Got so excited talking about wombats yesterday, I missed the 20th anniversary of the first showing of this advert. Wombats are more culturally significant, of course, but even so...

can you even ✨imagine✨ the world we would have right now if we had spent the hundreds of BILLIONS that were invested in ai in art, science and social mobility instead?

There are many reasons why this is not good. Another quandary for Labour. Hint: get involved early, not late.

Thei wante us talkinge alone on our phones to a demon thei created, and not goinge places and being wyth each othir yn art and joy and communitye. Thei want cinemas to shut downe, and Broadway to go darke. Thei want wryteres to stop makinge a living. Thei want to sell us hell and have us pay for it.

We actually use Jaffa Cakes which are in a quantum cake biscuit superposition for extra security.

Oh also - lawyers aren’t allowed to tell jurors this so i do: “Jury nullification” is a fancy phrase that just means, “This jury decided not to convict and there’s nothing anyone can do about that.” If we think a law is unjust or unjustly enforced, we can just not convict. We don’t need a reason.

People thinking they’re inventing network television after 10 years of destroying network television, I am going to walk into the fucking ocean.

The thing I want to stress to people: Authors (and other artists you admire) don't *expect* you to be scintillating when you meet us, so don't worry about being clever. What *is* appreciated is if you're nice. Just be nice! Nice is good!

Science Bluesky, I need a question answered that is not yielding to Google! Can you carbon-14 date an alien? Because I know it requires nitrogen-14 in the upper atmosphere and if the alien homeworld doesn’t have the same nitrogen content…?

My favorite comment on the FT story

This would be the biggest hit in television history.

In Icelandic we have 'Ókind' for monster. But the translation is un-sheep. So everything not a sheep is dangerous.

New: Conde Nast fired four employees who were among a group that confronted the company's head of human resources on Wednesday over the decision to fold Teen Vogue into Vogue/recent cuts. Employees who were fired included journalists from the New Yorker, Wired, and Bon Appétit.

Well BUGONIA is a delightful oddity…

hilariously the idea it keeps coming up with is: "someone is imitating a member of the Abel Township team". I could probably work with it over many hours, breaking down steps to *make it* write an adequate ZR script. But I could do that with a real writer in 30 mins.

I am maybe in quite an unusual position in that ALL of my writing work on Zombies, Run! has absolutely been scraped, the scripts follow something of a formula, so it is a really really good test of how well ChatGPT can take an entire corpus and produce new similar work. The answer is: not well.

it's not keeping track of who's where - people suddenly move from being 'on comms' to 'in person'. The words it writes don't make sense. It's not funny. It has no sense of an emotional arc. Also it weirdly comes up with the *same* not-great idea for an episode over and over?

interestingly someone just favourited this and so I went back to have a look at what ChatGPT can do now with a loose-but-directed prompt for an episode of ZR (which my writing team could work with easily) nope. can't do it. not even close. it can't do eg consistent characterisation.

Absolute SCANDAL! Where's my fainting couch?

I talk to the press professionally, I'm really, really, really good at it. So please, please believe me when say you cannot turn this interview request into anything good, it will do only harm. Harm to you, harm to your child, harm to other children.

It’s BRIGHTON tonight for the final gig of this first leg of the tour. Tickets available (loads of them actually so do come along if you’re nearby and fancy it). www.komedia.co.uk/shows/brian-... And thanks to everyone who came along to see us in Milton Keynes last night. That was a lot of fun.

Today is the feast day of St Illtyd - Welsh saint and cousin of King Arthur. His school at Llanilltud Fawr is one of Britain’s first centres of learning, and legend says he turned two robbers to stone - one still stands on the misty slopes of Mynydd Illtud, Bannau Brycheiniog. 🌫️

I like fireworks but they shouldn't be sold to the general public. Obviously some twat's going to lob one at a paramedic. Garden fireworks are always shit anyway. Go and give the rotary club a fiver and watch a good display in a field with a candyfloss machine and a tombola.

good morning gang, let’s all suffer together

"The hut, built from brick and rubble stone with a simple thatched roof, was christened “the Temple of Vaccinia” by Jenner."

