Killick is always excellent :D

That’s the one :D

Aubrey–Maturin series readers particularly love this

Graphic showing that streets without trees can be as high temperature as 36, 50 or 50°C, whereas similar streets with trees can be 18, 20 or 26°C

As already warm cities become more and more vulnerable to extreme heat events, or just the “new normal” of hotter and hotter cities every day, here’s just one more reason why more street trees and other greenery are good for streets & cities. It’s just common sense, really. Cooler, cleaner, better.

Newcastle pubs ban AI art from breweries to protect local creatives As two pubs in Newcastle ban AI art, artists discuss the impact it can have on creatives.

"If I was to use ChatGPT for my designs rather than our designer Sean, that's taking money out of the local area into the hands of a multibillionaire ... removing value from the local community and local artists [and] into the hands of some of the richest people in the world."

#AIslop #refuseresist

‘After all, Christesen founded the journal in wartime, citing in his first editorial that “in an age governed by the stomach-and-pocket view of life”, there is a duty to talk poetry.’

The Grammys. The Olympics. The Super Bowl. The message is that the world loves diversity. Don’t let the billionaires tell you otherwise.

Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue

Today I learned “Norwegian Christian laws forbade citizens from conversing with and interacting with trolls, and in documents dating from 1274 to 1781, doing so would result in severe punishment” (source: Wikipedia), and I kinda think many people nowadays would be better off if this law was revived

Summer internships

Are you a bachelor or master student anywhere in the world, and would like to come to us to work full-time on a supervised research project? Applications for the 2026 MPIA Summer Internship are open now!

Logically inevitable

A browser plugin that detects when "AI" or "LLM" appear in text and then substitutes the following words and their variants:

"think", "reason", "understand", "learn"

...with "Recursively matches token patterns in the input to patterns in the model and predicts what token comes next"

It’s true :D

I just saw someone use the abbreviation “AI;DR” and I’ll be laughing for a while.

I hard co-sign this one.

Mensah cleared her throat in a “you are trying to annoy each other but are mostly annoying me” way.

What is the value of Meanjin? We’ve done some calcuations – and it’s not about money

New research considers the true value of Meanjin, using publicly available data. The journal has trained generations of Australian writers and editors.

I was lucky enough to be an early reader for this book from @stevecolewriter.bsky.social and I loved it. Fab ideas, great pace, thought provoking, and very exciting :)

“where mathematics is treated as where philosophy and poetry meet” - love this

Dolly Parton has sent my daughter a new book every month for years as she does for thousands of children. She help fund the development of the Covid vaccine. She’s not a billionaire. I think as non wealthy people it’s hard to even imagine how much billionaires *could* be doing with their money.

Magical otter ride

Blake's 7 - The Collection Returns for Season 2! | BBC Studios YouTube video by BBC Studios

Very sexy trailer for the forthcoming Blake’s 7 second series box set. Extra sexy because I’m not in it : BUT I *am* on the set, presenting a documentary and moderating four new commentaries. So happy we made all this happen: the team have done a splendid job.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhkH...

Excelling in … Excel? Inside the high-stakes, secretive world of competitive spreadsheeting New documentary Spreadsheet Champions follows six competitors as they head to the Microsoft Office Specialist world championship in Florida Six years ago, Melbourne-based film-maker Kristina Kraskov read an article about an international Microsoft Excel competition and had two thoughts. The first: “What the hell, that can’t be real.” The second: “There’s got to be a film about this – I want to watch it so badly.” There wasn’t a film about competitive spreadsheeting, so Kraskov decided to make it herself. The subject appealed to the director, whose work captures “different inner worlds that are a bit unusual on the outside”, including a short film titled Party in the Back, about a mullet festival. Continue reading...

Excelling in … Excel? Inside the high-stakes, secretive world of competitive spreadsheeting

Tom Lehrer - The Elements - LIVE FILM From Copenhagen in 1967 YouTube video by The Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel

I've loved Tom Lehrer ever since I heard this at the end of a VHS we watched in GCSE Chemistry. The entire class immediately asked for it to be played again. Rest in peace, what a guy
youtu.be/AcS3NOQnsQM?...

A flint knife featuring a curved stone blade secured into a wooden handle using black birch tar adhesive. The dark handle has a small perforation at one end. The tool is displayed on a neutral surface, showing the craftsmanship and natural materials used.

A more than 5,550-year-old well-preserved #Neolithic knife. The blade is crafted from flint and secured in a wooden handle using birch tar. Furthermore, the handle features a hole, intended for attaching a cord.
From the pile dwelling settlement...🧵 1/2

📷 me

🏺 #archaeology

Such a shame, brilliant show

“Human progress isn’t measured by industry. It’s measured by the value you place on a life. An unimportant life. A life without privilege. The boy who died on the river, that boy's value is your value. That's what defines an age. That's what defines a species.”

- #DoctorWho

Serpent Carriers by K.A. Teryna, translated by Alex Shvartsman Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and Podcast.

"Serpent Carriers" by @k-a-teryna.bsky.social is live at Clarkesworld today!

This absolutely brilliant long novelette is perhaps the most complex translation I've had to perform to date, but it is well worth it! I can't wait for everyone to read this story.

clarkesworldmagazine.com/teryna_07_25/

TRYGG - Oslo Pride 2025 YouTube video by Oslo Pride

I’ve been wearing a rainbow bracelet the last couple days for Pride Month and yesterday two people commented on it in a way that made me feel like I was secretly in this video, it’s really lovely youtu.be/UVepoXddTW4?... 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

The Tomorrow People :)