Just in case you want to push it over two million... petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

Now butting against a million, which is fast for something launched yesterday.

Quarter of a million signatures already. This could be Starmer kryptonite. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

Oh look, Starmer's very own poll tax moment...

Okay, so what happens with Starmer's digital ID 'Brit card' for those adults who don't carry smart phones? (They exist, and they're mostly old.)

Whose content?

To celebrate the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah from prison, the ebook edition of YOU HAVE NOT YET BEEN DEFEATED, tr. an anonymous collective, is available to download for free for the next week via all ebook platforms, including Kindle and Apple Books, until 30 September.

Sitting in a Black Sheep, writing a poem, drinking cold coffee, and waiting to be uplifted. As ever, the removers are late. #rapture #whatrapture

🖋️ Langside Library Poetry Project The exterior of Langside Library is to be transformed into a spectacular display of poetry. Submission prompts: The Battle of Langside Knowledge and Learning Community Access Mary, Queen of Scots Refuge / Haven opportunities.creativescotland.com/opportunity/...

'In my day we didn't have or need labels,' my father said of a grandchild's autism diagnosis, while sitting in his obsessively-tidy study, at his perfectly-arranged desk, with its collection of ceramic dolphins (and a single much-polished metal submarine), his life in date order in files behind him.

"People weren't autistic in my day," says Dad over his trainset, circling a scale model of 1 district of Naples that he has been to every year since 1973

I resist ‘the lights are starting to go out’ metaphors, but if a generation becomes unable to learn things…

Allez Les Bleus²

A poorly controlled outboard motor that sometimes spins the boat around in circles for no reason.

Also announced. From next year, Oxford will be the first rowing team to add an outboard motor.

"US and UK have done 'more good than any two nations in history', says Trump." Guardian. History possibly not his strongest subject...

Mulligan said: “The problem is that they both want to do their own thing. My face wants to look completely impassive at all times, while my voice wants to perform a mini spoken-word aria.”

Even more considerate of the royals to provide pristine surfaces upon which the campaign group Led By Donkeys could project their Trump-Epstein videos.

“I mean, your society’s broken, so who should we blame? Should we blame the rich, powerful people who caused it? No let’s blame the people with no power & no money & these immigrants who don’t even have the vote, yeah it must be their fucking fault.” —Iain Banks www.theguardian.com/books/2013/j...

For the luddites and migraine sufferers among us, how much of ios 26's liquid glass gubbins and enforced AI offerings can be turned off...? #iOS26

In fairness to the police, frail pensioners with disabilities are far easier to arrest

Not the Nine O'Clock News Mosley obituary song remains evergreen

I guess it was inevitable the moment Starmer announced Mandelson had his full and unequivocal support...

Innovate even a tiny bit and someone complains. It's back to milk, butter and black pepper I guess.

Well past time Johnson was arrested.

We’re quite deep within the Singularity right now, though it’s turned out be the Singularity of Stupid (SoS), which effectively prevents the original concept of the Singularity from happening.

Weirdly, the same US publisher has failed to register two titles in a three book series. While another has also recorded one book out of three. While a third has managed to record all three. Which seems, well... Random.

Can UK writers join the class action against Anthropic's Theft of copyright with books that were available in the US (via distribution through Barnes & Noble, etc), or is only those also published via US publishers in a US editions? Mine are half & half Also, foreign language editions are out?

The combat fatigues are so passé, please dress casual for the coming revolution phase?

I've heard Mike talk about this and it's going to be good. (They're always good.)

I do hope he washes them regularly.

After struggling to write a book review for an excessively long time, I eventually decided to just structure it around Daniel Dennett‘s rules for composing a critical commentary. It really helped, which is good because I often recommend it to my students. www.themarginalian.org/2014/03/28/d...

I see Starmer's made a tough decision to blame the problems on everyone else.

There's a lot of literature that is basically sad hot people having sex, though. Book IV of the Aeneid is fueled by it.

'A vampire is simply a cannibal with good table manners.' Roger Ebert

Clickbait existentialism.

Pretty sure 'otrovert' is just another word for writer...

Was disappointed not to see the dragons in the first episode of King and Conqueror. Still, maybe next time.

Nor are three of the guests, although their hair and fingernail have been found in a court behind.

Binet admitting his London publisher said that Perspective(s), the French title (and also the US title), which riffed off the laws of perspective, and individual personal perspectives, might be seen as a bit too snobbish/knowing. So they'd go with the simpler & easier to understand Perspectives. :-/

The subtitles for the Laurent Binet event are talking about Pope Jewell II, who definitely needs their own book!

Full house, unsurprisingly, for Laurent Binet interviewed by Chris Power at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, which is a bit of an ultimate buy one get two... @chrispower.bsky.social @atahualpavasari.bsky.social #eibf

Silent discos. The only reason I can think of for wishing zombie apocalypses were a regular event.

M John Harrison at the Edinburgh Book Festival being M John Harrison, which frankly was enough.

Struck me that the only problem with Nicola Sturgeon's event at the Edinburgh Book Festival was Kirsty Wark's inability to shed her BBC persona meant we leaned absolutely nothing new.

I mean, I know it's Martin Kettle, but even so... #doh

Rereading this for my event with Eva Björg Ægisdóttir and Roland Gulliver at the Edinburgh Book Festival tomorrow, and it's actually not bad, which is a nice surprise.

This is give up your saucepans so we can make spitfires levels of crap.

Now you have your fork have you thought about this fork? What about this fork? Here's another fork you might not have considered even though you've bought your fork. A fork you say? Here's another fork! Have we got all the forks for you!