I regularly see people wondering how it's possible that there are so many musicians and writers and film makers and artists from a tiny nation like Iceland. And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.

This is why taxing the super rich is so important. Free university is a net positive for Scotland. Cutting it would be detrimental to not only individuals, but the country as a whole.

He says he can’t be bought. £13.2 million says otherwise.

Ireland has shown that basic income works — not just socially, but economically. Give people time and security to develop their skills, and the returns flow back to society. Now let’s go further. #UniversalBasicIncome #Economics

I'm also continually baffled by the decision to pair a bodice ripper aeshetic with #WUTHERINGHEIGHTS. If Emerald Fennell wanted that look, there are a dozen other classic romances that would have worked better. "Lady Chatterley's Lover"? "Carmilla"?

I keep thinking about how weird it is that the new #WutheringHeights cuts HINDLEY, but I guess if you're dead set on your boddice ripper aesthetic, then it makes sense to remove anything that might give the story more complexity or ambiguity.

I think the trashy romance aesthetic is entirely intentional, but it's clear that it doesn't work. Because #WutheringHeights is not a romance. It has romantic elements, but it's not a bodice ripper. So many adaptations focus solely on the romance, when that is just one part of the relationship.

I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.

Democratizing the arts looks like universal income, low-barrier grants for both emerging and working artists, well-funded municipal arts & recreation programs, vibrant third spaces, and a well-funded public school system with progressive curriculum. Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.

Being a writer in 2026 is so strange, because every week you're like "Should I start a Substack? A BookTok? A Bookstagram? A YouTube channel? A Patreon?", when really all you want to do is write your funny little stories in JD Salinger-style anonymity. #WritingCommunity

We have a real chance to elect Hannah Spencer as the Green Party’s 5th MP. This by-election is clear: Green vs Reform. Graft vs grift. Hope vs division. Join Hannah and @zackpolanski.bsky.social in Gorton and Denton this Saturday and help us make hope normal again ⤵️

I still have a Twitter account, mostly for work purposes, but decided to log out of it today. I'm not sure whether it's a busted algorithm or a general degrading tone, but my feed has just become so unreletingly nasty and negative that I can't stand it anymore.

A genuine shock to the system.

Hitting The Point of No Return. The world is on course to trigger tipping points that will lead to irreversible cascading consequences: from ice sheets melting to the death of the Amazon rainforest. Right now, the right thing to do, is act to stop this happening. 🧵 e360.yale.edu/features/1.5...

Vaccinate your damn kids. #measles #healthcare #NHS www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

@glasgowcc.bsky.social make a lot of really bad decisions, but greenlighting AI slop in a city full of talented artists--in a city that hosts the #YardworksFestival showcasing muralists--is a pretty big one. This is why it's important to vote in your local elections.

Engaging with people in the comments section of a @glasgowgreens.bsky.social post isn't my finest hour, but it does hammer home how vital it is that the Greens use facts and data to support their messages. SO many people think you can boostrap your way to being a billionaire.

Took my cat for a dental cleaning (and possible dental surgery, which thankfully he didn't wind up needing) yesterday, and when we picked him up, the vet warned us he might be off his feed. My cat the second he gets home:

MTV shutting down its music channels, while keeping the ones broadcasting reality TV, sure is...a choice.

Happy 2026, Bluesky! I'm not one for yearly retrospectives (or resolutions), but suffice it to say, 2025 was a rough one, and I'm hoping that 2026 will be a little kinder. To me. To everyone. To the planet as a whole. I think we need it.

Merry Christmas, Bluesky! 😊🎄Whether you're celebrating or not, I hope everyone has a lovely and restful day.

via The New Yorker, Ellis Rosen cartoon

2025 is set to be the UK's hottest since records began. Scientists are clear that changes to our climate are unprecedented and the result of burning fossil fuels. The government's climate policies must be led by the science, not by climate deniers and their friends from the fossil-fuel lobby.

I absolutely hate the "This strike is happening at an inconvenient time!" rhetoric that comes from both politicians and the public every time a union goes on strike. It happened last year with #CanadaPost and is happening this year with UK doctors. Yes. It's inconvenient. That is the whole point.

I don't think I truly realised just how many films Rob Reiner made--just how much of an impact he had on cinema. This is such a loss.

