One of my fave things in York Minster: a medieval wren stalking a spider. It reminds me that history isn't only kings and battles. Someone, centuries ago, found joy in the same things we still notice today. It's a reminder of how much we have in common over our differences.

I'm very sorry to announce that I was one of the devs affected by the Obsidian layoffs today. At least for four years, it was a beautiful dream. If you need a writer with experience in everything from the fog of war to romance - especially if you're open to remote - please get in touch.

Still amazing.

What.

No we don't have the Fourth of July in the UK, we just go straight from the 3rd to the 5th

I mean, I think this is how democracy works.

Notwithstanding, it is a _feast of football_.

On behalf of the eight people this joke is for, lol.

Dr Hilary Cass has again sort of put a lampshade on the goals of the Starmer government's last-gasp Conversion Practices Bill. The part that confuses me is that I don't think that there are many Labour votes in the constituency she's reassuring. Also, why would you put this into the press release.

Deeply sorry that this dove made it into our v1.0 release. We promise to do better.

None of this is good.

Also, huge congratulations to whoever decided to run the alarm system test at London Bridge now.

Smashed three car windows already to save dogs from the heat. Haven’t found any yet but I’m not giving up.

Amazing.

Nothing but respect for the man on this train platform with a Technics deck on his lap.

the three genders

Jeremy Corbyn, Pulls off the mask that had covered his face, hair and eyes. Burnham surprise!

Isaac Chotiner: can you list some examples of systemic oppression green creatures face? Kermit the Frog: I’m sorry? Isaac Chotiner: well you do mention the difficulty quite a lot

why did they call them space marines when they could have called them the misters of battle

"The Steam Machine costs in excess of a thousand dollars" ok America we get it, you don't have kettles

It's fine. It's fine.

_Or_ this is exactly the shot in the arm that the Darren Jones campaign needed.

Good reminder by @peterwalker99.bsky.social - Starmer was never exactly popular, but one problem he pretty much always had was that he was unpopular for multiple different reasons with different groups.

When we say "groundswell", what are we talking about, exactly?

Probably time to give them another chance.

I assume I am the first British person ever to make this joke, and will get full credit in perpetuity. I watched The Smashing Machine, but honestly I didn't think any of the machines was much above average, so I didn't really know who I was meant to cheer for.

GOLD TEETH has launched! It's a piratical TTRPG set in a cursed version of the Age of Sail, with 350 pages of briny phantasmagoria, colonial terror and nauseating seafood. It's part Master & Commander, part Blackadder, left to ripen in the sun like a beached porpoise. teethrpg.itch.io/gold-teeth

Group of teenagers lurking outside a Curry’s trying to bully you into buying them an iPad so they can go on Pinterest

I undestand why Telegram isn't one of the social networks named - it's already meant to be 16+ only - but it is sort of objectively curious that as a nation we're doing trust falls with Telegram while planning to operate zero trust with YouTube, because it _might_ radicalise teens...

The Guardian's long-standing editorial war on Gillick competence is, interestingly, leaving it poorly positioned to criticise a social media ban on the grounds of creeping authoritarianism.

One cannot but be reminded of the UK Government apparently finding out what VPNs are shortly _after_ the Online Safety Act was signed into law.

I'm sort of impressed that he said it, to be honest - because it reveals that he thinks that GB News - which cannot turn a profit, and relies on being bankrolled by wealthy patrons - is the voice of the white majority in Britain. If that's the case, they are very bad at monetization.

From one of the many PR emails I'm getting about the government social media ban. Obviously this is from someone selling this technology. But stop to think about just how utterly dystopian this is: *constant* video surveillance of all online activity, for everyone.

Jerry has to pretend to be from Curaçao to impress a woman while Elaine ends up trapped in a metro station by the Knicks celebrations. Kramer accidentally ends up on BBC TV commentating on the Scotland-Haiti game which leads George to become convinced he has been cursed to always hear bagpipes

I may have clipped through to the LGBTQIA+ backrooms, which feels like the better option!

This is the World Cup content I'm here for.

Mexican fans spot a South Korean fan and immediately adopt him

I mean, who doesn't love "Two Princes"?

It does feel like the British political scene is currently operating at the same tempo as REM's "It's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)"

So, the Al Carns leadership challenge is... back on?

A modest proposal.

This is sort of remarkable - the Chair and CEO of the EHRC don't seem to have a coherent position on whether their code of practice is legally binding, and indeed if laws are binding or should be enforced.

All the people of Belfast want to be is Irish, apparently.

Okay, so this is massive and we're terrified. Partnering with @play.breakthrought1d.org in the fight against diabetes, the ENTIRE inkle catalogue is on Humble Bundle right now for $20 -- including TR-49, all four novels, both Overboard! games, 80 Days, all four parts of Sorcery! ... everything.

So... the fuschia's so bright, they've got to wear shades?

This is the ideal male body. You may not like it, but this is what beak performance looks like.

This actually sounds pretty sensible - add top-down funding, pay for it with a levy on social media revenues?

This sounds excellent. @kitfoxgames.com has already done two effective sequels to King of Dragon Pass (Six Ages 1 & 2), so confidence is high here.