I finished The Canyons Of Rob Gotobed's Overactive Mind. I smiled, I laughed louder than I probably should have (startled the cat), I nodded, I think I snorted a few times.

Art Nouveau door, Brussels Belgium, photographer unknown

Two pipes in (and no pun intended), I’m going to lie back and listen to the unique sound that is Tabernis. 🐝 🎶

Solstice wildflowers

🔥Massive Rain tree, Hawaii

We are digging coal

Can the Green Party’s Nature’s Rights Bill change Britain’s relationship with nature away from the predominant legal model of ‘natural capital’ and ‘ecosystem services’? Is nature really a ‘legal person’ anyway, or is it something far stranger? @jayowens.bsky.social www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ju...

Probably the funniest comedian you’ve never even heard of! But the chances are that you’ve already laughed at one of his jokes, as he has written for many of the top comedy shows in Britain and the USA. IMDb: bit.ly/4eE9yxz Amazon: bit.ly/4hA0B7W

‘The state is both bloated and weak, because we are an outsourcing state, but we are not a producing, investing and doing state. And that then feeds into a set of structural problems that result in higher costs.’ Matthew Lawrence on HS2, on the podcast. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

‘Augustine’s writings are animated by a ceaseless effort to delineate Christian identity and the stark acknowledgment that it could only be realised fully in some future state.’ Christopher Kelly reviews 𝘈𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 by Catherine Conybeare. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

A peaceful morning at Vermilion Lakes, Banff's hidden gem.🌲🏔️

‘Ecuador was the first country to set nature’s rights into law, amending its constitution in 2008 to recognise Pachamama (Nature) as a right-bearing entity, followed by Bolivia in 2009.’ @jayowens.bsky.social on Natalie Bennett’s Nature’s Rights Bill, from the blog. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ju...

I miss the eighties. Our options were simpler, and we were actively encouraged to ponder things. Things like a window being no obstacle to a hobbit with friends. Months I spent, hitting the proverbial ponder button on that one.

‘The footage of teams arriving in Mexico was completely different from the welcome they got in the US. Instead of security searches, players were greeted with sombreros and mariachi bands.’ Natasha Chahal on the World Cup, from the blog. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ju...

Just been to Harry Potter World based on the new book.

Close up of foxglove flowers in the English lake District

The same oak in February and June, not the same year 🙂 #Dartmoor #Devon #photography #trees #moss

Some of the finest names in horror are next to mine!

A new collection for Bolivia has landed: birdbrainer.app 🙌 Find "Less Common Birds of Bolivia (12)" under its flag, or in the Neotropical Ecozone 🌐 Learn birds. Love nature #birdbrainerapp #birdbrainer | #birdsoftheworld #birds 🇧🇴 #boliva #southamerica

‘Fifa’s remorseless commodification of the people’s game is set to result in a gated tournament confined to those few with the requisite income, visa status and social media history.’ Online early: Simon Skinner on the history of the World Cup. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

This new series of The Muppet Show is certainly more satirical.

It is with deep sorrow and profound love that we announce the passing of Sonny Rollins. The Saxophone Colossus died this afternoon at his home in Woodstock, NY at the age of 95. 1/2

‘Christendom represents a particular phase in Christian history, in which violence and coercion became an important part of the package.’ Diarmaid MacCulloch on pre-Christian religious practice. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

This place was never yours, they’ll say, though years from now as she steps from factory floor to city street, the winter haar pouring in, muting the world, effacing everything, it’s here that she’ll be A poem by Tarn MacArthur (@tarnnation.bsky.social). www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

In honor of the true heroes on this Memorial Day, I fixed it. #DonaldTrump #MemorialDay

🖌️Rose Doublet, acrylic on board

This is an oil on canvas painting titled "Kitchen at Domaine D'Audabiac" by the artist Aldo Balding.

Cool shade on a sunny day #Dartmoor #Devon

‘In a few cases, enslavement opened the way to wealth and power. These social trajectories were also mediated by race, since they were reserved for the most fair-skinned.’ @youssefbens.bsky.social on a new account of slavery in the Islamic world. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

‘Freeports and bonded warehouses, free-trade zones and forged bills of lading, under-invoicing and over-invoicing: all these things provide opportunities to camouflage the flow of illicit money.’ John Lanchester on money laundering. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Today reminds me of the day I went on a safari. Somebody forgot the corkscrew, and for several days we had nothing to survive on but just food and water.

A fan of clouds above the tower. Photo taken a few days ago as it is very overcast today in Glastonbury.

You provide the sand, the sea and the sun — Rob will provide the summer fun & laughter! Probably the funniest comedian you’ve never heard of! Although you’ve already been laughing at his jokes on some of the top comedy shows in Britain and the USA. IMDb: bit.ly/4eE9yxz Books: bit.ly/4hA0B7W

I saw a Trump version of the Zoltar fortune-telling machine on Paignton Pier. I asked it for some motivation, hope, and what the future holds for mankind over the next 2 ½ years. — It shut itself off!

"Will no-one rid me of this cromulent priest?

‘𝘉𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 is a timely reminder, nearly sixty years after it was written and more than eighty after it’s set, that bombing a hospital is an atrocity whoever does it, and for whatever reason, deliberate or not.’ @moonjets.bsky.social on Len Deighton’s novels. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

It’s astounding that Zelensky survived a full-scale war without ever having a ballroom.

‘What interests me in de Kooning’s view of landscape is the degree to which it knows itself to be generic, and underneath its carapace of wildness to be as decent and limited as they come.’ T.J. Clark on WIllem de Kooning in Cuba. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Eugène Atget’s “pictures of the deserted streets and shabby interiors of old Paris still breathe mystery a century after his death.” —Max Norman

A delightful tour of one of the Queens of the sea. Thanks Richard - I’m fascinated with these historic ships. @wreckmasterjay #museums #museumfromhome #maritime #historicships mainlymuseums.com/post/1089/qu...

“Heaney translated his experience of the world into the transcendent, and revealed the transcendental through language.” —Nick Laird

‘It’s true that poems like Prynne’s are difficult, in the way that a great deal of poetry is difficult if by that you mean it’s hard to approach at first reading. Poetry is an art that requires and rewards patient study.’ Ian Patterson on J.H. Prynne, from the blog. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ap...

Pollution levels in Paris after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.

Jo Livingstone (@jolivingstone.bsky.social) on the humble poetry of errata

Because doing 20-minute paintings of muppets is saving my soul right now. Here's Animal!

What a great friend 💕

Slow, easy, quiet, calm: morning doesn't shout. Awakening canvas print -- stevehendersonart.com/featured/awa... #morning #art #artsky #blueskyartshow #artoftheday #dawn #nature #river #clouds #color #peace #calm