Nick Hall

A lovely illustration of an answer to the basic question I try and ask myself every time I write: 'what am I/you/they [etc] actually doing'. It's a useful question to ask of any text, yours or others'. Sounds bloody obvious but, often, the answer is not.

'Questions to which the answer is no/yes, wtf you on about' = 'all newspaper headlines written as a question'.

apologies, I realise the correct response is 'chills'. And probably a gif.

shivers

I currently rest a lot on 'I make thing because I like making thing. One day someone else might like thing and pay for thing. But for now I make thing. Thing good. Could be gooder. Will be gooder.'

It's not a career plan, but we find our ways...

The 'refused to acknowledge' bit is just culture war sloganeering. There's a tragic Telegraph advert going round Reddit etc that suggests 'progressive academics' are ignoring the perils of AI in assessments...

...to which the only printable answer is 'motherfucker what?'

'I promise to watch these adverts later if you'll start the film now. Honest 'guv.'

Sensible chuckle etc

Crispy Fried Lobster. Ducks don't mess.

I feel the verb choice is slightly off.

I can't speak for the latter, but the TLS for shorter pieces and actual book reviews, LRB for essays and essays masquerading as book reviews.

Was always sure. Ez.

...

Here's to many more, inclusive of the pint.

What's the word for sci-fi that predicts a far-future, but is made sufficiently long ago that elements are bizarrely anachronistic? E.g Minority Report: the newspapers have moving pictures, but they're still newspaper size and shape?

Anachronism, sure, but...?

Yes, I am watching Minority Report.

Ah, but words are prettier than spreadsheets.*

*May be a self-selecting value judgement

I thought the problem for the terminally Telegraph et al was that students were too often shocked and offended?

The Rubicon was crossed long ago - that is, precisely when I sat on Teignmouth front, eating a giant slab of rocky road. The gull swooped, claimed, swallowed it whole. Then it looked me in the eye. Then it flew off. Bastard had style.

He's more City than City.

Sure am glad there's no women president in the USA, would be awful undignified to see a bitchy drama unfold.

Goya always knows.

Reading George Saunders on writing is rather lovely, not least for the mastery with which he delivers his own moral thinking about writing. The lesson is a lesson in itself, as it were.

There are rules and you can learn rules and these are good rules but also you need that ???? and off you go boy

One of the greatest pleasures of my life is 'accidentally' 'having' to stop off at the local with the new LRB because... reasons.

Happening on Monday 🤗

Not only in terms of notional cause/effect, grievances and ambitions, but also in how people conceive of their lives: from 'I must make a mark' to 'this is how life is'. History conceptualised as a web of meaning in which people act, reason, err and decide things, is sorely underappreciated, imo.

When I find myself in times of trouble
All out for 53
Speaking words of Wisden
Let it be

It's telling in how rare such clear and logical sentiment is heard in public. The rest of the time it's hype noise.

The idea is that we live in a world of choice is both systemically laughable, and also within that system, increasingly, obviously, not the case. AI is a great metaphor for it: you can have anything you like, so long as it is the most average of average things imaginable. Anything else is effort.

'Damning with faint praise' feels like somewhat understating it.

Only ever goes one way.

Borghes missed a trick: 'The returned unreturned book of returned unreturned books'