Twice a year, Hawai'i experiences a strange moment where the sun appears to be exactly overhead & anything that is completely vertical casts no shadow. Let's learn about Lāhainā Noon, subsolar points & 'Kau ka lā i ka lolo', meaning "the sun rests on the brains."

Happiest of birthdays to astrophysicist,*† Sir Brian May, born #OTD 19 July 1947. *PhD thesis: A survey of radial velocities in the zodiacal dust cloud. †Also known for some musical stuff.

'Foxgloves And Finches' by Annie Soudain, contemporary UK printmaker #womensart #summer

Remember, both the Iliad and the Odyssey were originally audiobooks.

Perimenopause is going to hit those of you with ovaries in ten years or so. Read up on the science early so you don’t get sucked in by the (many, many) grifters. Look into HRT. Be prepared for things to be rocky for a bit. Be reassured that you will get through it.

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 367: Nothing you write is ever wasted. Whether anyone reads it or not, it helps build something better. It counts.

Yes, Swiss scientist Fritz Zwicky coined the term “dark matter” which is impressive, but he also coined the term “spherical bastard” to describe people who are bastards no matter which way you look at them, and I think that should be celebrated more.

Why not both? Both is good.

A story with a happy ending 🧵

And also this. As a woman of the same age, I’m very much here for this: “We, as the females in society, us older ones, we need to encourage the younger ones, to make sure that we are respected, because it’s too easy for us to just take it on the chin.”

Oh dear. Waddingham puts this interviewer through the wringer. Probably well-deserved, although props to her for writing it all up as it happened. A lesser writer might have tried to evil-queen her interviewee.

I just read a book that I finished out of sheer bloody mindedness. It was clearly line-edited (no glaring typos) but the characterisation was a huge mess, there were repetitions, inconsistencies, non-sensical plot elements and the ending was unforgivable from a storytelling point of view…

It’s his… number between 7 and 9th election…? Seems oddly appropriate

One more? Oh if you insist…

What better for the summer than a wrestling story? Hold on to your… mask… now…

Beautiful

My children wanted to see the live action Moana, and folks, I have to tell you, I was wholly prepared to zone out in the air-conditioned cinema for a bit. But it’s good! Seriously, it’s really good. Laugh, cry, sing along and cheer good. We all LOVED it.

Meet the cheeky little blighter who managed to take the food out of a trap without setting it off last night. Now back outside where she belongs!

The creator of Roger Rabbit (who is 85 years old by the way) is a good sort Crossposted with @openvibe.social

Obviously in *theory* the church is meant to be the good guys, but you don’t expect them to actually do it, do you…

You just know they called a herpetologist and asked how long it takes a python to constrict prey, and they said, oh, seconds, because you see they actually stop blood circulation which— And the film people went yeah, okay, whatever, never mind.

Tonight’s extract. I hear you, Mort. I hear you.

Garlick, Ogg, Weatherwax

A mix of ash and salt can be used to ward off evil … and if you get the ash from the right place, you don’t need nearly so much #WitchTips

On #NationalCherryDay, here’s a look at the chemistry behind cherries’ poisonous pits and the chemical differences between sweet and sour cherries 🍒 www.compoundchem.com/2016/07/21/c...#NationalCherryDay #ChemSky 🧪

Huh. I listened the GO3 playlist that Prime released and, everything else about that cursed show aside (and the tone deafness of some of the title choices), I kind of like it… … it’s an interesting mix that spans… well, must be the best part of 60 years. There’s even EDM, which I wasn’t expecting.

A tiny friend for you this morning 🐸 #nature #wildlife #frogs

We all have forests on our minds. Forests unexplored, unending. Each one of us gets lost in the forest, every night, alone.

Really, Wordle, after yesterday? 1,853 5/6 ⬛⬛⬛🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛🟩🟩 ⬛⬛🟨🟩🟩 ⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

And speaking of the garden, found these on a rosebush today and sent a panicked "WHAT is THIS" photo to my gardening group, expecting "Oh no, those are Scrofulous Murderbugs, time to move," BUT! Turns out they are parasitized aphids! A tiny beneficial wasp has laid her eggs in those suckers.

I need to take a moment to remind everyone that the vast majority of fiction editors are doing the best they can in very difficult times for little money with little time. If all those editors decide to step down, you know what? your work won’t get published. There won’t be anyone to publish it.

Oh, Wordle. Did you have to? Wordle 1,852 5/6 🟨⬛🟨⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨 🟨🟨🟨🟨⬛ 🟨🟨⬛🟨⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Choose love. Choose peace. Choose kindness. Choose to keep searching old books, crumbling ruins, and mossy forests for portals to other realms, where reading & sleeping are celebrated sports.

Sir Ed Davey at PMQs: “can I also pick up a remark from the opposition about the by-election we're about to see in Clacton. I have to tell her I cannot back joke figures with ridiculous policies, which is why I'm supporting Count Binface”

Seascape by Alison Holt, contemporary textile artist who creates machine and hand embroidered artworks #WomensArt

Douglas Richardson Coded

This is the way 🇳🇴

Per the Pasafarian calendar, today is #GoatAppreciationDay. I can do that!

If you're planning to join us at Fantasycon in October and would like to participate in programming, please fill in the form here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... by 31st July 2026. We cannot guarantee space for late applicants.

Today I heard that LEGO started adding barium sulfate to their bricks in 2013, so they’d show up on medical imaging scans if they were swallowed. And then I immediately learned that this viral internet claim is, in fact, not true 😅 🧱 www.snopes.com/fact-check/l...

Beyond & Within: Witch Craft is out through Flame Tree Publishing on 20 January 2026. Pre-order it here: www.flametreepublishing.com/witchcraft-s... Watch the full interview with Marie and Paul over on the BFS YouTube channel: youtu.be/kZZbwutzQdM?...

Decided on a Jurassic Park watch. Gosh. Dr Malcolm’s speeches feel more and more relevant every day, don’t they.

If you've been enjoying the tennis at Wimbledon over the past two weeks, here's a look at the materials science that goes into every game, set and match 🎾 www.compoundchem.com/2026/07/13/t... #ChemSky 🧪

“Verify your age” My eBay account is so old, it wouldn’t even get carded under Challenge 25

Another opportunity to share my ‘Free-to-use Picture Resources for Writers’ essay👇 Hat tip: @tadethompson.bsky.social for pointing out Fitzcarraldo Editions have no front cover art and stick figures will suffice.

Work to protect adders, slow worms and lizards in Scots peatland. 🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Jul 13th 1985 - The #LiveAid benefit concert was held, and featured one of the greatest live performances ever: Queen led by the late, great Freddie Mercury. 📽️📅 Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

Under a Binface government, anyone who doesn’t accept human-made climate change as fact will be sent back to school, from Year 1 right the way to A Levels, to see if anything goes in the second time round. #VoteBinface

Sam Neill on tackling depression and imposter syndrome when you’re between jobs.