Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren)

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren)

@gfrancie.bsky.social

I make dinner & swear too much. I think that's all you need to know. 'Chocolate Cake for Imaginary Lives' published by Deixis Press is available now She/her

4K followers877 following34.9K posts

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Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren)
@gfrancie.bsky.social

Always sift your dry ingredients. You can add a bit more cinnamon if you like (or don't.) This is a nice little one to try if you are like me and thinking, "how can I get MORE fibre in my diet" because these are middle-aged thoughts. They didn't taste heavy. But then butter and maple syrup helps.

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren) reposted

Draculosity Jones: Ghost Skeleton
@brainmage.bsky.social

The goal has been met, and I am on my way to my first injection. I am wildly anxious, and not letting myself hope! I am leaving this up in case anyone has a quid to spare towards the "a nice thing to look forward to after the inevitable disappointment" fund

Draculosity Jones: Ghost Skeleton@brainmage.bsky.social

I have set up a ko-fi goal! Later this month, I am undergoing experimental treatment to try and help restore my sense of smell, which I lost ~12 years ago. It is VERY EXPENSIVE (and, like, scientifically-backed. I am not being scammed), but if it works could change my life ko-fi.com/guy/goal?g=2

ko-fi.comSupport Guy Kelly ❤️Ko-fi lets you support my nonsense, help gussy up my streaming setup, or commission a Shrek 2 Collectable Trading Card tarot reading. It's a one-stop shop for profoundly strange decisions.

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren) reposted

Saeed Jones
@theferocity.bsky.social

Honestly, the only thing more stressful than being held hostage is being held hostage and knowing that River Cartwright is going to try to rescue you. #SlowHorses

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren) reposted

mcc
@dryad.technology

Politics hits different when you're an "issue" instead of a citizen

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren) reposted

Yun
@rubydofox.bsky.social

I want all trans people to know that Erika Hilton is a black transwoman and the most-voted congresswoman in the history of Brazil, with 1.5 millions votes. She campaigned for Lula over the last three weeks. WE TRANS PEOPLE CAN EXIST IN POLITICS. It’s not a dream. It’s already a reality in Brazil!

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren)
@gfrancie.bsky.social

Just acquired a 50 year old mercury glass bird christmas tree off of this sweet old lady. My desire to collect all of the interesting and beautiful Christmas ornaments is almost a sickness. A fantastic sickness.

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren) reposted

TK_Wharton
@tkw.bsky.social

Awesome photo and story (Gus Bennett photo for The Lens)

Danny Cherry Jr (twitter/Insta/tiktok: @Deecherrywriter)@deecherrywriter.bsky.social

🚨NEW STORY🚨 Farmer Jamie Davis is closing the gap as he bids to be Louisiana’s first Black U.S. Senator since Reconstruction, leaving Julia Letlow without the sure victory Republicans had hoped for. "This is not going to be a slam dunk," a pollster warns. thelensnola.org/2026/10/23/j...

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren) reposted

Joyce Park
@troutgirl.bsky.social

Replying to @troutgirl.bsky.social

I think one big factor is that Americans are CONSTANTLY trained to make everything into an individual problem that we have to "take accountability" for. If you cant feed your kids, buy insulin, afford to move to a better job market, find a job, "overcome" a disability... That is a YOU problem here.

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren) reposted

Rafa Sales Ross
@rafiews.com

Replying to @rafiews.com

Some ground rules that have helped us: - Go outside your bubble, try new social media channels - Don’t underestimate the power of WhatsApp (although less so in the U.S.) - Post on the Instagram grid, not just stories - Watch every Instagram video until the end before sharing - IGNORE THEM

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren) reposted

Rafa Sales Ross
@rafiews.com

Replying to @rafiews.com

After the first round elections, Congressman André Janones created a WhatsApp channel titled “Lula’s Army.” It ballooned to 10 million people following his commands on how to behave online to counteract Meta’s far-right-favouring algorithms. The right knows how to use socials. We must learn, too.

