' first single, which released in 1983.
https://redd.it/1c3vz3p
https://youtu.be/DglP9TvXUvI
https://redd.it/1c3vz3p
https://youtu.be/DglP9TvXUvI
The Popcorn Explosion - Hurricane [Oslo, Norway ; Garage Rock] (1989) Cover of the Rochester, UK band The Prisoners' first single, which released in 1983.
youtu.be
January 18, 2026 at 6:01 PM
The Popcorn Explosion - Hurricane [Oslo, Norway ; Garage Rock] (1989) Cover of the Rochester, UK band The Prisoners' first single, which released in 1983.
https://redd.it/1c3vz3p
https://youtu.be/DglP9TvXUvI
https://redd.it/1c3vz3p
https://youtu.be/DglP9TvXUvI
Dear Apple, what is the point of putting fancy wrapping paper on an update that suggests we use #AI ? That's like giving me shoplifted polyester comedy socks for as a gift and thinking I'll be impressed because you went to so much trouble to package them nicely.
January 18, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Dear Apple, what is the point of putting fancy wrapping paper on an update that suggests we use #AI ? That's like giving me shoplifted polyester comedy socks for as a gift and thinking I'll be impressed because you went to so much trouble to package them nicely.
Reposted by Helen McCarthy
Just wasted 1/2 hour changing all my iphones settings back to useable after the “glass” update.
20 something developers with great eyesight should have to have their ideas vetted by older users. 😡
20 something developers with great eyesight should have to have their ideas vetted by older users. 😡
January 18, 2026 at 3:53 PM
Just wasted 1/2 hour changing all my iphones settings back to useable after the “glass” update.
20 something developers with great eyesight should have to have their ideas vetted by older users. 😡
20 something developers with great eyesight should have to have their ideas vetted by older users. 😡