Nat Torkington
@gnat.bsky.social
Beloved banjo player of the people. Co-owner and CTO of an apparel ERP company. In former lives: open source, Perl, O'Reilly Media, new technology. Bereavement is sadder and weirder than you can imagine.
Reposted by Nat Torkington
it just didn't have the legs 😢
Turns out interest in Metaverse had about a ~9 month half life.
November 24, 2025 at 9:55 AM
it just didn't have the legs 😢
Reposted by Nat Torkington
You know what’s ripe for a comeback is the Wolves of Willoughby Chase series by Joan Aiken. Smart & non-condescending YA, fantastical without being fantasy, dark and Dickensian as hell, extremely lefty and anticapitalist, a full dozen sequels, amazing Edward Gorey covers.
November 24, 2025 at 4:08 PM
You know what’s ripe for a comeback is the Wolves of Willoughby Chase series by Joan Aiken. Smart & non-condescending YA, fantastical without being fantasy, dark and Dickensian as hell, extremely lefty and anticapitalist, a full dozen sequels, amazing Edward Gorey covers.
Reposted by Nat Torkington
I did not know that Hieronymus Bosch and Richard Scarry were working in the same genre en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wimmelb...
Wimmelbilderbuch - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 24, 2025 at 4:20 PM
I did not know that Hieronymus Bosch and Richard Scarry were working in the same genre en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wimmelb...
Reposted by Nat Torkington
Almost a year now since I received this absolutely classic burn from the Canadian government.
November 21, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Almost a year now since I received this absolutely classic burn from the Canadian government.
Reposted by Nat Torkington
This has been a shitty week for trans people and their supporters in NZ. Sending my love to you all. We will marshal, we will fight, and we will win. They have no moral high ground, no scientific high ground, and are a political minority. Tell me where to march and I'll be there. #losersgonnalose
November 20, 2025 at 9:34 AM
This has been a shitty week for trans people and their supporters in NZ. Sending my love to you all. We will marshal, we will fight, and we will win. They have no moral high ground, no scientific high ground, and are a political minority. Tell me where to march and I'll be there. #losersgonnalose
"enfant terrible Maurizio Cattelan."
"Born: 21 September 1960 (age 65 years)"
Pretty sure that he's a terrible old man now. Viellard terrible?
"Born: 21 September 1960 (age 65 years)"
Pretty sure that he's a terrible old man now. Viellard terrible?
November 19, 2025 at 5:01 AM
"enfant terrible Maurizio Cattelan."
"Born: 21 September 1960 (age 65 years)"
Pretty sure that he's a terrible old man now. Viellard terrible?
"Born: 21 September 1960 (age 65 years)"
Pretty sure that he's a terrible old man now. Viellard terrible?
Front page headline: "NZ could become dumping ground for EVs".
Actual story headline: "NZ could become dumping ground for high emission cars, EV advocate says".
🤷
Actual story headline: "NZ could become dumping ground for high emission cars, EV advocate says".
🤷
November 17, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Front page headline: "NZ could become dumping ground for EVs".
Actual story headline: "NZ could become dumping ground for high emission cars, EV advocate says".
🤷
Actual story headline: "NZ could become dumping ground for high emission cars, EV advocate says".
🤷
Reposted by Nat Torkington
Occasionally on my work laptop a black box pops up with the words "Windows Powershell", and I think "Yes, it probably does."
November 5, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Occasionally on my work laptop a black box pops up with the words "Windows Powershell", and I think "Yes, it probably does."
I feel like the response to the perception of 'virtue signalling' shouldn't be to double down on 'malice acting' in the form of budget cuts, rushed policy and legislation changes, and the Speaker's infinite cuntitude with Parliamentary rules -- all removing the explicit goal of fairness to Māori.
November 4, 2025 at 9:20 PM
I feel like the response to the perception of 'virtue signalling' shouldn't be to double down on 'malice acting' in the form of budget cuts, rushed policy and legislation changes, and the Speaker's infinite cuntitude with Parliamentary rules -- all removing the explicit goal of fairness to Māori.
Hope, caring, and community are acts of defiance and rebellion.
This is from Autocracy, Inc, about how modern autocratic propaganda works.
I consider this every time I decide what to share and how to frame it.
I consider this every time I decide what to share and how to frame it.
November 3, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Hope, caring, and community are acts of defiance and rebellion.
Reposted by Nat Torkington
This is from Autocracy, Inc, about how modern autocratic propaganda works.
I consider this every time I decide what to share and how to frame it.
I consider this every time I decide what to share and how to frame it.
November 2, 2025 at 12:04 PM
This is from Autocracy, Inc, about how modern autocratic propaganda works.
I consider this every time I decide what to share and how to frame it.
I consider this every time I decide what to share and how to frame it.
le sigh on all fronts
Even when correctly spelled, the answer is "nothing".
Even when correctly spelled, the answer is "nothing".
November 3, 2025 at 5:25 AM
le sigh on all fronts
Even when correctly spelled, the answer is "nothing".
