John Roscoe
@johnroscoe.bsky.social
"It's not easy having a good time...
even smiling makes my face ache."
I take photographs and crack jokes; a meditative creative obsessed with dialogue. I was @JohnCRoscoe on Twitter.
johnroscoe.wordpress.com
even smiling makes my face ache."
I take photographs and crack jokes; a meditative creative obsessed with dialogue. I was @JohnCRoscoe on Twitter.
johnroscoe.wordpress.com
Pinned
John Roscoe
@johnroscoe.bsky.social
· Feb 8
It's been a long week and you've all been very good, so I'm going to share — for the first time here on BlueSky — the ultimate Mrs. Peel #Caturday video.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...
🔥CHARIOTS OF TREATS (sound up!)🔥
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...
🔥CHARIOTS OF TREATS (sound up!)🔥
I know what you mean, but I suspect that that is not what you're expected to believe — because it is profoundly unbelievable.
I suspect the reason the administration says these unbelievable things is that they want you believe that it doesn't matter what you believe; they can do as they like.
I suspect the reason the administration says these unbelievable things is that they want you believe that it doesn't matter what you believe; they can do as they like.
We’re supposed to believe this is a domestic terrorist attacking ICE with a gun
January 25, 2026 at 12:47 AM
I know what you mean, but I suspect that that is not what you're expected to believe — because it is profoundly unbelievable.
I suspect the reason the administration says these unbelievable things is that they want you believe that it doesn't matter what you believe; they can do as they like.
I suspect the reason the administration says these unbelievable things is that they want you believe that it doesn't matter what you believe; they can do as they like.
There are one hundred fifty eight Canadians not holding their breath for his walk-back (let's not pretend this an apology) on denigrating Canada's contribution to the Afghanistan mission.
Not because one isn't forthcoming (who knows/cares whether it is or not), but because they are dead.
Not because one isn't forthcoming (who knows/cares whether it is or not), but because they are dead.
January 24, 2026 at 6:24 PM
There are one hundred fifty eight Canadians not holding their breath for his walk-back (let's not pretend this an apology) on denigrating Canada's contribution to the Afghanistan mission.
Not because one isn't forthcoming (who knows/cares whether it is or not), but because they are dead.
Not because one isn't forthcoming (who knows/cares whether it is or not), but because they are dead.
Again, just like clockwork...
burble bluppity blORP-PHIPPITA GABLAASHASSHASSHASH!
The President of the United States erupts in a gyser of bile — a bileser — wetting himself and all those around him in a bitter hot mucilage of idle threats, lame insults and transparent lies.
burble bluppity blORP-PHIPPITA GABLAASHASSHASSHASH!
The President of the United States erupts in a gyser of bile — a bileser — wetting himself and all those around him in a bitter hot mucilage of idle threats, lame insults and transparent lies.
January 24, 2026 at 4:19 PM
Again, just like clockwork...
burble bluppity blORP-PHIPPITA GABLAASHASSHASSHASH!
The President of the United States erupts in a gyser of bile — a bileser — wetting himself and all those around him in a bitter hot mucilage of idle threats, lame insults and transparent lies.
burble bluppity blORP-PHIPPITA GABLAASHASSHASSHASH!
The President of the United States erupts in a gyser of bile — a bileser — wetting himself and all those around him in a bitter hot mucilage of idle threats, lame insults and transparent lies.
"Eh? What's all this rot about distillations of subterranean goo? Codswalloppy balderdash, I say! What gentleman has need of gasoline when God gives us perfectly good coal? You may keep your 'internal combustulation engine,' sir — my intervelociter runs on coal-fired steam!"
~ Danielle Smith, 1896
~ Danielle Smith, 1896
January 24, 2026 at 3:47 PM
"Eh? What's all this rot about distillations of subterranean goo? Codswalloppy balderdash, I say! What gentleman has need of gasoline when God gives us perfectly good coal? You may keep your 'internal combustulation engine,' sir — my intervelociter runs on coal-fired steam!"
