Suw

It's absolutely nuts. How do they not understand our economy? The creative industry adds £124bn to the economy. Universities contribute £265bn. Sea fishing is variable but hovers around £500mn, ie £0.5bn. Steel is £1.8bn direct, £2.4 indirect (via supply chains).

These people simply cannot count.

Also, I find it incredible that successive governments keep trying to knacker industries where the UK punches above its weight, such as an awful lot of the arts.

Utterly fair. Same as I'd shame anyone for stealing other people's stuff and pretending it was their own whilst burning down the planet.

Skimmed the article and it sounds a lot like the experience we had with Grabbity & Mewton when we flew them to the US. The headline is nonsense though. Cats don't have the capacity to feel 'grateful', and she's probably still a bit traumatised and will take a while to settle in. But she'll be fine.

That's amazing!

This is just incredible

A tiny, tagged Monarch butterfly has flown from Southern Ontario in Canada to *Oklahoma* in a couple of weeks, as part of their migration

And they haven't got google maps open on their phones either, they just know where to go

It is absolutely amazing that they can make tags so very, very tiny that a butterfly can carry them. Honestly, this is the best of science and tech!

Grabbity on my pillow

Such a joy!

This one woke me up just before my 7am alarm by yelling at me and then sitting on my head.

Good morning!!

See also AI.

Also a big reason why audiobooks have been such a growth opportunity for publishers. Lets you have the book experience during the commute.

Summary of comments:

(1) Last study I saw showed USA reading rates *increasing* in kid & retired groups, declining only in working age adults

(2) France also has smart phones, video games, COVID etc.

(3) Agreed audiobooks are great for commutes, but labor causes the commutes

It’s a labor issue.

I see pieces like this a lot, often w/ a spin of lamenting cultural degeneration, but reading is a LABOR issue, it’s declined because so many people are working overtime or two jobs & employers expect after hours work. France has Earth’s highest reading rate b/c long lunch breaks & labor protections

Apparently Reading station is a bit of a bike theft hotspot. A few years back they put a new bike rack in but the thieves could simply unbolt each rack section and shove it, with the bike still attached, in the back of a van.

Someone didn't think that through.

More detail on the consultation is here: www.gov.uk/government/c...

And you can respond here: ditresearch.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Please share and do respond to the consultation!

2/2

IMPORTANT

All freelancers, self-employed, creatives

This is the first I've heard of this, but the Department for Business and Trade is running a consultation on the scourge of late payments, they want to introduce new legislation to tackle poor practices

Deadline to respond is 23 October

1/2

Please enjoy this wholesome thread about A Very Good Girl and an absolutely splendid stick

Robin Williams’ daughter Zelda hits out at AI-generated videos of her dead father: ‘stop doing this to him’ Film-maker tells the public to stop sending her videos, saying: ‘You’re not making art, you’re making disgusting, over-processed hotdogs out of the lives of human beings’

"AI is just badly recycling and regurgitating the past to be re-consumed. You are taking in the Human Centipede of content, and from the very very end of the line, all while the folks at the front laugh and laugh, consume and consume.”
www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oc...

Ah, bless you. You just gave my husband and me a massive laugh.

This whole thread is absolutely peak Bluesky. Dear Americans, not everything is about you.

Lunchtime is a killer. It wipes out the whole afternoon for me.

Not drinking would absolutely be better, but I do like it.

The problem with drinking these days is not that I get drunk, I don’t even get tipsy. It’s the acid reflux and sleeplessness after.

Budget 2026: Basic income for artists to become permanent The Basic Income for the Arts scheme will be put on a permanent footing in the Budget tomorrow.

Budget 2026: Basic income for artists to become permanent www.rte.ie/news/budget-...

Similar, I would imagine.

What Americans die from and the causes of death the US media reports on Causes of death in the US in 2023 Heart disease (29%) Cancer (26%) Accidents (9.5%) Stroke (6.9%) Lower respiratory diseases (6.2%) Alzheimer's disease (4.8%) Diabetes (4.0%) Kidney failure (2.4%) Liver disease (2.2%) Homicide (<1%) Terrorism (<0.001%)| COVID-19 (2.1%) Influenza/Pneu monia (19%6) Media coverage of these causes of death in 2023 in... The New York Times The Washington Post Fox News Heart disease (2.8%) Heart disease (2.9%) Cancer (4.1%) Cancer (4.7%) Accidents (5.9%) Cancer (3.8%) Accidents (6.1%) Accidents (9.7%) Suicide (4.1%) Suicide (3.3%) COVID-19 (6.0%) COVID-19 (7.9%) Suicide (3.8%) COVID-19 (5.3%) Drug overdose (7.5%) Drug overdose (9.8%) Drug overdose (9.5%) Cancer (26%) Accidents (9.5%) Stroke (6.9%) Lower respiratory diseases (6.2%) Alzheimer's disease (4.8%) Diabetes (4.0%) Kidney failure (24%) Suicide (2.1%0) COVID-19 (2.1%0 Homicide (42%) Homicide (52%) Homicide (46%) Terrorism (18%) Terrorism (12%) Terrorism (11%) Homicide (<1%) Terrorism (<0.001%) Note: Based on the share of causes of death in the US and the share of mentions for each of the causes in the New York Times, the Washington Post and Fox News. All values are normalized to 100%, so the shares are relative to all deaths caused by the 12 most common causes + drug overdoses, homicides and terrorism. These causes account for more than 75% of deaths in the US. A "media mention" is a published article in one of the outlets which mentions the cause (e,g. "influenza) or related keywords (e.g. "fu") least twice. Data sources: Media mentions from Media Cloud (2025): deaths data from the US CDC (2025) and Global Terrorism Index.| CC BY

Nice chart from @ourworldindata.org showing the contrast between what Americans die of (heart disease and cancer) v what the US media reports on (homicide and terrorism). This naturally leads to it being trickier to build a fact based world view
ourworldindata.org/does-the-new...

If you ever want to meditate on the continued sexism of showbiz, consider that perfectly normal actresses and female singers pose on the red carpet wearing the equivalent of this all the time

Yay!! So glad to hear it!!

Oh no! I hope they are freed soon!

You're in cake deficit, which should not be allowed.