"AI detectors" are themselves AI, and yet are endlessly trusted by people on here if they say that a newspaper article is AI. AI detectors are snake oil. None of them reliably works. And UK broadsheet are not yet using AI to write articles. No, that link to the deal you found doesn't prove it.

Love it when a videogame recommendation emotionally destroys someone

Ghost of Yōtei multiplayer next month!!

Pre-order Games That Haunt Us now! www.bloomsbury.com/uk/979876512...

Ironic, as this was the magazine that referred to Pokémon as a "pestilential Ponzi scheme" in 1999, characterising its creator Satoshi Tajiri as a literal monster "His eyes are bloodshot; dark circles ripple beneath them... His monsters are a child's predelictions." He never gave another interview.

*Green card application in process and work permit, married to US citizen *Lived in US for 20 years, no criminal record *In detention for five months with no charge, despite judge approving release *He disputes ICE claim that he signed forms agreeing to deportation

It's been clear for some time that sustained use of AI for knowledge work de-motivates and de-skills. Even among academics, the last population I'd expect to allow such atrophy, folks are now reduced to playing cynical games with the language machine and justifying it via the grant hamster wheel.

"If Mandelson's links to Jeffrey Epstein disqualifies him from holding power, why does the company controlled by Epstein's business partner and co-owner retain access to the UK's most sensitive national security infrastructure?" Peter Thiel. Jeffrey Epstein. Palantir. The UK Government.

The real victim is Starmer? Labour are so bad at narratives

A eulogy for the mass market paperback, "one of the most brilliant technologies in the history of the world."

Stanley Kubrick did not know who Jeffrey Epstein was and had not left England for several years before making the movie, I hope this helps

“The best way to proceed is to ignore it,” Chomsky wrote in a text Epstein sent to a lawyer and publicist. “That’s particularly true now with the hysteria that has developed about abuse of women, which has reached the point that even questioning a charge is a crime worse than murder.”

Atlantic Shmatlantic. My students all watch every movie and love every movie I assign. After a screening of "Diary of a Country Priest" a freshman first-gen came up to me and said "Sir, that was an amazing aesthetic experience!" I am the best film prof evah.

Cult of The Lamb is still a favourite

Really loved Split Fiction. Some parts felt slightly too derivative of the Jedi series but overall huge fun. Been teaching genre theory today and would work so well as part of a workshop

For those of us here in the UK who are watching with horror what is going on over in the US it is very important to remember that this is exactly what Reform wants for us over here. They've said so. They want 'forced deportations' in the US style. We're not safe here either if they win.

Venba is an extraordinary short game. Any cooking fans will especially enjoy it

The Chagos Islands deal: a mini explainer The Chagos deal isn’t a giveaway but a long-overdue reckoning with colonial crimes, legal reality, and the price of military legitimacy westenglandbylines.co.uk/politics/the...

Your yearly reminder that “Blue Monday” was made up by travel companies to sell more holidays at the point of the year when we’re all poorest and the weather is shit. Depression is real all year round.

"Climate change is here. We are seeing event classes [today] that were forecast in #climate models for the 2050s, 2060s, and 2070s.” - @oceanterra.org #FasterThanExpected #ClimateEmergency

It will not surprise you to learn that Toby Youngs 'Free Speech Union' has obtained a High Court injunction banning the publication of a list of its donors open.substack.com/pub/democrac...

Book manuscript passed reviews first time so onto production!

There ought to be an absolute firewall between genAI and any form of decision making process. It cannot be trusted. Sadly, this isn't the direction being set by the Government and this is what happens... www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3...

By contrast, China built 13,500km of high-speed rail between 2021-2025 and plans to add a further 10,000km by 2030. I know we shouldn't make a like-for-like comparison, but also...come on now, lads. www.scmp.com/economy/chin...

Finally started Split Fiction yesterday. Didn't need the reminder of what we did to Cutie in It Takes Two though

MN police unions released a statement in support of ICE. They are not going to arrest any of them.

“ICE’s rules of engagement are to intimidate, to terrify. And not just its targets, but entire neighborhoods, communities and cities. They brutalize the innocent not by accident but by tactic. They offer the security of fear. They want you so afraid of them that you’ll snitch your neighbor out.”

The Christmas tree is down and we are in mourning

This ICE agent lost it and killed an innocent woman. Despite the bloodthirsty braying of JD Vance, Donald Trump Jr., and Tom Cotton that this is exculpatory, that is what this video "proves." I didn't think Vance could be more of a moral abomination after "They're eating the pets," but I was wrong.

SHOCK CELL PHONE VIDEO: Renee Good's final words to her murderer: “That’s fine dude, I’m not mad at you.” ICE agent Jonathan Ross after shooting and killing her seconds later: “Fuckin’ bitch.” Via Alpha News

The evidence is also clear that “elite” universities do not offer objectively better education. There is no Secret Extra Learning obtained there. Just a route into other kinds of elite that is closed, by definition, to everyone else.

BREAKING: X’s chatbot Grok isn’t just making AI porn deepfakes, it’s now making Nazi AI porn deepfakes, undressing women and showing them wearing “swastika bikinis”. Many of these women are Jewish, including a recently deceased Holocaust survivor.

"Designing Serious Games" is a comprehensive guide to the design and development process of games for impact that combines diverse case studies with actionable advice, and interviews with transformational game practitioners and industry leaders: mitpress.mit.edu/978026204998...

The family of Patrick Dane has made public today the devastating news that their beloved son and brother was in a car accident on December 27th and is no longer with us. His father and stepmother, who were also in the vehicle, are in critical condition, but stable.

Zack Polanski nails Keir Starmer

@carolecadwalla.bsky.social called it

“The United Kingdom is a resolute supporter of international law” said Lord Hermer, Britain’s top legal officer in a speech last month. Should he resign? www.gov.uk/government/s...

Asked by the NY Post if “US troops [will] be on the ground helping run the country,” Trump said: “No, if Maduro’s vice president — if the vice president does what we want, we won’t have to do that.” nypost.com/2026/01/03/u...

It’s not about drugs. If it was, Trump wouldn’t have pardoned one of the largest narco traffickers in the world last month. It’s about oil and regime change. And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn’t. Especially to distract from his sinking under Epstein and skyrocketing healthcare costs.

This Presidential statement was even worse than I expected. The future: destabilsation while the US and Russia race to extract finite resources accelerating climate change and securing our doom

If Trump is this tough on narcotics I can't wait to see what he does to the Sacklers

Much as I love The Traitors it's very predictable when every season faithfuls immediately distrust and throw out people of colour and neurodivergent people.

Lisa has started Disco Elysium

Been a wild year - graduation, wedding, book deals. Worried 2026 is going to be cursed now.