Brooklyn Park police chief Mark Bruley: "We're hearing people being stopped with no cause & being demanded to show paperwork to determine if they're here legally. We started hearing from our police officers the same complaints. Every one of these individuals is a person of color... it has to stop"

In REP this week: Monday - our Palaeography group will transcribe rates of pay for Tudor carpenters Tuesday- the Playmakers will irked to discover that the word “anonymity” isn’t recorded before 1695 Wednesday - we read The Widow, which probably isn’t written by two of the people mentioned here.

Tried to watch an interesting looking Argentinian horror movie called “1978” on #Amazon; it’s in Spanish so I switched on subtitles, but hit by a tidal wave of Hard Of Hearing captions, mostly unnecessary, repetitive and also about 5 seconds out of sync. Gave up!

Watched “Marriage in the Shadows” (Ehe Im Schatten, 1947) last night, depicting German actors, writers, etc throughout the years of Nazi rule. The earliest period perhaps most fascinating now, as most dismiss the dangers of the new regime (except for some of the Jewish members of the group.)

In REP this week: Monday: our palaeography group will continue to work on documents of the Tudor Revels Office. Tuesday: our Playmakers mind their “yous” & “thous” whilst writing more scenes for The Cunning Florentines. Wednesday: we read Love’s Cure, as performed by the King’s Men in 1613.

All the magnificent thrilling clichés of the #FACup - ⚽️🏆! #MacPal ⏱️

Meanwhile, in local news: It’s fabulous that these two stories are actually the same story.

Let's call a spade a spade: Kristi Noem watched the videos and doesn't want an impartial investigation because she knows her narrative about domestic terrorism is bullshit. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

I call on my party and my government to remove themselves entirely from X and communicate with the public where they actually participate online and can be protected from such illegality.

Four generations of my family have served our country. Service is in my blood. The President wouldn’t know anything about that.

REP returns to action this week. Monday: our palaeography group continues to work on documents of the Tudor Revels Office. Tuesday: our Playmakers will write more scenes for a brand new play from 1616, “The Cunning Florentines”. Wednesday: we read the Somerset Wedding Masques of 1613/14.

Ah, all those immigrants, not knowing the language…

Ger-land! 🏏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿! (watching on delay) #Ashes

Don't need to imagine, Sinatra had something to say about multicultural liberal democracies 🧵

Traditional Christmas breakfast before heading out.

The Oxen by Thomas Hardy

Today is a big win for Illinois and American democracy. I am glad the Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump did not have the authority to deploy the federalized guard in Illinois.

So if I say “Bugonia - subtitle problem” (watching on Prime in the UK) does anyone know what I’m talking about, without engaging in massive spoilers?

- green vegetables in a baharat* spiced broth; first in the slow cooker, then served w/ couscous & gremolata * baharat - a new spice blend to me: warm & aromatic Middle Eastern flavours, without overpowering the vegetables.

Doctor Who, except all the episodes take place in a different Powell & Pressburger film. ⬇️ 1/x

R.I.P. Rob Reiner (1947-2025)

Doctor Who, except all the episodes take place in a different Powell & Pressburger film. ⬇️ 1/x

Tonight in REP we read Bonduca, a British tragedy by John Fletcher, performed by The King’s Men in 1614.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD USE HYPHENS

—> an encouraging start - Black Magic (1909) by Marjorie Bowen (Vintage Classics / Weird Girls)

Three Days Of The Condor is a #ChristmasMovie

From the BFI melodrama list linked below, I’ve just watched Victims of Sin (Mexico 1950) - sizzlingly sexy, then shocking, beautiful b&w, and a song about dancing that I don’t think was about dancing at all. (“Ay, José, do that again. Ay, José, that’s not the way! Ay, José, now the other way!”)

- late night snack - pani puri (spiced potato & chickpea filling); found a handy little dispenser for the mint puri.

“Pray thee, why dost thou wrap thy poison'd pills / In gold and sugar?” - tonight in REP we read John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi, as performed by the King’s Men in 1613.

I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture. They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1

Academic choices:

Today's Sunday dozen. The BBC and André Bazin, Penda's Fen and Blossoms Shanghai, Hilma af Klint and Echo Delay Reverb, pity and fear, Gertrude Stein and Iris Murdoch. And Joan Baez. With a detail of a painting I wanted to steal from the Courtauld. www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/the-sunday-d...

The OED historical thesaurus entry for “impotence” seems quite keen to … shift responsibility?

Reform's former Leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, a 10.5 year jail term for taking bribes from the Kremlin. Cosied up to authoritarian powers & traded principles for payoffs. Reform's leadership laughably claimed they barely knew Gill. Will all this be on tomorrow's front pages?

Ben Stokes! Five-fer!! #Ashes 🏏

This does feel like a major crossing of the Rubicon – the world's best-funded and in many ways most powerful public health agency is now actively pushing disinformation. I know there's a *lot* going on to care about at the moment, but this one really is significant, and matters well beyond the US.

*** The Reader is supposed to be on the Stage, facing the Audience. - the classic theatrical nightmare, via the paratexts of “The Devil’s Elixir” (1829)

Scotland ⚽️ !! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

A Government of cowards. Rather than tackle inequality - they've gone for pensioners, disabled people and now it's people fleeing war and persecution. They can't get away with this. Join.greenparty.org.uk

Floodwaters of Storm Claudia work their way down the Severn, breaking its banks in Worcester now.

✍ Introducing ✍ Sharpie, a letterform recognition game for beginner #EarlyModern #palaeography gjhilton.github.io/Sharpie/ AKA What I Did Over Reading Week. #skystorians I’d be so grateful if you had time to share or take a look and tell me what sucks and needs fixing. Love g 🗃️

Meanwhile, in local news … (Police described the wanted man as “unexpectedly short.”)

Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?

Fortinbras: no words... EXEUNT. FINIS. THE END. www.english.cam.ac.uk/research/slo... And so it ends... Branagh carried off, and in his coffin in the 1996 film; Andrew Scott in a publicity image for the Almeida production in 2017.

Louis Jourdan in ‘Count Dracula’ (BBC 1977) - available to stream in the UK on @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social until 8th November ⬆️🔉🔊⬆️

Our #Playmakers project has reached the stage where I can sit in a café, drumming out pentameters on the table with my fingers & searching the OED for the non-anachronistic mot juste. #AmWriting #CunningFlorentines #VeryFirstDraft

if you want to know what happened to Teen Vogue yesterday, my work wife @allegrak.bsky.social — who ran our politics section for 6 years until this past June — said it all in this. can't even pull out a favorite part til I sign my separation letter lol, just read the whole thing.