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Reposted by Ali Mack

Rachel Handley 🏳️‍🌈 @rachelahandley.com · 1d

I'm delighted to say that I will be running an online Ursula Le Guin themed creative writing workshop for @octocon.bsky.social on 11th October, 4 pm.

Get ready for some philosophical fiction!

You must be a member to join. Not a member yet? You can still sign-up here: 2025.octocon.com/join-us/

Poster showing a pink/red octopus with a cute face. The background is a white and blue water cartoon-like graphic. The text reads: Would you walk away from Omelas? An Ursula Le Guin Themed Creative Writing Workshop, 11th October, 4 pm, online. In this workshop, led by science fiction writer, poet, and philosophy lecturer Dr Rachel Handley, you will be invited to explore Le Guin's short stories and related themes. There will be opportunities to respond to writing prompts based on Le Guin's and other's work throughout the workshop. The workshop will be very interactive, and writers at all levels are very welcome to attend. You'll also have the chance to read out what you've written during the workshop.

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Reposted by Ali Mack

Paul Carroll @paulcarroll.bsky.social · 1d

I'm on a hiring freeze at the moment (life has been filled with the stress of house hunting) so someone needs to hire Lane until I can do it again.

Lane! Draws! Comics! @lanedraws.bsky.social · 2d

Hey! Had a couple things end up not starting this month, which is kind of not optimal for me, a person who needs to pay bills. So! If you need commissions, short comics, full comics, covers, prints, concert posters, album art, and you like what I do, maybe hire me!

Portfolio: lanelloyd.crevado.com

Lane Lloyd

lanelloyd.crevado.com

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Reposted by Ali Mack

emily moonlight @threnody.bsky.social · 1d

in a way, it would be transphobic for this to not win and make it through production because knowing it’s possible and not having it would kill me.

Chris Schilling @schillingc.bsky.social · 1d

A good friend has submitted this brilliant model of the library from Buffy to Lego Ideas. I’d be very grateful for your help in getting her to 5k supporters: beta.ideas.lego.com/product-idea...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Library | LEGO® Ideas

"Sunnydale High isn't really like other high schools. A lot of weird stuff happens here." Buffy the Vampire Slayer first exploded onto our TV screens in the lat…

beta.ideas.lego.com

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Ali Mack @alimack13.bsky.social · 3d

#speirgorm, it's on next weekend! Tickets online but.. if you can only attend virtually and you volunteer, you get a free ticket. On site volunteers get looked after. In a good way. With tea/coffee and sandwiches.

Octocon @octocon.bsky.social · 4d

This year, Octocon is running a full programme online on both days of the convention (Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th October 2025), and we need volunteers to help us!

https://2025.octocon.com/online-volunteers-needed/

#Octocon #Octocon2025 #Volunteers #Scifi #Fantasy #Fandom

Our mascot Octo the pink Octopus holding various devices such as a mobile phone, tablet, laptop, and there's a computer screen behind them.

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Reposted by Ali Mack

🌎🐎John Hyphen🎮🤠 @johnhyphen.bsky.social · 5d

the EU parliament is looking for a native-level irish speaker for a press officer traineeship, starting next march

it's paid (€1660/month, no tax) and is a pretty sweet opportunity to see how the EU sausage is made, and a chance to try brussels (if you're not already here)

deadline end of october!

European parliament Traineeships - Press Unit - Post E: Press Officer, Gaelic Language

Consultez toutes les offres d'emploi Parlement européen stage et postulez en ligne a nos annonces emploi sur le site recrutement Parlement européen stage

ep-stages.gestmax.eu

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Reposted by Ali Mack

Tóchar Community Stories @tocharstories.bsky.social · 4d

Creating postcards from our bog nature & creative art project in Kilteevan NS/ Kilteevan Tidy Towns on Cloonlarge Bog (art mentored by @anniehollandart.bsky.social) Just want to showcase one of the beautiful pieces by a then 2nd class boy- Hadi - and his version of the common Blue #Tócharstories

Hadi and his Mum at the exhibition showcasing all the children's bog butterfly work on the last day of school term in June - Tóchar Stories

Hadi's version of the Common Blue butterfly found on Cloonlarge Bog - Tóchar Stories - Kilteevan

