Speaking on Sky this AM about Mandelson, energy sec Ed Miliband says:

"Prime ministers make errors. Prime ministers are fallible. Prime ministers are human. As you know, I steered well clear of Peter Mandelson when I became Labour leader in 2010. But people make mistakes."

I did almost exactly this over the weekend. Big novel edit to complete, loads of time, wrote a fun little 1200 word story instead. I think sometimes your brain just needs it.

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God I don’t have that problem yet

The answer is almost always, it’s good but not right in a specific way that takes ages and loads of thinking and work to fix

100%. When you submit it, you think it’s good. I want one of two answers: I’m right, and I don’t have to work on it any more, or I’m wrong, and it’s bad enough I can abandon it and not work on it anymore.

And yet…

We have these! Once again, the perils of independence revealed:)

V good deed!

Tremendously depressing read. Also: proper reporting.

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Nobody because it’s simply not even a little bit economic (70 YEARS of post production and welfare checks!). Even psbs look at this sort of thing and baulk, think about the ten other cheaper but equally worthy things they could make for the money

It is mad that he made Rayner resign for getting bad tax advice and Haigh resign for minor phone shit, but is clinging on after ignoring security vetting for a traitor who was leaking secrets to the world’s most notorious pedo

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And for what? For whom? This incurious man, whose political insight has long since failed? Whose life is dedicated to self-enrichment and marginal parasitism on billionaires? There's nothing there worth lifting a finger for.

So much of the Mandelson affair involves people making objectively insane decisions and thinking, well, this surely will not blow up in my face -- despite substantial precedent that, where Mandelson is concerned, it really will definitely blow up in your face.

I guess GUNS OF THE SOUTH has been optioned a ton of times, but I’d love to see a movie of it. Probably *incredibly* hard in the current climate though!

One thing that’s hugely underestimated about Mamdani - how much he clearly loves NYC.

I think that goes a long way!

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Jaws at 4 on Betamax, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom the same year in the cinema (!), ghostbusters at 5 on a plane.

My 13 year old sister thought I’d be fine. Tbf, I mostly was although I’d scream the house down if she put her hand on my heart and said “Kali Ma, Kali Ma shatiday!”

“How lucky I am, to be working as the first ever lobster teacher. Life in a nice tank. Each day I get to open young minds to the wonders of crustacean sea life…oh hey. Wait, put me down! What are you doing? No, I liked it in there, you don’t understa- What the f…” *splash*

Sorry I yelled “FINISH HIM” at your son’s circumcision

He *also* wrote a lovely thoughtful foreword to one of my favourite books, and was a committed pacifist, so it was a MASSIVE shock for me.

Tarka the Otter?

To go on AO3 and read some deranged shipping fic for it

Awesome. Love his axe!

It’s been a long time since I did it (married ten years in may) BUT to get married I did 28 dates on 28 different dating sites for a newspaper, and I met 2-3 women using fake pictures.

So if it was a problem for someone who was openly a journalist for a national paper, I imagine it’s a big problem

Today is my birthday! And the best gift you could give me is to share my artwork 🎉

Oh no the ultra sacred number of khorne

Japanese sci-fi: two robots in space, yearning

American sci-fi: man gets the author's beliefs on polygamy confirmed by the aliens of ramalama IV

french sci-fi: two horny bounty hunters visit the Galaxy of Breasts

British sci-fi: nuclear war. Everyone dead. America's fault

And being sued is an extinction-level event for an independent journalist. That lawsuit is two years old and it still hasn't gone to trial. Just endless filings and appeals.

You can have a story 100 percent correct and still be crushed by someone with deep pockets

When I was reporting on Dan Schneider 8 or so years ago, I got to a point where I had to stop. Because I was being threatened w a lawsuit & despite having everything nailed down, I couldn't afford to go to court. When "Dark Side Of Kid TV" came out, Schneider sued the producers @moryan.bsky.social

(A)I.N.R.I.