It's Wednesday. Apparently.

Do, if you possibly can, take the time to read this. It's hard and it's tragic, but it's vital.

Lately I’ve been in an indie team making stop-motion animation. It’s just 4 of us (animator, writer, voice actor, sound designer). The show’s called The Tiny Angry Witch. It’s all basically hand made. No AI. It’s tiring, but we love what we do. So, anyway, here’s a Witch making rude noises:

In the last few weeks I've spoken to two executives at a major streamer - one in adult animation, one in preschool content for both animation and live action - and both basically told me the same thing: they're looking for YouTube success stories with huge subscriber bases. 🧵

For more of this sort of thing: www.tinyangrywitch.com

"This Farage parody account on X is more factual and truthful than Farage himself, which is hilarious in itself." via Susan Kovbasyuk

So that’s two of the “Raise the Colours” organisers now charged with violent crimes & a fifth of the 2024 race rioters with domestic abuse. Makes you wonder whether “innocent patriotism” & “protecting women & girls” are just covers for thuggish racism & misogyny?

It even gets to the robots sometimes.

Do you enjoy singing, even just in the shower? Would you like to try singing in four-part harmony? Are you free Tuesday evenings? Reading's fave all-male barbershop-style choir, Thames Valley Chorus, invite you to their free, three-week course starting 2 June whatsonreading.com/venues/thame...

It would be bad for public confidence if there was a suspicion that large corporate interests are buying access to the Government via the Tony Blair Institute. My letter to the cabinet office. 👇🏼

Corruption in plain sight. It will take a decade to fix this debacle. #TrumpCorruption

A Polish soldier who was shooting at migrants at the Polish-Belarussian border was cleared of any wrong-doing. I am not surprised. He came to court wearing T-Shirt of a neo-nazi band Honor. I am even less surprised.

Happy 91th Birthday to the indomitable Anne Reid, 5/28/1935. Reid has been a staple in classy British 📺 for decades, as well as choice stage & film roles. But if you haven't seen THE MOTHER, you've missed her ballsiest performance ever. #filmsky 📽

#SPotTheScammer @felixhugo.bsky.social using pics of Fran Carel, whose images are in prolific use by scammers, stolen from his verified Instagram account. www.instagram.com/fran_carel/

Yesterday Israel ordered the inhabitants of Nabiteh to leave (population of 100,000) They then ordered the inhabitants of Tyre to leave (pop of 200,000). Now they've ordered the entire south to leave - up to 300 towns & villages. Alex Crawford reporting from Lebanon today

"I didn't just consider it, I threatened to resign on a number of occasions and made demands..." Jess Phillips MP, former Safeguarding Minister, on how she responded to the prime minister's appointment of Lord Mandelson as US Ambassador. #Newsnight

I don't do Instagram, so will somebody in the UK please remember to send this to The Last Leg when the next series comes around? #TheLastLeg #AdamHills #JoshWiddicombe #AlexBrooker #Funny #Comedy #Disabilities #RealLife #C4

Privatised water is such an obvious scam that it's achieved the impossible: getting 82% of Brits to agree on something. The only issue to score higher was the public’s desire for Tony Blair to stick to retirement.

youtube.com/shorts/74woB... 🎧 Annabelle Dinda (and friends). Always good. 🥰 🎧

Voters of every major party want water and energy in public hands. Labour, the Tories and Reform want more of the same: private profit over public interest. It’s time for public ownership.

Is there any point in school staff working hard to address bullying when the words & deeds of those in wider society let them know that actually, don't worry, it's fine? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

You have to laugh, don't you? I'm mean, I'm pretty much too tired to scream or cry anymore.

Jeeesus. Uninstalling Google Chrome from desktop now. Whatever your views on AI, forcing a(n uninvited) download (which re- downloads if deleted) is of more than serious concern.

Elon, son, sit down a minute, we need to have a little chat.

Trump spent three hours at hospital today doing ‘tests’. It should only have been 20 minutes, but the first test was really hard.

It's a little plastic toy in a sandpit, isn't it? Those scientists will try anything to get research funding in exotic locations.

Otherwise, the article was perfect

Is Tony Blair selling Crypto yet?

Uh... Should trucks be doing that while they're at work?

People want a Tony Blair essay about as much as they want toenail soup. I'm glad we're united on this

Erin Brockovich has been fighting evil corporations that pollute the environment for so long that there was a Hollywood movie about her starring Julia Roberts back in 2000. It's a bad sign for the AI industry that she is now on the anti-data center bandwagon.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202... What is it about money & power? I well remember how I celebrated when Blair took back control from the Tories all those years ago. This foul individual is now well to the right of Thatcher.

What happens when you hook a database up to a camera that can record in secret? Meta’s smart glasses are a surveillance nightmare for women in the frame https://goodlawproject.org/smart-glasses-a-clear-risk-to-womens-safety

Brilliant.

A livestream of a volcano in the Philippines captured a meteor crashing to Earth today. What are the odds? Mayon Volcano, Location: Albay, Luzon, Philippines

AI slop #datacenters

Fun times at home.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Feuilles salt and pepper grinders - *£2618*? Man's going to gaol for that? Not just greedy & selfish, an idiot too.

youtube.com/shorts/fH16q... Dreadful that this should be happening. We are in the *21st* century, right?

The ECHR has protected British people from abuses of power by its own government. Nigel Farage wants us to leave it. Please think about that youtu.be/Fhrb5Z7ScME?...

How to win at quizzes. Just answer the most implausible possible answer that could never possibly be correct, because no government acting in the interests of its citizens would ever dream of even considering allowing this to happen. Much less actively seek it out and pay through the nose for it.

Right now Palantir has a £330m contract to run our NHS health records, but this spy-tech firm shouldn't be anywhere near our health service. Email your local hospital today and ask them to say no to Palantir goodlaw.social/668d1d

Such an intensely, immensely powerful song. One of a handful that will always have me in tears.

Was curious, so found an article about Vega's motivation for writing the song: www.songwritingmagazine.co.uk/interviews/l...

Suzanne Vega releases “Luka” 39 years ago this weekend. She said she once received a fan letter about it: “Dear Suzanne, Luka is the most compelling piece of music I’ve heard in a long time. There are no words 2 tell U all the things I feel when I hear it. I thank God 4 U, Prince”

Come and see me at Hastings Waterstones on 25 June www.waterstones.com/Events/searc...

Sekou sporting serious Angus Young outfit - great voice, great band, lots of 70s disco influence, I feel. Ashley McBryde with a gentle acoustic country number sets up a *total* change of scene when Mandy, Indiana come up with their own unique EDM take. Later with Jools Holland

Good episode of 'Later' tonight (when not?!) Can't go wrong with Joe Bonamassa tearing it up and James Blake singing sweetly with a mid-50s style prom ballad is a nice counterpoint. Lovely to hear Jocelyn Brown chatting and singing with Jools at the piano. More to come!

Enjoyed the first episode of Dear England. Thought that Gareth Southgate was playing Gareth Southgate for a minute.