Ray Newman's avatar

Ray Newman

@raynewman.bsky.social

892 followers 768 following 3892 posts

He/him. Writer, editor, content designer (it's a thing). Ghost stories and films. From Somerset, in Bristol. Won't repost if you don't add alt text. Avoiding politics and doom. Linktree: linktr.ee/raynewman Header is my book Municipal Gothic

Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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Covers of 'Bill Barnes Air Trails', a 1930s pulp aviation magazines, which makes me think of the various aircraft in the Indiana Jones films.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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Urban scrapbook. đź“·

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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See: Poker Face. Also excellent.

youtu.be/4x2NzusLAqk?...

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Emily J. Edwards's avatar Emily J. Edwards @msemilyedwards.bsky.social
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there is LITERALLY no funnier prop in tv history than the S1 X FILES drawing of The Jersey Devil

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Jeremy Dauber's avatar Jeremy Dauber @jeremydauber.bsky.social
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I envy the movie that can ask a woman to look soulfully into the eyes of a man and say the words: "It took a swarm of killer bees to bring you back." Bravo, 1976's THE SAVAGE BEES. Bravo.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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Starmer is a long-time socialist from a working class background who could only get elected by not scaring the centre-right. That has meant some sound bites that make Labour sound worse than it is, in its heart. With a solid mandate, it might be braver in office than during campaigning. I'm hopeful.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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Former cabinet secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell, who we called GOD when I was a civil servant, turns out to be a bit of a geezer, oi oi, know what I mean?

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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The Bickerton was less durable, I gather.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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Some absolute nonsense around today but I'll allow it because of election fever.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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We used to treat them both the same.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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Personally, I don't always think getting a reply is the end game. It's about the cumulative weight of letters on the same topic -- that's what prompts MPs and ministers to action. But if you do need/want a personalised reply, ask specific, detailed questions. And write back if you don't get answers.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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In general, I guess, I either want to discuss something properly, or not really at all.

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David Bowman's avatar David Bowman @dlbowman76.com
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I have just encountered an extraordinary word in the book I'm reading: fanfaronade. It means "empty bluster" or braggadocio. I love it.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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See also: the Know Your Place maps of the South West of England. Aerial photo overlays! Historic photos! Slow to load but pretty amazing.

www.kypwest.org.uk

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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Everyone knows about the National Library of Scotland's historic map website, right? Overlay historic maps on present day street maps, compare and contrast, work out what that pile of bricks in the woods used to be a hundred years ago, etc..

maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/...

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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2/2 ... but if we fell behind on replying to letters, we'd also get hammered for failing to respond to public enquiries. Quite a tightrope to walk! Worth bearing in mind when you think about who will be reading and processing your letter, and under what conditions.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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Worth saying that the people I worked with were mostly working class, mostly up north, and doing their best to answer complicated queries with limited resources. Any time more resources were dedicated to this we'd get hammered with queries about why so much money was being wasted on 'comms'... 1/2

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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Mostly because they're resource intensive and difficult for admins to respond to on the spot. With letters you can more easily get input from various people – and the right people.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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Personal stories are good. They can turn into “One of my constituents...” statements in various contexts. And prove it's not part of an automated campaign. When I say “don’t be cranky” it's not to suggest anything is censored – only that calm, clear letters are easier for admins to process.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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Yes, and pick one topic or point. Much more likely it will end up with a specific minister that way.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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Yes, they feel like they ought to work, but we were allowed to classify them as campaigns and so they didn't get replies. The campaign would still register but would have less weight than X hundred letters from individual concerned voters.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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It'll get logged as "Lots of people have concerns about..." which can also help move the dials, if you don't happen to have a solution in mind.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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Character limited social media sites are a shit place to discuss politics.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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Oh, gosh, no, do not do this. Building evacuations, controlled explosions, Special Branch...

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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This is where I have a small, boring bit of advice, from my time managing a customer contact centre for a central government department: write letters to your MP asking them to raise issues with secretaries of state; make the letters unique, not copy-and-paste campaigns; be direct, not cranky.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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I'm hearing good things about the music.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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Yeah, I think that was the weaselly form of words they used.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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The first time I recall being aware of this kind of thing was when the school library got in a bunch of books by "Virginia Andrews®".

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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The one good thing to come out of the British Rail privatisation process was that they used this music on the adverts.

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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I've been pondering on this. Years ago I had a blog post half-written about how zombie movies surge in popularity during times of plague and war, perhaps because they help us think through how we'd handle the apocalypse – but in a *fun* way!

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Alex Kittle's avatar Alex Kittle @alexxkittle.bsky.social
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When your boss says “I’ll be right back, I have to put on my suit” before his JAWS intro

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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I like the theory that Twin Peaks had multiple children with the X-Files and Northern Exposure as siblings.

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Jessica Ritchey 's avatar Jessica Ritchey @jmritchey.bsky.social
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Tonight's watch was Crimson Tide (1995). Solid meat and potatoes flick put out through Disney's Hollywood Pictures imprint. Tony Scott knew cinema was candy colored lighting on sweating actors' faces in closeup.

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Anna Orridge's avatar Anna Orridge @anna-orridge.bsky.social
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I think the reason horror (counterintuitively) becomes popular in times of great strain and struggle, is that as a genre, it shows how people can face fear, but also the very many ways in which someone might show agency beyond obvious heroism.

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Al's avatar Al @movietrubs.bsky.social
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"It's a Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Tex Avery that doesn't contain a single staple from the cartoons. Instead its a five-minute animated satire mocking all the stars of the day. The problem for us kids in the early '80s is that the "day" in question was in 1941."

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Bright Wall/Dark Room's avatar Bright Wall/Dark Room @bwdr.bsky.social
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a list created from the responses:

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Ray Newman's avatar Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social
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Ooh! That's nice. Beats the knackered plastic cutlery I carry round with me. Might have to get one.

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Reposted by Ray Newman