Jonathan D. Beer

Claude, ask ChatGPT if Gemini is lying to me

I've been to that museum (quite excellent) and I've seen that sign. It did its job well, avoiding what would have certainly been an awkward conversation between me and that building's occupants.

Highly recommend Reykjavik, by the by. Lovely people, amazing landscape.

Big money has bought British politics

75% of Reform’s money has come from three rich white men

democracyforsale.substack.com/p/75-of-refo...

Reform fury as someone else wins by Our By-election Editor Tim Shipsink The losing candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election, Matt Goodwhinge, has demanded an immediate re-run of the election on the grounds that he lost comprehensively to someone else. "It's totally unfair and rigged," said Goodwhinge. "I shouldn't be required to sit there and suck it up, just because I lost." Mr Goodwhine continued, *I can't believe that all those voters I demonised failed to back me. Especially after I was endorsed by Tommy Robinson and ten million Russian bots on X. "We have clear evidence of family voting, where people voted in order for me to stop deporting their families." Mr Badloser concluded. "I'm the victim of colour prejudice. They didn't vote for me simply because I'm not green." Reform leader Mr Farage, speaking from a sun lounger on a rock near the Chagos Islands said, "It's a tragedy that the people of Manchester won't see Matt in Westminster, but my constituents don't see me in Clacton either." PLUMBER DEFEATS MATT GOODWIN Photo of Hannah Spencer with speech bubble saying… I've stopped the cock

Beautiful from Private Eye on the massive toddler-tantrum that Matt Goodwin and Reform are having, because they got whooped in Gorton and Denton.

World book day. Go read a book. That is all. Happy reading.

This Is Where The Future Bleeds A thrilling adventure packed with laughs, escapes and kick-ass action, about a smart-talking bunch of rogues and dropouts being thrust into an epic quest to save the future and meddle with the destini...

A FANTASY NOVEL? FOR £6.99?! IN THIS ECONOMY???

YES!

If you'd like to pre-order my upcoming fantasy adventure novel THIS IS WHERE THE FUTURE BLEEDS then you can do so NOW and you can do it HERE and I will love you forever (or at least be positively disposed): forbiddenplanet.com/486220-this-...

The influencers leaping to Dubai’s defence [FREE TO READ] As missiles streak across the region, unfazed residents insist they ‘know who protects us’

‘British expats, he claimed, were refusing to fill out evacuation forms provided by the British government “just in case it somehow turns into a tax form instead”.’

No notes.

as.ft.com/r/65cf2b43-6...

I gather it's the date of the Firefly panel at AwesomeCon, which I imagine will have an *intense* crowd.

a man in a dark room with the words love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down below him ALT: a man in a dark room with the words love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down below him

An audio drama would be cool. I'm leaning towards an animated series or film. Live-action would obviously be wonderful, but the necessary time jump would be interesting (although hardly insurmountable).

We can but hope.

a woman in a blue jacket is sitting under an umbrella with her legs crossed and smiling . ALT: a woman in a blue jacket is sitting under an umbrella with her legs crossed and smiling .

But, if I allow myself to hope, maybe, just maybe, it will be rewarded...

I'm sure many among you have been following the Firefly teasers that Nathan Fillion and cast have been putting out via Instagram these past few days. I certainly have.
But I will just say this - if it turns out to be some kind of rug-pull, I swear to God I will burn down the internet.

Hey, remember how we let a nazi near-trillionaire annihilate the US state capacity? I know it was a whole year ago, but it turns out that this has consequences beyond "murdering 14 million people by ending USAID" (which apparently no one cared about).

This is a spectacular format and I love everything about it.

Good this. I know no-one here needs telling but the more Islam and Muslims can be demystified and shown as what they are, just people going about their day like we all do, the better. If one person with unsavoury views sees this and goes oh right, that’s how it works, that’s fine it’s done its job.

Black and white photo of Marjane Satrapi with the quote: "The world is not divided between East and West. You are American. I am Iranian, we don't know each other, but we talk and we understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our governments are very much the same."

Once again.

This week's Scribes and Scriveners is a round table re the Black Library Open Submission process. Denny, Robbie and Jonathan were fantastic and it's well worth a watch!

Thankyou!
@denny-flowers.bsky.social @jonathandbeer.bsky.social and Robbie MacNiven

#warhammercommunity #WarhammerTV

Opposing genocide is not divisive.

Taxing the super-rich is not divisive.

Welcoming refugees is not divisive.

If Starmer just doesn't know or care what progressive voters want, he will learn in May.

Coming soon! The debut children's novel from @squintywitch.bsky.social, winner of the 2020 #KelpiesPrize for Writing.
Find out more and pre-order on our website: discoverkelpies.co.uk/books/fantas...

The Gorton and Denton result is fantastic for several reasons, but easily the funniest one is that the Tories got so few votes that they LOST THEIR DEPOSIT.

Outstanding result for British politics.

A photo of an uncorrected bound proof of This Is Where The Future Bleeds, by me. It’s a paperback with a front cover featuring a couple of wasp-like creatures, a small figure with its back to the viewer holding what is possibly a sword, and a multi-coloured sky interspersed with the ground in a way that makes it look like reality is melting.

LOOK WHAT I’VE GOT!

Why All Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Are Historians SFF authors are the front-line practitioners who put the fruits of history’s craft into daily practice, sharing it in doses the public can consume, combining, treating, administering, customizing, …

Ooh! My new essay is up on Strange Horizons!
Deliberately provocative title 😈
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...

All hands on deck, folks. This will effectively eliminate all books by queer authors and about queer lives, even books with secondary characters, books where the author or a character uses they/them pronouns. This bill will erase identities and harm kids. And it won't stop at public schools.

Meme of Trump-to-NYT translator: Trump: ... THE SOMALI PIRATES RANSACKED MINNESOTA ... EVEN AS HE WAS GUSHING BLOOD, WHICH WAS FLOWING BACK DOWN THE AISLE HELICOPTER LANDS AT A STEEP ANGLE .... BELIEVE IT OR NOT, HAMAS WORKED ALONG WITH ISRAEL AND THEY DUG, AND THEY DUG, AND THEY DUG... I'VE ALWAYS WANTED THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR... NYT Translation: In his first State of the Union address of his second✩ term, President Trump offered a rosy portrait of a U.S. that has lost confidence in his leadership.

You can list Keir Starmer's modest achievements all you like. But as he has actively alienated his own voters - on Gaza, protest rights, benefits, green policies, cruelty to immigrants etc - it makes no difference. It's not a mystery. When you tell people you hate them, they will hate you back.

Listen to this 13 year old who went to her city's council meeting.

She had some things she needed to get off her chest

These people are poison. They will unleash racist thugs on the streets of this country and call it security. They will subjugate us to the US and call it patriotism. They must be stopped. There is no more important task in politics.

I am *enormously* looking forward to this.