chaotopia

  Once again, greeting the Unconquered Sun in Grenoside.  https://youtu.be/sZSXRTEffcA The still at the top is from 2012, the first year we went along. They've been doing it for over 200 years. Here's my first bog from 2012, with some more details:  http://chaotopia-dave.blogspot.com/2012/12/grenoside-boxing-day-sword-dancing.html?m=1 The mainstream media seem to be catching onto it this year, here's a brief item from the BBC:  https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-64094768 Hail Smiling Morn!

I don't usually get involved with the politics of social media, or even write much about politics at all, but it'd be hard not to notice the disastrous takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk . I used to like Twitter - sure, it has always had a well-earned reputation as the platform for getting into rows, which is hardly surprising considering the loss of nuance a 280-character limit offers. On the other hand, that limit can be used to discipline yourself to create something approaching a haiku in its gnomic brevity. I'm not claiming that level of skill but some people manage it. And you don't have to get into rows - if someone is rude or persistently stupid just block them and move on. (I am not writing this naively, but from the perspective of someone who was trolled for years by a demented creep.) Another Twitter upside for me is that there is (currently) practically no advertising, just a burst of sponsored posts every week or so. Block them and they go away. This is in s...