Little smidgen of good news tomorrow on the film front… my lord making indie films takes some outrageous patience! 😅❤️

It isn’t possible to teach someone how to be this funny

Los Angeles: sports capital of the world@theamitie.bsky.social · yesterday

There’s a guy on TikTok who posts just him taking a pizza out of the oven every day with tongs and all of the comments are about how their day is ruined from having watched this

Northern Territory government minister Josh Burgoyne has accused the Commonwealth of "overreach", after the federal government said it would block the development of gas-powered data centres and mandate the use of renewables. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08... #ntpol #auspol Good!

Commonwealth says it will block gas-fired data centres

The NT government has rejected a federal plan to mandate the use of renewables for new large-scale data centres, but the Commonwealth says it will block proposals that rely on gas.

abc.net.au

The current US cabinet is the only major country's cabinet to exist within my lifetime where I'm confident that sortition would have done a better job

Matthew Downhour @matthewdownhour.bsky.social · 3h ago

This is gonna sound unfathomably arrogant but I think I could do every current cabinet secretary’s job better than it is currently being done

The Trump regime admitted in court filings that the cancellation of clean energy grants for Hawaiʻi was because the state voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, rather than the previously stated reasons of advancing energy needs or economic viability.

Trump Administration Lawyers Admit Hawaiʻi Funding Cuts Were Partisan

The admission about terminated clean energy grants emerged in recent court filings, confirming what many already suspected.

civilbeat.org

My latest in @theconversation.com: "Hanson’s recent comments are not an aberration. Her anti-feminist and pro-men’s rights beliefs have been as consistent over the last 30 years as her racism and stance on immigration. It’s clear that men’s rights is central to Hanson’s political project." #AusPol

Pauline Hanson was once dubbed ‘queen of the men’s rights movement’. Her 30-year career shows why

As consistent as her beliefs on race and immigration, Hanson has been championing men’s rights causes for 30 years – at the expense of women.

theconversation.com

his thing is interviews with media figures (e.g. the view lady, but it’s happened a bunch) who hate him based on his public statements having 5 minutes backstage with him and going “oh, you’re a reasonable man.” this is taken as bullish for him. it’s the opposite!! wrong!! kind!! of juice!!

old insight (like, apology of socrates-old): speaking to publics and speaking 1-to-1 are very separable, even mutually antagonistic talents. slimy lawschool guys like vance, super talented at 1-to-1s, think this means they should run for president. wrong kind of juice; & jd hasn’t got the right kind

Deeply embarrassing that I'm solidly middle-aged and this report came out 10 years before I was born. Genuinely think that flubbing metrication was one of the things that set the UK on the reactionary path it subsequently went down metricviews.uk/2026/08/04/c...

Change to the Metric System in the United Kingdom: A 1968 Turning Point

In May 1968, the Standing Joint Committee on Metrication delivered a landmark report to the Minister of Technology, Anthony Wedgwood Benn. It was a document that captured a moment when Britain stoo…

metricviews.uk

The mystery of breakfast: "All these people who had just spent six or more utterly solitary hours, unconscious or dreaming (of what?), wholly alone, wholly and unbrokenly themselves, now coming back to consciousness and the world again..." (from Makeshift by Sarah Campion, from Boiler House Press)

The Wreck Out on the Highway: Six novels about fatal auto accidents and their consequences. neglectedbooks.com/?...

It probably won't happen but the prospect of Badenoch leading a Tory general election campaign is a joy. Every time she leaves X and enters the real world, she is hilariously inept and crass.

Behind the bewildering transformation of British universities, are management consultants being paid millions Really proud to have this vital piece on our unis are being gutted from the inside by @jheathershaw.bsky.social on Democracy for Sale. Do read democracyforsale.substack.com/p/inside-bri...

Inside Britain's university crisis

As teaching staff face job loss, their bosses have netted pay rises and bought advice from a “vampiric” management consultancy, writes Prof. John Heathershaw of the University of Exeter

democracyforsale.substack.com

The thing about tactical nukes is that we deployed them across Asia during the Cold War but withdrew them starting in the 70s (Japan/Okinawa, Taiwan, Philippines) because they were security/logistical/political headaches and basically made obsolete by sea and CONUS based forces.

Jesse Johnson@jljzen.bsky.social · 17h ago

The Defense Department’s policy chief is drafting a new U.S. nuclear strategy that emphasizes the possible use of shorter-range tactical weapons in case of a regional war with China or Russia, according to five people familiar with the plans. www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...

Just finished prepping my talk for the @gallipoliassoc.bsky.social annual conference on September 5th. Looking forward to introducing the audience to some animal history frameworks, Gallipoli makes a fascinating case study on the value of animal studies to military historians.

Zainaab interviewed 33 market participants and adopters in Pakistan last summer, in a mix of English, Urdu and Punjabi, for her Masters thesis at Oxford, which she has just submitted and defended. It's a brilliant read and I'm happy to put any journalists in touch with her.

One factor is that people in Pakistan really hate their utilities and discoms - not only have power prices risen, but corruption is rampant. And another is the role of landlords, who often own farms but live in cities and act as diffusers after testing the tech on their own houses.

Unlike that of the rest of southeast Asia, Pakistan's gas demand has been falling. Pakistan's solar boom is partly attributable to excellent do-it-yourself videos on Tiktok and youtube, and partly to two other factors, says Zainaab Basil in an interview with BNEF. www.bnef.com/insights/40017

The Influencer Recession The boring, dime-a-dozen influencer is dead, and nobody’s mourning it. But what happens if its replacement is even worse? www.vulture.com/article/infl... archive version: archive.is/Vd5xP

The Influencer Recession

Once upon a time, lifestyle influencers could post cute photos and make millions. Now they are forced to pivot.

vulture.com

Generative AI is catnip to the men who miss female sycophants katemanne.substack.com/p/a-culture-...

A Culture Hooked on Generative AI is a Culture that Misses Female Sycophants

And we have missed a central reason why AI is a feminist issue

katemanne.substack.com

What on earth is all this then? archive.md/BXGvA #actpol

The line is, "Of course people deserve a second chance, but their repentance has to be real, consistent and thorough-going, and it has to be reflected in a real change in their conduct, not just excuses."

Andy Burnham Accepter@jorisbinned.bsky.social · 17h ago

Hello I'm an idiot

He’s gone too far, that muppet was a made man

I love that there's some mushy ice on the ground and Kiwis start doing Yo Full Sick Tony Hawk down a suburban side street where Death Via Hitting An Old Parked Camry"is the main chance www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

New Zealand capital delights in rare snowfall as southern city residents ski down world’s steepest street

Snow falls in Wellington for the first time in 15 years while snow blanketed Dunedin and Christchurch on the country’s south island

theguardian.com

Yes The Age, why would you?

Liam Hogan@liamhogan.id.au · yesterday

The 15 minute city conspiracy theory is very weird to me because it’s just a straight description of urban spaces that are good. Why would you be against proximity to services and infrastructure

I guess the thing about taking a lot of drugs is that this does not necessarily lead you to make the best decisions

Martin D.B. Brown@martindbbrown.bsky.social · 20h ago

Nods.

I have noticed a huuuuuge amount of weird woo-posting on Threads. They kinda always had it, but it feels like it's picking up pace.

Cat Power is antivax