Bulgaria's flag: three horizontal bars: white; green; and red.

The book cover of '2024: The Year of Elections', featuring the title in pale green text on a black background. To one side, the strapline in white: 'A guide to the global festival of democracy, and the battle between freedom and autocracy'.

If you enjoyed #Hungary's #election last weekend, brace yourself for another east European contest! #Bulgaria has yet another election tomorrow – they had 2 in 2024, and you can catch up on those here: amzn.eu/d/d07Hay5

Maybe! I mentioned it because I wondered how so many people had missed it. But maybe it’s new.

The Contact Form's dropdown menu, with Account Closure Request highlighted.

I hate to jump on a bandwagon, but $12 a year isn't cost-effective for what I do, so I'm leaving #Draft2Digital too (the process, btw, seems to be using the Contact Form's Account Closure Request - per the ToS, you don't even need a reason). Find my books on Amazon, I guess! #amwriting #BookSky

Big day coming up for #Elections in Europe tomorrow... How will so-called 'illiberal' #democracy fare? #Hungary #Election2024

Remarkable achievement by #ArtemisII last night, but here's what's stuck with me. About to go into enforced radio silence, the crew say "Houston, we love you." MIssion Control responds "Copy that." Brutal. #LoveInSpace #NASA #Moon

Number of AI chatbots ignoring human instructions increasing, study says Exclusive: Research finds sharp rise in models evading safeguards and destroying emails without permission

"They’re slightly untrustworthy junior employees right now, but if in six to 12 months they become extremely capable senior employees scheming against you, it’s a different kind of concern." www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Chuck Norris, prolific action star and martial arts champion, dies aged 86 Actor and martial artist who rose to fame after starring in Bruce Lee’s The Way of the Dragon also became a TV fixture with Walker, Texas Ranger

Countless punchlines have led me to believe this headline was impossible. I’m still checking the date isn’t April 1st… [Insert #ChuckNorris joke here] www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ma...

A photo of Iran’s bombed schoolgirl graveyard went around the world. Was it real, or AI? Numerous faked images and a string of startlingly inaccurate responses from Gemini and Grok are part of a tidal wave of AI slop engulfing coverage of the Iran war

'What you are using is actually a very advanced probability machine, not a truth box'. 'An international study in 2025 found about half of all AI-generated summaries had at least one significant sourcing or accuracy issue.' www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

I don’t always like to be proved right, but…I’d been thinking that, given how much the BBC coverage has been bigging her up, Lindsey #Vonn would surely crash out again in the first round of the #Downhill… #Olympics2026 ⛷️

It’s a curious choice by MG to associate their new car with modern #pentathlon (including the equestrian part), when the sport’s in danger of being dropped from the #Olympics, and the equestrian bit has already been replaced.

Every four years, we reach a time when I just want to curl up with a blanket, hot drink and log fire… and spend all day with #WinterOlympics #MilanCortina But also #SixNations next week!
This is a very off-brand post for me…

It's another #NationalYearOfReading in the UK, so...if you were designing a course to walk somebody through the history of Western literature, what are your must-have titles? #booksky 💙 📚🪐 #amreading

A Christmas tree, lights off, about to be de-decorated and stuffed back in its box.

The lamps have gone out across our tree, and we will not see them lit again this season.
Christmas is back in its box.

Happy New #Vienna Phil Day, all!

The Book of the Not-Dead-Enough: Admin Errors from the Other Side With a fresh round of spending cuts in the Afterlife and immigration services stretched to breaking point, mistakes are inevitable. Admin errors, but from the Other Side. Loitering somewhere between D...

Happy ten years of the NDEs! I’m pleased to announce my 2015 #satire, The Book of the Not-Dead-Enough, will be free on @smashwords.bsky.social as part of their End of Year Sale 2025 starting on December 8! www.smashwords.com/books/view/5... #EoYSale25 #Smashwords

Look back on last year's elections turmoil for less. My latest book, '2024: The Year of Elections', will be -50% on @smashwords.bsky.social as part of their End of Year Sale 2025 starting on December 8. www.smashwords.com/books/view/1... #EoYSale25 #Smashwords #Election2024

We’re at that time of year when the bus station plays the sort of slow Christmas carols that must be meant to calm commuter rage, but also make it hard to stay awake at half six…

Screenshot of the Guardian article in the post, showing an advert for Servicenow with the slogan ‘Put AI to work for people’. The article is about an AI teddy bear that has been caught offering advice to children about BDSM and bondage.

Based on this article, do I trust AI to work for humans…? Another great ad/article combination. www.theguardian.com/technology/2... #KinkyBear

Playwright Sir Tom Stoppard dies at 88 Sir Tom won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the screenplay for Shakespeare In Love.

'No one gets up after death - there is no applause - there is only silence and some second-hand clothes' - well, there will be some applause tonight, I'm sure, to see off one of British theatre's greats. #RIP #Stoppard. #RosencrantzAndGuildenstern www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

British Churches Are Putting Their Faith in Heat Pumps Ancient buildings and old bones aren’t getting in the way of the transition.

The Christian mission of stewardship for the planet: “We’re not jumping on the bandwagon. This has been a message for 2,000 years.”
www.wired.com/story/let-th...
#ChurchHistory #HeatPump

Bit of a twist on Operation #ChristmasCake this year, with fruit soaking in the Denby. Christmas spirit provided by Kraken! 🦑 #MenWhoBake

It must almost be time for another new French Prime Minister, and maybe this time another parliament? All to watch out for tomorrow in Paris! #ElectionWatch #Confidence #France

Plenty of big ideas at play here, and on the canvas of a live audience’s imagination!

Science Fiction and Contemporary British Theatre by Ian Farnell | Waterstones Buy Science Fiction and Contemporary British Theatre by Ian Farnell from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.

Proud of my boy for getting out his exploration of the stage as the #FinalFrontier - 'an original and topical interrogation of issues that remain at the heart of the national and global political agenda': waterstones.com/book/science... #SciFi #Theatre #Academic

What I loved about this was that, given time, it might actually have produced the right answer! #UniversityChallenge

How recently was it that you could still flirt simply through the positioning of your postage stamp?

Definite #LifeOnMars vibe to tonight’s #UniversityChallenge - and a nail biter!

If you read 2024: The Year of Elections, you probably weren't surprised by the recent news from #ElSalvador... The World's Coolest Dictator strikes again! books2read.com/u/4ArZGk #Election2024 #politics #election #2024

Uniting Britons? Hywel Dda and Whitland Abbey Few places have been as important in defining the medieval Welsh identity against their English neighbours.

The #Cistercian abbey's not there any more, but could this site have played a key role in defining the #Welsh as a nation? Here's the latest on the #ChurchHistory blog: www.gatheredinhisname.co.uk/post/uniting... #HywelDda #Cymru #Whitland #Wales

Uniting Britons? Hywel Dda and Whitland Abbey Few places have been as important in defining the medieval Welsh identity against their English neighbours.

A rare summer trip to #Wales today for the #ChurchHistory blog - not much to look at now, but #Whitland punches above its weight historically! www.gatheredinhisname.co.uk/post/uniting... #HywelDda #Cymru