iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 18m

I keep seeing people arguing how far Man City should be demoted and you’re not being creative enough: why should they get to work their way back up in a sport they’ve gained unfair advantage at? Make them work their way up through a regional cheese rolling league before they can play football again.

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Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 10h

I have policy criticisms (they're not hard to guess) but Burnham is, so far, obviously good at politics. Successfully selling an idea everyone said was politically toxic is one example. Rebooting a failing government another. Making an impressive speech another. Almost the anti-Starmer on that level

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 11h

This seems a good thing but I’m not sure it’s ideal that the UK’s cordon sanitaire against the far right is a random number generator mediated by an unevenly distributed set of levers poorly labelled “Tactical Vote?”

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Baffled by the complexity of this. You could go for a headline like "we're moving to an earnings lock" (although maybe that wouldn't save as much?) but instead we're keeping two-thirds of the triple lock and claiming that this will mean the other third still sort of applies?

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

“Favourite” feels wrong in some ways as the portrayal is entirely bleak: but Gérard in Bresson’s Au hasard Balthazar: the complete absence of any redeeming qualities or consequences.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I knew Jack McEnroe. I grew up watching Josh McEnroe. And I know Jesse McEnroe would never say this about baseball.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Very funny how Wes Streeting’s statement that the local farmer only had a “partial picture” read like “the intelligence services were all over this plot already” and could now be anything from that to “oh wow you’ll never guess what they found in the vans and I really wish I could tell you”.

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Daniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Incredible headline/photo combo from the NYT today

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Susan Collins is always horrified by the predictable results of her own vote, which means Mainers who genuinely care about Susan Collins should elect Troy Jackson as he won’t vote for things that wind up upsetting Susan Collins, unlike Susan Collins

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John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 25/09/2026

🚨🚨 NEW BLOGPOST 🚨 🚨 Teaching, AI, fees... Some assorted thoughts on going back to higher education for a year. open.substack.com/pub/joxleywr...

open.substack.com

Musings on a Masters

Collected thoughts after returning to university

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Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 24/09/2026

a column! on the British Museum banning pictures at the Bayeux tapestry exhibition and what happens when technological changes are so swift and sweeping that we don't have the time to come up with a mutually shared sense of etiquette around them: www.thenewworld.co.uk/marie-le-con...

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Emma Yeomans @yeomans.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Hampshire police say man was arrested on suspicion of destroying ships or endangering their safety under the Aviation & Maritime Security Act 1990, criminal damage, criminal damage with intent to endanger life, & conduct endangering ships, structures or individuals under Merchant Shipping Act 1995

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Cameron Giles @gilescameron.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Excited to say that early-bird registration is now open for Wolfenden at 70: a one-day conference exploring the legacies of the Wolfenden Report and their relevance to contemporary society. Early-bird registration for members of the Society of Legal Scholars can be found here: lnkd.in/eeM2SpmK

The cover page of the programme for the event, which can be downloaded on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7508512557935104002

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Look, I am not going to criticise Dolly Parton for anything, let alone the name she chose for her management company, but wow did it make this story which refers to it repeatedly a disconcerting read.

bbc.co.uk

Dolly Parton's manager accuses nephew who announced her death of threats and intimidation

Bryan Seaver, who announced Parton's death to the world, is accused of trying to extort her estate.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This shouldn’t make a difference but I am astonished that the person on the dinghy was *a member of the French coastguard* and the UK government response remains “did something happen? we weren’t looking”.

The video then shows him sailing up to the boat, taking out a small knife and starting to slash at the side of the migrant boat.
There were no migrants on board, but there was a French official from the coastguard vessel Abeille Liberté.
As the Frenchman boarded the empty migrant boat mid-Channel Thomas shouted "Right, you are on English territory. This is England. This is not France any more."

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Tom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Not to harp on this, but one man has now coordinated the disruption of a port, two separate attacks on the RNLI, and interference with the border force and the police have no further questions? And the Home Secretary has not noticed?

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

It would be absurd, but entirely fitting with the UK response so far, if Thomas ended up being prosecuted by the French authorities while the UK continues to look on meekly.

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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

There is, I think, a really good argument to be made that the bit of the income distribution that the Liberal Democrats are winning from the Conservatives are specifically overtaxed (the £100k marginal rate + the end of free childcare). Fixing that costs c£4bn, and might actually raise revenue.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I think a 10p fuel duty cut is a daft policy but also hate this mode of response to a policy proposal: “hah yes, politics, all a big game isn’t it, don’t take it too seriously”. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Asked about Sir Ed's call for a fuel duty cut, Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson told Laura Kuenssberg: "I'm sure John Healey will be open to any and all suggestions ahead of the budget but actually this is an area where the Labour government has taken action on fuel duty already.
"Whilst I recognise what the Lib Dems have to say on this topic, this is the element of politics about it - they've got their conference, they're making their pitch, good luck to them."