Even when correctly spelled, the answer is "nothing".
Handy tip
November 1, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Handy tip
Reposted by Nat Torkington
Folks, people who appreciated Siouxsie's work during the pandemic and/or who like free speech and academic freedom should help out here if they can. And that's all of us, one way or another, right?
www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/852...
www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/852...
Support Dr Siouxsie After She Supported Us! | PledgeMe
Support Dr Siouxsie to recover some of the money she spent fighting her legal case to protect employees experiencing online abuse
www.pledgeme.co.nz
November 1, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Folks, people who appreciated Siouxsie's work during the pandemic and/or who like free speech and academic freedom should help out here if they can. And that's all of us, one way or another, right?
www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/852...
www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/852...
Reposted by Nat Torkington
*clears throat* hentAI
“.. It’s not that erotica is bad per se, but .. there were clear warning signs of users’ intense emotional attachment to A.I. chatbots. .. We decided A.I.-powered erotica would have to wait.
“.. OpenAI now says the wait is over ..”
@nytopinion.nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/o...
“.. OpenAI now says the wait is over ..”
@nytopinion.nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/o...
October 29, 2025 at 1:09 AM
*clears throat* hentAI
Reposted by Nat Torkington
The chairs in the city council chamber look like very nervous muppets
October 27, 2025 at 9:55 PM
The chairs in the city council chamber look like very nervous muppets
Because nothing says “New York” like AI-generated poutine.
October 23, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Because nothing says “New York” like AI-generated poutine.
I am privileged to have fewer enemies than Audre Lorde, and at least one of the enemies is my own brain, and even still ... holy shit this is a great line with so much to unpack and course correct with.
October 20, 2025 at 1:55 AM
I am privileged to have fewer enemies than Audre Lorde, and at least one of the enemies is my own brain, and even still ... holy shit this is a great line with so much to unpack and course correct with.
Reposted by Nat Torkington
One of the better things I saw today was a frog holding a "give me ribbety, or give me death!" sign.
No kings but the king of frogs
October 19, 2025 at 12:39 AM
One of the better things I saw today was a frog holding a "give me ribbety, or give me death!" sign.
Reposted by Nat Torkington
In 2025 the Wellington Folk Fest (Wellyfest) guests will include Adam and Marika, Fiona Ross, We Mavericks, Klezmer Rebs, Rhys Crimmin, The Trenwiths, and Two if by Sea: Wellyfest shows no signs of slowing down or going anywhere any time soon... www.audioculture.co.nz/articles/wel...
Wellyfest: the Wellington Folk Festival at 60 - Article | AudioCulture
Every Labour Weekend out Wainuiomata way, 40 minutes from the hustle and bustle of Te Whanganui-a-Tara, among the 260 hectares of native bush and parkland known as the Brookfield Outdoor Education Cen...
www.audioculture.co.nz
October 19, 2025 at 12:49 AM
In 2025 the Wellington Folk Fest (Wellyfest) guests will include Adam and Marika, Fiona Ross, We Mavericks, Klezmer Rebs, Rhys Crimmin, The Trenwiths, and Two if by Sea: Wellyfest shows no signs of slowing down or going anywhere any time soon... www.audioculture.co.nz/articles/wel...
Reposted by Nat Torkington
Political parties must shift immediately and dramatically to the left to avoid alienating these frustrated and abandoned young women. Am I doing this right?
Our recent poll found that women 28 and younger skew substantially more left than the national average. Nearly 80 percent of Gen Z women want abortion to be legal and seven in 10 want gender-affirming care to be accessible for trans adults.
Gen Z women are the most liberal group in the country
On issues like abortion and gender-affirming care, women 28 and younger skew substantially more left than the national average.
19thnews.org
October 18, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Political parties must shift immediately and dramatically to the left to avoid alienating these frustrated and abandoned young women. Am I doing this right?
@keithng.bsky.social www.rnz.co.nz/news/chinese... Our national ordeal gets worse day by day ....
Auckland’s yum cha restaurants running out of steam
Crippled by Covid-19 debt and a stagnant economy, established Chinese eateries serving authentic Cantonese dim sum are now facing increasing competition.
www.rnz.co.nz
October 13, 2025 at 9:56 PM
@keithng.bsky.social www.rnz.co.nz/news/chinese... Our national ordeal gets worse day by day ....
This is the same as blindboy’s take on “solemnity”. Frog is a situationist puncturing of the solemnity of the military. Brilliance.
In case you missed it, the whole interview is great and here’s the solemnity clip:
youtube.com/shorts/58V91...
In case you missed it, the whole interview is great and here’s the solemnity clip:
youtube.com/shorts/58V91...
October 11, 2025 at 8:45 PM
This is the same as blindboy’s take on “solemnity”. Frog is a situationist puncturing of the solemnity of the military. Brilliance.
In case you missed it, the whole interview is great and here’s the solemnity clip:
youtube.com/shorts/58V91...
In case you missed it, the whole interview is great and here’s the solemnity clip:
youtube.com/shorts/58V91...