Jamie McGarry

Oh dear, forgot this existed for two months! There's just no room in my head for social media...

‘The Mozart of the attention economy’: why MrBeast is the world’s biggest YouTube star | Mark O’Connell The long read: He’s spent 24 hours immersed in slime, two days buried alive – and showered vast amounts of cash on lucky participants. But are MrBeast’s videos simply very savvy clickbait – or acts of...

Wow. This is a must-read, I'd not encountered the subject before but he seems to define and be defined by the modern media world. www.theguardian.com/news/2025/ju...

Also, he pretty much predicted the plot of Severance – this from a section about how everyone can have a clone of themselves.

Me and my son are reading "Coping with the 21st century" by Peter Corey, a Horrible Histories style kids non-fic published in 1999. It's tickling our brains on so many levels (it starts with an intro addressed to anyone reading in the 2020s!)

This prediction is funny and quite close to true ...

A rare outing for me and the books – thanks to staff and students at the University of Salford.

Did anyone else see this sky?? Extraordinary!

Lendal Press rides again Our imprint is back, and it means business

So good, they built it twice: valleypress.substack.com/p/lendal-pre...

Oh hang on ... it started with Kermit trying to keep his composure while Piggy did an escalating series of eccentric things behind him. One of them was her beating a carpet (?) and an unrealistic, silly amount of dust came out. "Wow, that was really dusty!!" she said in her low voice.

Just woke up, with a start, from a dream where I'd written the most brilliant 10-minute Kermit and Miss Piggy sketch of all time... it asked all the questions you'd always wondered about, was modern, silly, but ultimately touching and sentimental. Forgotten everything else about it now, of course. 🤷‍♂️

Just deactivated my Facebook account, the last trace of my social media (besides Blsky, which is okay so far).

God it was painful!! It took 20 mins, I had to wade through all sorts of documentation, and install the Messenger app just in order to deactivate that part! I feel pretty good now, though.

In Love Again Ex-Vöid · Album · 2025 · 10 songs

I couldn't recommend this album more – it's melodic indie jangle pop about disappointing relationships, that sounds like it's fallen through a crack in time from 1991. (I mean that as a huge compliment! Though that cover art is just awful... sorry folks.)

open.spotify.com/album/1jE1sS...

"AIs?? Where?! Oh... it's just the sheets... phew."

I think it's time to change the name of "Advance Information sheets", so prevalent in the sales side of publishing. I was at a meeting yesterday where "AI" and "AIs" was said multiple times a minute, and every time I saw some of the participants "fight or flight" responses briefly triggered...

Being a parent means you’re never quite your own person again – but that self-sacrifice can pull off a miracle | Justin Toh Parents must frequently say no to their own wants and needs to help their child flourish – and grow into a wonderful adult

Goodness me – this must be one of the best 5 articles I've ever read in my life. It's the Sistine Chapel of the opinion section. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Turned on Radio 4 just now, randomly... hear Simon Armitage saying "today I'm looking at an animal I've not thought much about before... molluscs, snails and slugs." Getting their dues at last!! 🤣

Filey – a Christmas "tree" made of lobster pots, topped with a metal fish. Imaginative! (I'm sure the lobsters prefer them put to this use...)

Doctor Worm They Might Be Giants · Beast of Horns [Sampler] · Song · 2024

I was having a low moment today, when this came on – instantly flipped me 180° to pure joy. God bless those silly rockers. open.spotify.com/track/7K0D56...

Hit TV show, tick. Millions for lawyers, tick. Now could we manage some actual justice for the subpostmasters? | Marina Hyde The ‘big people’ implicated in this disgraceful run of events need to pay their dues. Britain needs it – and demands it, says Marina Hyde

I'm technically avoiding the news, but I couldn't resist reading this... what an amazing column, perfectly summarising a very British madness. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

His OTHER digital pursuit this weekend is watching the classic Muppet Show from the 80s, lured into it after the obligatory viewing of Christmas Carol. (We've also stuck googly eyes on all the toy fruit.) So, he's just basically become my ideal housemate.

P.S. Kermit is a great role model. 🐸

2) challenging me to a never-ending, 24/7 game of "name that tune", reacting with glee and pride each time I can name artist and track within 20 seconds (I guess we both react that way!)

Just for this month, my 8 year old has access to "Spotify Kids" – I have to say it's already one of the best digital pursuits I've enabled. He's simultaneously 1) working his way through the entire recorded output of humanity, 30 seconds at a time... I now get questions like "Daddy, what's EDM?"

My Last and Latest Chance Jones · Keepers · Song · 2010

My most listened to song of the year, according to you-know-who ... 59 times.

It's so deceptively simple, almost innocuous... but that plaintive intro, and the bridge ending with that gorgeous title, really resonates. It means a lot to me.

open.spotify.com/track/27RzS2...

If Josh Groban started a podcast, he could probably get some really big politicians on... whose staff are just a little bit careless/hard of hearing.

"You're the guy with millions of devoted listeners, right?"

"Sure!" says Josh, then quietly: "I mean, not for *this*..."

Fault Line The Magic Lantern · A Reckoning Bell · Song · 2021

From 2021, one of the best political songs I've ever heard. To discuss this subject so movingly is an absolute triumph of songwriting.

open.spotify.com/track/7q95Zz...

Here's a piece of art I didn't think I'd see today! Somehow, I feel like if you put those two characters in a blender, I might be the result. (Note: I do not necessarily intend that as a compliment.)

My son asked to hear 'Thunderstruck' by AC/DC (it seems to be popular in the playground??)

Afterwards I asked him what kind of person he thought was singing. He thought carefully then replied: "a very old granny."

P.S. Is it sad that Google clearly has "bananas" listed as one of my key interests; a subject I want to be kept constantly up to date with.

Two news stories from my phone feed today ... does one explain the other? 🤔

YouTube video by Themagiclantern The Magic Lantern - Holding Hands (live)

I saw musical act "The Magic Lantern" last night at the Heart Centre in Headingley. Was just magnificent. Here's a clip (of the band, not the night): youtu.be/cXvjEk7286A?...

Could maybe hitch a lift with the Wilburys?