Writer, novels mainly, sometimes libretti. Apprentice grandmother
199 followers 147 following 165 posts
view profile on Bluesky 
light entertainment from the art deco era, a threadlette (i dont' personally have some great fetish about this stuff, it's just attractively hued (and hewed) from the social manners and mood of the time, in ways which seem to avoid reality, and sometimes that's good enough)
I'm aware that the President likes to go on television and beg me to call him to ask for troops. I find it strange, as Chicago doesn't want troops. I also have experience asking him for assistance – just to have the rug pulled up from underneath me when execution meets reality.
Pritzker: "When did we become a country where it's ok for the US president to insist on national television that a state should call him to beg for anything? Especially something we don't want. Have we truly lost all sense of sanity in this nation that we treat this as normal?"
Mountain trolls are the biggest creatures in Norwegian folklore. They dwell inside mountains in their own realms, where they hoard gold and gemstones. If they are exposed to sunlight they turn into rock, and legend has it that many mountains in Norway are former trolls. 🎨 Martina Ehrenborg
Tomorrow! It’ll arrive whether in the diary or not - grab it, shake it upside down, see what falls out xxx
Corporate executives who defraud nursing homes? Pardoned. Reality TV stars who evade millions in taxes? Pardoned. Thousands of January 6th rioters? Pardoned. Anyone who opposes Trump? Prosecuted.
I could't get you a uber, because they haven't been invented yet, but here's a destrier caparisoned in the finest leather.
one way to understand why very rich people so often go mad is to realize they have long been surrounded by the kind of persuasive but truth-indifferent sycophantic affirmers that OpenAI and its peers have only recently made accessible to the rest of us.
My passionate stance of the day: No one who listens to music at all appreciatively needs or wants track breaks in mid-measure, and that goes for musical theater and opera too.
If you enjoy… Weekends Safe working conditions Retirement benefits Paid vacations Breaks at work Sick leave Paid holidays … then you’re part of the labor movement. Happy Labor Day.
Definitely the former. So ‘that twat’ rhymes and ‘what twat?’ doesn’t.
That’s a great list 😊
A real discovery for me at Guggenheim House: Maria Helena Vieira da Silva. Check her out. www.guggenheim-venice.it/en/whats-on/...
Hello autumn
My best wishes to the cast & crew for the first preview tonight at The Garrick. Go out and do do that voodoo that you do so well! @theproducerslondon.bsky.social @nimaxtheatres.bsky.social
Regarding the tragic death of Adam Raine, there are already narratives forming that blame vague "dangers of AI" or a broader moral panic. But this is not a story about the faceless perils of superintelligence. It's about a $500 billion tech company's core software product encouraging child suicide.
“Do not offer thoughts and prayers as you systemically enable such tragedies. Do not claim prayers are sufficient when children die as they pray. Do not pretend you do not understand.” — Lydia, 16, Minneapolis
Every day, another piece of nauseating news hits my gut in a way I thought I’d become immune to, reminding me that the decline towards fascism takes place through the actions, not just of the fascists themselves, but of weak humans who choose short term self-preservation over courage and conviction.
According to federal data, 13 of the top 20 cities in homicide rates have Republican governors. None of those cities are Chicago. 8 of the top 10 states in homicide rates are led by Republicans. None of those states are Illinois. And yet Trump is sending troops here.
wtf is this nonsense? He thinks he can understand kid’s “mitochondrial challenges” just by looking at them? This is an insane person.
Characters who ’inhale deeply’ - ie continue to breathe - is one I try to avoid.
It's time to go to total war with extreme right politics - but where's the leadership? Where's the full-spectrum resolute rejection of racism, xenophobia, nationalism, the hate-fuelled, pig-ignorant, incendiary and violent rhetoric of Reform UK?
As a parent, as a human, this family deserves a settlement against ChatGPT that should put them out of business.
WTF?
Le coup d’état, c’est moi.
Fabulous Visigothic eagle brooch, AD 501-533. One of a pair of prestigious eagle brooches worn at shoulder height to fasten clothing. From Alovera, Guadalajara, Spain. Bronze, gold and glass. 📷 Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid #Archaeology
I’d rather they read it, page by page.
