@tomaustin.bsky.social
Deeply unimportant NHS-working, non-wingnut, left-ish, film-obsessed, Brit-Kiwi IT guy, based in London.
Anti-Brexit, anti-hate, anti-stupid; so very probably "liberal", "leftist", "woke" or something. Who knows.
Anti-Brexit, anti-hate, anti-stupid; so very probably "liberal", "leftist", "woke" or something. Who knows.
Two compelling (and arguably sordid) 70s films that I somehow keep coming back to because they're each unforgettable in their own way.
Probably shouldn't be grouping them together like this at all.
But then I've watched them back to back and so they seem like they belong.
Probably shouldn't be grouping them together like this at all.
But then I've watched them back to back and so they seem like they belong.
January 12, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Two compelling (and arguably sordid) 70s films that I somehow keep coming back to because they're each unforgettable in their own way.
Probably shouldn't be grouping them together like this at all.
But then I've watched them back to back and so they seem like they belong.
Probably shouldn't be grouping them together like this at all.
But then I've watched them back to back and so they seem like they belong.
It’s been 20+ years since I last saw this beautiful slab of 70s cinema.
Lumet at his best, Pacino charmingly out of control, and Cazale as somone we in the world should never have lost so soon.
Why did I wait that long? Damn.
Lumet at his best, Pacino charmingly out of control, and Cazale as somone we in the world should never have lost so soon.
Why did I wait that long? Damn.
January 11, 2026 at 1:55 PM
It’s been 20+ years since I last saw this beautiful slab of 70s cinema.
Lumet at his best, Pacino charmingly out of control, and Cazale as somone we in the world should never have lost so soon.
Why did I wait that long? Damn.
Lumet at his best, Pacino charmingly out of control, and Cazale as somone we in the world should never have lost so soon.
Why did I wait that long? Damn.
Reposted
It’s 10 years since Bowie died.
Always appreciated his playful sense of humour.
Here he is as Tilda Swinton, & Tilda as Bowie.
Always appreciated his playful sense of humour.
Here he is as Tilda Swinton, & Tilda as Bowie.
January 10, 2026 at 12:12 PM
It’s 10 years since Bowie died.
Always appreciated his playful sense of humour.
Here he is as Tilda Swinton, & Tilda as Bowie.
Always appreciated his playful sense of humour.
Here he is as Tilda Swinton, & Tilda as Bowie.
Reposted
do not mistake
my silence
for forgiveness.
some things
i simply stopped
explaining.
[sometimes closure is quiet]
#poetry #micropoetry
my silence
for forgiveness.
some things
i simply stopped
explaining.
[sometimes closure is quiet]
#poetry #micropoetry
January 8, 2026 at 5:02 PM
do not mistake
my silence
for forgiveness.
some things
i simply stopped
explaining.
[sometimes closure is quiet]
#poetry #micropoetry
my silence
for forgiveness.
some things
i simply stopped
explaining.
[sometimes closure is quiet]
#poetry #micropoetry
Labour Party: prove me wrong for once, and actually do this.
Doing the political equivalent of kicking and screaming doesn't have to be a prerequisite for everything.
Doing the political equivalent of kicking and screaming doesn't have to be a prerequisite for everything.
I call on my party and my government to remove themselves entirely from X and communicate with the public where they actually participate online and can be protected from such illegality.
January 8, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Labour Party: prove me wrong for once, and actually do this.
Doing the political equivalent of kicking and screaming doesn't have to be a prerequisite for everything.
Doing the political equivalent of kicking and screaming doesn't have to be a prerequisite for everything.
Wish there was a way to filter out all the fucking reposted Truth Social screenshots.
I don't read his shit, I don't listen to the prick.
I never will. Life is too short.
Just summarise, guys.
I don't read his shit, I don't listen to the prick.
I never will. Life is too short.
Just summarise, guys.
January 8, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Wish there was a way to filter out all the fucking reposted Truth Social screenshots.
I don't read his shit, I don't listen to the prick.
I never will. Life is too short.
Just summarise, guys.
I don't read his shit, I don't listen to the prick.
I never will. Life is too short.
Just summarise, guys.
Idly tempted to unblock all my blocks so I can get the rush of blocking them again.
January 7, 2026 at 8:16 AM
Idly tempted to unblock all my blocks so I can get the rush of blocking them again.