~ Danielle Smith, 1896
~ Danielle Smith, 1896
One thousand nine hundred eighty-five years ago today? Gosh, seems like just yesterday.
Or tomorrow, if you're busy.
Or tomorrow, if you're busy.
January 24, 2026 at 3:15 PM
One thousand nine hundred eighty-five years ago today? Gosh, seems like just yesterday.
Or tomorrow, if you're busy.
Or tomorrow, if you're busy.
Happy January 24th to all who celebrate.
January 24, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Happy January 24th to all who celebrate.
Dear Badger:
You are hereby and forthwith uninvited to my very important and quite exclusive members-only (and therefore not you) meeting of dashing, splendid fellows who enjoy a ripping yarn, derring-do and well-heeled claret at Toad Hall Tuesday next.
Sour Persimmons, Cousin!
Yours Truely,
Toad
You are hereby and forthwith uninvited to my very important and quite exclusive members-only (and therefore not you) meeting of dashing, splendid fellows who enjoy a ripping yarn, derring-do and well-heeled claret at Toad Hall Tuesday next.
Sour Persimmons, Cousin!
Yours Truely,
Toad
January 23, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Dear Badger:
You are hereby and forthwith uninvited to my very important and quite exclusive members-only (and therefore not you) meeting of dashing, splendid fellows who enjoy a ripping yarn, derring-do and well-heeled claret at Toad Hall Tuesday next.
Sour Persimmons, Cousin!
Yours Truely,
Toad
You are hereby and forthwith uninvited to my very important and quite exclusive members-only (and therefore not you) meeting of dashing, splendid fellows who enjoy a ripping yarn, derring-do and well-heeled claret at Toad Hall Tuesday next.
Sour Persimmons, Cousin!
Yours Truely,
Toad
The years he spent marooned had not been kind to Exeter; unrelenting decades of Earth gravity had pulled his forehead into his ankles.
January 22, 2026 at 7:36 PM
The years he spent marooned had not been kind to Exeter; unrelenting decades of Earth gravity had pulled his forehead into his ankles.
A BAKERY IN DUSSELDORF 1952
[ding-ga-ding]
"Good morning, how may I... YOU!"
"Ah, Hans. I haven't seen you since-"
"You've got some nerve, showing your face around here."
"Look, Hans, that was long ago; I only-"
"Get out."
"Listen. We just wanted-"
"Get out or I will hit you with this rolling pin."
[ding-ga-ding]
"Good morning, how may I... YOU!"
"Ah, Hans. I haven't seen you since-"
"You've got some nerve, showing your face around here."
"Look, Hans, that was long ago; I only-"
"Get out."
"Listen. We just wanted-"
"Get out or I will hit you with this rolling pin."
There is going to come a time in your life when you are chatting with a guy, at a barbecue or something, a new coworker maybe, a dad at school drop off, and he tells you he used to be in ICE. You’re going to need to spit on that guy
Minnesota: "School officials say the [5-year-old] child was used as bait. They say [ICE] agents made little Liam knock on the door to ask to be let in in order to see if anyone else was home."
January 22, 2026 at 12:53 PM
A BAKERY IN DUSSELDORF 1952
[ding-ga-ding]
"Good morning, how may I... YOU!"
"Ah, Hans. I haven't seen you since-"
"You've got some nerve, showing your face around here."
"Look, Hans, that was long ago; I only-"
"Get out."
"Listen. We just wanted-"
"Get out or I will hit you with this rolling pin."
[ding-ga-ding]
"Good morning, how may I... YOU!"
"Ah, Hans. I haven't seen you since-"
"You've got some nerve, showing your face around here."
"Look, Hans, that was long ago; I only-"
"Get out."
"Listen. We just wanted-"
"Get out or I will hit you with this rolling pin."
