I worked on a production years ago that starred Michael Gambon, David Bradley, and David Walliams, and I can tell you that Gambon and Bradley were utterly delightful.

A Facebook friend posts a photo of the sunset with the apparently irony-free caption “Spring is coming!”. Why are Irish people so delusional about the seasons? Completely cracked.

I went to see the filmed Merrily We Roll Along last night. It’s impossible to disentangle the show from its own history (it has become a commentary on itself), but even setting that aside, it is at its core a profoundly sad work of art. I loved it.

Stumbled upon a post yesterday that said “We asked AI to rank the best bass guitarists ever!”. These things are generally nonsense, even irrespective of AI. But what struck me was that every player listed was white. Something very sinister at work there.

“No, I am not coming in at 8 am just because you made a mess of the booking.” Sorry, don’t mind me, just needed to get that out of my system before I send my actual email reply.

I hear an invigilator in the Auditorium just now with excellent microphone technique and my heart swells.

I went down a bit of a Camarón rabbit hole the other night. Can’t recommend it enough. youtube.com/watch?v=pM-0...

Because if you care about securely owning a movie that you love--as opposed to "owning" it only until a license agreement over which you have no control expires without warning--you need a DVD or Blu-ray. The hardware may be yesterday; the concern is very much of this moment.

I am more and more convinced that Down the Rabbit Hole by The Divine Comedy is about who I think it’s about. And it’s a much better comment than being dragged into answering interview questions about the whole wretched situation.

Discussion of Seymour Hersh recently is a reminder that it’s been possible, over the last fifteen years, to disgrace yourself repeatedly on Syria and Ukraine and still be considered one of the good guys.

The reason is your party, John. Fascinated by Fianna Fáil TDs who are surprised that changing the policy of 2:1 spending on public transport will result in less public transport being built.

Watched The Deep Blue Sea this evening. “This is a tragedy.” “Tragedy is too big a word. Sad, perhaps, but hardly Sophocles.”

Are the Leinster fans booing Ioane? Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a tool. But he is playing for us.

That’s God Only Knows and Wouldn’t It Be Nice in Christmas TV ads so far. Is Pet Sounds a Christmas coded album now?

The child didn’t even make it to the start of the Toy Show last year. She might get as far as the first ad break tonight.

“Run Run Rudolph?” “Yes, that’s Chuck Berry. He invented rock and roll.” “Who, Rudolph?” She’s @emmylounib.bsky.social’s daughter alright.

(I have included clips from 6 of P&P’s films in this thread on the off chance that some folks—w/ the exception of @patburke.bsky.social, obvs—have not seen all of them.)

Average European will see this in the same way we looked at the similar ideological internationalist nonsense that used to emanate from the USSR back in the day; yes there will be the Yank-brained just as there were (are) Tankies, but most will look at this as totally alien, repulsive & infantile.

A first, yesterday. A pedestrian gestured to me that the van driver in front of me was on his phone. Which was a useful thing to be aware of. But it would be altogether better if there was some enforcement of the law, given how normalised this behaviour has become.

Do these Cromwellian puritans even celebrate Christmas?

There was all kinds of stuff going on on Stax records, God knows, but the lynchpin, especially for Otis Redding, was Steve Cropper. “Watchin’ the tide roll away…”

What a film. I knew Bogart could act. I didn’t know he could do that.

So Apple Music tells me that I’ve been listening to a lot of Paul Simon and Fela Kuti this year. Finger on the pulse, me.

Things that will interest Bluesky; Misha Glenny, author of McMafia, replaces Melvyn Bragg as host of In Our Time.

Your annual reminder that the most revealing difference between Irish and Scottish Gaelic is definitely in the words for December: Mí na Nollag (Month of Christmas) in Ireland, and An Dubhlachd (the Blackness) in Scotland. So once again may I wish you all a lovely Blackness.

I hadn’t seen Terence Davies’s film of The House of Mirth before. Why did nobody tell me about Gillian Anderson’s performance?

Tom Stoppard. Last of the Big Beasts? conradbrunstrom.wordpress.com/2025/11/30/t...

my favorite passage of his

When I was 15, my grandparents brought me to London for a week. It was a week packed with culture (they were great people), but the high point was seeing Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. Nothing I’ve ever seen has made as great an impression on me. I will always be grateful for that. RIP.

This is why I continue to enjoy Bluesky. This morning, I had never even heard of this film. This post, and the discussion it prompted, have made me eager to watch it as soon as I can. So many worlds still to explore.

Finally getting some theological clarity on the ethics of reclining in one’s plane seat

Every single Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil TD lied to the public that they would continue investing in public transport - just with more roads also. And they continue to lie about their level of support for public transport. Worth remembering. irishcycle.com/2025/11/27/s...

The motoring lobby, via their mouthpieces, have obviously landed on public safety as their latest crassly disingenuous argument. Pulling projects like DART South West and the Luas Finglas extension in favour of pandering to private vehicles will not improve road safety, for God’s sake.

“Coming up, transport funding: where should it be going? Roads or public transport?” Oh, this item is going to piss me off, I can tell already.

Anyone else having trouble streaming RTE Radio this morning?

For some reason had this popping unbidden into my thoughts this week, to the extent I had to look it up & obviously it's Shakespeare. I wonder if it was like this in his head all the time, an ongoing stream of uncanny verbal music

Four months after it was promised, we finally have the government's transport investment plan between now and 2030. It's bad. Roads are in, public transport is out. A lot of public transport projects being put on the long-finger to make funding available for new roads.

I’m 100% forcing Steven Spielberg to make David Lean’s Nostromo.

Supporters of Ireland's planning system say it is wonderfully democratic. But here is a major project supported by repeated democratically-elected governments and put through a rigorous planning process (including plenty of public input) being stopped by 20 people. That's not democracy. It's chaos.

Jimmy Cliff's writing & performance hit somewhere for me beyond even Marley - the Sam Cooke of reggae in his range and seductions. The Harder They Come ST is the motherlode, but incredible that he also wrote one of the greatest songs about Vietnam in the sixties. RIP www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Q4...

I don’t usually use this account for promotional purposes but, being people of such exquisite refinement and sophistication, I’m sure you won’t really mind. A wonderful programme this year with some terrific guests. www.fideliotriowinterfestival.org

“This ought to ruffle some feathers”, he declares, in palpable admiration of his own independence of mind, before clicking “share” on obvious Russian propaganda.

This has been a frustrating week, but I finally got around to replacing the motor on my turntable, and my Leatherman reappeared after having been lost by a student the other day (it genuinely put me in absolutely foul humour, as everyone in the vicinity could confirm).

This is a great piece of writing. I've always loved McCartney, but I remember realising after my first rush of Beatles love (and believing the general beliefs that you pick up) that Yoko Ono was a woman to be admired. I went to the Tate Yoko Ono Exhibition mentioned - see poster. It was rather fun.

Carley is an awful ref, and South Africa are getting away with murder but, my goodness, Ireland are playing badly.

TRUMP [after spending 5 minutes with Zohran]: surplus value, it’s a very wonderful thing, very wonderful, and they’re stealing it. Can you believe that? We’re going to be looking very strongly at the bourgeoisie, what they’re up to

I made the prediction earlier that the Dublin by election would probably return Ray McAdam (normie FG candidate, wouldn’t vote for him but he’s a very nice man). My recent record with forecasts means you should probably now be prepared for some anti-vaxxer WEF-obsessed nutter.

Happy 40th birthday to Bill Waterson’s ‘Calvin and Hobbes’. A work of consummate, stubborn, human, and more-than-human art.