Never thought I’d have a favorite copepod… but behold Sapphirina! These little copepods are so iridescent they appear bioluminescent! When diving for plankton in the Gulf of California on this expedition, we see them as tiny specks of bright blue light. #zooplankton #oceanography #christmasatsea 🌊

Happy memories of a classic December 23 double bill at the Scala - Wings of Desire followed by It's A Wonderful Life. Cinema heaven with all the angels - then trying to avoid all the dodgy punters at King's Cross waiting for the last train home.

I think about this post a lot:

Still buzzing from the wild squall of noise that was Dirty Three playing live in Bristol last night. Very loud, absolutely gorgeous.

Imagine if bigoted billionaires and privileged ‘gender critical’ transphobes with the ear of the right-wing media had put their money and energy into lobbying about *this* - rather than obsessing over banning a handful of trans girls and elderly trans women from Girl Guides & the WI!?? 😣😤

We're watching the wholesale burning of every scrap of dignity afforded to trans people in the UK, their rights, their medical services, their employment, their place within society, their bodily functions. It is a disgrace, and a disgusting stain on the government and media of this country.

The first gender reassigned surgery in the UK was in 1951. She would be over 100 today and lived as a woman for 60+ years. Telling these women they are no longer welcome in the WI is brutal, as they themselves admit. These are our regressive times. #transrightsarehumanrights

My book BLACK CROWN is about to get its paperback edition – it's the story of the Kingdom of Haiti, with revolutionary battles, the overthrow of colonialism, palaces and castles and a visionary king. It's like Wakanda – but it's all true! www.hurstpublishers.com/book/black-c...

A friend just returned from Antarctica, including a trip to Damoy Hut, a former British Antarctic Survey shelter that's preserved as a heritage site. And what were polar scientists reading in the 80s to pass time during a blizzard? Why, the Thrill Power of @2000ad.bsky.social of course!

For those of you in the UK, especially if you are a UK citizen, can you please take part in the consultation on changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain (Settlement) that were just proposed by the UK government. We need as many people as possible to reject these proposals. www.gov.uk/government/c...

A terrible & endlessly-delayed coach trip back from London last night, rescued by a wonderful taxi trip home with the driver chatting enthuastically about the Somali pop and funk bands of his 1980s youth. Just picked up this glorious album as a result. analogafrica.bandcamp.com/album/mogadi...

A little joy for your timeline. The Haitian national team beat Nicaragua 2-0 - and this is the moment they found out they're going to the World Cup! First time since 1974! Grenadye Alasooooooooo

There is no downside

Find someone who loves you like the Mail loves fascists. Hurrah for the Blackshirts!

Find someone who loves you like the Mail loves fascists. Hurrah for the Blackshirts!

3.5 "Just a little bit more research..."

I'm VERY excited to be joining the @terrorcamp.bsky.social crew next month for this online event!

Hello Dublin, it's nice to see you again.

"Yes, this gang stole from the most famous museum in the world but it’s in the name of training their AI software so it can do good doodle of jewels and maximise shareholder value so we are powerless to stand in the way" waterfordwhispersnews.com/2025/10/20/l... #Louvre

If this is how one of the world's most famous people is treated, we can only begin to imagine* what captive Palestinians have experienced. * We don't actually need to imagine. There are countless, corroborated accounts from Palestinians and Israelis. www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/25...

One of the reasons to venerate secondhand bookshops: books with their own life stories! Dedications from long-forgotten aunts, strange marginalia, frantic underlinings and old shopping lists masquerading as bookmarks. What could be more wonderful?

Comics! Antarctica! I loved interviewing @twirlynoodle.com for this article about her Eisner-nominated graphic novel adaptation of 'The Worst Journey in the World' about Captain Scott's final expedition.

It's always reassuring to discover that extremely successful writers are as desperately plodding and uncertain as you are. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...

What a very precise way of discovering what I was doing 45 years ago this week: spending my pocket money on my first ever copy of 2000AD. The start of a weekly fix of Thrill-Power that's lasted way longer than most things in my life: a good investment for 14p. Thank you @2000ad.bsky.social!

