Think the problem is that people who don't write find it hard to believe that anyone would put in that many grindingly thankless and poorly paid hours on something that might not work anyway, and think there must be a magic short cut and we're just keeping it a secret ...

Antony Johnston@antonyjohnston.bsky.social · 2d ago

Seeing complaints online that authors 'gatekeep' information…! Absolute nonsense. There is no industry or craft in the world which is so comprehensively written about, studied, and discussed as fiction writing, and every author I know welcomes new writers who are serious about giving it a go.

She's Lynda La Plante for heaven sake. I'm sure they'd be prepared to come to meet her.

James Chalmers@jameschalmers.bsky.social · 2d ago

Yes I acknowledge it makes sense in context but “I need my car to meet criminals” is now my favourite basis for an attempted exceptional hardship plea. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

So the main moral of East Palace is that everyone needs a psychopathic teddy bear as an ally?

'Growing up, I lived in a house without art: no picture books on the shelves, no visits to museums, no posters on the bedroom wall.' Thrilled to have an advance copy of this. The definitive collected edition of John Burnside's poems. He was, and remains, a force of nature @jonathancape.bsky.social

I've confirmed that the UK's new Sovereign AI Fund does no due diligence on whether AI companies use copyrighted work without permission before investing in them. It took me 3 Freedom of Information requests to find this out: 🧵 1/10

If you thought the Trojan Horse was exciting, wait until you see the Cows of Cooley...

Jesse Hawken@jessehawken.bsky.social · last wk.

Studio execs are going to want to adapt more poems for the big screen now

Great list. One glaring omission*. Really glad to see The End of Everything on There, and @serpents-tail.bsky.social and @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social holding their own. [*imagine everyone has one wtf absence)

The Booker Prizes@thebookerprizes.com · last wk.

Presenting the Booker Prize 2026 longlist. Find out more about the books and authors that make up this year's Booker Dozen: thebookerprizes.com/bp2026

the ideal academic life is being an eccentric Victorian lord. Invent a stamp licking machine at 22. Get elected to the Royal Academy for counting the beetles on your estate. Die in an arsenic explosion. The perfect life.

Damn. Hard to remember now how influential the Goodies were, and always felt Bill Oddie was the heart of them. (My memory is a telephone call from him to say he couldn't do something he'd said he would, because he was too depressed, which was both brutally honest and bloody sad.)

Must be why they're the current choice of eyewear for ICE futurism.com/artificial-i...

Meta Desperately Trying to Ban Creeps Misusing Its AI "Pervert Glasses"

Meta is vowing to crack down on creeps misusing its Ray Ban smart glasses. Whether it will be enough to regain trust remains to be seen.

futurism.com

'The old gods come by, sullen or joyful according to instinct. A few, near silent shadows now...' Unable, until the end Jonathan Grimwood - Stone Circle Review stonecirclereview.com/unable-until/

POEM 356: "Unable, until the end" by Jonathan Grimwood (@joncg.bsky.social) "They'd decided you must be the same, with your coming and going. A little ragged, a little smart, a little held between worlds." stonecirclereview.com/unable-until/ #Poem #Poetry #NewPoem #PoetryCommunity

When the story of why humanity didn't stop climate change is written, it will feature front pages like this. Even as the skies blacken with climate change-induced wildfires, right wing media continue their relentless crusade against measures to tackle it.

Petition for a Moratorium on AI data centre approvals until environmental impacts have been assessed. petitions.parliament.scot/petitions/PE...

Petition: Moratorium on planning applications for all hyperscale data centres until their environmental impacts have been fully assessed

Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to introduce a moratorium to prohibit planning permission from being granted for any hyperscale data centres, until it has carried ou...

petitions.parliament.scot

Logic says baguette, if thrown with spin like a rugby ball; but suspect naan if round and slightly overcooked could go further if used as a discus.

Sophie Hall@sophlouisehall.bsky.social · 2w ago

Finally, someone asking the important questions

This many people and not one of them knows how to hunt. What's a cat to do?

Richard M. Nixon@dicknixon.bsky.social · 2w ago

Larry laid his mouse in front of the press to be photographed. Lest you ask, this is a real photograph via the Press Association.

Crude armour, fleas, disease, swords that won't keep their edge, more disease, rampant superstition, cities the size of towns, towns the size of villages, kingdoms and principalities the size of Centre Parks...?

Tom Jamieson@tomjam.bsky.social · 2w ago

Christopher Nolan melting Elon's brain has been a real highlight of 2026.

The Prime Minister, @andyburnham.bsky.social, has spoken about being honest about the challenges we face. So, as we welcome our new Prime Minister and cabinet, let's start there: Nature is disappearing. The climate crisis is accelerating. The UK cannot thrive while both continue unchecked.

movement in non-euclidean quaternionic space

It's true, Odysseus should've been played by an actual Greek

Adam Roberts@adamroberts.bsky.social · 2w ago

It's true, Odysseus should've been played by an actual Greek

Excellent piece from Professor Roberts on Nolan's The Bits of the Odyssey People Remember, and the Bits Homer Thought Important that didn't quite make Nolan's cut...

Adam Roberts@adamroberts.bsky.social · 2w ago

In honour of Nolan's overlong, only occasionally good movie, I have written an overlong, mostly not-good blogpost: profadamroberts.substack.com/p/nolans-ody...

All UK self-employed people: you need to read this government proposal, and respond to it. They're looking to shake up self-employed tax to make it monthly, and potentially take it, based on their forecasts, from the PAYE from any salaried employment you have! www.gov.uk/government/c...

Timely Payments in Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA)

gov.uk

I think it's really sweet the way the cameras keep cutting to the actors who acted as drama coaches to the players for their agonised death scenes... #worldcup

I wish this didn't read as if written by AI, with a recursive quote that could be AI... [Looks out of window at world burning...]

Well, that was a bit of a slog... #FijvSco #rugby

Ingvar and Ubba, I reckon. It might be 1150 years since the Great Heathen Army sacked the abbey in a Viking raid but memories are long on those parts... (Either that, or an idiot.)

Rob Palk@robpalk.bsky.social · 3w ago

We are in Whitby. Saw a house with a big sign saying "stop the boats" which I'm choosing to take as a Dracula reference

Continuity Starmer...

Grumpy Philosopher@stevecooke.org · 3w ago

Sky News reporting that Shabana Mahmood is likely to become Chancellor because she has a record of ‘getting stuff done’. They aren‘t mentioning that the ‘stuff’ she gets done is stupid & morally repulsive ‘stuff’.

A defence barrister in Australia was setting out the mitigating factors re his clients guilty plea for raping a 14 year old girl, he said it ‘only’ lasted for 5 minutes. Judge Ryan Haddrick interrupted and ordered the court be silent for 5 minutes, to show just how long it is. Powerful & necessary

Is there anything in the rules that says the losing teams in the third place playoff can't just to the pub instead...?

Judging from the screaming from next door someone was just murdered or the English team kicked something...