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren) reposted

Rafa Sales Ross
@rafiews.com

I’m not a political journalist, so was gladly surprised at the community I found here last night. To Americans anxious about the upcoming elections, a key thing we learned in Brazil that might help you: DO NOT engage with the far-right online. Don’t share rage bait. Amplify your people. Ignore them.

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren) reposted

Sarah Walsh
@bigdamnherossir.bsky.social

... It's watching us

Tom Cox@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social

I have said it before, and I will say it again: the UK countryside is full of interdimensional portals. All you have to do is keep your eyes open and look carefully for them... tomcox.substack.com/p/20-of-the-...

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren) reposted

The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)
@themerl.bsky.social

This is today! Join us from 3pm GMT on YouTube for a streaming of four agricultural films from our Richard Watts Collection, plus a Q&A with our team. We'll pop a link up here just before we go live, too.

The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social

ICYMI: next Monday afternoon, we're doing a live film screening on YouTube! Join us to watch some historic rural films, plus a Q&A with the project team. www.youtube.com/live/9ZFpDCD...

youtube.comRural Life on Film: OnlineYouTube video by The Museum of English Rural Life

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren) reposted

Douglas Booker
@douglasbooker.bsky.social

Replying to @okwonga.bsky.social

My partner is Brazilian, and honestly, watching the WhatsApp ‘Lula’s Army’ stuff has been so inspiring. Against all odds, against Meta, against fascism. This gives me so much optimism

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren)
@gfrancie.bsky.social

My oldest kid was telling me about some of their Serbian friends who have been participating in the protests as students. I thought, "kids are doing alright."

Taniel@taniel.bsky.social

Brazil was of two huge election results today—alongside the defeat of the nationalist, authoritarian leader of Serbia: "the slate of candidates selected by protesting students had won at least 135 seats in Serbia’s 250-member legislature" www.nytimes.com/2026/10/25/w...

nytimes.comAleksandar Vucic Concedes Defeat in Serbian Election“It is clear that we have lost these elections,” Aleksandar Vucic said in a surprisingly early speech congratulating his opponents.

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren) reposted

Charlotte Lydia Riley
@lottelydia.bsky.social

The reason the BL has empty desks is that the cyberattack has reduced people’s access abilities and pushed researchers away from the institution. (Not helped by their mad ebook-only policies around new book acquisitions, etc). If only the UK had a culture secretary.

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social

Leaving aside the rampaging elephant in the room of the degradation of access to the Library's collections since the cyberattack, my main question on reading this is why historians are still posting on X, a platform that incites violence against humans of many 'sorts' and monetises misogyny.

timeshighereducation.comBritish Library to turn reading rooms into paid-for workspacesAreas dedicated to science and social science in national institution to be ‘repurposed’, sparking the ire of scholars
Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren)
@gfrancie.bsky.social

Just came back from seeing "Ghosts: Possession of Button House" and it was a god dang delight. Cops and politicians remain useless. The Youth are alright. The gang remains wonderful, weird, and a bunch of perverts in their own way. It is all about connection and community.

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren)
@gfrancie.bsky.social

Thought about participating in some discourse. Then I paused, sipped my tea, thought about this cool little craft project I am working on, and the feeling passed. Seriously this is the time for cool little craft projects. I have two I am hyped about.

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren) reposted

Sylvia
@sylvia-suffragette.bsky.social

Get pissed, it helps you cope, is not the best message from a government. At least he didn’t mention pints 🙄

The National@scotnational.bsky.social

Andy Burnham has suggested people could have 'a glass or two' of wine to help them through an emergency, as he defended UK Government advice for households to stockpile essential supplies

thenational.scotAndy Burnham defends emergency stockpiling advice with bizarre wine remark

Gfrancie (Benevolent Siren) reposted

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. * * *