Iain

Iain

@iainmspillane.com

Comic books, Folk Horror, Kosmische/Krautrock and staying in. Big breath....and I'm ace. That felt good getting it out in the open, tbh iainmspillane.com

545 followers1K following1.6K posts

Iain
@iainmspillane.com

If this was a card from a TCG, I'd play the hell out of that game.

Colin Smith@colinsmith.bsky.social

The Rich Repose Of Autumn, by Walter E Spradbery, 1924.

Iain
@iainmspillane.com

First 5 RPGs: D&D Red Box DC Heroes Cyberpunk 2020 Paranoia (as DM) Call Of Cthulhu (as DM)

This post is unavailable.

Iain reposted

Electronic Frontier Foundation
@eff.org

Don’t let the major companies control every bit of tech you touch. Tweak a few settings, or opt out of their options entirely. Either way, you win. www.eff.org/pages/welco...

eff.orgWelcome to Opt Out October. Let’s Take Control of Our Data and OurBig tech companies are hell-bent on taking away our agency and forcing us to use their surveillance-based services, apps, and devices. It’s hard to fight against, and it often feels much easier to
Iain
@iainmspillane.com

Juszczyk’s presnap movements reminds me of my nephew when he was 5 and full of sugar and excitement.

Iain reposted

flyingrodent
@flyingrodent.bsky.social

Again, it’s important to understand that the transgender terror did not arise organically from the public. It was imposed from above, by the world’s most hateful and poisonous media class.

Leicester Gazette@leicestergazette.leicester.news

Two University of Leicester students speak out over ‘absurd’ and ‘Orwellian’ decision by the BBC and ITV Studios to edit out pride pins worn on University Challenge

leicester.newsBBC edits out pride pins on University Challenge in ‘Orwellian’ move* * * This story was published by **The Leicester Gazette** : a local, independent newspaper about Leicestershire. 1,000 people have already joined our community. Just use those buttons below to download our app and **sign up for free**. * * * Astrophysics student Samuel Carlier and History student Emmeline Hague-Wright were shocked to find that their LGBTQ+ pride pins had been edited out of their University Challenge appearance earlier this year. The episode, initially scheduled for BBC Two on 24 August, was delayed twice before airing on 7 September 2026. The pins showed the progressive LGBTQ+ pride flag, the bisexual pride flag and a rainbow feather. Speaking to the Leicester Gazette, Sam said: “Living in a liberal democracy and having the state broadcaster tell you ‘we’re editing how you look’, seems very Orwellian.” Sam described the choice to remove the pins before broadcast as “weird” and “absurd”. He said: “[Censoring] that seemed weird. If I had worn a rainbow shirt, would they have censored that? If the idea is to keep things impartial, where is that line in the sand?” A side by-side image of Sam wearing the pin and with it having been digitally removed. Photograph: supplied Sam contacted the BBC to try to understand why his pins had been edited out. He told the Gazette: “The BBC people said they’d ring me, and I chased them, they just said go to the complaints website and file a complaint there, that’s what I did.” Since then, Sam hasn’t had a response from the BBC as to why his pins were removed. After the episode had aired, Sam noted that his shirt ‘melted’ into itself occasionally, as a result of the editing. Photograph: supplied ## Students believe the decision was made following online transphobia Emmeline was also shocked when she found out that the feather pin she wore was due to be removed from the episode she was in. It was understood by Emmeline that there was online transphobia in response to previous episode of University Challenge, and she had been contacted by the BBC, anticipating support from the broadcaster. When the BBC contacted her, instead of an offer of support, she was told her pin was going to be removed. “At first it was mostly confusion,” she said. “I heard that they had received a lot of nastiness online from people and I thought they were going to call me to say ‘we have support services if needed,’ and that wasn't what I got at all.” Instead, Emmeline was notified that the episodes were going to be delayed. “It was out of left field, I was confused for a while,” she said. “This entire delay has been because of a feather and two badges on a teammate that were basically impossible [for viewers] to see.” Emmeline had expressed her frustrations with the repeated delays from the BBC, spanning from mid-July to early-September. She said: “We were announced on the website and then delayed again, and then announced on the website a second time, and delayed even further. Speaking about the removal, she said: “It takes a lot of time” she said. “Making it [the edit] look good would be even more expensive and time-consuming. It seems like drastically a lot of effort.” ## Join the conversation Our app is more than just a way to keep up – it's a gateway to award-winning journalism and the local community. __Want to support our work?__ Click here for membership__.__ ## Wider criticism on LGBTQ+ support The pins Sam wore during the episode. Photograph: supplied According to leading LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall UK, two in five LGBTQ+ students will hide their identities at university for fear of discrimination. Stonewall has reported that more than 36 per cent of trans students have received hostile conduct from university staff due to their gender identity. Reflecting on the digital removal of the pins, Sam spoke about how disheartening the choice was. He said: “There was maybe like a span of eight years where someone could be uncontroversially out in the open queer – now that’s gone again.” he said. The BBC has also been widely criticised for ‘an attack on the LGBTQ+ community’ by pulling its involvement with the popular show, RuPaul's Drag Race. The broadcaster pulled its involvement in September following “significant financial pressures” as the reason for axing their involvement. The criticism follows another recent controversial edit by the BBC. On its hit show, Strictly Come Dancing, a decision was made to edit out ‘Protect the Dolls’ from contestant Bethany Antonia’s T-shirt. It’s a slogan which has become widely used to support the rights of trans women. The BBC defended their decision, saying the changes were made to meet editorial guidelines. It comes as the LGBTQ+ community has faced challenges amid an increasingly less tolerant political climate. ## What the BBC had to say When we asked them about editing out the pins worn by Leicester’s University Challenge team, a BBC spokesperson said: “In line with our editorial guidelines, we advise that no badges, flags, and emblems or symbols are worn or visible during filming, along with clothing with obvious branding or slogans. If such items are not removed for any reason then a decision is made between the programme makers and the BBC regarding any edits to the programme.” The BBC said the delays to the episode were unrelated to the decision to edit out the pins. A spokesperson for ITV Studios said: “University Challenge is an entertainment quiz show and is made in accordance with the BBC Editorial Guidelines requirements for impartiality.” The University of Leicester refused to comment on the matter. * * * **Before you go…** We’ve recently surpassed 1,000 subscribers, which is amazing considering we’re a small team on a shoestring budget. Now, we’re ready for the next stage of the Leicester Gazette. **Download our new app and get all of our journalism anytime, anywhere.** The app connects with **Bluesky** , **Mastodon** and **Threads** , giving you access to a network of around 60 million people. It’s a safer, more meaningful alternative to mainstream social media – owned by the community. * * *
Iain
@iainmspillane.com