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Reposted by Ali Mack

J. Michael Straczynski @straczynski.bsky.social · 4d

PART TWO

Once B5 Books closes at the end of this month the only copies of those books that will ever be available are the ones that were published during those 20 years and whatever’s left on the site. Once the company is wrapped up, there will be no more reprints and no new titles. (There’s the --

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Ali Mack @alimack13.bsky.social · 4d

That's a possibility too. Not knowing the person it's difficult to say with any certainty which way it will go but... With the dpc taking a semi hard line previously, I don't see them back pedaling to a softly softly approach. I could be wrong and going more on my own inclinations though 🙂

Ali Mack @alimack13.bsky.social · 4d

He may be so disillusioned by his time at Meta and know what they are capable of doing for gdpr, and don't, that he could be the perfect choice to review social media channel cases.

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Ali Mack @alimack13.bsky.social · 5d

Thanks a million for the updates .

Ali Mack @alimack13.bsky.social · 5d

Well this is hardly a surprise and a good example of why over sharing on social media is a bad idea.

Andrew Couts @couts.bsky.social · 5d

NEW: ICE is planning to hire a team of nearly 30 people to surveil social media 24/7, build dossiers on people, and flag them for arrest and deportation. @dell.bsky.social has the scoop: www.wired.com/story/ice-so...

ICE Wants to Build Out a 24/7 Social Media Surveillance Team

Documents show ICE plans to hire dozens of contractors to scan X, Facebook, TikTok, and other platforms to target people for deportation.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Ali Mack

Rob @robosullivan.bsky.social · 6d

Today kicks off 100 hours of Astronomy. Jenny Shipway and her team have developed a cool website you can use to take part in this fun challenge. Think of it as a scavenger hunt in the sky. It's free to participate in, and acts as a great introduction to amateur astronomy: 100hours.online #Spéirgorm

A poster for 100 Hours of Astronomy. An App-based astronomy challenge available in the UK and Ireland. The poster features a woman staring at the sky with silhouettes of Ireland and the UK behind her. The poster encourages you to visit the website via a QR code.

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Reposted by Ali Mack

Carlow Weather @carlowweather.bsky.social · 6d

Thursday evening update after a wet day before Storm Amy arrives tomorrow. Watch video for full update and if you appreciate what I do and want to support me you can via www.buymeacoffee.com/carlowweather thanks.

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Reposted by Ali Mack

miridescent.bsky.social @miridescent.bsky.social · 7d

This needed a #speirghorm

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Reposted by Ali Mack

Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 7d

If you're coming to the Púca Festival to celebrate Samhain, look out for the book that brings a púca to Tlachtga. Mythology, horror, farming, the celebration of life, death and spirituality, all explored in a story inspired by the origins of #Halloween.

#SpeirGorm #PucaFestival #Samhain #Tlachtga

Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 12d

Is this the MOST Halloween book you'll ever read? Maybe, but it IS set around the Irish hill where the bonefires were first lit. It is a story about the very roots of Halloween; the horror, mythology, and the harvest festival that lies between life and death.
#Halloween #Samhain #Tlachtga #SpeirGorm

The full cover, back and front, of my book, The First Fire of Halloween. The front features a púca, the mythical Irish shape-changer, as a muscular human figure with a goat's head. He's standing in a field in darkness, with a fire blazing in front of him. Inset in the dark sky above and behind him are a pair of yellow goat's eyes. The title is in orange against the sky, and my name is in black against the fire.

On the back cover, the blurb reads: Thief. Trickster. Murderer. Humans have forgotten why they once feared the púca. But he will make them remember. In the small Irish town of Athboy, there is a hill where the first fire was once lit each year to mark the beginning of Samhain. Bonfires would then be lit across the country, launching a festival to celebrate the last harvest before the harsh months of winter. On the night when the boundary with the Realm of the Dead was at its thinnest, it was believed that the spirits of the dead wandered the land. In recent years, that fire has been lit again every Halloween night.

Jamie Sheldon is an American girl visiting the town with her parents for an archaeological dig. Rone O’Callaghan lives on a farm near Tlachtga, the ancient site on the Hill of Ward. Both teenagers are close by when a local man is murdered. The circumstances suggest the killer may be acting out some ancient ritual.

