WELL NOW, would you look at that? A massive, 26-YEAR-LONG study of MORE THAN 2.4 MILLION people in Sweden found found NO EVIDENCE to support a causal link between acetaminophen (the API in Tylenol) use during pregnancy and increased risk of autism, ADHD, OR intellectual disability in children.

As Pratchett said:

Lancet study finds no higher risk of autism when pregnant women take paracetamol ft.trib.al/Kc6S3qG

Friday.

WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR VOICE! In 700 words or less! Welcome to all writers both new and old, apply for the chance to have your moment on the stage! Send submissions to: [email protected] Come and join us Friday 8th of May for our open mic at NornCon! Tickets @ norncon.org

WELL NOW, would you look at that? A massive, 24-YEAR-LONG study of MORE THAN 1.2 MILLION people in Denmark found NO LINK between aluminum in childhood vaccines and autism, asthma, OR chronic disorders. Aluminum is an ADJUVANT. It ENHANCES your immune response to a vaccine. That’s it.

The Norwegian Nobel Prize committee has been forced to make a statement, declaring that the prize cannot be transferred. It's hard even to comprehend how stupid this has become

Anyone still remember Epstein?

Lads feeling like the world is a dystopian nightmare. You can find me selling books in a small local bookshop and reminding myself that making community spaces is vital to surviving the coming shit storm with any sanity intact. Also I see no one wants Norn Iron, still :D

A very long and important THREAD - The real reason the US is invading Venezuela goes back to a deal Henry Kissinger made with Saudi Arabia in 1974. And I'm going to explain why this is actually about the SURVIVAL of the US dollar itself. Not drugs. Not terrorism. Not "democracy." 1/

This is a good thread presenting known AI-generated and other fake images supporting the US intervention in Venezuela.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani: “Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law.”

The #SPFBO contest will open to new entries at 11am GMT on January 3rd. It will remain open to entries for 24 hours. After which 300 novels will be randomly selected to go forward into the contest.

Young Stars Go For It!

Ha! Nice one Clinton

Very disappointed in the new Nebula Award eligibility information from SFWA that allows partially-generated works to be on the ballot. See 9.11.2. www.sfwa.org/complete-neb... This shouldn't be difficult. #noAI

Every time there's a breaking story about a celeb's treatment of women, everyone in the book world asks, "Is it finally Walliams?" Well, it finally is.

The Epstein Files, everybody!

Looking forward to returning to Belfast next month cqaf.com/robin-ince-t...

There was a time when the Earth was first becoming oxygenated and the planet . . . rusted. All the iron in the rock started to oxidize and the rock changed colour. Existing forms of anaerobic life were wiped out as oxygen-breathing life took over. Now, rust is a warning of something very different.

Just a few of my favourite friends and allies

Jack, seems like your president may disagree with you. Sick.

Norncon.org - click the join now button, pay your membership and then fill in the form. Easy!

That’s an obscene amount of energy. Meta should foot the bill.

Walmart and McDonald’s are among the top employers of workers who rely on food stamps. McDonald's CEO raked in $18.2M last year — over 1,000x the company's median employee pay. Walmart's CEO pocketed $27.4M — 930x the company's median employee pay. See the problem?

Congratulations to Chapters Bookstore in Dublin, for winning the An Post Award for Bookshop of the Year! Well deserved!

Your occasional reminder that @bookshop.org is open for all of your Christmas book shopping needs. Every sale supports independent bookstores, the books arrive beautifully packaged, and they even have gift wrapping options. Buy some great books and stop paying for Jeff's botox uk.bookshop.org?next=t

Fascists stink!

All the Right Wing apologists are cheering the fall in UK immigration announced today while missing what could be a huge problem - 99% of emigrants are under the age of 35. That’s a big brain drain.

Nigel Farage has spent £1m taking out adverts in the papers to distract from the Nathan Gill Russian bribe scandal. We can't let him buy himself out of this. We need an investigation into Russian influence in our politics.

Managed to step back from engaging online with an arsehole. Salute me.

If fancy a taste of what it's like to train as a book illustrator, and you're within reach of Dublin on week-days, I'm starting a course in the @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social in January. #SpeirGorm #Illustration #ChildrensBooks

I’d suspect the numbers here are actually even lower than this. This report is only based on authors who shared details of their income with the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS). That’s more likely to be the ones who write as part of their living.

Funniest thread on Twitter currently - Strictly spoiler trying to garner sympathy for loss of income from a non-dance off weekend. It seems Dave takes the job more seriously than many punters, or the bbc, who just don’t care

Nice little article here about CS Lewis - delighted to chat to @belfasttelegraph.co.uk about it. Lewis was Belfast through and through and we are proud of him and his legacy

Well shocker. Sectarian divisions led to chaotic decision making during Covid. And health now. And education. And everything. Norn Iron your dysfunctional mate.

Delighted to have my contributors’ copy of this beauty - packed with information and guidance! Well done Ruth McKee. 🙂

Waterstones made a pledge in the past not to open shops competing with indies (although they've repeatedly broken it). Communicating with an indie 100m away from a new proposed location would seem in line with that supposed commitment.

Loving the fight @argonautbooks.bsky.social are taking to @waterstones.bsky.social who have quietly built a monopoly on our high streets that is undermining indie bookstores - the specialists who are the last bastion of the mid list and debut authors. Support your local community not a hedge fund.

Love the smell of hypocrisy in the morning

John Major yesterday at LSE: 1. “In an act of collective folly, the United Kingdom voted to lead to European Union across the world, our enemies celebrated and our friends despair.”1/

Morning Bluesky.

Don’t threaten us with a good time.

In light of the astronomical increases for my health insurance next year, I thought it would be a good time to encourage people to subscribe. (A few hundred should cover it. Sigh.) clarkesworldmagazine.com/subscribe/

Trump has executed another three civilians in a small boat off Venezuela. Death toll now stands at 83.

Weirdest moment in my life to date - suggestion in local town discussion to rename Prince Nonce Way to (Jo) Zebedee Way. Got 43 likes. I’ve suggested the (magic?) roundabout might be more appropriate lol, in between being totally scundered