Conversation topics at my LCS today 24/10/2026:- VisionQuest and Wandavision, state of the MCU, Bad Idea comics, ibuprofen vs paracetamol, politics in art, who has their central heating on, Zoom/Teams backgrounds, sexism in comic shops, too many facsimiles!

Iain
@iainmspillane.com

I really don’t think every app needs an update to change the icon to a spooky version? Grow up.

Iain
@iainmspillane.com

Was able to skip nearly all of today’s Teams meeting, as I don’t watch any of the TV shows that most of my team apparently do. Quite nice actually as I was able to catch up on some actual work.

Iain reposted

Kate Griffin
@griffinkate.bsky.social

eBay users! Don't ignore today's email, even though it looks like a boring standard update to the User Privacy Notice. They want to use your data to train AI models. If you click the link over the words "the right to object", it takes you to a page with a toggle button letting you opt out.

Iain reposted

ayowhose.bsky.social
@ayowhose.bsky.social

Replying to @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social

Hardly a day goes by without me recalling the observation by @doctorow.pluralistic.net that bosses are the last to discover the limitations of AI, just before the realisation that the hires they now need are the people they previously fired and replaced with the AI.

Iain
@iainmspillane.com

Went for the full house of Doom Patrol covers for issue 2. Did you really think I was going to do anything else?

Iain reposted

John Scalzi
@scalzi.com

I see we're having a debate about whether it's okay to go back to "X," the site owned by a trillionaire fascist who is currently bankrolling the GOP's midterm, throttled Ukraine's war effort, and still winkingly allows vast amounts of CSAM on his service Answer: No, what the fuck is wrong with you

Iain
@iainmspillane.com

This! A hundred times and more.

By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C)@doctorow.pluralistic.net

Every public administrative body - national, regional and local - would continue to function. Every firm - large and small - would continue to trade. Households would be unscathed, save for their youngest members, who would suffer the indignity and tedium of having to do their own homework again.

Iain
@iainmspillane.com

Conversation topics at my LCS today 17/10/2026:- Weird boob level panel in Midnight Spider-Man, Archie vs Terminator, Backrooms, shark movies, Visionquest, cars vs bikes, toy parody variant covers (don’t ask), Doom Patrol and Ice Cream Man, pizza toppings, work experience and Previews catalog.

Iain
@iainmspillane.com

Watched Backrooms last night, really enjoyed it. Watched the first 15 minutes of Obsession, got bored.

Iain
@iainmspillane.com

RT if you've never had a tab of ChatGPT open, period.

lumpley@lumpley.bsky.social

RT if you've never had a tab of ChatGPT open, period.

Iain reposted

James O’Brien
@mrjamesob.bsky.social

Interference is easy to prove or disprove if, unlike Boris Johnson, you can be bothered to investigate, influence almost impossible. The average Brexit voter would not be able to tell you which lies - or liars - they found most persuasive. Many of them still claim they didn't fall for any of them.

Iain
@iainmspillane.com

Just had my annual leave request approved. 7th Dec - 4th Jan...my hibernation plans are nearly complete.

Iain
@iainmspillane.com

Sorry? It's now time to face up to the reality? Bitch, we've known this for so long.

Mark Chadbourn@chadbourn.bsky.social

Burnham started his much-needed assault on Brexit yesterday by confirming Russian interference in the vote. Now this: “In a statement to MPs, Andy Burnham will argue it is time to "face up to the reality that Brexit has done more harm than good" and "the status quo is not good enough for Britain."”

bbc.co.ukRejecting closer EU ties would be dereliction of duty, PM to sayAddressing the Commons, Burnham is expected to say that a new deal with the EU could help tackle illegal immigration and boost economic growth.
Iain
@iainmspillane.com

Bagged and boarded every comic I bought. I’m seriously running out of room but before anyone says anything about digital, don’t.

Iain
@iainmspillane.com

A near perfect Halloween one-shot comic. Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees has been a standout comic for sometime now and this one-shot keeps that standard up. Grab it if you haven’t yet got it, there’s a very nice Peach Momoko variant cover out there too.