The answer to @theguardian.com is obviously YES. If you're sick, wear a mask so you don't spread it around. Better yet, don't go out if you don't have to. Recuperate at home. Not giving other people your illness is just basic common decency, not radical thinking.

A part of my neighbour's tree fell off last night in the storm, and this morning, they cut the whole thing down. Really hoping there was genuinely something wrong with the rest of the tree to justify it. It was one of the few mature (evergreen!) trees in the neighbourhood. A massive loss.

Gonna give this a go. #AI #antiAI #artificialintellgience #antiartificialintellgience

On the one hand, Warner Bros. keeps cancelling films, etc., in the name of "cost cutting", so different people at the helm isn't a bad thing. On the other...we all remember that the studio system collapsed, right?

I love thrift shopping, but the poor communication and lack of measurements in clothing listings really tests that. If you're not going to reply to messages, please just...tell me the measuremnts upfront. "Large" means nothing to me. Especially in women's clothing.

Just in time for the holidays, it's a new @starburst.bsky.social! In my Book Wormhole column, I take a look at a #weridfiction classic: Gertrude Barrows Bennett's "Claimed!" (exclamation mark mandatory). Meanwhile, over in our 1001 Films Feature, I spotlight the Japanese horror film #Reincarnation.

Tom Stoppard, playwright of dazzling wit and playful erudition, dies aged 88

Missing an issue of STARBURST MAGAZINE? Check out our Black Friday sale to save 70% off any of our 200+ back issues! Store: starburstmagazine.store *Discount automatically applied at checkout. Offer lasts until Dec 1st

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This #Cloudflare outage is annoying, but it apparently took down ChatGPT, so at least there's a silver lining.

Having a good chunk of the internet tethered to one website was probably not the best idea, was it? #cloudflare

Was researching planners for work, and my #stationery world hot take is that these coveted planners wouldn't sell out so quickly if people realised that half the time, they don't need a planner--they need a notebook.

Haha yesss. Japanese copyright law doesn't fuck around. Since I get challenged on this a lot: U.S. and Japan are both Berne Convention signatories, meaning the copyright is recognized between countries. They CAN go after American companies. And they are. And I love it. variety.com/2025/digital...

The Gulf Coast is home to one of the last healthy coral reefs. It’s surrounded by oil. grist.org/video/coral-... #Coral #Climate #Ocean #Science

Trans rights is a winning platform. Pro immigration is a winning platform. Taxing the rich is a winning platform. Affordable housing is a winning platform. Free childcare is a winning platform. Hating Andrew Cuomo is a winning platform. SOCIALISM IS A WINNING PLATFORM

I love Mundane Halloween.

Finally watched #TheSubstance last night, and after all the hype, I was disappointed to discover that I just thought it was...good. A more dramatic take on "Death Becomes Her", with a dash of "Perfect Blue", although I would argue "Perfect Blue" tackled its themes of exploitation better.

I don't post much about my writing outside of what gets published, but today I closed out the last of my outstanding agent sumbissions for The Novel. It's ended with more of a whimper than a bang, but 70+ submissions was a pretty good run. #writing #WritingCommunity #fiction #books

Corals are disappearing, pushing Earth to its first major ‘tipping point’ A new report says Earth has reached a dire milestone with the widespread death of warm-water coral reefs. But it's not too late to save what remains. grist.org/oceans/coral... #Coral #Ocean #Environment #Climate #Science

From Afrofuturism to ecotopia: A climate-fiction glossary Find the climate-fiction genre that inspires you. grist.org/fix/climate-... #Solarpunk #ClimateFiction #Fiction #BookSky #Afrofuturism #Solarpunk

What an absolute treasure Diane Keaton was. Her wit never tired, nor did her style.

Diane Keaton has passed away at the age of 79

Ireland declaring a permanent universal basic income for artists is the validation creators need — how VITAL our work is. The monetary, cultural, & intrinsic value of art is palpable. THIS is reputable proof of that. How much better would societies run if EVERYONE had a UBI?! It’d be life-changing.

YES. I am SO happy about this! Making sure people's basic needs are met only benefits society. Hopefully other countries will adopt this and it will be another step in the direction of a #UniversalBasicIncome #UBI. #art