I used to compare Trump to Caligula, but perhaps a better fit would be Caligula's horse.
January 22, 2026 at 3:06 AM
I used to compare Trump to Caligula, but perhaps a better fit would be Caligula's horse.
Uh-huh. If we round out that metaphor a little, it *was* time to take the keys away from grandpa *before* he drove through the red lights, ran over the toddlers in front of the daycare, rammed the doors to the mall and flattened the Orange Julius kiosk before parking his Buick on a couple of nuns.
January 21, 2026 at 9:28 PM
Uh-huh. If we round out that metaphor a little, it *was* time to take the keys away from grandpa *before* he drove through the red lights, ran over the toddlers in front of the daycare, rammed the doors to the mall and flattened the Orange Julius kiosk before parking his Buick on a couple of nuns.
Sorry you're under the weather, Alan. Here's a song sparrow I met last summer in SW Ontario, Canada to cheer you up.
It's true what the The Be Good Tanyas say: the littlest birds sing the prettiest songs!
#BirdOfTheDay #Singing #Birds #Photography #EastCoastKin #Birders #Birding #NaturePhotography
It's true what the The Be Good Tanyas say: the littlest birds sing the prettiest songs!
#BirdOfTheDay #Singing #Birds #Photography #EastCoastKin #Birders #Birding #NaturePhotography
January 21, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Sorry you're under the weather, Alan. Here's a song sparrow I met last summer in SW Ontario, Canada to cheer you up.
It's true what the The Be Good Tanyas say: the littlest birds sing the prettiest songs!
#BirdOfTheDay #Singing #Birds #Photography #EastCoastKin #Birders #Birding #NaturePhotography
It's true what the The Be Good Tanyas say: the littlest birds sing the prettiest songs!
#BirdOfTheDay #Singing #Birds #Photography #EastCoastKin #Birders #Birding #NaturePhotography
Newly sharpened stakes, insults and threats of impaling by Vlad the Impaler have triggered a backlash in Transylvania.
January 21, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Newly sharpened stakes, insults and threats of impaling by Vlad the Impaler have triggered a backlash in Transylvania.
And so Pierre Poilievre finds himself leaping from riding to riding, striving to steal power from those who won it fairly, and hoping each time that his next leap... will be the leap home.
January 21, 2026 at 2:47 PM
And so Pierre Poilievre finds himself leaping from riding to riding, striving to steal power from those who won it fairly, and hoping each time that his next leap... will be the leap home.
"I don't want to tell you that. Sort of. I must say. Sort of. That's sort of on the table."
You're living in a Edgrimlocracy, America.
You're living in a Edgrimlocracy, America.
January 20, 2026 at 8:49 PM
"I don't want to tell you that. Sort of. I must say. Sort of. That's sort of on the table."
You're living in a Edgrimlocracy, America.
You're living in a Edgrimlocracy, America.
Reposted by John Roscoe
Since 1947, the Canadian Rangers have provided a military presence in the Canadian North.
Experts in wilderness survival, they cover areas of Canada that are not practical for conventional Army units.
Considered to be "always on duty", this is their legendary story.
🧵1/10
Experts in wilderness survival, they cover areas of Canada that are not practical for conventional Army units.
Considered to be "always on duty", this is their legendary story.
🧵1/10
January 20, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Since 1947, the Canadian Rangers have provided a military presence in the Canadian North.
Experts in wilderness survival, they cover areas of Canada that are not practical for conventional Army units.
Considered to be "always on duty", this is their legendary story.
🧵1/10
Experts in wilderness survival, they cover areas of Canada that are not practical for conventional Army units.
Considered to be "always on duty", this is their legendary story.
🧵1/10
#FeedingTime is the theme for today's #BirdOfTheDay, so please enjoy these black-capped chickadees getting take out.
#EastCoastKin #Bird #Photography
Their movements seemed so brave yet furtive — like they thought they were getting away with something — so I set it to some classic 70's heist music.
