Highly recommend this piece to writers, publishing people and anyone interested in how books are made (and why they're rejected).

Having been awake since 1am, I can definitively state "the drugs don't work" (even the illegal ones).

Young people today! When I was young and single, all parties were ‘flirting parties’.

If you don’t like being called a racist, maybe don’t make a career of saying things that appeal to racists, don’t create a political party that keeps attracting racist candidates, don’t fawn over racist world leaders, and don’t make a convicted racist the guest of honour at your party conference.

Roland Barthes is trying to live ascetically, but … there is cheese:

"Charities and statutory bodies must stop creating fear by exaggerating the likelihood of developing dementia, and must stop presenting every stage of dementia as devastating." Absolutely 🎯 💯 👏

In decades historians will look at these quotes and just ask why no one intervened.

Once more, with feeling: 1. AI is a scam 2. The bubble will burst and soon 3. When it does it will tank the global economy

Yes, there’s a reason alright.

Now at #BBCSounds link below. #Kraftwerk

On the morning of Keir Starmer's conference speech here's a new post on an odd psychopathology in British politics - our main parties don't like the people who vote for them - the dreaded Professional Managerial Class. And so they are acting out like a divorced dad seeking cooler voters. 1/n

Here’s part 1 of our four-part Better Offline case against generative AI. I walk you through how generative AI is sold through a complete misunderstanding of the concept of labor - and myth-building by companies like NVIDIA and OpenAI. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b... Linktr.ee/betteroffline

So…let me see if I have this right. The federal government is gonna shut down in 30hrs, and the party that controls the ENTIRE federal government is trying to blame the party that controls NONE of the federal government for the looming shutdown?

Working with people with long term medical conditions, a common theme I hear about is a sense of isolation- an absence of social support or 'village' that understands & helps out. It's another layer of struggle, & isn't a 'psychological problem', it's a social one. But it really magnifies distress.

Thread (will horrify researchers)

#BBCNews - UN experts condemn 'staggering scale' of executions in Iran www.bbc.com/news/article...

Newsletter: This is The Case Against Generative AI, a comprehensive analysis of a financial collapse built on myths I’ll dispel, the markets’ unhealthy obsession with NVIDIA's growth, and the fact that there is not enough money in the world to fund OpenAI. www.wheresyoured.at/the-case-aga...

Sorry to see Terry Farrell has died: for a few years, I was based at the International Centre for Life, which he designed (though my office was in the Market Keeper's Cottage, a centuries-older building in Times Square, Newcastle).

I think the Trump admin assumed no one would try to find out who the people on the boats they blew up really were

I have finally claimed my expenses, for a conference keynote I gave in June. And another in July. If only AI could do what people used to.

📢 Benefit cuts don’t have widespread support

The #Marsh-family is throwing it down. 100% the lyrics explain exactly how people got to see this. the voices oh my God angelic.. The LYRICS READ and Share

Today at Wigtown Book Festival I'm talking to authors about John Singer Sargent, Freddie Mercury, women who became wealthy on the back of enslavement, and an award-winning novel set in Yorkshire during the 1970s. Going to be great fun having these conversations!

Happy Michelmas!

“Israeli Forces Kill 198 Palestinians in Gaza Over Three Days” It’s a genocide. Daily endless massacres, largely ignored in the West.

🛥️ Over 50 boats, from 44 countries across 6 continents 🌎 The largest flotilla in modern history Sailing to break an 18yr illegal 🇮🇱 siege of #Gaza 🇵🇸 To feed starving children To stop a genocide Mainstream media is silent And western ‘leaders’ are silent #FreePalestine #Palestine #FreedomFlotilla

cool free tool here if you want to get quick information about a bunch of different climate interventions, along with some estimates about their effectiveness. probably good for students too

Here's that medieval urine diagnostic wheel you were asking about. Sorry for the delay

On BBC Sounds: Jackie Kay talks to John Wilson about her childhood in Glasgow as the mixed-race, adopted daughter of a loving couple, & her formative creative influences. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

KONSYSE: The evolution of human brain came at a cost. A Stanford study suggests that genetic changes enabling higher cognition also raised vulnerability to autism, reframing the condition as part of the evolutionary journey of the human species.

Dear parents - Yes you can give your sick child paracetamol if they’re >3 months old. It’s an excellent painkiller. It brings down a high temperature. It’s one of the safest drugs available. You are right to want to soothe your child’s distress. Evidence supports your good parenting. Be confident.

Some people do not fully recover from an acute viral infection and experience persistent symptoms or incomplete recovery for months or even years. This is not unique to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and history shows that post-viral conditions like post COVID-19 condition, referred to as LC, are not new 1/7

This is fantastic by @j-amesmarriott.bsky.social Articulates so well our (intentional?) societal regression

If you need a mindful moment or a few minutes to relax, why not listen to the tranquil sounds of the River Bure in Norfolk, one of only 200 chalk streams in the world? Listen above and below the water, via microphone and hydrophone at buff.ly/tGPixjK #WorldRiversDay 📷 Rob Coleman

We’re marking the 200th anniversary of passenger rail by dipping into our favourite East Anglian rail lines. ⬇️ What is your favourite train journey in the east? Favourite station? Or view from a train? Please write it in the comments. We’d love to hear it. 🚂 🚆

CARTOON OF THE DAY

Newcastle says no to fascism. The far right brought a hundred or so with them, bussed from far and wide. This city turned out 1000s, from local communities, estates and streets. Geordies of all backgrounds coming together and outnumbering the purveyors of hate by some distance. Newcastle united.

🚨 MSF FORCED TO SUSPEND ACTIVITIES IN GAZA CITY 🚨 Our clinics are now encircled by Israeli forces. There are continued airstrikes & tanks advancing closer & closer to our healthcare facilities. This is an intolerable level of risk for our @msf.ca staff. I am outraged, and you should be, too.

Thanks to @oliwilliams.bsky.social @tomshakespeare.bsky.social and everyone else who contributed to this weeks qualtiative symposium and for giving us much to think about arc-swp.nihr.ac.uk/news/reflect...

Interesting chart from @jburnmurdoch.ft.com’s column today

Sad to hear Tony Harrison has died. In The early days of the Indy I suggested we print all of V in the paper, so that people could read what they were being told to be outraged about. Didn't reach the end of the sentence before Andreas Whittam-Smith said yes. Never proof read anything so carefully.

Fascinating thtead

France has banned internal flights where the train is less than 4 hours. Yes, our infrastructure isn't up to scratch for that yet but if government set a goal to do it in 10 years, it could be our moonshot.

The UK has the most private jet emissions in Europe at 600,000 tonnes of co2 Assuming a person is vegan, doesn't drive & takes all action possible to save on their carbon emissions, a person can save 2/3 tonnes at most It's time the impotent Labour gov made flying in a private jet so expensive...

A sensible take from @jamesomalley.co.uk on digital ID cards. Checks aren’t going away, so we do need to make them easier for citizens & employers. We have just such a system over here in NL and it does make life administratively a lot easier. open.substack.com/pub/jamesoma...

The Economist: The killing of Charlie Kirk is part of a grim, disturbing pattern of political violence. This is what the data show www.economist.com/graphic-deta...

Europe. You know what you have to do.

This is great news for Londoners! #BookSky 💙📚 🍰