Michael Williams

Gone running

[Saganism @Saganismm]

The speed of light visualized traveling through our solar system.

We tend to think of light as instant. But on the cosmic scale, light is agonizingly slow.

Credit: @physicsJ

[Michael Williams @_michaelcycle]

#catford #catfordbridge #a205 #southcircular

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

A British writer penned the best description of Donald Trump I’ve ever read:

“Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?”

A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed. So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.

Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman. But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.

Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers. And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.

There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul. And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist. Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that. He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.

And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead. There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.

So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:

• Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.

• You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.

This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss. After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum. God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid. He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart. In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.

And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish: ‘My God… what… have… I… created?' If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.”

-Nate White

[Curiosity @MAstronomers]

Great Britain and Ireland on a rare clear day from Space.

[Cycling out of context @OutOfCycling]

Cycling Out of Context Highlights | 2022 Season

Thank you all for the memories. Enjoy.

[Michael Williams @_michaelcycle]

Not only is the ⁦@wenlockarms⁩ the best ale pub north of town.. they also do quality cider ❤️🍎x

[All The Right Movies @ATRightMovies]

How THE THING might have went if it starred Pingu instead of Kurt Russell. By Lee Hardcastle.

[Cosmic Birds of Ornithia @CosmicBirdsNFT]

@mischiefanimals Reminds me of this…

[David Joss Buckley @deejaybuck]

Unless you opt out by June 23rd all your NHS records will be scraped and shared with commercial third parties. Opt out link here:

https://t.co/kvnQ6TCPmt

Full story from FT here:
https://t.co/xFSbQTAmkB

[Adam Clark @adamclarkitv]

A large part of the White Cliffs of Dover has collapsed this afternoon. This footage was filmed at Samphire Ho.

[B̤̿it̺̕B͓̚ur͍̒neȑ🔥k33p !7 m0v!n @bitburner]

PARLER GOT FUCKING OWNED BAD...and I mean BAD 😂

"This group of Internet Warriors then used that account, to create a handful of other ADMINISTRATION accounts, and then created a script that ended up creating MILLIONS of fake administration accounts."

HOLY SHIT HAHAHA 😂🤣

[Michael Williams @_michaelcycle]

@DanWallace_UK @cyclegaz @Chris_Boardman I’ve got these on my commuter and winter bike; fabulous https://t.co/uBTQ3YNCWF

[Jeremy Vine | Here, on Tiktok, Insta & Facebook @theJeremyVine]

That brilliant article in the @FT.

[Michael Williams @_michaelcycle]

@ChuckWendig E L I T E .. I lost several months of my childhood to this game

[Mike Galsworthy @mikegalsworthy]

This is crazy how people in the US live. Let’s keep this model of work well away from the UK. https://t.co/U2sVgscIb1

[Irvine Welsh @IrvineWelsh]

If you’re thinking of voting for this cunt, I seriously hope you have a ton of money. Cause if not you’re a fucking idiot.

[jml @SWLondon2_4]

"Drivers can be safe and keep to the speed limits"

[Brexitshambles @brexit_sham]

A star is born - They say 'cometh the hour cometh the man' - listen to this brilliant Bishop Auckland farmer...
"On referendum night we went to bed as Great Britain and woke up as Little Britain"