I genuinely feel sick. A company reached out to me on IG, linking me to an AI version of myself. You can even ask "me" questions. They are also advertising it using an AI photo of me. They told me if I like it, they will give me free access... to my own fucking content that they stole. /1

We are profoundly saddened to share that our Honorary President, Maureen Duffy, has passed away. Maureen was extraordinary: a novelist, poet, playwright and critic of incredible range, and one of the founding figures of ALCS. Learn more about her legacy and impact: https://ow.ly/yHWs50Z52Ye

yikes :(

ALCS is a Collective Management Organisation. For us, being a CMO means ✍️ We’re run by writers for writers 👩‍💻 We collect thousands of small payments that creators can't 🔓 We operate transparently 🤝 We’re regulated by the Intellectual Property Office & owned by our members 💙 We’re a not-for-profit

A Great is gone.

A livestream of a volcano in the Philippines captured a meteor crashing to Earth today. What are the odds? Mayon Volcano, Location: Albay, Luzon, Philippines

21 May 1971, Marvin Gaye released his album 'What's Going On'. The concept album told the story of a Vietnam veteran returning to the country he had been fighting for, and seeing only the hatred, suffering and injustice. It is regarded as 1 of the greatest albums of the 20th century. #WhatsGoingOn

A plaster for a pimple when you’re in the middle of chemo.

Here's the leadership I'd like to see from a Labour leader.

Very disappointed The Guardian continues to peddle this propaganda.

Thanks to Vampiresangellv @Vampiresangelnv

Quote with a fictional band that is not spinal tap.

In an unusual move, Hitler used German taxpayer resources to fund the Sturmabteilung, a.k.a. the Brown Shirts.

Interesting article on how vaccines might prevent dementia. It’s fun when new scientific techniques are able to sort of upend some of our ideas about how immunity works.

Reassuring words.

You won’t allow me to go to school. I won’t become a doctor. remember this: one day you will be sick. Poem written by an 11 year old Afghan girl, the New York Times magazine 'Why Afghan women risk death to write poetry'

We absolutely dwarfed the fash yesterday. Thousands more people choosing solidarity and kindness over coked-up bile and violence. I feel like knowing this might make a lot of people in this country feel a bit less frightened and alone. So it'd be lovely if just one major media outlet reported it.

CNBC TV show footage of the far right march in London They've just about filled Parliament square With barely anyone between Parliament square and Trafalgar square On the cover image, look at the bottom, there's a giant screen, with pretty much no one to watch it

"The moment you begin to censor the writer- and history bears this out in the ugliest of fashions -so begins a process of decay in the body politic that ultimately leads to disaster." ~Rod Serling Speech, Library of Congress (1968)

The last time I was turned down for Arts Council funding, they sent me a model application for a project to demonstrate what they were ideally looking for. The model application was by me a year earlier. And was also turned down.

Turned down for some Arts Council funding today, and we're at a loss as to where to turn now, so if there's any multi-millionaire who has got bored of trying to manipulate the political landscape and would quite like to see a musical about grief with a singing tiger in it pls get in touch

Would be good if performers, musicians, writers, and other creative workers insisted on organisers not using genAI for advertising festivals, shows and events they're taking part in, in solidarity with visual artists, because it's absolutely everywhere at the moment. We need to stick together!

Some of the worst people in this country know exactly what they will do with a majority a quarter of that size, and they will not waste a moment doing it. The rest of us can only stand watching as you effectively hand it all over to them.

Warning sign.

Still gutted over the death of this man. In so many ways, that was the fork in the road.

Untitled [Blue, Green, and Brown] https://botfrens.com/collections/25/contents/4849

I’ll read Jonathan Liew every time, it’s always about more than sport. He’s that increasingly rare breed of journalist, who loves language and loves ideas, and looks for the bigger picture.

The local laundromat here does the same. I picked up novel whilst waiting on Sunday morning, haven’t put it down since. 📖🤗

“”where will you place your film on this spectrum, with Control at one end of the rainbow and Spontaneity on the other. The decision…will be different for every film maker, and for every film. But it is a choice that, from now on, and with increasing consequences, we are going to have to make."

Pollution levels in Paris after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.

Great post! My cine world would be early 60s Paris New Wave. Liberation, energy, dissonance, disillusion, jazz, smoky bars, women and men not getting each other at all and, therefore, sex.

self-portrait (the procrastinator) 2011

My substack is free to subscribe to. It will never feature any paid content. It is a mixture of short stories (there is very little market for short stories alas) and a continuing series on Lies Movies Tell... Lies Movies Tell 11. Bedford Falls Exists open.substack.com/pub/jbleasda...

The Attlee government built 2 million council houses in 6 years.....just after the war when EVERYTHING was scarce. It's about intent. These clowns have none. They want to delegate everything to the private sector because neoliberals view the exchequer as exclusively for plunder by by big business.

So I went through this and his account is EXTREMELY normal liberal / progressive stuff. He mostly reposted and shared news about Ukraine, fundraisers and the like. His few posts are about that and his dislike of AI as a teacher.

Resistance!

Yes, Yes and Yes.

"You can always tell an old soldier by the inside of his holsters and cartridge boxes. The young ones carry pistols and cartridges; the old ones, grub.” (GB Shaw)

"When we so cheapen the concept of human life that we can be permissive to the occasional bomb or bullet, I think we've taken a giant step back into the Dark Ages. And I don't think there's a light at the end of that tunnel." ~ Rod Serling

Crushed by elephants.

Happy anniversary of this not happening

My heart would sink at this even in ordinary times. But you just fucking know the money for this is coming from the AI industry.

Their president habitually breaks every one of these.

If you like this extract please order the rest of the book. It's a book I genuinely loved writing and I put a heck of a lot of my heart and soul into, but for one reason or another did not achieve the visibility I was hoping for: stickingplacebooks.com/books/darkne...

"That's called being human." We need reminding every single day.

If anyone fancies one of my novels in epub format they're all (except THE EX) available here. If I earn another $8 they'll pay me what they owe (has to be minimum of $20 before they do a transfer) & then I can shutter my smashwords/Draft2Digital account before they start charging me for being there.

Nice game. Pick up the nearest book, turn to p. 42, and post the second sentence: However, Calvino's sentences usually break the character limit, and do on this occasion too. Flawed game.

Happy birthday to the incomparable John Waters and the absolute best dating advice you could ever get. 🖤

Merde!

"Formerly respected" would be more correct.