“FoodNeverComes belongs to a new internet genre: ‘dopamine sites’, which recreate the rituals of consumption without the consumption. There are fake shopping sites, fake delivery services and even fake holidays.” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Dopamine sites: India and the world are discovering the thrill of shopping without buying

Dopamine sites mimic shopping’s thrill without the spending, turning the ritual of consumption into a digital game.

bbc.co.uk

Ray Newman@raynewman.bsky.social · last mo.

BLOG POST: Every day there's some news story or other that makes me realise we're living in a sci-fi future. What's weird is how life just goes on. precastreinforced.co.uk/2026/08/16/n...

You know, Phil Cornwell’s vocal on the Slow Horses theme tune is growing on me.

Of all the ghastly monstrosities to be found in this AI generated mural in Bedminster, I think the funniest is this building. The machine has obviously mistaken Cabot Tower, Bristol for Cabot Tower, Newfoundland (which was built to celebrate the END of Cabot’s voyage, rather than the start of it).

Here's something: Dennis Potter's rarely seen Play for Today from 1974, Schmoedipus, will be repeated on BBC Four on Wednesday 7th October at 10pm. It's their tribute to Tim Curry, who stars alongside Anna Cropper and Bob Hoskins. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...

BBC One - Play for Today, Series 4, Schmoedipus

A strange young man turns up on Elizabeth’s doorstep and makes a frightening claim.

bbc.co.uk

I’m reminded of a live snake in a (hastily terminated) sixth form assembly…

Tim Worthington@outonbluesix.bsky.social · yesterday

Some dancers once came to our school once and did a routine to Uptown Girl in the middle of assembly. I've still no idea why.

And a related blog post from the archives: precastreinforced.co.uk/2022/09/24/g...

Goodbye Aquarius: how sickness, sex and death got tangled up in British films 1968-72

In April 1969 the British film director Bryan Forbes became head of EMI Films in the UK. His statement of intent summed up a particular view of the state of the national film industry at the time.

precastreinforced.co.uk

If you tell me to 'take that in' during a cue on the R4 Today programme, I will immediately switch off.

Just 8 or so days left of the BlogMyWiki and Suppertime blogs, the recipe and TV show title generators, radio clock, my old websites... everything must go.

BlogMyWiki@blogmywiki.bsky.social · 4w ago

I'm retiring my blog after... 23 years... www.suppertime.co.uk/blogmywiki/2...

GBBO used to be the only thing we all watched as a family and until today I was the last viewer standing. (Sitting). Nigella has been *just* enough to get Mrs Wiki and child 3 back on the sofa, though she’s going away to uni next week.

It’s not last year’s contestants, is it? #GBBO

Why did they reshoot the titles? #GBBO

I very much need GBBO to be good.

It’s time for my CHRISTMAS GIFT TIP. If you go to www.themichaelpalin.com, you can buy all of Michael Palin’s books, DVDs, other stuff, but for NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE, he will sign it for the loved one of your choosing. Don’t say I don’t give you nowt.

Mark looked out for me when I started out as a young journalist and I learnt a great deal from him. Humility in curiousity was one. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Veteran BBC Africa correspondent Mark Doyle dies

Doyle was best known for reporting on African conflicts in the 1990s and 2000s, notably in Rwanda and Sierra Leone.

bbc.com

R4 1800 opening was a Two Ronnies sketch of 'playing the clip after the cue I'm reading.' I mean you could avoid this by not having bloody clips in the opening of course...

The final episode of THE MIND CHILDREN is now live... some digital archaeology and two more trips to deepest Somerset uncover even more secrets about the elusive creator of the lost 1970s TV show. The Final Program: episode 8 of series 9 of LISTEN WITH OTHER: listenwithother.co.uk/s9-e8-the-fi...

A few quick thoughts on why Meta is afraid of Virginia Woolf: samj.substack.com/p/no-room-fo...

No Room For Virginia Woolf

Meta has forbidden reference to A Room Of One’s Own. It almost makes you think that techno-fascism might not be good for the world.

samj.substack.com

Ditto 30,000 roles in universities in the past three years.

Willard Foxton@willardfoxton.bsky.social · 2d ago

I think it's absolutely mad that today there's a *national news story* about 400 oil platform workers losing their jobs, and the government being blamed. 25% of the UK TV industry lost their jobs in the last 4 years and we never hear a peep about it! Some jobs are 'real jobs' I guess.

This is one hell of a flex.

The final episode of THE MIND CHILDREN is now live... some digital archaeology and two more trips to deepest Somerset uncover even more secrets about the elusive creator of the lost 1970s TV show. The Final Program: episode 8 of series 9 of LISTEN WITH OTHER: listenwithother.co.uk/s9-e8-the-fi...

On the BBC News Katya Adler has just described Germany, where the far right AFD keep winning elections, as entering 'uncharted political territory'. Hmmm. Where Germany is concerned I think that territory is pretty well charted.

All is not well with the final album by The Fall... www.theguardian.com/music/2026/s...

‘Love and respect’ or ‘a cash grab’? The furious battle over the final album by the Fall

Creators of Post Script, made with vocals by the late Mark E Smith, defend it as ‘a great, positive record’, but fiancee describes it as ‘ethically wrong’

theguardian.com

Our local Sainsbury’s no longer sells bayonet light bulbs. When did the standard change? Where was the digital switchover-style public information campaign?

A new MIND CHILDREN episode just dropped! Bob and Dave are back with an emergency podcast after Bob makes an extraordinary discovery at a car boot sale in Cornwall. Look for LISTEN WITH OTHER on Apple Podcasts and listen and play the game on the website at listenwithother.co.uk/s9-e1-toxic-...

I had to get a model maker to make a mini Stonehenge for the NME cover shoot with Happy Mondays - and got the measurements wrong - and almost made it actual sized!

One for UK folks, folk horror movie Starve Acre just landed on BBC iPlayer 👍🏻

E's are good E's are good he's Ebenezer...