#EastCoastKin #Bird #Photography
Their movements seemed so brave yet furtive — like they thought they were getting away with something — so I set it to some classic 70's heist music.
January 20, 2026 at 7:50 PM
#FeedingTime is the theme for today's #BirdOfTheDay, so please enjoy these black-capped chickadees getting take out.
#EastCoastKin #Bird #Photography
Their movements seemed so brave yet furtive — like they thought they were getting away with something — so I set it to some classic 70's heist music.
#EastCoastKin #Bird #Photography
Their movements seemed so brave yet furtive — like they thought they were getting away with something — so I set it to some classic 70's heist music.
One in five Americans? That's about what I'd expect. However....
Y'know those blue signs that went up in your neighbours' front yards in April of last year?
Turns out, less than half of those people are on our side.
That I find a kind of surprising and very disappointing.
Y'know those blue signs that went up in your neighbours' front yards in April of last year?
Turns out, less than half of those people are on our side.
That I find a kind of surprising and very disappointing.
January 20, 2026 at 5:33 PM
One in five Americans? That's about what I'd expect. However....
Y'know those blue signs that went up in your neighbours' front yards in April of last year?
Turns out, less than half of those people are on our side.
That I find a kind of surprising and very disappointing.
Y'know those blue signs that went up in your neighbours' front yards in April of last year?
Turns out, less than half of those people are on our side.
That I find a kind of surprising and very disappointing.
Some army guy is yammering at him in the bunker situation room, something about radiation, millions of what-the-hell who cares — he drifts in and out in a fugue-like daze. He wants the soldier to get lost, but how?
"Fine whatevs do it launch 'em."
"Are you sure Mr. Pres-"
"Can I get a cheeseburger?"
"Fine whatevs do it launch 'em."
"Are you sure Mr. Pres-"
"Can I get a cheeseburger?"
January 20, 2026 at 2:20 AM
Some army guy is yammering at him in the bunker situation room, something about radiation, millions of what-the-hell who cares — he drifts in and out in a fugue-like daze. He wants the soldier to get lost, but how?
"Fine whatevs do it launch 'em."
"Are you sure Mr. Pres-"
"Can I get a cheeseburger?"
"Fine whatevs do it launch 'em."
"Are you sure Mr. Pres-"
"Can I get a cheeseburger?"
BERLIN 1938
"And why not? Why *shouldn't* I name my line of designer ladies' apparel Adolf's Gowns? It is my name, after all. Yes, I am sure: paint that sign and I shall proudly set it high above my shop window."
LATER
"Oh shit."
"And why not? Why *shouldn't* I name my line of designer ladies' apparel Adolf's Gowns? It is my name, after all. Yes, I am sure: paint that sign and I shall proudly set it high above my shop window."
LATER
"Oh shit."
After we are past Trump, one of the things I want to see besides prison—for him and everyone who enabled him—is going nuclear on his name itself. No trademark protection for the Trump name. No ability for anyone in his family to be even a part owner in any corporation. Liquidate all Trump companies.
January 19, 2026 at 8:01 PM
BERLIN 1938
"And why not? Why *shouldn't* I name my line of designer ladies' apparel Adolf's Gowns? It is my name, after all. Yes, I am sure: paint that sign and I shall proudly set it high above my shop window."
LATER
"Oh shit."
"And why not? Why *shouldn't* I name my line of designer ladies' apparel Adolf's Gowns? It is my name, after all. Yes, I am sure: paint that sign and I shall proudly set it high above my shop window."
LATER
"Oh shit."
Hot tip for Ontario opposition parties:
If you're on Doug Ford's side and the issue is anything other than how best to line your pockets with real estate developers' bribes or bake a gooey cheesecake...
...you're *probably* on the wrong side.
(And I was being charitable about the cheesecake.)
If you're on Doug Ford's side and the issue is anything other than how best to line your pockets with real estate developers' bribes or bake a gooey cheesecake...
