Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Rik Ward, again

@rikward.com

320 followers 1.3K following 300 posts

Made lots of websites once - now looks after people who do. Music, Art and Indie Game appreciator. General gentleman. 'Performer' of internet radio mistake The Blender. Rip-off Artist. Affectionately known, by some, as Major Disaster.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Rik Ward, again @rikward.com · Nov 12

I'm with the brand.

Kudos to the amazing @spraypopmusic.bsky.social and their HappyRobots pals for an amazing evening last night.

[From: 20 Mar 2022]

1 12

Rik Ward, again @rikward.com · 5d

They are every bit as good as you might imagine! Have a fantastic time!

Reposted by Rik Ward, again

Coffee Monster 🦅 ☕️ @monsterofcoffee.bsky.social · 8d

Fully recommend seeing @spraypopmusic.com on their current "shilling merch 2025" tour

2 3 7

Reposted by Rik Ward, again

ZXGuesser @zxguesser.bsky.social · 11d

Here's another pre-chunky-fringe teletext treat! A new vhs recovery has allowed us to complete another Turner the Worm story from 1995.
The evil Robert Ratford is attempting to blow up the Earth!

Read on at: zxnet.co.uk/teletext/tur...

Journey to the Middle of the Globe.
Turner and Glug have been asked to visit the home of Professor Walthamstow Worm - Turner's uncle.

Turner: "We're here, uncle."
Walthamstow Worm: "Lads, I'm glad you could come. I have a favour to ask."
Glug: "What's that smell?"

Walthamstow: "My arch-enemy, Robert Ratford, has stolen an experimental digging machine and is heading towards the centre of the earth!"
(offscreen): "But why?"

Walthamstow: "He intends to detonate the Earth's core, and send the planet hurtling towards the Moon."
Turner: "What for, Uncle?"
Walthamstow: "He wants to eat it."

3 6

Rik Ward, again @rikward.com · 11d

I was playing this a couple of months ago! Great game, quite hard, lovely chunky graphics and scrolling. Incomprehensible powerups, and could do with a bird's-eye map.

Rik Ward, again @rikward.com · 12d

This will be the best gig of your life, guaranteed.

Ricardo Autobahn @ricardoautobahn.co.uk · 12d

Listen to Hacker T. and come and see Spray LIVE in London this Friday, or indeed LIVE in Leicester on Sunday. You can't go wrong!

snd.click/@sprayontour

SPRAY @spraypopmusic.com · 22d

And now a short advert for the Spray tour!
Get your tickets here
snd.click/@sprayontour

1 3

Reposted by Rik Ward, again

Ricardo Autobahn @ricardoautobahn.co.uk · 12d

Listen to Hacker T. and come and see Spray LIVE in London this Friday, or indeed LIVE in Leicester on Sunday. You can't go wrong!

snd.click/@sprayontour

SPRAY @spraypopmusic.com · 22d

And now a short advert for the Spray tour!
Get your tickets here
snd.click/@sprayontour

1 5 6

Rik Ward, again @rikward.com · 12d

Highly Inflammable is excellent!

1 1

Reposted by Rik Ward, again

AnalogueTrash @analoguetrash.com · 13d

This weekend finds @spraypopmusic.com and @thisblissmusic.bsky.social in London and Leicester on the first leg of their jaunt around England. They’re supported in London by Infra Violet and in Leicester by @bjornfelle.bsky.social. Come on down.

🎟️ buff.ly/wzEPAfd

9 10

Reposted by Rik Ward, again

ZXGuesser @zxguesser.bsky.social · 14d

The ChunkyText user pages magazine has been cleared out ready for next weekend, and the edit server is LIVE NOW.

blockparty.zxnet.co.uk

I thought since we have a week to go until Chunky Fringe maybe we should call those a #WeeklyTeletextArt prompt for anyone needing a bit of artistic inspiration 😁

2 4 1

Reposted by Rik Ward, again

Ricardo Autobahn @ricardoautobahn.co.uk · 14d

Coming up this Friday, @spraypopmusic.com at the Castle in Aldgate, London.

snd.click/@sprayontour for tickets, *very* reasonably priced, and you get to meet me.

4 7 17

Rik Ward, again @rikward.com · 16d

Happening this Saturday: 2.5ish hours of self-produced mashups by The Blender of variable age and quality (and no apparent correlation between the two, either).

#TheBlender25

The Blender is 25, unfortunately @theblender.online · 17d

Tell the world! Around this time 25 years ago, The Blender foisted itself upon the world, and we've barely been away since (minus that small 18-year gap)!

To celebrate, we're playing Almost Everything We've Ever Made, including old - and new! - stuff we've never played before!