Australia has so much electricity from solar power that it is going to start offering free electricity to everyone for at least three hours during the day as the wholesale price of power goes negative electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...

If anyone was looking for solid evidence that a crash is imminent, here it is:

Goodnight from Gosmer, where the villagers have chosen to burn an effigy of Thatcher the Iron Witch instead of Guy Fawkes. Goodnight from David Appleyard, walking a night filled with bonefire incense and the heady gunpowder smell of exploded fireworks. Goodnight from Hookland.

It's Pictcon this weekend, a one day science fiction convention in Perth, Scotland. Guest of Honour is @lunapress.bsky.social's Francesca Barbini. The chair is @effjayem.bsky.social . We're really looking forward to it. See you there? www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pictcon1-t...

Hypothetically, years ago a certain now older musician might've loved & recommended & frequented a certain Hollywood café until he was gently asked to leave a certain female barista alone. Allegedly.

She's absolutely right. As a producer with several films in development with female directors, I can say it is an absolute uphill battle to get execs to fund their projects. Great scripts are sitting on shelves while a generation of our most talented women sit idle. www.avclub.com/kristen-stew...

Uninstall Grammarly NOW. They've partnered with an AI company and actively scrape your writing to train its models.

And it was pretty much the case for all the women I know from my class. Several have directed multiple films - some with stars - and were never once approached with offers for other projects or agents. There’s a reason most women directors only make one or two films per decade.

I’m just saying, I directed a movie for basically no money that debuted in the 90s on rotten tomatoes and got distribution with no stars attached, I did not get a single call and couldn’t even find a rep as a director. This was not the case for any of the male directors I went to AFI with.

Happy birthday, Tilda Swinton! 65 today. Drawing from 2021.

Anyone?

This may interest some of you: The first space opera by a Black Author, John P. Moore's THE MARTIAN TRILOGY, is now available, thanks to the work of Dr. Lisa P. Yaszek and others. Originally published in THE ILLUSTRATED FEATURE SECTION in 1930. www.amazon.com/Martian-Tril...

BREAKING: Starbucks workers have just authorized a massive strike. Union Starbucks baristas voted to authorize the strike by 92%. Now baristas in over 25 cities could launch an unfair labor practice strike on Thursday, November 13th.

In 1773, a crack monastic order was dissolved by the Catholic church for a heresy they didn’t commit. Today, still wanted by the Holy Office, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help and if you can find them, maybe you can hire - the J-Team.

Beautiful Shrewsbury - enjoy a video trip through the seasons with our 2026 Shrewsbury Calendar. From English Bridge to Welsh Bridge and Princess Street to Wyle Cop and many places in between. Available in local outlets and on our website. 🙂 #Shropshire www.shropshireandbeyond.com/photos/shop/...

The flip side of this is the male author who was asked about his writing routine, and who talked about how much he loved the feeling that he could close his door and then “the day is completely yours” to focus on writing. He had, at the time, two young children… and, of course, a wife

Such a mystery, what MASS DISABLING EVENT could have happened after 2019 to cause this?

LIBRARIAN friends my city is hiring! They are only accepting applications on one day because we live in the goddamn hunger games but if you want to librarian where I can bring you treats, throw an app on the stack? www.governmentjobs.com/careers/sant...

Bonfire Night can be very unnerving for both our pets (and folk suffering with PTSD/CPTSD). Classic FM will be helping us out with their annual ‘Pet Classics.’ Soothing music to help ease their minds away from all the scary stuff. Tune in from 5pm to 9pm. www.classicfm.com/music-news/p...

OpenAI pirated large numbers of books and used them to train models. OpenAI then deleted the dataset with the pirated books, and employees sent each other messages about doing so. A lawsuit could now force the company to pay $150,000 per book, adding up to billions in damages.

hey #screenwriting #screenwriter who writes #tv and #film - have you ever wondered how a great writer creates unforgettable characters? ME TOO! sadly, all you get is my latest essay in which i break down how i cope with what i see as my weakest suit! www.uncannymagazine.com/article/i-am...

It's SO GOOD. And free! On your tellybox! Right now!

My only regret here is that I'm not getting write it. But at least that means I get to watch it!