John Pendal

Two new earrings in a clear plastic packet. The earrings are black rubber with a rainbow design on the outside. They have a 12mm core barrel.

I saw some rainbow earrings online and got so excited I completely missed the fact they were 12mm plugs.

If anyone would like them please comment or send a PM. If you're based in the UK I'm happy to cover postage.

They are beautiful, but I'm not ready for 12mm plugs just yet!

Hmmmmm.....!

Love this - thank you!

Suggestions from other people:

My auti radar is going off

The ‘Tism is strong with this one

Sensing a touch of the 'tism

Undiagnosed, but peer reviewed

I'm making a list of things people say when they think someone else might be autistic.

So far I have:

On the Suspectrum

Autingle

and 'Tism Tickle

Do you know of any others?

x x

We weren't quite sure what to make of it, but I'd definitely pay to see it again.

At the time we couldn't give it a score - but a day later 8/10 x

#GoodLuckHaveFunDontDie

It is mad. We spent most of the film mouthing "WFT?" at each other.

It's not a comedy, but it made us laugh several times.

Probably the closest reference I can give you is "Everything, Everywhere, All at Once." If you liked that you'll love this.

A still from the movie. Sam Rockwell is at the front, three other cast members behind him. They are looking shocked and terrified. Sam is wearing a weird plastic coat covered in electronics. The whole image has a green hue.

We saw "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die" last night ... the new time travel film directed by Gore Verbinski starring Sam Rockwell.

The set up: a crazy look man walks into a diner claiming to be from the future wanting to save the world. Beyond that, it's best you avoid all spoilers.

To get full information or express interest, contact: G00254698@atu.ie

Full participant information and consent details are provided before participation.

Who can take part:
• Autistic adults aged 40+ (diagnosed or self-identified)
• People who regularly and intentionally spend time in nature

What’s involved:
• A confidential semi-structured interview (about 20 minutes)
• Voluntary and anonymised
• Not clinical or therapeutic

Posting on behalf of an autistic student researcher completing a Level 8 dissertation at ATU. They are looking for autistic adults aged 40+ to take part in a study exploring how nature and outdoor environments support identity, wellbeing, and self-regulation.

Aged 18-24years?
Newly Identified Autistic, or maybe you have clients you'd like to refer to our Discovery Programme?

6 weeks starting 18th Feb 2026
Neuro-affirming
Find out more about your Autistic identity
Build community support
Funded spaces available

thrivingautistic.org/discovery-pr...

A small, rubber, yellow dinosaur stands next to a broken orange dinosaur egg. They are both submerged in a bowl of clear water.

I was given a dinosaur egg to hatch as a Christmas present. I haven't had one before. You put it in a bowl of water for 14 days until it hatches. I don't think anything has given me this much joy (except for my wedding day, my husband pointed out.)

#autisticjoy #dinosauregg

Two beared men: barber Mitchell and John, smile at the camera with arms around each other in the middle of a barbershop.

Arrived safely in Chicago. First stop was a beard trim from Mitchell at Father & Son barbershop (fatherandsonbarbershop.com). Next stop hitting up a gluten free bakery or two before the temperature drops to minus 20 C/ minus 4 F!!!

#beardtrim #beardlife #cantbelieveitsthiscold

Things to say when are kids are anxious or scared: I'm here and I've got your back ... what questions do you have? What are you wondering about? ... we'll take it one step at a time and focus on what we have control over ... even though we don't have all the answers, when we know more I'll let you know too ... let's see how we can take good, kind care of your feelings.

There's a new post now available on my blog. This has a list of support for neurodivergent families, at www.johnpendal.com/blog.html

A card is in a black and gold art deco frame. The card has white writing on a dark green plain background. The writing says: "Dear Santa, Please define 'good'. Thanks."

Found a frame for my favourite Christmas card. The card says:

"Dear Santa, Please define 'good'. Thanks."

Yep. That's about right.

I gave it 5/10 - and all my points were exclusively for Kate Hudson who is amazing.

Panda gave it 6/10 - but he likes Neil Diamond more than I do.

#songsungblue

A better name for the film would have been "One terrible thing happens after another."

We were both quite bummed out by the end, and had to watch something else to cheer ourselves up.

We haven't seen a trailer this misleading since "Mickey 17" had a trailer cut to a rat pack song, making it seem like a snappy comedy instead of a dystopian political satire.

This trailer gave the impression of a love story set to Neil Diamond music.

A still from the movie: "Song Sung Blue". Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman singing together at a piano.

Panda and I saw "Song Sung Blue" at the cinema last night. It's a jukebox musical using the songs of Neil Diamond, loosely based on the plot of a real life married couple Neil Diamond tribute act.

John wrapped up warm on a cold beach on New Year's Day. He's wearing a furry hat and red jacket

Happy New Year's Day! Wishing you all a peaceful and calmer 2026 x x

John outside in the dark, sitting on a box. Behind him is a pair of large rainbow colour angel wings lit up casting a glow on his face.

Happy solstice, Christmas, New Year .... whatever you celebrate (or don't) - wishing you all the best for this year and next.

Hugs, John

Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs by Matthew Reinhart, Robert Sabuda | Waterstones Buy Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs by Matthew Reinhart, Robert Sabuda from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.

Favourite book: "Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Dinosaurs" (www.waterstones.com/book/encyclo...) ... yes it's a pop-up book.

If you have a favourite moment you'd like to share feel free to comment below. And if you've not had any this year, trust me, I understand. You're in company.

Hugs, John

Favourite theatre show: "Dinosaur World Live!" (dinosaurworldlive.com)

Favourite comedy show: "Adam Riches and John Kearns are 'Ball & Boe’ - For Fourteen Nights Only"

Favourite concert: Kylie’s Tension tour

I SWEAR - Official Trailer | STUDIOCANAL YouTube video by StudiocanalUK

Favourite film: "I, Swear" (www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeWq...)

Photo of John looking delighted whilst holding a dinosaur pop up book open in his arms.

For a lot of us 2025 has been a challenging year. It's becoming harder to focus on the positives when it can feel like the world is on fire. I think it's important to remember that we can be happy and there is good stuff out there.

So, here are some of my highlights this year:

#pillion #pillionmovie #pillionfilm #gaybikerfilm #gaybikers

(That’s partly why I’m so passionate about kink education now.)

So it’s not the kink love story we wanted, but perhaps it’s the film we deserve.

8/10 …. Sir.

It also rang true because for most of us we did learn our mistakes in real life. There wasn’t kink education in school or at home. Most of us “choose better second time around,” because we had to. We learned by having awful experiences first.

The relationship isn’t gold-standard, best practice BDSM by some margin. I know this has annoyed some people. I’m okay with that, partly because it’s a story about imperfect people. It’s hard to write engaging fiction where everyone behaves ethically.