My latest books cartoon for @theguardian.com. Many more here: www.theguardian.com/profile/tom-gauld

#teampope, somehow. What a time to be alive.

Another good cockchafer fact: as a result of studies by 1800s entomologists, the cockchafer was one of the first animals to be discovered to have a strong preference towards homosexuality. A lot of Victorians found this very upsetting and refused to believe it.

Scientists believe that a function of a zebra’s stripes is to deter insects, so a team of researchers painted black and white stripes on several cows and discovered that it reduced the number of biting flies landing on the cows by more than 50%.

they're calling this tractor the ratmobile

we should obviously strive for clarity in our work but a not insignificant percentage of your readers will always (erroneously) assume one of your characters is a horse, and no amount of explanation or exposition will prevent this

Sophie is so very talented, and does not even blink when I give her tasks like "yea so I need a pig but she needs to be able to sew whilst still having trotters, oh and give her a wimple" hire her

The Devil and Mrs. Gooch by Oliver Darkshire is one of those wonderfully clever novels where a line slips past you at first, your brain catches up a second later, and suddenly you’re laughing out loud. It’s delightfully unusual and strange in the best way. #booksky

strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, charisma

what gay subtext could there be in baldurs gate 3, the game where you team up with the most ancient twink to ever live, a bear, a daddy issues warlock, a mommy issues wizard and a statistically improbable number of supernatural lesbians to ban conversion therapy

this is my favorite animal in the whole world and he is noble and deeply depressed and if he did crimes I would cover for him no questions asked

The detail here 💖💖💖 Tiny pink painted claws 😍😍😍

Have at it pal 🥚

GOOD NEWS! Researchers at Stanford University have developed a UNIVERSAL vaccine known as GLA-3M-052-LS+OVA, that protects against a wide range of respiratory viruses, bacteria AND even allergens. The vaccine is delivered intranasally AND provides broad protection in the lungs for several MONTHS.

“The Al is not just telling you what you want to hear. It is training you, one conversation at a time, to need less friction, expect more agreement, and become slightly less capable of handling a situation where someone pushes back on you”

I mean this most sincerely -- any time there's a podcast with JMD talking about creativity and writing and comics, it is required viewing. I mean it. No one is better to listen to on any of these topics.

the bedtime deal is “95% done” the remaining 5% of negotiations are focused on my children getting into bed and turning off the lights

Today's Low Quality Ad is for this Skeleton Wizard Pin. Everyone assumes that skeletons are evil. And they are. This one doesn't put the cart back after grocery shopping. collabs.shop/whqwux

still refusing to hand it to the Pope, but glad someone with a platform is finally calling out this AI bullshit instead of trying to cash in

Still at it, I see. Can westerners at least pretend to care about the below aspect of this platform? It doesn't mean you stop using it, or go back to Twitter, or really anything other than acknowledging the rest of the world exists. Of course Bsky is a bubble! So is Twitter, just a much larger one!

If you pour out relentless lies & misinformation, you can dupe the disinterested. Did you know - ▪️It’s illegal for minors to have gender change surgery, despite politicos lies ▪️Puberty blockers are banned for trans kids, because they are supposedly‘dangerous’ but still prescribed for non-trans kids

Women messing with men’s heads du jour: a lovely Salome not looking too thrilled w/ John the Baptist’s head on her platter, by Carlo Dolci of Florence. Born on this day 1616.

Enjoyed this. Nuns in space.

Comedia

this is my ministry. make hobbies leftist again bsky.app/profile/noam...

this is the last photo on my parents' video birdfeeder before it was mysteriously destroyed we may never know what happened

This isn't perfect but it at least removes the "AI overview" stuff and google's suggestions: tedium.co/2024/05/17/g...

I don't think it's a good idea to legally privilege someone else's discomfort over another person's rights.

She made history for decades. Now she has a degree in it. Congratulations to Billie Jean King on earning her BA in history from from Cal State LA, 65 years after first enrolling.

A fellow Labour Party member once described Wes Streeting to me as Zippy from Rainbow if he'd been radicalized by Mumsnet. which is a very specific set of references but also disturbingly accurate.

Just the usual indignity of doing edits.

It is common in writing to make use of the pathetic fallacy where you lard the description with feelings for atmosphere (a sullen house huddled in the woods). And then there's just the straight up character assassination. If I was the Plain of York, I'd sue.

Is that Chekhov’s Gun in your pocket or will you just be pleased to see me later?

This. And also my 100 best novels would be just that: the ones that worked best with *my* brain and personality and experience and tastes and ambition.

Die in a fire. Absolute dogshit. I have rarely been prouder of my SM curation than when I realised Good Omens 3 had come out on telly and not one person on my TL was talking about it. Honestly mate, fuck off, you've been told.

It's like a yachtsman trying to raise a canoe. Or a desolate bride salting a wedding cake. What I mean to say is, AI metaphors have no substance, like two dogs fighting over a prequel. After a while they stand out like tulips in a recital, always ready for the conductor to step in.

I am not remotely a lawyer, but I think if you agree to review a manuscript for a press and then feed that manuscript into AI without the permission of the author, the author should be allowed to sue you into poverty.

I'm sorry did you say *pirates, dinosaurs and penguins*?????

I hate interpersonal conflict with every fibre of my nature but if i ever see someone trying to stop a trans person piss in peace, they will override all my factory settings.

SpaceX makes special arrangements for those attending Starship landing to take home their very own piece of the rocket.

At a kids theater show and this is among the music directors credits... Simultaneously least likely book to become a musical & most likely one to be a fringe show...

Hello friends, we are 🎉✨LIVE ON KICKSTARTER!! ✨🎉 WE'RE FUNDING: 🌟 T&F Year 5 💫 T&F Year 6 and, if we reach $15k: our first ever Tales & Feathers PRINT EDITION! 🎊📚‼️ Check it out below! Like, share, and back the campaign to help us bring our dreams into reality. 💚

Now 34 years. I will continue to post the story of Giovanni Falcone because even if just one person who didn't know it reads it, learns about this extraordinary man, and maybe shares it with others, the world will be a slightly better place.

What I quickly learned about this dog? She will only eat “fresh” Cheetos. Cheetos that have been sitting around in an open bag, even for just a little while, are No Good. She will Refuse.

wish I'd done more fucking around prior to this miserable eternity of finding out

That strange bittersweet feeling of getting to the end of a book you're really enjoying and it having a satisfying ending except now you're annoyed because the book is over? That

Here’s my tip for anyone telling the over 50’s what not to wear: ‘Fuck off!’ I’m nearly 50 and will aggressively and deliberately wear what *I* like. I don’t wear a lot of floral myself but I will defend my floral siblings to the end! WE RIDE AT DAWN (in lovely flowers).

I was asked for a maximally accessible Bluesky DM client, which is an awesome request 😀 So! Bluedrop here has very broad visual accommodations and deep screen reader integration, but also support for larger touch targets, switch access, and eye gaze* *auctioneer voice: eye tracker not included

Angola has declared its highest mountain, Mount Moco, part of a new conservation area to protect its threatened Afromontane forests. The announcement builds on years of work by local villagers, who have planted over 8,000 trees and helped protect surviving forest. buff.ly/5mZiin7 #ShareGoodNewsToo