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Helen McCarthy

@glider.bsky.social

3.1K followers 1.1K following 7.1K posts

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.

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · Aug 26

I'm a writer, scholar, speaker, poet and frequent ranter. This is my personal account, so it features stuff outside my work. @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social is where you can find posts on my anime, manga, daily poems, talks and writing. Feel free to follow both. Website helenmccarthy.net

Introduction - Helen McCarthy

Helen McCarthy, writer, author, journalist, speaker, scholar, Manga, Anime, Japanese animation, Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, Osamu Tezuka, haiku, UK - introduction

helenmccarthy.net

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 16h

When #DollyParton leaves this world it will be a devastating blow to #literacy and #education - though I suspect this caring, giving, loving, truly Christian woman has provided for her work to continue.

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 16h

Americans, please stop kidding yourselves it was monarchy that got you into this tragic state. Don't confuse metaphor with fact. It was the gerontocracy you built, with its collegiality and trust in the status quo and insistence on "wait and see." Your President and political system caused this.

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 16h

You missed the #AI techbro with his mouth bloody from swallowing all those creators' incomes to feed his insatiable and all-polluting hunger.

Reposted by Helen McCarthy

KJ Charles @kjcharleswriter.com · 1d

Out for launch day date night. Pub loo graffiti says "Fuck the Tories (NOT SEXUALLY)" which is an important clarification I guess.

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 18h

#WarRavagedPortland

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 16h

Harder to argue with this now that my #Government is about to give away creatives' property and income to polluting broligarchy on the off-chance that #Ai might make money and a tiny little bit of it might trickle down to British people - provided we don't tax them of course.

5uki5en5or @5uki5en5or.bsky.social · Apr 29

evergreen

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warriorseamstress.bsky.social @warriorseamstress.bsky.social · 17h

For the slow ones at the back: Stop. Funding. Fascism. 👇

#everylittleparcelhurts

Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 1d

Your Prime Day reminder that Amazon...

-Provides cloud services that help fuel ICE's deportation machine
-Donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund
-Scrapped plans to display tariff costs after pressure from Trump
-Shelled out $40M for a documentary about Melania Trump

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 17h

Handing over artists' property to the #AI industry, OTOH, could work very well for former politicians looking to maintain good relationships and big incomes from brotech outfits.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 19h

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Bodie A. Ashton @manwithoutatan.bsky.social · 1d

“Transgender issues are not the hill to die on” is an easy thing to say if you’re a person apparently happy for trans people to die, on a hill or otherwise.

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warriorseamstress.bsky.social @warriorseamstress.bsky.social · 17h

Reminder that there's a world full of beautiful artists & craftspeople you can buy from direct. 👇

#boycottAmazon

Nadiia Omelchuk🇺🇦 @ukrainianart.bsky.social · 17h

Hello friends, it's raining outside and I'm working, the new bracelet will soon go to its owner.💙💛
Thank you very much for sharing and ordering my products, your support is very important to me and my family.🫂❤️
More of my work here:
www.etsy.com/shop/NadiiaJ...

I'm waiting for you on Etsy or in DM📩

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 1d

A lovey and well deserved tribute to a movie I still enjoy. Wet weekend afternoon, hot chocolate, comfy slippers, snuggly throw, The Mummy on BluRay.

Debbie Moon @debbiemoon.bsky.social · 1d

"From Oded Fehr as a desert warrior to an oily-pecced Arnold Vosloo as Imhotep, every character on screen – regardless of gender or narrative affiliation – exudes sweaty sexual energy. What’s more, there is unfakeable chemistry between the romantic leads."

A relic of horny Hollywood: why The Mummy remains a classic bisexual awakening movie

A floppy-haired Brendan Fraser, a smokey-eyed Rachel Weisz, some grisly scarabs and biblical plagues? Hail to a lost era of multiplex entertainment

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Helen McCarthy

Debbie Moon @debbiemoon.bsky.social · 1d

A relic of horny Hollywood: why The Mummy remains a classic bisexual awakening movie

A floppy-haired Brendan Fraser, a smokey-eyed Rachel Weisz, some grisly scarabs and biblical plagues? Hail to a lost era of multiplex entertainment

www.theguardian.com

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 1d

Not absolutely all violence is male, but the overwhelming majority is male. And sadly we are at the stage where any response except speaking out against it every time is condoning it.

Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 1d

Men can teach all boys that violence, bullying and entitlement are not the way real men behave. Men can do this for their brothers, sons, grandsons and friends. Men can save each other from acting worse then any other beast. Help each other to be good men. There is no higher calling.

Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 1d

If men learn to control their overpowering urges given high risk of getting caught and severe punishment, their family and friends could prevent all male violence by reporting them and giving evidence at their trial. Or even better, stop them by making assault unmanly and unacceptable.

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 1d

Persian chronicler Juvaini wrote of Genghis Khan in his History of the World Conqueror that "as is said by way of hyperbole, a woman with a golden vessel on her head might walk alone without fear." (Trans. J. A, Boyle (1958) Manchester University Press p272.) So what's our excuse? .

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 1d

So even if it's "not all men", that makes no difference to the actual violence. It's enough men to do it and keep doing it again and again. Other men can't stay quiet about this without condoning it. If you're not part of the solution, guys, you're part of the problem.

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 1d

Here's the thing: most violence against both women/girls and men/boys is done by men, mostly men they know. It's not strangers or immigrants, it's men. And until men stop being violent on a whim, develop better self control, or are made to stop, they won't stop.

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Ghoulish Beveridge @chrisbeveridge.bsky.social · 1d

I had zero idea what to expect going in and I ended up absolutely loving it.

That said, I'm not convinced it can carry that energy through a full season, even if there is a ton of manga. still, worth taking a chance on folks.

The Haunting Of Fandom Post @fandompost.com · 1d

#Sanda Episode #01 #Anime Review

“Everything’s Bright, Am I Aging?” What They Say: In near-future Japan with ultra-low birthrates, children...

dlvr.it

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Helen McCarthy @glider.bsky.social · 1d

When you start to get water and power cuts at home and at work because massive #AI datafarms and broligarchs have more clout with your local authorities than voters do, you might feel it wasn't worth being able to make celeb deepfake nudes and rip-off movies to impress your mates after all.

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Sonya H @sonyah.bsky.social · 1d

These are the fans you’re looking for! #fandom #anime #onepiece #strawhats

www.nprillinois.org/2025-10-05/w...

Why Gen Z protesters worldwide are flying an anime pirate flag

Gen Z protesters from Indonesia and Nepal to Madagascar and Morocco, are rallying behind an unexpected banner: a grinning skull in a straw hat.

www.nprillinois.org

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Heidi MacDonald @comixace.bsky.social · 1d

THE BEAT AND K-COMICSBEAT ARE HIRING:

We are looking for a new person to fill the job of Managing Editor for KComicsbeat.com and manga/anime editor for The Beat. Knowledge of webtoon, manga and publishing business required. There is some pay as a PT position.