James Lark

Oak Lawn United Methodist Church in Dallas painting steps rainbow after Gov. Abbott's order on crosswalks The church in the Oak Lawn neighborhood says it's painting its steps in rainbow colors in response to Gov. Greg Abbott's order targeting rainbow crosswalks.

Texans fighting back in Dallas. This is so great.

Also - I mean this as the highest compliment - the restoration team only have themselves to blame if we expect the best.

At the very least, this all merits a conversation.

But I reluctantly have to admit that when I next want to watch The Horror of Fang Rock, I'll sacrifice the 5.1 mix for the picture of a DVD released in 2005.

Perhaps I'm in a minority, but as Pip points out, Doctor Who fans notice stuff.

...I mean, listen to how good they *sound* apart from anything else!

I'm also not naive about the illusory nature of 'authenticity' - of *course* a restoration is going to involve new artefacts, of course compromises are involved, and it may well be that AI has a part to play in the process.

...which this does not meet.

I can't be the only freelancer who can't afford to keep shelling out for versions of stories that I already own, when I don't enjoy watching them.

Again, I'm in awe of the new special features, the incredible pdf resources, the commitment to the episodes themselves...

I understand how beguiling new technology is - I dived enthusiastically into remini-ing some old photos from an old crap mobile phone and it was a while before I realised it had given my cousin somebody else's eyes. But the restoration team's work on Who has set a gold standard for care and craft...

The waxy faces that I found objectionable in S15 and S25 are even more obvious here. 70s tv wasn't shot to be rendered like this, and the alleged clarity of AI plays merry hell with lighting and colour. Rather than marvelling at the sharp images, I found myself wondering why they all look so pink.

But I watched the first episode of Zygons with a sinking feeling. It's not just the AI anomalies (tho it's telling that so many have been so quickly identified), it's the look of the thing: eliminating noise comes at the expense of detail and texture, and results in an uncanny artificial look.

I think a lot of us are cautious about public displays of #DoctorWho negativity lest we are perceived to be the kind of fan that does nothing else, but I'm grateful to Pip for opening this discussion. We know how much skill and care goes into these blurays and I never lose sight of how lucky we are.

The new story from #NeuroticLiterature looks at what happens when somebody lacking any of the integrity or skills needed to run a country ends up running the country.

It's just fiction, of course - this could never happen in real life!

Listen at pod.fo/e/342442

#comedy #satire #podcastfiction

YouTube video by Pip Madeley A.I. - is it worth it?

If you're a #DoctorWho fan who cares about sensitive video restoration that preserves the integrity of the original images, and is concerned about the introduction of unintended artefacts from the use of AI, please watch this short video, share widely and discuss.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=24hw...

UK: Boris Johnson says DFE failed to plan for school closures during pandemic. France: Nicolas Sarkozy enters prison to begin five year sentence over criminal conspiracy.

We can learn much from the French.

Government style ad in watercolour. Image of a burglar stealing a painting from the wall of a home. Tagline: "It's not theft... if you say you're using it to train your AI algorithm". Body text: "Theft is now legal, so we can boost the economy by eliminating jobs. If that doesn't make any sense, ask a chatbot to explain it to you." HM government logo in the corner.

Did a new one

1 Nurse: It’s become a real problem in this area 2 Nurse: We’ve seen the whole community lost to addiction 3 Show a building sign posted: Westminster ‘X’ Addiction Clinic With various Westminster people or looking at their phones outside it Nurse: Ministers, Spads, Researchers… 4 Nurse: Most mornings we’ll get a call about someone acting strangely [Nurse on phone taking a call] Ok - we’ll be right over 5 Nurse: We just have a gentle chat [Nurses approach a minister –Robert Jenrick? - standing in the Palace of Westminster Minister: I understand your concerns… 6 Nurse: Are you OK love? Minister: Yes I’m just hearing legitimate concerns from real voters 7 Nurse: That’s a robot, a Nazi and a poorly-disguised Russian [Show that the people he is talking to are precisely these characters] Nurse 2: Give us your phone, love 8 Nurse: At the clinic we put them in a Grass-Touching Pod, with a real voter to talk to [We see them back at the clinic, holding the minister's head and pushing him into a glass isolation booth with a grass floor. And it is a baffled looking woman, on a chair, ready to talk to him.] 9 Minister: YOU MUST BE WORRIED ABOUT THE COMING CIVIL WAR [woman looks baffled] 10 woman: I just want a bus service Minister: LOOK AT MY FLAG [produces a St George's flag] [ends]

Quality episode. I remember the Harry Hill stuff well. Do stay till the end of this one.....

Gambling is an intrinsically vampiric industry, it makes nothing and adds nothing, and taxing it more heavily is a plan with no drawbacks

Had an absolute blast reliving the Best Year In My Developing Fandom Evs with Dylan Rees! Come with us to the halcyon days of the early 90s...

Robert Jenrick: Growing up in the 20s my Dad took me to more than a few betting pitches at the Worcester Races. The antics were less than well-mannered, but it was good-natured fun, and if the Peaky Blinders occasionally put out somebody's eyes, Major Chester Campbell put a quick but firm end to it.

If you fancy being a part of the new Hamster Book Club theme - read the attached! @jameslark.bsky.social is putting together something very special out of readings of first lines…

I gather that Neurotic Literature is currently ranking at #1 on Spotify for the search term 'unsettling literature'.

Which is a result, right?

Too many of us wake to discover that the brave post of yesterday is the huge error of judgement of today. But for Ben, an unwise video is just the first step into an uncertain new world of online celebrity...

Hear the new episode of #neuroticliterature at pod.fo/e/33d9da

#anxiety #fiction #podcast

Eight and his companions will all be waiting for you in the all new Hamster Book Club! Coming soon!

Artwork by the fabulously talented @devondan.bsky.social

The brilliant writer and performer, @jameslark.bsky.social has his latest season of Neurotic Literature and it’s as intelligent, engaging and funny as ever. This story blew me away with its cold fury at blame culture and manipulative parenting.

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/n...

The data centres being built now will be derelict by 2030.

It's complicated enough breathing, let alone getting a pencil to work

Elevator pitch

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

A MOLE TRAGEDY: the story of Derek, the mole who didn't like digging.

Listen to the latest episode of #neuroticliterature at pod.fo/e/3396d2 to hear how that works out for him.

Though there is a clue in the title.

#podcast #fiction #stories #comedy #mole #moles #fictionpodcast #podcastandchill

I don't think Heseltine is one of the great minds of our time, but even so it's hard to understand how someone with such clarity over what Reform stand for still feels comfortable publicly representing the party of Badenoch and Jenrick.