Let's spare a thought for the poor women who marry these joyless, steak-and-egg-fart losers 'early'.

Sitting gloomily thinking how much could be done to mitigate climate change, to improve infrastructure and tech access in the global South, to support and strengthen democracies worldwide, to tackle discrimination and exclusion - with the billions being wasted on chasing the Generative AI mirage.

Hampstead Ponds will remain inclusive. Our analysis of the judgment.

Think of all the tips lost.

"Aw, it's not for you. It's more a Shelbyville idea."

Nigella Lawson replacing Prue Leith (who previously replaced Mary Berry) on the great British bake off is the Uk equivalent of Marisa Tomai playing Aunt May.

If you strip all the accreted centuries of obfuscatory political rhetoric away, what you have is simply an ideology of petty egoism versus an ideology of sociality, of community. The "right" should be instantly recognised as fundamentally & inherently just plain antisocial. Damned by definition.

Britain is broken and that's why I am going to vote for the people who broke it.

From 'Burnham would' to dunce inane

I'm old enough to remember David Cameron agreeing to a referendum because he was worried about UKIP gaining seven MPs. Suella Braverman's defection to 'Reform' makes eight. Imagine what we could have skipped if Cameron had a backbone: Brexit, Windrush scandal, Boris, Dom Cummings, Liz Truss ...

If anyone else missed out on single rooms for this year's Eastercon in Birmingham, the Moxy NEC has a £65-a-night deal on at the moment

You hear amateurs complaining about how cell phones ruined a lot of their thriller plots, but truthfully THIS is what makes my job as a grimly hopeful science fiction author harder. "We got the information out to the public! Now everything will be okay!" is no longer in the optimistic ending toolbox

Also, don’t vote for Nigel Farage/Reform.

A nice list, with too many that I haven't seen. www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...

Gazing at an enchanting new morn on set today. #startrek #StarfleetAcademy #paramountplus

Whatever happened to all those stories about Russian hookers urinating on Trump? I guess we got bored of piss. news.sky.com/story/what-i...

I saw Casablanca for the first time at the old IFC in Dublin, about 30 years ago. A couple sat in front of me and the guy said to his date "it's a bit clichéd, but I think you'll like it". It wasn't and she didn't. (I'm aware that this story is itself a cliché, but it's true)

Today in summary

Got myself a little Dry January gift.

"If you watch an episode of Cheers, you might hear references to foreign filmmakers, to classical musicians, to Russian novelists. The level of assumed knowledge back then was far greater; now, TV is rarely adventurous in its allusions."

There is a thesis or 10 to be written on why these supposed high achievers turn into such whingey little shits when stuff stops going their way. 'Move fast and break things' me hole.

AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns

Registration for Octocon 2026 is now open! Clayton Hotel, Cork City & Online on 3rd-4th of October with GOHs @cemurphy.bsky.social y.bsky.social & @aptshadow.bsky.social. €10 off limited Early Bird memberships: octocon.com/join-us/ #Octocon #Fantasy #SciFi #Fandom #CorkCity

Sure, everyone says goodbye to Ruby Tuesday, but who could hang a name on "Walter Monday"? Current US vice-president JD Sports should take note - nobody remembers the VP (even the Washington Post).

Reminder of the quality of Reform’s latest recruit

Properly funding the court system would clear the backlog even more quickly. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

In my day we used manufacture consent for illegal military action, but I suppose the president never was big on consent.

Commentary: Cory Doctorow: Show Me the Incentive, I’ll Show You the Outcome locusmag.com/feature...

Another drokkin' year

"BLOB BLOBEEEE!" "I know."

Pork pie, cheese board and North by Northwest. What Twixtmas (the perineum) is made for.

well christ, don't let it drive home then

Such a perfect an analogy for everything ai and robotics shouldn’t exist.

A Lord of the Rings cover band called Gary Númenor

Finally time to exorcise my demons. Or maybe exercise.

Ok Popular Science just made me cry a bit.

Someone called Kemi Badenoch just posted on Xitter that "Not all cultures are equally valid". Whoever she is, I hope she doesn't get involved in politics.

Definitely impossible among Irish Gen-Xers, I'd say. Buck Rogers was the most exciting thing available in the two-channel land of the 1980s. Genuinely one of the reasons I got into sci-fi. So long, Buck.

The BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY theme song had lyrics. Just in case some of you have never fallen down this particular rabbit hole. youtu.be/xQv7llrZgkM?...

And now I find out that The Salt Path wasn't even published by a real penguin.

There are those who proudly define their lives by what they hate and those that define their fight with love - I will remain in the latter group - I am sad that so many prefer to define themselves by hate , but encouraged by all those who use love as their motivation

From tomorrow’s FT. The cracks are growing and the bleating is getting louder as the Butlerian Jihad/Crash approaches. Let it all burn, and the petabytes of AI slop can burn with it.

IT HAS RETURNED ALL HAIL

The person of the year is just outside of the frame, sawing through the girder.

If Andy Serkis directed "Nineteen Eighty-Four", the rat in Room 101 would use Winston Smith to cook delicious French food.

As we used to say to an excitable news editor once upon a time, "any f**ing eejit can have an idea, how're you going to do it?"

This is appalling. I loved Infinite Monkey Cage. Good on Robin Ince. Shame on BBC lickspittles. And shame on every supposedly science-loving guest or host who doesn't speak up for him.