Unsolicited Crick pic.

I agree with every word Zelda Williams says. And this at the end from OpenAI makes me want to go full Ned Ludd. Creators can’t have a blanket opt-out on copyright infringement of their work and have to fill out a form appealing to OpenAI’s mercy every time? Fuck off into the sun

Useful thread for UK authors—like me—who had their books stolen to train AI and had hoped for even a few crumbs from the Anthropic settlement.

For the 75th anniversary of Peanuts here’s a link to an essay I wrote about Charles Schulz’s deep love of Krazy Kat www.michaeltisserand.com/ottimliffs

This is the alternative universe I'd like to move to, please.

Age yourself with a film you saw in the cinema as a kid.

One of Bristol's best kept secrets: Beese's cafe, where they send a ferry across the river to pick you up for coffee and cake (or a pint). Easy to forget you're still technically in the city.

I expect the ID card thing will be dropped within about a week with Labour claiming "It was only ever a suggestion!" but until then, why not register your disapproval (if you disapprove). petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

As someone whose partner has ILR, I can't begin to tell you how frightening this racist bullshit is. Fuck Nigel Farage, his media outriders, and politicians of other parties cosying up to 'legitimate concerns'.

I'm loving this glorious 1959 poster by artist Jean Fortin, advertising Air France flights to Morocco.

Respond to the UK government's consultation on late payments & poor practices for freelancers. The National Union of Journalists has template responses to help. This is an important opportunity for every freelance journalist #StopTheFreelanceRipOff nuj.org.uk/resource/stop-the-freelance-rip-off.html

For no particular reason, here's a stained glass window of Bob Marley as St George, about to slay the racist dragon of Babylon. Taken at his house at Hope Road in Kingston, Jamaica.

For no particular reason, here's a stained glass window of Bob Marley as St George, about to slay the racist dragon of Babylon. Taken at his house at Hope Road in Kingston, Jamaica.

Looking forward to talking #Heiresses at #Bristol @bookhaus.bsky.social with @paulclammer.bsky.social next week - Wednesday 17th September, 6pm. See you there? www.bookhausbristol.com/events/#e134...

Can anyone on here recommend an audio transcription platform (I don’t mind it not being free but don’t have a budget for a person to do it right now, because the audio is 1h long and that would be £££) that transcribes in Haitian Kreyòl?

So, I got the government's emergency warning – now I have to start building a shelter in my front room and wrap the bodies in black bin liners for collection, yes?

This is a really great piece. I never saw Slender-billed Curlews outside of museums. Writing the paper that declared them extinct was a sad and unexpectedly emotional thing. As scientists we dream of discovering new species, not writing being the ones to declare them lost forever.

This is worth reading if you’re wondering where you stand as an author whose work was ripped off by Anyhropic. Looks like, as I was worrying, that I’ll probably not get a payout since my work wasn’t registered with the US copyright office.

Thrilled to get a copy of @monisharajesh.bsky.social's new book 'Moonlight Express' - and even more so to be in conversation with her about it at Stanfords Bristol on 30 September!

Finishing the week on a high, with an unexpected contact leading me to a new manuscript letter confirming a theory I've had about one of the subjects of my current research project. A small piece in a big jigsaw, but one I'm delighted to have. Win!

Remember, STATUTE LAW and NHS rules REQUIRE trans people to live as their preferred gender FOR YEARS, IN PUBLIC, to prove they deserve legal or medical transition. This makes that impossible. It is exterminatory.

Sick of all the transphobic bullshit in the media, so I'm in the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery to remind myself that yes, there is kindness in this world. #TransRightsAreHumanRights

At M Shed in Bristol, which is always wonderful, but it will never not be shocking to see your own personal life experiences as museum exhibits.

Had to cancel a trip to London at the last minute, so am treating myself to a day in cafes writing instead. Feels glorious.

New exhibit at my local library. What a lovely thing. Thought you'd enjoy.

I just can’t accept the idea that we’ve already lost the fight against generative AI in creative spaces and should just roll over and acquiesce. It’s morally lazy and irresponsible. Keep pushing back and doing the right thing!