Thoroughly worth it!

Time for another letter to the PM. It’s so damn tiring. It’s no longer about answers now. It’s about receipts for later.

“I’m an eleven, but continue.”

On days like today, it’s important to remember the words of the wonderful Jonathan Miller when challenging the dog-whistling of those who wish to divide us for political or financial gain.

I hate that you need near terminal internet poisoning to understand the news most days, and I hate that in the UK our government is trying to reverse engineer it to try to figure out what we want based on something they don’t understand

This helps explain what on earth is going on in a story which curiously dominates the UK news for reasons I cannot fathom.

This frontispiece in my book just made me laugh a lot. Is this Buddhist reincarnation, or some other form of afterlife?

Unpopular opinion: the best version of The Man Who Sold The World was Lulu's. (An alternative Bowie version I know, but still.) This ep made me realise how great a singer she is. Peter Jackson needs to clean up the Lulu/Cass Elliot/Dudley Moore version of Sugar Sugar. Fab! Great podcast!

In case you missed it… There’s a new bonus episode on Patreon! “Boom Bang-A-Bang” by Lulu 💥 Sign up and become part of the community to listen: www.patreon.com/posts/500-so...

It's alright for her to do it. Just not due anyone else.

What Labour are doing to trans people is so brazenly unjust. They don't care about the science, the recommendations of experts, the legality, the morality... not even the political cost. It's just full steam ahead with eliminating trans people from public life regardless of the cost or consequences

The very first time the AI aided Google pops up, it gets it WRONG. Argh.

Age verified on BlueSky. Process was fairly simple. They showed me some London landmarks and I replied “Tower Records”, “Hammersmith Odeon” and “The Post Office Tower”.

didn't post this incredible joke (that only sort of works) yesterday as despite it being innoffensive it felt 'too soon'. But now it feels slightly too late and I missed whatever the sweet spot was.

They sure did.

And by all accounts people are still coming. Really awesome that so many of us showed up to get our voice heard.

I never read opinion columnists when I took physical newspapers. Who cares? Yet people get paid huge sums and get peerages for them. Funny. Just the other day I was thinking, "what would I say to Daniel Hannon if I met him?" Nothing. Just ignore him. What we should have done all along.

A lot of people say they find it hard to encapsulate the central theme of Proust's work, but I think it's a piece of cake

I was thinking about Hannan just this morning, and what I'd say to him if I met him.

find it delightful when a specific type of fan hates the politics or just plain doesn't understand a comic and then insists it doesn't "count" like a church father reading a particularly horny gospel. "i don't consider those comics canon" ok eusebius of caesarea

Sparks last night were awesome. Was it disco? Was it rock? Was it glam? Was it ballads? Was it uncategorisable? Was it superb? Yes to all.

Oh good. I see there's another Superman movie coming.

I think the nearest I can get to is Fairport Convention: at a rough guess, 28 times. And much of that is going to Cropredy, where of course you'll see them. No other act I've seen comes even close. Anyone else seen an act 30x or more? @ceefaxsteve.bsky.social probably has the stats...

Looking forward to this.

Excellent news!

Seen this going around but I’m Reposting it with the full alt text bc everyone deserves to read this glorious reply from Boy George

Punk rock kid buskers (‘The Whops’, tiktok) near the Edgware Rd. They run into Paul Simonon, play Death or Glory for him. He asks if they know The Guns of Brixton. They do -

Just for clarity: Fortunate Son is an anti-Vietnam song specifically about those who dodge the draft.

Is Dept Q the prequel-before-one to Department S? #OneForTheKids

We've all been there.

"Violence is never the solution"

Yep. Every year is the greatest year of music!

Magnificently stately.

“Ptah, The El Daoud” by Alice Coltrane. There’s a storm raging outside. ⛈️

Still reeling at the news that a new song by Half Man Half Biscuit, “Record Store Day”, contains the line “Oh I do like to re-release my B-sides” #musichall

That time has come again! My periodic check: Is this the greatest piece of music television ever made? I'm delighted to say it is. It makes me weep tears of joy. youtu.be/3pKpfs5EK_s?...

Yes! It's like having a new David Lynch movie! youtu.be/AQc8625Y03g?...

One paragraph in this story speaks for so many things in the US, the UK and beyond. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Sparks people! Anyone going to the Hammersmith Odeon gig on Thurs 19th? (Yes I know it's the Eventim Apollo. It's still a Marathon not a Snickers if you ask me.)

This is good. Short answer, as with most tech: they won’t tell us. So why don’t we assume the worst until they do? That seems safest.

Seriously, is there anyone in the comments who actually likes this??

More like Dumb Dublin, amirite? #HereAllWeek

<gulp>

Pride Month so far: Jonathan Joss is murdered in a disgusting hate crime and the Navy intentionally announces they are changing the name of the USNS HARVEY MILK. America... now more than ever... David Lynch's words ring loudly. "Fix your hearts or die." This cannot be our normal.

It's that time of year when we have to remind Brits that "staycation" means having a holiday at home, but going somewhere else in the same country is just called...a holiday.

Oooo this is very good!

Online reaction to a Doctor Who finale always makes me think that, if social media had existed in 1968, Patrick MacGoohan would have changed his name and moved to a different planet, and changed the planet's name.

I added some vinyl text to this banner outside my local Sainsburys a few years ago. Stayed up for about 12 hours before they took the whole thing down