Sharon Osbourne attending a Tommy Robinson march proves Kneecap were right about her.

Fuck Sharon Osbourne

Very much digging Robert MacFarland’s liner notes on Sunn O)))’s new eponymously titled album. Not that I pretend to understand what they all mean. Also loving the two Rothko canvasses as cover art. Did I mention the music?

But also a couple of Green ones too:

Green flags – These quirks validate your decision to pursue a mate. Examples include checking in to make sure you got home safe after a date, low screen time, owning a bed frame …

How to talk dating like gen Z: 51 (hyperspecific) terms for love, sex and bad behavior As young people take on a messy dating landscape, they’ve created their own lexicon to match. Here’s like what phrases ‘bird theory’ and ‘monkey branching’ mean

Looks like I've a couple of Red Flags for the Gen Zs:

Red flags – Behavioral quirks indicating a potential partner is bad news. Examples include calling their exes crazy, subpar tipping habits, a love of Woody Allen films, a burgeoning DJ career …

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Nick Cave: ‘How did I stay so young? Twenty years of drug addiction and a good face cream’ The singer, an artist for the ages, on living with grief, attending the Oscars and enjoying ‘that mad, loony energy of the Irish’

What I find interesting about Nick Cave these days is that if he wasn’t NICK CAVE, people would just laugh at him. That hair? He looks like a dodgy used car salesman. Him and Silvio Berlusconi: separated at birth.

www.irishtimes.com/culture/musi...

Antarctica By Claire Keegan I reviewed Claire Keegan's debut collection Antarctica years and years and years ago. 1999, in fact.

desmondtraynor.substack.com/p/antarctica...

Marilyn and Me By Ji-min Lee A novel about Marilyn Monroe and Korea, reviewed for The Irish Times all of six years ago, if you can believe it.

My Substack welcomes you.

desmondtraynor.substack.com/p/marilyn-an...

Marilyn and Me By Ji-min Lee Marilyn and Me By Ji-min Lee (4th Estate) The Korean War (1950-1953) is commonly referred to in the Anglophone world as ‘The Forgotten War’,...

A novel about Marilyn Monroe and Korea, reviewed for The Irish Times all of six years ago, if you can believe it.

desmondtraynor.blogspot.com/2026/02/mari...

Labour’s worst fears realised by Greens’ victory in Gorton and Denton byelection Result shows progressive voters they have an alternative to Labour against Reform UK, and reveals task ahead for Starmer

Is the Green Party in Britain a 'leftwing party' (as claimed here as a given)? Not over here, it's not.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Liverpool’s title win last season fuelled by Premier League’s highest wage bill A Champions League return underpinned record growth for Liverpool but overall administrative costs resulted in a modest £8m profit

@mancity.com : ruining football. @declynchwriter.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

My agent is nice. I need to become an influencer.

W. B. Yeats – Man And Poet By A. Norman Jeffares My two cents on Yeats, in a review of W. B. Yeats – Man And Poet by A. Norman Jeffares, from years ago.

My two cents on Yeats, in a review of W. B. Yeats – Man And Poet by A. Norman Jeffares, from years ago.

desmondtraynor.substack.com/p/w-b-yeats-...

FAI Boycott Israel Games! Ireland should not play UEFA games against Israel. We should demand Israel are banned from the competition. Sign and share the petition if you agree

Ireland should not play UEFA games against Israel. We should demand Israel are banned from the competition. Sign and share the petition if you agree my.uplift.ie/petitions/fa... @uplift.ie

Never Let Me GoBy Kazuo Ishiguro Then there was my review of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Brilliant, even if I do say so myself.

desmondtraynor.substack.com/p/never-let-...

Goebbels: Mastermind of the Third Reich By David Irving To those who would in bad faith accuse me of antisemitism because I am opposed to genocide, here's a review I did in 1996 - 30 years ago - of David Irving's 'Goebbels: Mastermind of the Third Reich'.

To those who would in bad faith accuse me of antisemitism because I am opposed to genocide, here's a review I did in 1996 - 30 years ago - for Bruce Arnold @independent.ie, of David Irving's 'Goebbels: Mastermind of the Third Reich'. Do have a read. desmondtraynor.substack.com/p/goebbels-m...

Mark O'Connell: Tony Blair’s staff knew about barbarous ‘Gaza riviera’ plan. That’s a fact too gross for satire Blair’s staff participated in calls about plans to build a Dubai-style dynamic trading and tourism hub out of the ruins of Gaza

One admires the writing of @mrkocnnll.bsky.social

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...

Now that Israel has admitted the Gaza death toll is accurate, don’t let apologists move the goalposts | Ben Reiff Having rubbished the health ministry’s figures, they are now saying what matters is the civilian-to-militant ratio. See that for what it is, says Ben Reiff, deputy editor at +972

Now that Israel has admitted the Gaza death toll is accurate, don’t let apologists move the goalposts | Ben Reiff

Having rubbished the health ministry’s figures, they are now saying what matters is the civilian-to-militant ratio. See that for what it is

Israel’s official and unofficial...

Submission By Michel Houellebecq We conclude my numerous reviews of the work of Michel Houellebecq

We conclude my numerous reviews of the work of Michel Houellebecq.

desmondtraynor.substack.com/p/submission...

Ken Early: It would be best for all concerned if Pep Guardiola called it a day His protege, Mikel Arteta, is reaping rewards after turning away from methods he learned from the master

Not so fast, @kenearly.bsky.social

'The title is going to be won by the team coached by his former protege, Mikel Arteta, who has turned decisively away from the methods he learned at Guardiola’s side.'

No mention of the legality of Arsenal's corner tactics?

www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer...

Breakdown by Cathy Sweeney Men!

My short reflection on Breakdown by Cathy Sweeney.

desmondtraynor.substack.com/p/breakdown-...

The Map and the Territory By Michel Houellebecq Continuing our tour of Michel Houellebecq novels that I've reviewed. The Map and the Territory, from 2012.

Continuing our tour of Michel Houellebecq novels that I've reviewed. The Map and the Territory, from 2012.

desmondtraynor.substack.com/p/the-map-an...

The Possibility of an Island By Michel Houellebecq Continuing with M. Houellebecq, this review appeared in the Sunday Independent on Sunday 5th Feb 2006 - nearly twenty years ago to the day.

My Substack awaits you...

desmondtraynor.substack.com/p/the-possib...

Bovine Bovino.

Sunn O)))'s new album features artwork by @markrothko.bsky.social. I spotted an affinity between these artists in an essay I wrote in Oct 2024. This brilliant piece of prescient criticism was rejected at the time by papervisualart.com, by whom it had been commissioned. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Grok images of children probably not prosecutable, says child protection expert ‘Law or no law’, there is no reason for a programme to generate images of people without clothes on, says former garda

Such a shame that the odious Elon Musk chose to call his X AI chatbot Grok - after a concept found in Robert A Heinlein's 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land. Does the Heinlein estate know???

www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/20...

Lanzarote By Michel Houellebecq Continuing our Michel Houellebecq sequence of reviews:

Continuing our Michel Houellebecq sequence of reviews:

desmondtraynor.substack.com/p/lanzarote-...

It makes sense that Paul Howard is best friends with Chris De Burgh. Yes, it definitely makes sense. @rteradio1.bsky.social

Platform By Michel Houellebecq I reviewed quite a few novels by Michel Houellebecq. Here they are, in what I think are chronological order.

I reviewed quite a few novels by Michel Houellebecq. Here they are, in what I think are chronological order.

desmondtraynor.substack.com/p/platform-b...