Ollie Francis
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olliefrancis.bsky.social
Ollie Francis
@olliefrancis.bsky.social
150 followers 190 following 300 posts
Sheffield writer of epic eco-fantasy🐻 and the BadFiction podcast🎧
Exec. of Blank Street Writers 📝
Teaches literature and other stories 📚

Mostly cross posting from Mastodon - @[email protected]
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olliefrancis.bsky.social
Ollie Francis @olliefrancis.bsky.social · Aug 24
I'm making a card game and sharing what I learn along the way.

Come follow!

youtube.com/shorts/pNUZi...

#FourMountains

#cardgames #boardgames #tabletopgames #gamedesign #indiegames #indieboardgames #kickstarter #crowdfunding #bgg #gamingcommunity #makingof #sheffield
Introducing Four Mountains!
YouTube video by Hadfield Games
youtube.com
olliefrancis.bsky.social
@writeforwellbeing.bsky.social on Bluesky
‘It’s the wanting to know that makes us matter.’ [from Arcadia, one of the most moving plays I have ever seen] RIP Tom Stoppard. Absolute legend #TomStoppard
bsky.app
November 29, 2025 at 7:12 PM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
My dude has gone to join Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. #RIP
BBC News - Playwright Sir Tom Stoppard dies at 88
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Playwright Sir Tom Stoppard dies at 88
Winning an Oscar for the screenplay for Shakespeare In Love, he captivated the hearts of audiences for more than six decades.
www.bbc.com
November 29, 2025 at 7:11 PM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
I don't understand 'night owls'. So, the more tired you get, the more energy you have. But when you've had a long sleep, THAT'S when you feel most exhausted?
Huh?
November 22, 2025 at 7:12 AM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
I sometimes worry my reliance on my #SecondBrain in #Obsidian means I'm offloading too much. My brain grows lazy. But as long as the point isn't storage but usage, I'm going to stick with it.
"The offloading of memory to external data banks doesn’t just threaten the depth and distinctiveness of the self. It threatens the depth and distinctiveness of the culture we all share." (Nicholas Carr, The Shallows)
November 17, 2025 at 3:48 PM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
Vuong putting into words the feeling that comes with writing. It's telepathy across time; the touching of one mind against another to stand against the lonesome dark.
#writing #reading
"From where are standing, inches, which is to say years, from this page,..." (Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous)
November 16, 2025 at 9:55 AM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
@joncooper-us.bsky.social on Bluesky
👇👇
bsky.app
November 15, 2025 at 4:43 PM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
As much as I remain skeptical over the ethics and benefits of #AI ("the brighter the software, the fuller the user"), I'm feeling the pull of using it to change up some of tried and tested starter activities. Fallen into a whiteboard rut and I'm ready to climb out.
#teaching
November 15, 2025 at 1:10 PM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
@rayhourigan.bsky.social on Bluesky
Teleporting as A mode of transport takes its Toll on the atoms. #vss365 #transport #haiku #senryu #poem #writing #writingcommunity
bsky.app
November 15, 2025 at 1:06 PM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
My #marking #soundtrack of choice this year has been remixes of the everance theme music.
No idea what this says about my attitude to work/life balance, but it gets me through page after page like nothing else.
#teaching

music.youtube.com/watch?v=JRnD...
Severance — Music To Refine To feat. ODESZA | Apple TV
music.youtube.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Reposted by Ollie Francis
zim2918.bsky.social
Soft sea breeze

Words by @vvangone.bsky.social
This work © 2025 by Lee Zimmerman is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
November 9, 2025 at 4:46 PM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
Original post: mastodonapp.uk/@GetCarter/1...
November 9, 2025 at 7:20 AM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
Original post: h4.io/@brettezelel...
November 9, 2025 at 7:19 AM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
I'm more convinced every day that I don't make my decisions based on logic but on emotion. What I choose to do is founded on invisible intuition pumps churning away somewhere in my subconscious that I have no access to except in the way they make me feel.

#emotion #emotionism #mind #decisionmaking
"The areas of the brain that deal with logic and emotions are deeply interconnected. You cannot make decisions without utilising emotion networks and protecting your brain health must include attending to your emotions." (Kimberley Wilson, How to Build a Healthy Brain)
November 2, 2025 at 7:57 AM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
A cracking 300th episode from # TechWontSaveUs on the need to move away from US tech dependency, even beyond Trump.

#technology

music.youtube.com/watch?v=UR92...
We Need to Cut Our Dependence on US Tech. Here’s How to Start.
music.youtube.com
November 1, 2025 at 12:30 PM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
Pictures hit harder than numbers.
#Gaza
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Two years of displacement and destruction in Gaza – photo essay | Gaza | The Guardian
Enas Tantesh’s photography captures not only the despair and insecurity but also moments of normality and human connection
www.theguardian.com
November 1, 2025 at 9:42 AM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
Particularly proud of our low-effort #Halloween decorations this year.
October 31, 2025 at 9:38 PM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
Particularly proud of our low-effort #Halloween decorations this year.
October 31, 2025 at 9:34 PM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
Always slightly chilled by the truth behind Hayes' words here: that personal property and the public good do not always align - and where they diverge, the law prefers to preserve the former over the latter.
"The role of law, therefore, was to protect a citizen’s right to protect their own life, and thusly, moreover, therefore and furthermore, the role of law was to protect private property:" (Nick Hayes, The Book of Trespass)
October 28, 2025 at 9:16 AM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
@jimmyinnes.bsky.social on Bluesky
#BlueSkyMonday #Paris #EastCoastKin #Photography Aeroplanes and aerials and chimneys and rooftops
bsky.app
October 28, 2025 at 8:51 AM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
#TheDollmaker by Nina Allan (who I can't find on Bluesky or the Fediverse) is a spectacular layering of storylines where the same plot plays out in different sizes again and again.
It's like reading an echo.
#reading #books
October 28, 2025 at 8:50 AM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
I keep forgetting social media exists. I kinda like that. ♥️
October 28, 2025 at 8:47 AM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
Original post: climatejustice.social/@PaulaToTheP...
October 28, 2025 at 8:46 AM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
#Loops is a federated version of TicTok, if you're after a video sharing feed without the algorithm.

Original post: mastodon.social/@dansup/1154...
October 28, 2025 at 8:42 AM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
Been thinking about the chances of an imminent societal collapse (because, hey ho why not?).
Money is the ultimate non-perishable. Yet it is also the ultimate perishable following the end of the finance system, when it will up and vanish like Keyer Soze.
"Goliath states do not simply emerge as dominant cliques that loot surplus food and resources, he argues, but need three specific types of “Goliath fuel”. The first is a particular type of surplus food: grain. That can be “seen, stolen and stored”, Kemp says, unlike perishable foods." (Damian Carrington, ‘Self-Termination Is Most Likely’: The History and Future of Societal Collapse)
October 28, 2025 at 8:40 AM
olliefrancis.bsky.social
I just got ID'd.
I'm 42 in six months.
BEST DAY EVER.
October 11, 2025 at 12:12 PM