The truth is even more macabre. This Halloween, as humans wander the streets wearing monster masks, there is a monster among them wearing a human mask. The most treacherous of all the ancient faerie folk . . . The shape-changing púca.

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Ali Mack @alimack13.bsky.social · 7d

It's very pretty, sadly I can't fit it in 😕 sharing instead though.

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Reposted by Ali Mack

🎃👻David 👻🎃 @rebelalliance77.bsky.social · 7d

This is a bit very desperate but such is me situation at the moment. If you know anyone might want it please send em my way or even a repost would be appreciated. Arm can totally be twisted on the price. Circumstances are.. grim was a few miles back. GRMA
#Speirgorm

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Ali Mack @alimack13.bsky.social · 8d

Ah, that's something that goes way beyond the trans community as well then.

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Ali Mack @alimack13.bsky.social · 8d

All I am saying is that to make an assumption that someone is being offensive when they really are trying not to be, and possibly can't ask for some reason, is very prickly. Transphobes rarely even consider neutrality when they want to be offensive. If people can ask, grand and yes to respecting.

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Reposted by Ali Mack

Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 8d

The First Fire of Halloween is currently ranked on Amazon.ie.:
No.1 for YA Horror
No.1 for YA Fairy Tales and Folklore
No.1 for YA Myths and Legends
Thanks to everyone who's already bought a copy, and for all the reposts, it all helps!

www.amazon.ie/First-Fire-H...

#Halloween #Samhain #SpeirGorm

A screenshot of an Amazon.ie page showing The First Fire of Halloween at No.1 for YA Fairy Tales and Folklore, priced at €11.45. The front cover features a púca, the mythical Irish shape-changer, as a muscular human figure with a goat's head. He's standing in a field in darkness, with a fire blazing in front of him. Inset in the dark sky above and behind him are a pair of yellow goat's eyes. The title is in orange against the sky, and my name is in black against the fire.

A screenshot of an Amazon.ie page showing The First Fire of Halloween at No.1 for YA Horror, priced at €11.45. The front cover features a púca, the mythical Irish shape-changer, as a muscular human figure with a goat's head. He's standing in a field in darkness, with a fire blazing in front of him. Inset in the dark sky above and behind him are a pair of yellow goat's eyes. The title is in orange against the sky, and my name is in black against the fire.

A screenshot of an Amazon.ie page showing The First Fire of Halloween at No.1 for YA Myths and Legends, priced at €11.45. The front cover features a púca, the mythical Irish shape-changer, as a muscular human figure with a goat's head. He's standing in a field in darkness, with a fire blazing in front of him. Inset in the dark sky above and behind him are a pair of yellow goat's eyes. The title is in orange against the sky, and my name is in black against the fire.

Screenshot of the book's ranks: #265 in Books overall.
#1 in Horror for Young Adults
#1 in Myths and Legends for Young Adults
#1 in Fairy Tales and Folklore for Young Adults

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Ali Mack @alimack13.bsky.social · 8d

I love the turnip one! And crowvember.

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Reposted by Ali Mack

Ciara | Ciaraíoch 🎨 @ciaraioch.bsky.social · 8d

There's a sale over on www.ciaraioch.com/artprints on the spookier prints - the perfect opportunity to pick up something a little creepier for the cherished undead in your life 🧟

Cartoon of the Irish hallowe'en turnip smiling with the text Spooky Sale - Sale on spookier prints now on over at www.ciaraioch.com, against an orange background with the outline of bats.

#SpeirGorm #SpeirGhorm #Ireland #Halloween #Art #Samhain

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Ali Mack @alimack13.bsky.social · 8d

This seems super sensitive to be a micro aggression. What about people who are trying to play safe and not cause offence by taking the neutral route? Sometimes it's very difficult for allies to get it right!

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Ali Mack @alimack13.bsky.social · 9d

@octocon.bsky.social this is news that could be passed on to interested parties.

Ciara | Ciaraíoch 🎨 @ciaraioch.bsky.social · 9d

A reminder that today is Michaelmas, on which day in parts of Ireland rent could be paid in geese. If you’re due to pay rent this month, please consider setting a very irritated goose on your landlord in lieu of payment, in the name of upholding important Irish traditions.

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Ali Mack @alimack13.bsky.social · 9d

📌