An exciting test of the theory that the bill failed last time because its supporters simply weren't dismissive enough of their opponents.

It's a genuinely terrible film, but it's a genuinely terrible John Huston film and I always well up when the crowd start singing the Marseillaise. Sod Casablanca!

I think this might be one of the all-time great film publicity stills.

Mad authoritarian government organises an international football tournament in the hope of scoring a propaganda coup: yes, we're watching Escape to Victory! champ.ly/0fy3uSsv

The challenge for this tournament is to get US TV hosts to innocently make their way through Roger's Profanisaurus.

BBC One O'Clock News

The same employers who witter on about young people lacking the basic social skills, see nothing wrong with not bothering to tell job applicants that they have not been successful. www.ft.com/content/2af1...

Great pod, disagreed on just one thing: you *could* pin down a superstar footballer for a modern remake - simply by explaining that they'd be taking Pele's old role. Good luck replacing Laurie Sivell though

In these desperate times, we need moments that can bring us together as a nation, which is why I pay tribute to every American selflessly offering us their opinion on Belfast.

Almost all the stories about the making of Escape To Victory are contested, but one I like is that when they were shooting the amazing Pele bicycle kick goal, Sivell messed up... by saving it.

My preferred version is the one that appeared inexplicably on my TV a while back. Frankly the only way to improve Escape to Victory would be to add Jackie Chan to it.

Maybe if you're a programmer it's easier to understand how this sort of thing will inevitably happen, but regardless it's a pretty good look behind the curtain of how non-magical LLMs are, and how the complexity of the output masks how derivative they are.

Some news: 🇺🇦 Next month I'm driving to Ukraine. 🇺🇦 I'll be delivering an evacuation vehicle, specially modified for saving lives in areas of the highest danger. But that's only possible if I can fundraise enough - £3,500. I'd be so grateful for any support you can give. donorbox.org/johnoxleydu

Featuring moi

With special guest @alanallport.bsky.social, and @duncanweldon.bsky.social as Lord Haw Haw.

An authoritarian government run by a megalomaniac organising a football tournament for propaganda purposes? It can only mean that we're watching Escape To Victory! champ.ly/0fy3uSsv

Not as serious/dangerous, but this classic came to mind (Kernen is a CNBC ranter.) bsky.app/profile/bung...

This level of understanding of Ireland from a New Yorker with a name like "Kilmeade" is not new TBF, it is what funded and armed the IRA for decades

They got BlueSky representation in Dragon Quest V

When scandal turned its ugly head Nigel turned his tail and fled

🎶 Brave Sir Nigel ran away...🎶 thecritic.co.uk/nice...

Nice Tice: my SKETCH of Reform trying to clean up Britain - and the party's image. thecritic.co.uk/nice...

Carry on Campaigning? Or Brexit as Not-So-Jolly Gents' Japes, plus Wives and Sisters making dinner. I have just done a rough and ready analysis of the 'talking head' contributions to the BBC's 'Brexit: a Very British Civil War'. A short 🧵about this Blokey Affair: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Nice Tice: my SKETCH of Reform trying to clean up Britain - and the party's image. thecritic.co.uk/nice...

We regret to inform you that the prime minister has told a joke.

I tell you what, I am not sure that those on the right in America have always been massively enthusiastic about the World Cup.

Kemi: Incapable of Being Wrong. My SKETCH of the Tory leader cursed to always be right. thecritic.co.uk/kemi...

Kemi: Incapable of Being Wrong. My SKETCH of the Tory leader cursed to always be right. thecritic.co.uk/kemi...

Britain isn't America, but this great piece is even more interesting in the context of Kemi Badenoch's speech this morning.

Can't even run a 22-month stalking campaign any more, because of Woke.

The Ewan McGregor trivia nugget is now lodged in my brain.

Daughter of Earl Mountbatten dies aged 97. "At the age of eight Pamela and her elder sister, Patricia, were left for four months in a hotel in Budapest because her mother lost the piece of paper on which she had written the address."

DOCTOR: "So what seems to be the problem?" PATIENT: "Mmhbbhhggr hhruuh engghhuu." DOCTOR: "I'm sorry I can't understand, but don't worry. Great singer Bob Dylan is in town. Go see his show and no matter what ails you, you'll feel better!" PATIENT (sadly): "Ehg ddnghh m'm Bddnnn."

Tickets still available for my show with the fabulous Arthur Smith at the Leicester Square Theatre next Wednesday June 10th. Please do come. www.leicestersquaretheatre.com/show/john-cr...

The thing in this interview that I identify with is the feeling that the place where you work is more than an outfit that gives you money in exchange for your labour. I'm now at the age where I and a lot of friends have left firms after long periods, and it can feel like a relationship ending.

Nadhim Zahawi describes Nowak as someone "who lost his life because of incompetence". Greg Dyke points out that nobody is saying the mistake by police caused the death. Phillips intervenes with "nobody knows". A lack of basic research on a very sensitive topic. Paragraph 16 of sentencing remarks:

It's pretty gracious of him to show up at all, given that his side lost.

Here it is! Marina's list of the most bangable men in Top Gun.

Our long-promised watch of the most Eighties movie of the Eighties, with civilian specialist Marina "Charlie" Hyde. You won't regret listening.

Nigel Farage Listens to the News

@roberthutton.co.uk @duncanweldon.bsky.social I can't quite believe you don't know this already, but Top Gun could have filmed with US owned MiGs. pca.st/episode/14d0...

"Also, he definitely molested that couch."

Since Kemi Badenoch has reignited the issue of a modern UK civil war, I should share the definitive scholarly work on what this would actually look like, as authored by @tom-phillips.com for BuzzFeed, eleven years ago. (Aka when buzzfeed was A Thing) www.buzzfeed.com/tomphillips/...

Kemi's brand of single-minded fanaticism would make her an ideal civil war leader imo. Any dissent and you shoot a few officers pour encourager les autres.

I’m old enough to remember some rightwingers calling out Obama for having an opinion on Brexit, presumably they’ll be shocked by this

A musical tribute to the Spitfire with the help of Leslie Howard 🫡 open.spotify.com/track/6Pp8Se...

Giggling to this while making tea. Love the intro. I'm old enough to have not only seen Top Gun at the cinema, but we also had the game on zx spectrum. As they've now done Val Kilmer's fourth best film, and as Hot Shots was mentioned, is there a chance that Team WMT might do Top Secret! ?

War Movie Theatre's not PG anymore kids

I spent my lunchtime listening to this and my day is better for it:)

It's simple, our Hero Voter is a middle aged electrician from Southampton. He's doing okay but worried about fuel going up, he's nervous about his kids and socisl media, he's had nine calls from HMRC that he's ignored and he's doing 2 years for throwing a wheelie bin at a police officer.