I did the bike-to-a-library thing in my time (and sometimes to a more distant one where my reading privileges weren't limited). ...Somewhere in his letters, CS Lewis remarks on how impossible it is to keep a young reader away from what they want to read. Tech is smarter now, but so are kids. 😏

💚 PASSED 💚 Glasgow Greens' motion in support of Trongate 103 has passed, with £200k of property support for cultural organisations. However we also want a long-term solution & urge City Property to make a sustainable future of Trongate 103 in the interests of culture not capital ✊

One of my favourite YouTube accounts is #NotJustBikes, and his latest video should be required viewing for anyone who lives in an even slightly urbanised area. #cars #anticar www.youtube.com/watch?v=umgi...

A really good article about the whole #ShyGirl debacle and #AI in publishing. The article is skeptical about publishers' response, but I do think, if publishing houses want to avoid more costly scandals like this, they SHOULD hire more staff. (Cont.)

Climate has almost disappeared from our conversation. But it remains the most pressing challenge of our times. Last week the WMO said the planet is “more out of balance than at any time in observed history.” Energy security and climate security are not competing priorities.

Scottish Green Councillors & Candidates supported the rally to save Trongate 103 today ✊ Our Councillor Group have tabled a motion seeking urgent action for Trongate 103 from the Council & City Property, & get Glasgow's culture thriving with investment & support across Governments again 💚

Don't have a book (Yet? Yet.), but I barely yell about my short stories after they get published, and that is just as much of an oversight as forgetting to yell about a book. So...here's a scream into the void. www.oficmag.com/store/p/issu...

see? here's the thing. A lot of people are like, the earth is fucked, it's beyond salvation, it's hit the tipping point, but time and time again we see that if we just fucking fixed the problem, it rebounds so incredibly fast. Imagine what could be done if people actually cared

"The basic income was life-changing. Only months into the scheme, I found out I was pregnant. The basic income helped me decide to have my baby, knowing I could continue creative work and keep my small studio space... The basic income gave me more freedom to experiment in my work." DO UBI FOR ALL.

Our dependency on fossil fuels makes us vulnerable. Wars across the world are pushing up prices for households in the UK. Why keep waiting for the next crisis? We need to transition to clean power as fast as we can to protect people and our economy. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Love this experience by one of the basic income pilot participants in Wales. They got £1,290 a month after tax for two years (about $1,862/mo), and at first they planned to not get a job, but then after getting into the pilot, they changed their mind, because why not do more to get more money?

Apparently, this was caused by a vape shop. I didn't need another reason to hate vaping, but "our product can set fire to historic buildings" is a good one.

Petition for saving Trongate 103 is up... c.org/mBbd9KpS7c

Climate breakdown is occurring more rapidly with the heating rate almost doubling, according to research that excludes the effect of natural factors behind the latest scorching temperatures. #climatecrisis #auspol www.theguardian.com/environment/...

You know, if you rip out all the ammenities for student accomodation, students won't actually want to live in your city and stay in your accomodation. @glasgowcc.bsky.social

With THE BRIDE! hitting cinemas today, we’ve slashed 50% OFF our BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN tribute issue in the character’s honour! If you haven’t already, grab this essential companion piece at half price all week long, exclusively through our store: starburstmagazine.store/products/sta...

Surely nothing bad has ever happened when a critical mass of the population feel that their future has been ripped out from under them and that the only thing they have to look forward to is the steady erosion of their standard of living. Surely that always turns out fine.

Raising the rent to "four times its current level" is absolutely despicable. Rethink this @glasgowcc.bsky.social.

Here's my answer to the question in the headline: they should govern it...by not resorting to it. By sidestepping its use. By going on without it. By. Not. Using it. AI can be manipulated and you can be fed falsehoods and you could spread them to millions of people before you realize. Don't use it.

It's Starburst Magazine day! In our Spring issue, I take a look at the fantastic, action-packed #anime #BloodTheLastVampire, while over in the Book Wormwhole, I break down Amin Maalouf's gender dystopia "First Century After Beatrice". #scifi #books #film #fantasy #horror #tv

Aboslutely fantastic, and SO encouraging as Scotland heads into its own elections in May. The Green Party has always been happy to gain votes, but this makes it clear that they can aim to WIN. @glasgowgreens.bsky.social @scottishgreens.org

The damage we're doing to the planet--and ourselves--to avoid writing an email.

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.