I’m going to have to mute “Epstein files”, aren’t I.
Not that I’m unsympathetic.
But it’s getting repetitive to someone who’s not USian.
Not that I’m unsympathetic.
But it’s getting repetitive to someone who’s not USian.
January 6, 2026 at 8:52 AM
I’m going to have to mute “Epstein files”, aren’t I.
Not that I’m unsympathetic.
But it’s getting repetitive to someone who’s not USian.
Not that I’m unsympathetic.
But it’s getting repetitive to someone who’s not USian.
Third viewing (over a period of years) and I think that maybe -- just maybe -- I'm starting to get a handle on this one.
This thing is deliberately both obtuse and unforgettable.
You're not meant to get it's cold madness on the first go, so let it wash over you.
This thing is deliberately both obtuse and unforgettable.
You're not meant to get it's cold madness on the first go, so let it wash over you.
January 5, 2026 at 10:15 AM
Third viewing (over a period of years) and I think that maybe -- just maybe -- I'm starting to get a handle on this one.
This thing is deliberately both obtuse and unforgettable.
You're not meant to get it's cold madness on the first go, so let it wash over you.
This thing is deliberately both obtuse and unforgettable.
You're not meant to get it's cold madness on the first go, so let it wash over you.
It’s late Saturday night. Sometimes only JFK and the King can help in this situation.
January 3, 2026 at 10:57 PM
It’s late Saturday night. Sometimes only JFK and the King can help in this situation.
Dear Discover algorithm
REALLY not interested in how many books people have read in a year being constantly displayed to me.
It's not a contest.
Glad people are reading -- of course I am, I am too -- but how many times do I have to select the "show less like this" option before it fucking takes?
REALLY not interested in how many books people have read in a year being constantly displayed to me.
It's not a contest.
Glad people are reading -- of course I am, I am too -- but how many times do I have to select the "show less like this" option before it fucking takes?
January 1, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Dear Discover algorithm
REALLY not interested in how many books people have read in a year being constantly displayed to me.
It's not a contest.
Glad people are reading -- of course I am, I am too -- but how many times do I have to select the "show less like this" option before it fucking takes?
REALLY not interested in how many books people have read in a year being constantly displayed to me.
It's not a contest.
Glad people are reading -- of course I am, I am too -- but how many times do I have to select the "show less like this" option before it fucking takes?
Gloriously daft way to end the year…
January 1, 2026 at 1:45 AM
Gloriously daft way to end the year…
Q: There’s a sequel???
A: There’s a sequel!
A: There’s a sequel!
December 29, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Q: There’s a sequel???
A: There’s a sequel!
A: There’s a sequel!
"How would you rate the support you received?
Good, I'm satisfied
Bad, I'm unsatisfied "
FFS.
I just asked a question.
Which you answered with a question.
Which I couldn't be arsed emailing a reply to so dropped it.
Not everything needs a 0-5 star review.
Stop fucking emailing me.
Good, I'm satisfied
Bad, I'm unsatisfied "
FFS.
I just asked a question.
Which you answered with a question.
Which I couldn't be arsed emailing a reply to so dropped it.
Not everything needs a 0-5 star review.
Stop fucking emailing me.
December 29, 2025 at 4:56 PM
"How would you rate the support you received?
Good, I'm satisfied
Bad, I'm unsatisfied "
FFS.
I just asked a question.
Which you answered with a question.
Which I couldn't be arsed emailing a reply to so dropped it.
Not everything needs a 0-5 star review.
Stop fucking emailing me.
Good, I'm satisfied
Bad, I'm unsatisfied "
FFS.
I just asked a question.
Which you answered with a question.
Which I couldn't be arsed emailing a reply to so dropped it.
Not everything needs a 0-5 star review.
Stop fucking emailing me.
Reposted
Don't be biased against imported American chicken just because it's chlorinated. Be biased against it because it's bred in cruel factory farms, force-fed animal waste products, pumped full of chemicals, slaughtered inhumanely, and tastes like shit.
December 29, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Don't be biased against imported American chicken just because it's chlorinated. Be biased against it because it's bred in cruel factory farms, force-fed animal waste products, pumped full of chemicals, slaughtered inhumanely, and tastes like shit.
Reposted
You know who was great?
