We all have days like this

back on my bullshit (writing about how good old bikes are)

I Work Very Hard, And I Would Like To Try Cake By A Horse Hello. I am a horse. I work very hard at my job of being a horse. When humans say move the heavy thing, I move the heavy thing. When humans sit on top of me and pull on my head, I carry them where they want to go. The main food the humans give me is hay and oats. But I am thinking it would be nice to have a different food. I am thinking I would like to try cake. Yes, yes. Cake. I know all about it. When humans eat cake, it is in glad times. It is the food for a celebration, such as when a woman becomes 47. I have seen cake on the Fourth of July. When humans have a cake, they stand around it and clap hands and smile and say happy birthday at each other. Sometimes there are beautiful markings on a cake, such as balloons or a pink shape. Sometimes the top of a cake is on fire and a boy must blow on the fire with mouth wind. This is the scariest cake. I do not want this kind. But I will eat any other cake. Any cake that is not the fire cake that tries to kill the boy. Please understand: I do not get money for doing work. I do not get to go inside the house. All I am either doing my horse job or standing in my pen or eating food off the floor. I always do these things. But I have never once gotten cake and I would like it very much. I have noticed that human children get to eat cake. But I am bigger than the children. I am more helpful to the farm. Children do not move the heavy things like me or let anyone ride on them. And yet they get cake. Maybe the humans will realize this. Maybe they will say, "You know who deserves cake? That horse. That horse whose back we are always on." Every day I dream about what it will be like if I get to eat cake. Here is what will happen. First, I will walk to the cake and putt my nose at it like hrrfff to make and stomping my hooves to make sure it is not a snake. Then I will trot in a circle to show that I am a horse and I am large. After that, I will nuzzle the cake to …

The horse op-ed is an instant classic. I can't tell you how much joy this piece gives me.

It should be taught in every introductory writing class in no small part because the horse arguments are so compelling. "I have noticed that human children get to eat cake. But I am bigger than the children."

Culture is the real tortured ghost of Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights”, writes @laurencarrollharris of Hollywood's latest hype-machine. Read it here: bit.ly/3Mj7D65

THE AUSTRALIAN The anti-Israel Greens have shocked Australian Jews and families of Bondi terror victims after using parliament's official condolences to claim "powerful forces" are using the massacre for political ends and that the attack could have happened to gay and trans people or Muslims.

I feel like large parts of the commentariat have memory-holed that the Christchurch terrorist was Australian and was radicalised in Australia.

that makes sense, but yeah it's v murky. either way, her programming decisions should have been backed by the board (which i guess they were in 2024 but begrudgingly by the looks)

or else if adler had wanted to rescind the invitation herself, she was apparently being blocked from doing so by the board

i don't really understand the suggestion that the board seemingly invited Friedman over adler's head in the first place?

"There’s no engagement on Twitter. Get rid of that excuse. If you’re on the left or center, nobody on Twitter comes to your work through that app." flaminghydra.com/issue-479/

I cannot be party to silencing writers, which is why I am resigning as director of Adelaide Writers’ Week | Louise Adler Cancelling the Australian Palestinian author Randa Abdel-Fattah weakens freedom of speech and is the harbinger of a less free nation

“Welcome to Moscow on the Torrens”

Louise Adler resigns as Artistic Director from Adelaide Writers Week with a blistering editorial.

wrote about how bikes rule

that’s the one!

you can get off-brand Vornados at kmart now!

savage garden: "animals and children tell the truth, they never lie"
me: ok sure
"which one is more human, there's a thought now you decide"
wait what

beautiful essay

An actual hot take: Too many authors are afraid of editors watering down their voice or whatever and not afraid enough of editors letting you put any old slop on the page.

Bitter fruit: the dark underside of the booming NSW blueberry industry Labour hire companies operating on the mid-north coast said to be taking advantage of ‘extremely weak’ state regulation and visa loopholes * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Ian*, a retired farmer, refers to the two Solomon Islanders living on his farm as “emancipated slaves”. He met James* sitting on the veranda of a house near a blueberry farm on the NSW mid-north coast. He stopped to chat, as he does with many of the blueberry workers in the area. James explained that he was in debt to the farmer for repairs on his car. His passport had been taken, his wages docked and he had no money for food. Continue reading...

Bitter fruit: the dark underside of the booming NSW blueberry industry

Alles Klar by Anna Merlan with Duolingo Owl and speech bubble saying [...]

On language "learning," Duolingo, A.I., and travel; many beautiful and comical reflections by @annamerlan.bsky.social

flaminghydra.com/issue-407/#a...

www.killyourdarlings.com.au/become-a-mem...

did a bit of reverse image searching at work

holy hell. awful

Targeting journalists is a war crime.
As colleagues, we remember them.
meaa.io/45A4vZ5

Australia’s potential surrender of creative content to tech giants for free is shocking. Labor must decide where it stands The Productivity Commission appears to have bought into tech companies’ brazen arguments – and caught the Australian government off-guard * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Tech companies have devalued the work of creative industries for years. The latest iteration of this is their insistence the AI models they plan to make lots of money from need the labour of all of human creation for free in perpetuity. It’s just surprising that the Productivity Commission appears to have bought into the argument – and caught the Australian government off-guard. The Productivity Commission’s view on AI trained on the copyrighted works of others without compensation, published Wednesday, is that the horse has already bolted for big tech companies – that providing a text and data mining (TDM) exception in copyright law would not change much, but should be worth considering. Continue reading...

Australia’s potential surrender of creative content to tech giants for free is shocking. Labor must decide where it stands

MEAA supports the Palestine Action Group’s bid to March for Humanity across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

meaa.io/4laIpSL

Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die July 21, 2025 AFP has been working with 1 writer, 3 photographers and 6 videographers, all freelance, in the Gaza Strip since its staff journalists left in 2024. Along with a few others, they are now the only ones left to report what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The international press has been banned from entering the territory for nearly two years. We refuse to watch them die. One of them, Bashar, has been working with AFP since 2010, first as a fixer, then freelance photographer, and since 2024, as lead photographer. On July 19th he managed to post a message on Facebook: “I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can’t work anymore.” Bashar, 30, works & lives in the same conditions as all Gazans, moving from one refugee camp to another under Israeli bombings. For > a year he’s lived in utter destitution, working at extreme risk to his life. Hygiene is a major issue for him, with recurring bouts of severe intestinal illness. Since Feb, Bashar’s been living in the ruins of his home in Gaza City with his mother, 4 brothers & sisters and the family of one of his brothers. Their house is devoid of any furnishings, except a few cushions. On Sunday morning, he reported that one of his brothers had “fallen, due to hunger.” Even though these journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, it’s no longer enough to buy food, or they have to pay completely exorbitant prices. The banking system has collapsed, and those who exchange money via online bank accounts charge a commission of up to 40%. AFP no longer has the ability to provide them with a vehicle and there is not enough fuel to allow these journalists to travel for their reporting. Driving a car means becoming a target for Israeli airstrikes. AFP reporters therefore travel on foot or by donkey cart. (alt txt continued in next post)

A horrifying statement published today by the Editorial Committee of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.

"Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die"

Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social: