Writing tip: Make the perfect the enemy of the good. Then it's way hotter when they fuck at the end of the book.

The Glasgow Wrap 🗞️ Tuesday 21 April 2026 Universities set to strike again, new Tollcross housing development completed, amount of fly-tipped waste uplifted revealed, dispersal zone stats update + 17th Great May Day Cabaret

The Glasgow Wrap 🗞️ Tuesday 21 April 2026
theglasgowwrap.substack.com/p/the-glasgo...

The Edinburgh Minute ⏰ Tuesday 21 April 2026 Observatory on Blackford Hill 'at risk' of cuts, court workers 'sacked over walkout', Tollcross clock could return + Leith election hustings tonight

The Edinburgh Minute ⏰ Tuesday 21 April 2026
www.edinburghminute.com/the-edinburg...

The London Minute ⏰ Tuesday 21 April 2026 Plenty of alternatives as Tube strike begins, hunt for Kilburn stabber, try a cargo bike for free + new public garden opening next week

The London Minute ⏰ Tuesday 21 April 2026
londonminute.substack.com/p/london-min...

I'm so honored to have received this award in memory of Frans de Waal for my PhD thesis! His work (and briefly working with him) truly shaped my scientific thinking and research.

@mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social

Wildly Different by Sarah Lonsdale

Rebel Women Between the Wars by Sarah Lonsdale

🎶 Happy Paperback Publication Day to me...🎶 🎵

Delighted to report that Wildly Different: Five Women who Reclaimed Nature in a Man’s World, and Rebel women between the wars: Breaking Boundaries 1918-1939 are both out between beautiful soft covers today. Thank you @manchesterup.bsky.social

A screen grab of the sound waves of our voices in GarageBand reflecting myriad snips and a time stamp of 30:06.000.

Ended the night editing another 15 minutes of raw audio from my recent breakfast with @effjayem.bsky.social discussing their new book Considering The Female Man. I hope you'll take a seat at the table Friday to eavesdrop on us during the next episode of Eating the Fantastic! pod.link/1083737796

@johnmcdonnellmp.bsky.social : "Isn't the reality this, that when he sought to realise his ambition to become leader of the Labour party with very little base in the party, he became dependent on McSweeney and Mandelson and Labour Together to organise, fund his election.."

The author scam emails are continuing to evolve.

Over the weekend I received one impersonating an employee of a local NPR station. They'd gotten many details right, including the station name and a program they ran... but the employee name was slightly misspelled.

Anyway, be careful y'all.

Ancient ‘machine-gun’ damage discovered on walls of Pompeii Recently uncovered damage to walls in Pompeii displays patterns that may have been made by an ancient “machine gun” called a polybolos

Unique damage on Pompeii’s northern fortification walls may have come from a mysterious ancient “machine gun,” according to new research.

The damage was preserved by the fateful eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE.

#Archaeology #AncientRome

🏺🧪

New at @sciam.bsky.social

Copy of Jo Walton and Ada Palmer's Trace Elements: Conversations on the Project of Science Fiction and Fantasy. - propped up against a fairly southerly garden wall in a sun trap reading spot in a Welsh garden.

On the #perch today with Jo Walton and Ada Palmer's Trace Elements. So far, I've only read the first chapter on the author-reader contract. This would have been useful over the many years I spent teaching popular/genre fiction. On a personal level, I always feel a slight anxiety that I'm not (1/-)

Rebel Britannia 20th April 1768:

How sailors invented "the strike" - a touch of etymology amid a lot of riots and shootings in this week's Rebel Britannia: rebelbrit.substack.com/p/rebel-brit...

Good Morning, #WritingCommunity! What are you working on this week? I'm prepping for an #AuthorInterview with @lindzmcleod.bsky.social about her book An Honour and a Privilege. I loved the short stories in this collection! So imaginative. Join our discussion Thursday, on #WomenWritersNet

Rebel Britannia 20th April 1768:

Ever wondered why a work stoppage to win better wages (etc) is called a 'strike'? Rebel Britannia from @rebelbrit.bsky.social has the surprising answer!
open.substack.com/pub/rebelbri...

If you or your students research any aspect of British, Irish or British colonial/imperial history (Roman empire to today) and need a tool that will never hallucinate sources, check out the BBIH. It develops research skills rather than repressing them. Instit. & indiv. subscriptions available.

The Glasgow Wrap 🗞️ Monday 20 April 2026 Death of 82-year-old prompts murder probe, protest forces KG museum to close, schools report rise in 'sexualised banter', plans to turn Garnethill car park into student flats + Mackintosh Halls sold

The Glasgow Wrap 🗞️ Monday 20 April 2026
theglasgowwrap.substack.com/p/the-glasgo...