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

In odd news: the far right may have lost in the Swedish elections, but they have (sort of) won a musical victory as a song attacking the leader of the Left Party (mostly over crime but also wind power) has topped the Swedish music charts for the second week running: sverigetopplistan.se

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Ciaran Martin @ciaranm.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

As a Man Utd fan I find it easy provide evidence for the critical flaw in Sir Jim’s argument in The Times today. I believe it’s known as the league table.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

If you think parents have brought their children up so badly that the child’s crimes are the parents’ fault: child neglect is an offence! But it seems unlikely that in proceedings against a child courts can readily divine whether the parents were at fault or at their wits’ end trying to help.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Look, if none of you want the Forbidden Mint Chocolate Orange I’ll take it in a heartbeat.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Things I was frightened of as a child: Quicksand Being buried alive (thanks, spooky Usborne library book!) Death (after I explained this to an older cousin who reassured me science might fix this I added “overpopulation and no space left on Earth” to the list and she regretted trying to be nice)

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Pwnallthethings @pwnallthethings.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

This is a good example of how you need quite a lot of detail of how these systems *actually* work to understand what the risks are, and how over-indexing on sci-fi can lead you a bit astray on what the future looks like

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lastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I really don't have a better theory of this than positing mass psychological insecurity, as in the reply post. It is just bizarre to watch our liberal centre roll over and act supine for people *who fucking hate them and will destroy them if ever they get the chance*.

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Tom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I thought Keir Starmer was bad, and that having a Principal with even a vague sense of direction would help, but the more time goes on the more convinced I become that the Labour Party is fundamentally incapable of doing the basic bits of preserving a state, even to their own detriment.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

One of the useful things about using Letterboxd to record what films you watch is that you can go to the cinema, think “well that wasn’t great but at least I’ve seen it now” and go on to the app to log it to discover you thought the same thing four years ago.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Got sent a discount code from a retailer I first bought from on this date last year with a message from the CEO about the importance of anniversaries and it’s a rich text.

"When I was eleven, my father sent me writing paper and envelopes for my birthday. He said they would be useful for “writing thank you letters”. It was the only present I got, so I used one sheet and one envelope to thank him for his lovely present, and vowed to never forget a birthday or anniversary ever again!”

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John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 10/09/2026

What is this comment from the Labour MP? No, the issue here isn't that the attempted pogrom had the wrong targets!

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

It's a job, I guess, but I do wonder what Jacqui Smith's motivation for her role is? She's held far greater office; she's in the House of Lords regardless; and her job requires her to go out there and say stuff like this.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

My "I denounce this film" billboard is driving a lot of ticket purchases my billboard already told you not to make.

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Alex von Tunzelmann @alexvont.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

If you feel like donating to the RNLI, here’s a link. I just have. Their minimum donation is £2: I think it might be nice for them to receive a lot of donations this week, even if they’re mostly very modest. Just so they know a lot of people out here appreciate their work. rnli.org/support-us/g...

rnli.org

Donate to the RNLI and help save lives at sea

Your donations really make a difference. We depend on your generosity to educate people to stay safe and prevent tragedies on and offshore. Donate here.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I have had an Apple Watch for years now; I find it useful in various ways. Does this mean I end up having to ditch it to reassure people I’m not recording them?

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Scottish Universities Press @scotunipress.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Looking for your next great read? 🤔 Check out our updated catalogue and read our latest free to download books. Browse now: books.sup.ac.uk/sup/catalog

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Chaminda Jayanetti @cjayanetti.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I think the worst part of Labour's response to the fascist mobilisation is Andy Burnham's absence. He's the most popular politician in the country, with social media reach and actual powers of persuasion, and he's saying nothing in public. He can actually be of use here but he's choosing not to

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Laura Webster @lauraewebster.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

We have made a full documentary about what really happened at Reform conference. If you only watch a bit of it please make it these 39 seconds. You won't regret it.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

The longest known Viking ship was discovered by chance while digging up ground to build an extension to the Viking Ship Museum.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I think this is part of a running slogan formulation (“the first party that…”) but just reads to me like a politician is inexplicably seeking election in Berlin on the “no one who speaks German could be an evil man!” platform.

Volt poster with the slogan “Die erste Partei, die”

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Why would this need 10 minutes to explain? - got caught on film discussing how to break the law - tell us what happened lad - got filmed discussing breaking the law - ye but why - wanted to do illegal stuff - on film? - yeah it was on film

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Is there anything to be said for calling another Clacton by-election? Just a little one.

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Mike Drucker @mikedrucker.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

A whole section where Odysseus says he thought Inception was overrated

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Recently overheard a parent proudly telling a friend that they’d told their 20/21 year old student son that as long as they were paying for his phone he had to share his location with them. Although now they were worried he never left his room (yeah, I’m not sure that’s what’s going on there).

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

These seem to be feature length but divided into 60-70 episodes, which is fascinating (but not fascinating enough to make me watch one).

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Joe Uchill @joeuchill.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I deleted a thread about the USPS changes that was based on a news story that was incorrect. I should have, but didn't, go directly to the whistleblower report. That's on me. Here's what is correct: A whistleblower alleges that USPS is setting up a system to check ballot *being sent TO voters.*

The whistleblower’s Disclosure describes an unprecedented process that allows USPS to
decide whether ballots issued by state election officials should be mailed. To do so, USPS is
building an entirely new online system, the USPS Federal Ballot Mail Portal and related IT

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

The Wikipedia entry for this film quotes the producer as saying that "industry pushback" against the AI use has been minimal and you have to wonder if that's because everyone is assuming it will be so bad that it will permanently damage the cause of AI filmmaking.

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