some bell hooks and some hell books

J.D. Vance's "Ain't I A Woman?" is going to be a real coup de grace.

Someone sent me this.

I'll be in Trinity next Weds giving a guest lecture, a mere 46 years after leaving midway through second year of my degree to pursue something or other. Talk about the long way around. Do come along if you're in Dublin. bit.ly/4dYIHMf

Tulipa purpurea, depicting the life cycle of the moth, from an album of 160 drawings entitled "Merian's Drawings of European Insects &c" By Maria Sibylla Merian, b. #otd 2 Apr 1647, d. 13 Jan 1717. (British Museum)

Bat, with spider, c. 1691-1699 By Maria Sibylla Merian, b. #otd 2 Apr 1647, d. 13 Jan 1717. (British Museum)

You wrote a novel using AI? Cool. It's like that time I ran a marathon using a Ford Focus.

2 Apr: feast #otd of St Brónach [Bronagh] 6th-century holy woman, reputed founder and patron saint of Cell Brónche, now Kilbroney, Co. Down (MickeyDoyle/RostrevorHolidays)

Oooooh also this one

In space, no one can hear you Teams

Stepped onto a crowded train in Nice this morning and a kid says to his father "Tá go leor daoine saibhre ar an traein seo!" (Tbf he was right, it was heading to Monaco.) The look on his face when I said "Nílim saibhir ar chor ar bith!" was classic.

Rubio is lucky there is no way Trump can find this out.

Everyday Ladybird things. ‘Changing the battery’ (1962) Artist: Harry Wingfield (Magnets, Bulbs and Batteries)

Copyright? But it was on the Internet and they just copied it. So isn’t that all that matters?

Commissioner Séjourné held 84 meetings on #deregulation. All 84 were with business groups. Not one civil society org. Not one. This isn't consultation. This is what corporate capture looks like. 🧵 Check out our new report 👇 corporateeurope.org/en/2026/04/w...

31 Mar 1685: b. Johann Sebastian Bach, composer & musician at Eisenach, Thuringia #otd #baroque

A tender 17thC moment caught: two women teaching a child to walk c. 1635-1637, drawn by #Rembrandt (BM) I like to post this image regularly.

The magic number for average homebuyer age is 35. Once either partner is over 35 they will not get a 30 year mortgage from most banks. So every additional year saving for a deposit means a lower borrowable amount. It's OK to call this a crisis.

Unite is fighting for safe workplaces, career security, and an end to harassment. Our trans and non-binary members are welcome in our union ​#TDOV2026

Beautiful everyday Ladybird things. The gondola basket (1965) Artist: Harry Wingfield

What on earth is the Journal at using the title "Fianna Fáil Justice spokesperson" for anybody other than the actual minister in the party as if it were a real post.

One of my favourite facts is that the spiky tail of a stegosaurus didn't used to have a specific name, until Gary Larson published this Far Side cartoon, at which point "thagomizer" was adopted by paleontologists.

There's one trait where economists clearly outperform the other social sciences: Hubris.

Meanwhile, over at Facebook, you will not be surprised to learn, the response to Leo's "[God] does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war" comment includes a lot of "Oh, really, 'Pope'? Maybe you should try reading the Bible."

📱

Thanks IBEC, now do data centres.

I was so lucky to find a solitary Spring gentian in flower on March 27th. County Galway. #wildflowerhour what an exquisite flower.

Government plans to weaken access to judicial reviews will damage women fleeing domestic abuse, access to education, and climate accountability, a community law centre has said. www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41...

Did you see this SNL UK sketch on changing the clocks www.youtube.com/watch?v=O15l...

Mainstream journalists are abdicating their duty. Cartoonists are the real heroes of the moment.

Just find the last clock that needs to be updated manually. I've five of them, and always forget one.

Ahem at this point we have about one European leader that is actively trying to stop the disaster that's around the corner.

A young woman sleeping [probably Hendrickje Stoffels] her head resting on her right arm. Rembrandt, c. 1654 (British Museum)

Data centre electricity consumption remains limited at the global level, but it is growing rapidly. Fabrizio Ferriani & Andrea Gazzani analyse how the geographic concentration of data centres can create localised pressures on electricity prices & network congestion. cepr.org/voxeu/column... #EconSky

I love the way ladybirds take off. I always say "weeee" when I see it. 😂

What if you could just say any old codswallop and they’d put it in the paper without even the crying laughing emoji in the headline.

Shopping With Mother, (1958) Mmm - fish tail and eels for tea! Artist: Harry Wingfield

that’s quite a short flight, even for twenty five quid

Before the decade is out, a politician in an Anglosphere country will wonder aloud about whale oil and deep-state whale hunting bans imposed from above. They will be mocked initially and then some columnist will do the old devil's advocate on it. Then a presidential candidate will suggest it.

When Desmond Connell was announced in 1987 as the person to be appointed RC Archbishop of Dublin, homosexuality has still not been decriminalised. He was asked for his view on the issue and used the standard Roman Catholic Church line that homosexuality is an objective disorder. 1/3

Fintan O'Toole used a column to criticise the choice of Connell. A philosopher at UCD, never served in a parish... not suited to head the second largest diocese in Europe, and with huge social problems (heroin, unemployment, poverty) And his dissertation was on the theology of angels. 2/3

David Norris was asked by the Evening Herald for his view on the bishop-designate's view on homosexuality. "He may be an expert on angels but he knows f***-all about fairies." 3/3

My favourite Norris story is when I was working late one night in an office on his corridor. There's was an enormous bang outside, and all the electricity went out. Moments later David bursts in and shouts excitedly: "The Revolution!!!! Has it begun??" Unfortunately just an ESB transformer blowing

This week's hedgerow offerings for #wildflowerhour: neon Alexanders (introduced by the Romans, & not at all common in NW #Ireland) with its stripy purple bloomers, plus some choirboy primroses. We all got a soaking later! 🌈🌧 #WildAtlanticWay #Sligo @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildireland.bsky.social

Daisies #wildflowers #wildflowerhour

Cowslip, Primrose, and Oxlip are all blooming at the same time in my garden #WildflowerHour #SundayYellow

#OtD 29 Mar 1933 a mob of right-wing religious zealots destroyed the HQ of the Revolutionary Workers' Groups in Dublin following a three-day siege. It was one of many attacks by mobs whipped into anti-communist hysteria by the Catholic Church stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1011...