Rare sighting of a column chart taking a dip at Hove Beach.

#dataviz

Time for some hard truths from a tech bro: the Stephen Collins cartoon I have thoughts – you’d better listen

Time for some hard truths from a tech bro: the Stephen Collins cartoon

Meet Mackenzie Bly (not his real name; see back cover).
I wanted to write something purely funny, but fell in love with my lead character along the way.
It's out in August, but the lovely proofs, with cover by Jim Kay, have just arrived.
Repost before tomorrow (Sun) evening, and I'll pick a winner.

[We see a close up of a young white male, tanned, white teeth, coiffed hair clearly an influencer on social media. It is an image such as you see when social media posts are shown on the news. In the corner of the screen is named a location: DUBAI. He is staring slightly off-camera for several silent panels of the comic strip. His eyes move slightly. He is having a thought.] From off-screen a newsreader’s commentary comes: NEWSREADER: Extraordinary images here of an expat in Dubai [The influencer’s eybrows raise slightly] …Having their first ever geopolitical thought. [CUT TO a BBC news scene. The BBC newsreader CLIVE MYRIE is talking to an interviewee next to the screen showing the social media influencer’s face. The interviewee’s name is David Jones]. CLIVE MYRIE: To explain the significance of this moment we’re joined by David Jones, our Expat Thoughts correspondent DAVID JONES: Clive, this is momentous It was caught on film at the end of an Instagram post titled: ‘Dubai Is Brilliant’. [Pointing at the screen, the influencer’s expression still the same] You can clearly see in the eyebrows here, the dawning realisation that there *might* be something in the world beyond his dickhead self. It marks a *huge* departure from all the Dubai Expat’s previous thoughts. CLIVE MYRIE: Which are…? DAVID JONES: You've Got To Get Yourself Out Here Mate, Everything Is So Clean, I Don't Have To Pay Taxes, I Am Incurious As To Why I Do Not Have To Pay Taxes, and Spa. CLIVE MYRIE: And might we see an expansion of these new Thoughts in coming days? DAVID JONES: I think we can expect to see: “I Deserve To Be Airlifted By A Country I Pay No Tax To” CLIVE MYRIE: Mmm. [Ends]

In honour of the Sunday Telegraph's editor and offical maddest columnist, we have created the Allister Heath headline generator...
stirring-fox-7e1fab.netlify.app

This is excellent, great cast and does a very good job of highlighting what’s been going on for years in our privatised water industry.

I really hope it gets a lot of attention in the same way that the Mr Bates Post Office series did.

One of my favourites, enjoyed it and the sequels very much.

Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.

No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.

Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

My January reading included two excellent books: 1929, the inside story of the Wall Street crash by @andrewrsorkin.bsky.social and A Shellshocked Nation, Britain between the wars by @alwynturner.bsky.social They complemented each other I think.

Hoping Matt Goodwin loses Gorton and Denton for many reasons, not least because we can deploy the headline, and resulting nickname, Matt Badloss

Whoever gets the best shot of him just standing next to the word "ME" wins tonight.

How I quit Elon Musk’s toxic online playground X abandoned me long before I abandoned it

At the risk of preaching not just to the choir but to the house of bishops, for my New Statesman column this week I have written about leaving Twitter a year ago, and how surreal it's been watching people make excuses for sharing a site with an AI sex pest tool

www.newstatesman.com/culture/soci...

The thing is he’s not physically writing those posts and letters himself. Which means there’s someone in DC doing a lot of nodding while taking dictation and saying things like ‘do you want that in caps?’ And ‘how many exclamation marks, sir?’

Just finished the last episode of Pluribus on Apple TV. Excellent. And Rhea Seehorn superb.

On Twitter, in response to Kemi Badenoch firing Robert Jenrick, the Trades Union Congress writes: "Robert Jenrick, do you need a union rep x"

Top trolling from the TUC! 👏

Well said

Mobile phone security: check how long a phone will receive security updates - Which? Use our security support tool to how long mobile phones are supported with important software and security updates, and find out what to do if you're at risk

Shameless plug for this tool, which will tell you when your phone will actually explode: www.which.co.uk/reviews/mobi...

Very good

In memory of Molly Parkin here’s an old recipe which has her name attached and is delicious

www.riverford.co.uk/recipes/pars...

The London fireworks they didn't see If this is Sharia law, it's not what we were led to expect

Good piece from @fleetstreetfox.bsky.social

fleetstreetfox.substack.com/p/the-london...

Very good. Worth reading.

The Embassy staff of Germany, France and the United Kingdom sing Schedryk in the Kyiv underground.
Wonderful!

A bunch of tiny sheep sitting on my laptop

Got a great deal on some cheap ram for my computer

Lovely piece from @ediblereading.bsky.social here, best thing I’ve read this week

ediblereading.com/2025/12/19/r...

The Marvellous Miniature Workshop - Series 1: 4. Central Club Sara Cox and the team recreate Reading’s iconic Central Club in miniature, celebrating Caribbean culture, music and community, and a daughter’s tribute to her beloved father.

On BBC iPlayer, the Marvellous Miniature Workshop has an episode on creation of a miniature Reading Central Club. Great stuff. #rdguk

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Labour MPs Call For A More Serious Review Of The Government's Use Of X Labour MPs are calling for ministers to take control of decisions over the government’s continued use of X, as concerns grow about the platform’s s...

I’m calling on the UK Government to seriously review its presence on X (formerly Twitter) and then leave. It’s not just a communication channel anymore. Read more:
www.politicshome.com/news/article... 1/10

Very good

Just finished reading Seascraper by Benjamin Wood. Really enjoyed it, one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how

Good work from Sky News

news.sky.com/story/the-x-...