#NowSpinning Sunday afternoon glories with Dame Jane Baker and seductive music from France. An intelligent response to text is always going to be an important thing to me, but when the beauty of the voice is there to match it, the result can be astounding. Here is such a record.
lol - trump's bibles were made in china. he paid $3 per bible and charged $59 for them. there's a sucker born every minute. (great report from @dakekang.bsky.social and richard lardner for @apnews.com) apnews.com/article/trum...
this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like
Today's harvest was much more than I expected
That’s not a novel it’s a recipe
❤️Tom Leonard
It’s a delight to go out picking every day- the black beans turn green in boiling water! Courgettes and pumpkins still to crop and there’s an autumnal note in the air already xx
It’s so much worse than insane and infuriating. It’s your actual President, personally undermining the actual rule of law. And that being such a commonplace it’s barely reported as such.
The height of faschion
Spot on, as ever. Do you have an opinion on Miller’s too-short trousers?
Trump attacked the Smithsonian for depicting "how bad slavery was." Meanwhile, he's pushing schools to partner with PragerU, which tells children the evils of slavery are exaggerated. I've been sounding the alarm on them for years.
now is the time to build the strongest futures for the humanities, not diminish possibilities, to create through collaboration across our disciplines, not retreat into historically fragile configurations that isolate us from the good work of our peers futurelostarchive.beehiiv.com/p/now-is-the...
Not to mention, how fucking patronising. Translates as: they’re only old people so who cares what they think.
One of my favourite things to point out. Closely followed by ‘rising to a crescendo.’
Oh in addition to this: if you are an agent who would like a prolific, deadline driven and extremely well-read client, please consider me. I have been sending well researched queries for years to minimal avail so consider this me handing out business cards/putting out a sign.
We are coming up on the new academic year so this might be a time to say that I am very much available for work in academic, writing, tutoring and related fields. I am post hand-in and pre-viva with my PhD, and my funding ended in December so the last eight months have often been quite lean.
Today’s haul from the garden.
It’s so depressing and the widespread capitulation is frightening.
If Democratic politicians do not fight this because it's a "distraction," it will simply happen. They need to get in front of every mic and say that we will not allow Trump to destroy American history. He wants a culture war? GIVE HIM ONE. There are no distractions. Have every fight.
Cultural disaster going almost unnoticed. What will it take for Americans to get angry enough about this?
beyond a shadow of doubt, @pattonoswalt.bsky.social is the best of us—real, kind, brilliant, gracious, hilarious, and wise. everytime i see him, he makes me a better person. if you're in austin or can get there ... go watch "the ongoing collapse." 😂
What are the BBC Proms for? Partly to present something as rare and massive as Delius’ Mass of Life with (mad) text by Nietzsche. Roderick Williams, Jennifer Davis, Claudia Huckle, @davidbuttphilip.bsky.social, vast BBC Symphony Orchestra, Mark Elder + 200 singers: ravishing. Wondrous to be there.
An abomination.
The Beta-ls
when "smart" means tech vampirically monitors and records your every move to sell the data it sucks up on the free market, i prefer my home to be as numpty as possible, fuck you very much. same with my car and my phone. bloody toxic bastards.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Horribly, miserably true.
If you know me at all - here, elsewhere, or irl - you know how important I believe it is to understand history. That it’s being perverted in this way and for this reason is obscene.
Same.
Thanks so much - I completely agree, she’s never claimed to be infallible but I’ve never doubted her integrity. The venom now being sent her way seems so unfair to me.
Exactly right. They simply want the end product — whether it’s an actual production of art or music or the end result of hard work like a PhD — without doing the work. It’s cheat codes all the way down.
“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered…Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.” - 1984, George Orwell
They’ve got it to a fine art, it just works so well! Do they still bring the steak in 2 lots so it doesn’t get stone cold on your plate?
We used to go there a lot when we had a flat just around the corner- loved it!
If I have to explain to you why it's a bad idea to use a machine that makes shit up 15-80% of the time AND destroys the environment AND contributes to rising fascism and genocide AND puts brilliant skillful creatives out of work by stealing their work, then we're already speaking different languages
I prosecute and defend the most serious sexual offences in our courts. The overwhelming majority of offenders are British-born. Overwhelmingly the victim is someone known to them, either a partner or relative. Anybody purporting to care about protecting women might start there.
“And all our nights be one, love, For all we knew.” -Robert Creeley #quotes #poetry #poem #poems #booksky #whatimreading #robertcreeley @poetryisnotaluxury.bsky.social
If you’ve ever helped an elderly neighbour navigate a banking app, call a helpline or read a tiny screen – you’ve witnessed digital exclusion first-hand. We must stop designing customer service systems that exclude. @eastangliabylines.co.uk @oscarwoofs.bsky.social
The most corrupt White House in history. Here is an account of what people are paying, directly to a PAC called MAGA Inc, in order to meet the president, get pardons, change policy www.nytimes.com/2025/08/02/u...
Just another day where the Director of National Intelligence opines that I must be guilty of something for not posting on X. This is not normal. This is what it looks like when the Trump administration is targeting their political opponents.
Catching a few glimpses from self-identified writers of "Well, everyone is using AI, so I have to too, otherwise how else can I keep up?" And seriously: GFY. Also lots of discussion of how to attract more readers with very little "have you tried being a better or even good writer?"
Just been blocked by a guy I thought was a pompous git. Wish I’d got in first but nonetheless it’s kind of cleansing.
A mild challenge to the critical basis of your post isn’t talking down to you. You probably know Updike’s advice: don’t condemn (the writer) for failing at what he didn’t attempt. Weren’t you in that territory, condemning what had not yet been done? My social techniques working just fine, thanks.
Your post referred only to the NT production. Your knowledge of the audiobook doesn’t alter that. My ‘condescension’ reflects my belief that the lives of creative people - whether stars or not - are hard enough without their work being dismissed before they’ve done it.
I remember when this happened.
You can’t - and shouldn’t try to - judge the outcome of anyone’s artistic effort in advance of the outcome.
WTF? I was quoted in this story but I have never spoken to the reporter nor would I have said those things. Is everything just generated by LLMs these days? cosmosmagazine.com/earth/oceans...
These are real tweets today by Grok, Elon Musk’s AI, in response to a fake tweet by a fake leftist activist named “Cindy Steinberg.” Unbelievable.
And yet they’re not. 🤷🏻♂️
With Tom Lehrer's passing, I suppose this is a moment to share the story of the prank he played on the National Security Agency, and how it went undiscovered for nearly 60 years.
All the dire implications notwithstanding it is hilarious how evil this technology is. Billions of dollars spent on this greasy lying stupid thing that was literally built to replace people, and everyone that uses it gets weaker, lazier, dumber, and sadder for having done so. Well done all around.
Along with the sheep 🐑
My adored subversive Aunt Winifred introduced me to Lehrer’s songs in 1970 - we knew most of them by heart eventually. Vatican Rag perhaps my favourite
Done
I would, but it’s my little granddaughter whose image we’re keeping off the socials! Yours is a beautiful photo 😍
No cheating. Post your lock screen.
"We don't have technology to store the energy from wind and solar…" 🤡 Somebody tell the Texas oil industry which is powered by wind and solar and batteries. I never watch Fox but I talk to people who do and this sort of thing helps me understand why they have no clue about the real world.
This is absolutely fucking appalling. A USCG vessel kidnapping a Canadian citizen that far over the border is tantamount to an act of war. Everyone involved in that command decision deserves to be handed over to the Canadian authorities.
The chuztpah of saying, “The product for which my company is responsible is so incapable of being meaningfully regulated that it will unleash harmful criminal deception on a mass scale… And we’d also like you to invest in it & give me a salary to make me a billionaire. Thank you for your support.”
Can't believe I had to issue a request like this, but apparently news outlets are printing completely fabricated quotes now
I genuinely hope no-one watches this slop. The idea that gen AI can make anything "better" is asinine and offensive. This is a prime example of the AI theft machine simply being used to replace genuinely skilled labour. And to do it with an adaptation of a true work of art underlines the insult.
This is so true. There is a general, even desperate, thirst for the Arts and Humanities. You can see it in what people want to read. How is it that only universities, of all places, cannot see that?
I do love a Moonstruck reference
I lied (a little).
Roald Amundsen — the Norwegian explorer who, with his team, became the first to reach the South Pole — was born #onthisday in 1872. See our highlights of the wonderful set of photos from the 1910–12 expedition: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/amundsen-s-south-pole-expedition #OTD
So that once STEM people get outside the tech stack it's fourth grade time. Role of women in society? Attitude towards poverty or other ethnic groups - all such questions are utterly beyond them. And now they want to rule us.
I have M.A. (History) and M.Sc. (Computer Science) and I can affirm that STEM graduates are trained - and not educated. That's why Tech Bros are so terrible. If they ever read anything it's Science Fiction. They are proud of their ignorance of the Liberal Arts.
Decades of mechanistic talk about university degrees as if they were bundles of 'skills' and 'prep' are about to be proved completely wrong (obviously). Want to get a real boost? Do History or English.
"I was sometimes left literally stranded halfway down a gag about my knob and no one came to my aid. Where was the compassion?" Snark-tastic.
On this day in 1868, the 14th Amendment was ratified. The text is just as clear and relevant today as it was back then. Donald Trump is trying to erase this.