Saturday @ 12!

2 1

Reposted by Rik Ward, again

bleary @bleary.off-the-records.com · 20d

I’m sorry, but Bluesky needs A LOT more weirdos talking about Fantasy World Dizzy

Solidplasma @solidplasmastudios.com · 20d

I'm sorry, but Bluesky needs A LOT more weirdos talking about Psychonauts 2.

NihonTiger @nihontiger.bsky.social · 20d

I'm sorry, but Bluesky needs A LOT more weirdos talking about Drill Dozer.

1 4 10

Reposted by Rik Ward, again

PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 22d

262. Wonderland Dizzy. Essentially a remix of Magicland Dizzy, it was meant for a 1993 Dizzy compilation, but ended up not getting released until 2011. For me, the most interesting thing is that you can finally play as Daisy, tag teaming with Dizzy to beat the game. #365games

Cover art for Wonderland Dizzy, showing Dizzy and Daisy leaping out at you, surrounded by characters and items from the game.

A screenshot from Wonderland Dizzy. Daisy is stood by a lake, in the haunted swamp. There is a frog on a lily pad, and a ghost over the water.

1 2 5

Reposted by Rik Ward, again

SPRAY @spraypopmusic.com · 22d

And now a short advert for the Spray tour!
Get your tickets here
snd.click/@sprayontour

4 12 20

Reposted by Rik Ward, again

Paul @rudemrlang.com · 22d

I used to work on this newspaper and while I was there the editor decided he didn’t like the “v” and “g” of the word Evening in the logo so had them swapped for ones that don’t match and I’m delighted that they are still there looking too thin and too fat respectively, more than 25 years later.

Coates is Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 22d

Roses are red
Quite silver, the birch

Evening Express front page, showing dodgy geezer in anorak on his phone, next to a headline which reads: MAN IN THE DOCK FOR FARTING DURING STRIP SEARCH. Subhead: Accused bragged: "How do you like that?'

4 19 93

Rik Ward, again @rikward.com · 22d

Cheeeeers!

Rik Ward, again @rikward.com · 27d

I must confess I went straight back to Roboto versus whatever the default was

Rik Ward, again @rikward.com · 28d

As a devil's advocate, there are some fonts that are considered easier to read for dyslexic people etc.

What's the upgrade? I can do some digging.

Rik Ward, again @rikward.com · 28d

I'm on a new OnePlus and all the text in the widgets is the wrong size, even after two updates

Rik Ward, again @rikward.com · 28d

I hope it's not that Material You thing which looks like someone has been left alone with some pastel Crayola

Rik Ward, again @rikward.com · Sep 11

So, I had one of these (or very similar) at their actual place a couple of years back and it was quite nice (in my humble opinion).

Made the mistake of taking a can home with me, which promptly exploded upon opening. Never even occurred to me to look for serving instructions.

Rik Ward, again @rikward.com · Sep 8

Someone on the Facebook from Where I Grew Up got upset about someone putting a Palestine flag up locally and got some extremely mixed reactions, shall we say

1 2

Rik Ward, again @rikward.com · Sep 4

Reposted by Rik Ward, again

amy brown (spooky edition) @amybrown.xyz · Aug 22

this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like

Why should I write better when a machine can do it for me?
Because actually no one can do it for you, because your voice is unique among all the people on earth. Siri never petted a horse's neck. Alexa has never been ghosted by the captain of the football team. But you have lived, your heart is beating, you have suffered, and you have something important to say. It's a human's job, to use words, and whatever job you give to a machine, that part of your brain goes dark. Maybe it's worth it when it comes to remembering phone numbers and directions, but when that part of your brain that uses words goes dark, that's a vast area that's very close to your soul. Don't let some internet platform convince you that what you have to say and create isn't worthwhile. Words are the echo of your soul. Honing that echo matters.

37 8.7K 19K

Reposted by Rik Ward, again

ZXGuesser @zxguesser.bsky.social · Aug 30

This release includes my improvements to low level teletext adapter emulation which means emulator users can finally run my exciting* vbi monitor program, available on the ChunkyText telesoftware service! 🖳

*Excitement not guaranteed

BeebEm BBC Micro Emulator @beebem.bsky.social · Aug 30

BeebEm 4.20 is now available. Lots of new features and bug fixes, including:

* FSD format disk images
* Teletext adapter emulation
* Disk and tape image icons
* Tape and serial port emulation
* Full screen mode bug fixes
* Saved state files

And lots more...

Download here: www.mkw.me.uk/beebem/

BeebEm - BBC Micro and Master 128 Emulator

www.mkw.me.uk

1 3 7