Karlin Lillington

Boy, 7, dies of brain condition caused by world’s most contagious disease — years after he had it as a baby Even those who make a full recovery from the initial infection face a lurking threat: a deadly disease that remains latent until striking — and killing — years later.

California boy dies of SSPE (measles complication) after being infected at age 7 months, when he was too young to be vaccinated.

Quite extraordinary (oh and just in case it’s useful to be reminded of why a broad humanities degree and/or curious and deep reading has value set against a tech bro maga sub-culture that thinks THIS is the pinnacle of a smart hire 🤡)

Extreme Heat Is Making Life Increasingly Unlivable The number of hours where it’s too hot for everyday activities has doubled since 1950, a new study found.

New: The number of days where extreme heat makes it too dangerously hot to walk the dog, sweep the porch and engage in other ordinary pursuits has doubled since 1950. Older people experience a month a year when heat prevents them from routine activities. Free link.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

OMG look at it! 😍

Good words of warning here. AI models are generally designed to read and incorporate (and, in a sense, believe) virtually everything they find online, with very few guardrails. The information can get divorced from its original source, context, & rebuttals or retractions. That's a really big problem

...into the sun

Ncuti Gatwa's acclaimed theatre run of beloved classic play is set to stream for free Alongside Gatwa, the play stars Sharon D Clarke, Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́, Eliza Scanlen and Hugh Skinner.

quick reminder that NT's production of The Importance of Being Earnest, starring human ray of sunshine Ncuti Gatwa, will be streaming FOR FREE on YouTube this weekend

www.radiotimes.com/movies/ncuti...

"After 35 years in Boston," the former science-hub which is now Boston, Trumpistan

People are selling your home address online. This privacy tool will help There's a free automated tool that removes information about you from Google search results. For some reason, most people don't use it.

www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Airlines hike ticket prices as Iran war propels fuel costs Global airlines are struggling to cope with soaring fuel costs

Airlines hike ticket prices as Iran war propels fuel costs

I once moderated a most enjoyable discussion with (wait for it) Andrew O’Hagan and John Lanchester at the Galway Intl Arts Festival and still don’t know how I wasn’t terrified out of my skin by that high rev combination but feel so fortunate to have had that opportunity. What a pair

Seen on a manuscript review: "Elegant Oxford comma placement."

Ooh, talk dirty to me, why don't you...

Great work by NYT showing Trump's war is the most unpopular ever. Supports my argument (see below) that in some ways the public rejection of Trump across the board is a very heartening development:

I’m not surprised. We went through this process last year and while it’s great it is crazy expensive even with the heat pump / solar grant and it’s not certain that you will get the grant when doing the work. Policy needs to include low cost long term finance so people can afford this.

A most excellent Andrew on a vile Andrew. Anything by Andrew O’Hagan is always going to be good. Enjoying this one over coffee and chocolate digestives

New iPad cover just arrived from Burga. They’ve tons of great designs on their website but for me it was only ever going to be 🦇🦇🦇

I'm back in Beirut doing coverage of the war in Lebanon (& the wider region). Here is the first piece, about a church that is sheltering displaced migrant workers, refugees & their families: www.irishtimes.com/world/middle...

Water quality in Ireland is worsening:
... provisions in the programme have 'repeatedly failed to protect water quality. It is therefore profoundly unscientific & shortsighted to just continue those provisions in hope of achieving a better outcome this time round'

www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

This is hilarious.

An hour apart. Perhaps we should stop treating the mindless weathervane spinning in the breeze as if it has a clear strategic direction we can ascertain.

Meta’s deepfake moderation isn’t good enough, says Oversight Board Another push to take AI labels seriously.

Meta’s deepfake moderation isn’t good enough, says Oversight Board

European (and NATO)
leaders must stop with the pious fraud and provide unequivocal support for Sánchez’s truth-telling

Lady aurora blew up the sky last week in Churchill. I'm so glad my guests got to experience this amazing evening. #NorthernLights #aurora

Revealed: UK’s multibillion AI drive is built on ‘phantom investments’ Exclusive: Rented datacentres and unrealised supercomputer site raise questions for Starmer’s push to ‘mainline AI into veins of economy’

“These are phantom investments... Big tech companies artificially inflate datacentres’ job creation and economic impact to please governments like the British one, which are desperate to claim they are making the economy grow.”
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

In the 60s it was “suppose they gave a war and nobody came.” Now it’s “suppose we did a war and then said that we didn’t do a war and also we already won the war and we beat you shut up”

Alexander Butterfield, Who Revealed Nixon Tapes in Watergate Scandal, Dies at 99

R.I.P. Alex…

Alexander Butterfield, Who Revealed Nixon Tapes in Watergate Scandal, Dies at 99 www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/u...

An air fryer can work crisping wonders too... while you're doing that I'll head over 😂 because I was gone at the mention of lemon curd on waffles

The Madness of King Donald

Three dogs and a cat
Master of the Berlin Passion, c. 1450-1475

(Albertina, Vienna)

Mom just now on phone: 'My hand hurts; I'm out of painkillers.'

Me: 'But you have Tylenol, they don't want to prescribe NSAIDS once you're over 65, there's a higher risk of stroke & cardiac problems.'

Mom: ...

Mom: 'Well I'm a bit over 65.'

Mom: ...

Mom: 'Well I'm a bit over 90.'

Mom & I: 😂