Claudia Cardinale.
Terrific actress, fine human being, never became a fascist. Also extraordinarily beautiful.
She was a feminist and a UNESCO goodwill ambassador.
She died earlier this year. Just remembering her today for no particular reason.
Claudia Cardinale.
Terrific actress, fine human being, never became a fascist. Also extraordinarily beautiful.
She was a feminist and a UNESCO goodwill ambassador.
She died earlier this year. Just remembering her today for no particular reason.
a woman in a black fur coat is sitting on the ground .
Alt: Claudia, the eternal muse, in a black fur coat is sitting and shaking her head,
Laughing.
media.tenor.com
December 28, 2025 at 10:29 PM
You know who was great?
Claudia Cardinale.
Terrific actress, fine human being, never became a fascist. Also extraordinarily beautiful.
She was a feminist and a UNESCO goodwill ambassador.
She died earlier this year. Just remembering her today for no particular reason.
Claudia Cardinale.
Terrific actress, fine human being, never became a fascist. Also extraordinarily beautiful.
She was a feminist and a UNESCO goodwill ambassador.
She died earlier this year. Just remembering her today for no particular reason.
Reposted
"I'll tell you who *should* have their citizenship removed - people who (minor social faux pas or slightly annoying behaviour goes here), that's who."
December 29, 2025 at 1:22 PM
"I'll tell you who *should* have their citizenship removed - people who (minor social faux pas or slightly annoying behaviour goes here), that's who."
Reposted
RIP Claudia Cardinale. Much like Robert Redford, she was a rare case of a beautiful performer with a filmography full of bangers who did NOT become right-wing later in life. Here she is punching fascist Brigitte Bardot in the face in Les Pétroleuses (1971).
September 24, 2025 at 2:51 PM
RIP Claudia Cardinale. Much like Robert Redford, she was a rare case of a beautiful performer with a filmography full of bangers who did NOT become right-wing later in life. Here she is punching fascist Brigitte Bardot in the face in Les Pétroleuses (1971).
So AVG has been throttling nearly every popular website I inhabit for months now, including FB and news sites, each day getting worse, to the point of making them unusable...
...except, weirdly, BlueSky.
And, weirdly, sites like Pirate Bay.
Which I think means something. I'm not sure what.
...except, weirdly, BlueSky.
And, weirdly, sites like Pirate Bay.
Which I think means something. I'm not sure what.
December 26, 2025 at 4:03 PM
So AVG has been throttling nearly every popular website I inhabit for months now, including FB and news sites, each day getting worse, to the point of making them unusable...
...except, weirdly, BlueSky.
And, weirdly, sites like Pirate Bay.
Which I think means something. I'm not sure what.
...except, weirdly, BlueSky.
And, weirdly, sites like Pirate Bay.
Which I think means something. I'm not sure what.
Someone alert me when it's over
December 24, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Someone alert me when it's over
Reposted
OUT OF OFFICE CHRISTMAS MESSAGE:
I am away from my desk until the whole ghastly business is over. If your call is urgent, please be consoled by knowing that it will soon be irrelevant.
I am away from my desk until the whole ghastly business is over. If your call is urgent, please be consoled by knowing that it will soon be irrelevant.
December 19, 2025 at 11:40 AM
OUT OF OFFICE CHRISTMAS MESSAGE:
I am away from my desk until the whole ghastly business is over. If your call is urgent, please be consoled by knowing that it will soon be irrelevant.
I am away from my desk until the whole ghastly business is over. If your call is urgent, please be consoled by knowing that it will soon be irrelevant.
It's spooky how he looks exactly how I'd imagine a posh right-wing strangler to look like.
December 18, 2025 at 2:15 PM
It's spooky how he looks exactly how I'd imagine a posh right-wing strangler to look like.
Reposted
ah, the incomplete relief of fixing a code problem but not really understanding why it works now
December 18, 2025 at 1:16 AM
ah, the incomplete relief of fixing a code problem but not really understanding why it works now
Reposted
Don't worry if you still haven't sent your Christmas cards yet. Nobody gives a shit.
December 16, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Don't worry if you still haven't sent your Christmas cards yet. Nobody gives a shit.
Some films you need to revisit because you forget how they get you.
December 15, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Some films you need to revisit because you forget how they get you.