...you're *probably* on the wrong side.
(And I was being charitable about the cheesecake.)
January 19, 2026 at 7:37 PM
Hot tip for Ontario opposition parties:
If you're on Doug Ford's side and the issue is anything other than how best to line your pockets with real estate developers' bribes or bake a gooey cheesecake...
...you're *probably* on the wrong side.
(And I was being charitable about the cheesecake.)
If you're on Doug Ford's side and the issue is anything other than how best to line your pockets with real estate developers' bribes or bake a gooey cheesecake...
...you're *probably* on the wrong side.
(And I was being charitable about the cheesecake.)
Honestly, if doctors who skipped over reasonable doubt and their Hippocratic oath to pooh-pooh effective infection control had done so because they wanted to snort coke and wave yoo-hoo at their buddies? That I could understand.
But their *actual* motivations are less whimsical and more sinister.
But their *actual* motivations are less whimsical and more sinister.
This wasn't a reasonable screwup, or even just a group whose egos outgrew their scientific competence. Even if they'd been *right*, it would have been unreasonable to insist they *knew* COVID wasn't airborne in 2020.
Francesco Schettino should get a job in infection control.
He'd fit right in.
Francesco Schettino should get a job in infection control.
He'd fit right in.
January 19, 2026 at 7:02 PM
Honestly, if doctors who skipped over reasonable doubt and their Hippocratic oath to pooh-pooh effective infection control had done so because they wanted to snort coke and wave yoo-hoo at their buddies? That I could understand.
But their *actual* motivations are less whimsical and more sinister.
But their *actual* motivations are less whimsical and more sinister.
"The townspeople have surrendered."
"No, they haven't. They're out there with pitchforks and-"
"The local milkmaids have bared their rosy throats and await my embrace with bated breath."
"That's not even remotely-"
"The dawn will never come."
"You seem... pooped out. Wanna suck a rat or something?"
"No, they haven't. They're out there with pitchforks and-"
"The local milkmaids have bared their rosy throats and await my embrace with bated breath."
"That's not even remotely-"
"The dawn will never come."
"You seem... pooped out. Wanna suck a rat or something?"
January 19, 2026 at 6:41 PM
"The townspeople have surrendered."
"No, they haven't. They're out there with pitchforks and-"
"The local milkmaids have bared their rosy throats and await my embrace with bated breath."
"That's not even remotely-"
"The dawn will never come."
"You seem... pooped out. Wanna suck a rat or something?"
"No, they haven't. They're out there with pitchforks and-"
"The local milkmaids have bared their rosy throats and await my embrace with bated breath."
"That's not even remotely-"
"The dawn will never come."
"You seem... pooped out. Wanna suck a rat or something?"
I'mma dust off my bell bottoms and grow out my lambchop sideburns again.
January 19, 2026 at 4:03 PM
I'mma dust off my bell bottoms and grow out my lambchop sideburns again.
"AI models are actually copying copyrighted data, not 'learning' from it."
Pah! I suppose next you're going to tell me that calculators don't do math, submarines are not excellent swimmers and my thermostat's love for me isn't the real thing — there there, Thermy. Shhh. Don't listen to the bad man.
Pah! I suppose next you're going to tell me that calculators don't do math, submarines are not excellent swimmers and my thermostat's love for me isn't the real thing — there there, Thermy. Shhh. Don't listen to the bad man.
January 19, 2026 at 3:43 PM
"AI models are actually copying copyrighted data, not 'learning' from it."
Pah! I suppose next you're going to tell me that calculators don't do math, submarines are not excellent swimmers and my thermostat's love for me isn't the real thing — there there, Thermy. Shhh. Don't listen to the bad man.
Pah! I suppose next you're going to tell me that calculators don't do math, submarines are not excellent swimmers and my thermostat's love for me isn't the real thing — there there, Thermy. Shhh. Don't listen to the bad man.