Also, it’s worth reminding ourselves of what these lads were actually focused on doing, in the period where you might expect them to be preoccupied with e.g. having ideas for governing bsky.app/profile/flyi...

The Edinburgh Minute ⏰ Monday 20 April 2026 Roads redesign for Niddrie, Craigmillar and Greendykes, VoxBox Record Store Day robbery, local students in tonight's University Challenge final + let Rachel Sermanni sing you to sleep in Bruntsfield

The Edinburgh Minute ⏰ Monday 20 April 2026
www.edinburghminute.com/the-edinburg...

The London Minute ⏰ Monday 20 April 2026 Tube strike tomorrow, more fire bomb attacks, campaigners want action on Deptford danger road + Chelsea Flower Show winner selling his plants to the public

The London Minute ⏰ Monday 20 April 2026
londonminute.substack.com/p/london-min...

It's time to talk about something very personal. Receiving an invoice from a freelancer is very triggering. There, I said it. The thought of money leaving my account gives me distress. That's why it can take me 6, 10, sometimes even 15 months to transfer it. There is nothing more anxiety inducing than having to pay someone for a job they've done for you. I once received an invoice from my gardener and immediately threw my phone into the ocean. It's debilitating. I wish I could pay people on time, but my emotions won't let me. So please, if you are upset, just remember the person on the other end refusing to pay you is also a human. And they're going through a lot.

please, think about the damage you might cause before sending an invoice

Photo of the South of Scotland regional ballot paper for the Scottish election on 7th May 2026. Added text identifies the "INDEPENDENT GREEN VOICE" as "NOT the Green Party" and "SCOTTISH GREEN PARTY" as "The actual Green Party".

Anyone who received their postal ballot today in the South of Scotland region, please be aware that "Independent Green Voice", which appears second on the list on the peach regional ballot paper, is NOT the Scottish Green Party. This is in fact a deliberate vote spoiling attempt by right-wingers.

Happy 2^10th / 8th anniversary issue! To celebrate, here’s a DEEP discount. Plus: A jaw-dropping star-forming nebula courtesy of JWST

A reminder since BS was so twitchy yesterday:

I just posted my 2^10th newsletter, which is also its 8th anniversary issue, so to celebrate I'm *deeply* discounting paid subscriptions!

Bonus: An *incredible* JWST image of a star-forming nebula.

badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/happy-2-10...

Judge Dee (a vampire) faces his long-lost love (also a vampire) on the London docks, at night, with bats in the skies and three ghostly coffins in the background.

Speaking of vampires, this is out in June! awfulagent.com/ebooks/the-t...

Now I'm not saying RUSH but, if you'd like to pre-order a paperback, I can promise they are really neat!

Did you give one of the #TinyKoalas a home this year? Post a picture, #TinyKoalas #TinyKoalaAdventures #Brisbane2028

The Glasgow Wrap 🗞 Weekend Guide 17 - 19 April 2026 City centre office building vandalised, Commonwealth Games condemns online abuse of models, plans to demolish church recommended, Friends-inspired cafe up for sale + The Weekend Guide

The Glasgow Wrap 🗞 Weekend Guide 17 - 19 April 2026
theglasgowwrap.substack.com/p/the-glasgo...

The Edinburgh Minute ⏰ Weekend edition: 24 - 26 October 2025 New concert hall gets £20m 'lifeline', St James Quarter in Westfield deal, weekend protests + Portobello Food Market returns

The Edinburgh Minute ⏰ Weekend edition: 17 - 19 April 2026
www.edinburghminute.com/the-edinburg...

The London Minute ⏰ Friday 17 April 2026 How to get around next week's Tube strike, third firebomb attack + busy weekend of events as V&A East Museum opens on Saturday

The London Minute ⏰ Friday 17 April 2026
londonminute.substack.com/p/london-min...

Edinburgh Culture Minute 🪩 15 - 21 April 2026 All the local Record Store Day events, Forest Fringe returns, Cowgate Block Party, Matthew Bourne's Red Shoes at Festival Theatre + Priscilla at the Playhouse

Edinburgh Culture Minute 🪩 15 - 21 April 2026
www.edinburghminute.com/edinburgh-cu...

OpenAI: We’re burning money like the Joker. A miracle needs to happen for us to turn a profit

Microsoft: Please please use our AI systems, we’re teetering on the edge here

Anthropic: I wonder what’ll kill us first: lawsuits, regulations or model collapse

Media and universities: AI is here to stay

guys, this is how you lose the time war