iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 12/09/2026

I like the detail that his chair is encased in ice

Detail of AI slop image of Charlie Kirk debating historical figures in the afterlife, the chair he's sitting in appears to be surrounded by a flat reflective surface that I can only interpret as ice. Where it meets his chair it appears to be steaming.

3101

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 05/09/2026

I am not 100% convinced this is what a young Taino man from Hispaniola in 1450 looked like

040

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 25/08/2026

a special mention for the hardest-to-impress man in human history

a man with his arms crossed looking grumpy while DOLLY PARTON sings in front of him in a pub in Kerry some time in the early 90s

130

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 20/08/2026

aside from Dave and Padraig's argument (also team Padraig) can we take a moment to ask: what the fuck are you talking about Simon

It is the BED that chooses the sides for us, not us who choose the sides. Dave, ignores this at his peril. Respect your bed and you will be given intimacy, harmony and rest. This also means not barrelling in at 5am after a night out – then you’re on the sofa, Pádraig.
Simon, 48

3100

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 12/08/2026

Couldn't see a bloody thing. Rubbish.

The solar eclipse at around 94% totality, except you can't see that because the sun is hidden behind a medium-sized Tudor castle. Lots of people - the ones not standing behind a castle, at least - are looking at the sun. The rose-gold colour of the eclipse light on the dry grass is quite pleasing.

1120

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 12/08/2026

yeah just you wait you smug bastard

the bright sun over coastline, as yet uneclipsed

2182

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 04/08/2026

big respect for Wenger dusting off the old "I didn't see the incident" about Infantino's plans www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

A week after Infantino's investment plan was first released, the Frenchman issued a statement through Fifa in which he demanded "transparency and integrity" from world football's governing body.

"The recent events at Fifa deserve some clarity from my side," Wenger's statement read.

"I was not involved in this strategic plan and first became aware of the project through media reports.

511838

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 02/08/2026

had to update the Covid chapter of me and @jonnelledge.bsky.social's conspiracy theory book for its US release, and was quite glad I got to talk about this

You also need to believe that an overwhelming majority of expert virologists, from all around the world and many with no connection to the WIV or its collaborators, have been conspiring to suppress the truth to bolster this vast coverup. Many of these scientists started out in the lab leak camp: from the earliest days of the pandemic, several of them put their reputations on the line to urgently push for investigations into the possibility.
By the time most of America’s opinion columnists started paying attention and declaring that the scientists had been ‘too quick to dismiss the lab leak theory’, there had already been multiple rounds of scientists pushing to investigate it. This wasn’t them dismissing it too quickly – it was simply them taking it seriously much earlier than anybody else. If they’d found evidence of a lab leak they’d have every incentive to say so: they’d have come out of it looking like geniuses, and would be treated as heroes by China’s many geopolitical adversaries. But they didn’t. The evidence all pointed the other way. So they said so, because that’s what scientists do. And for doing this, they’ve been vilified.

33513

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 20/07/2026

unsettlingly alluring cruise ship

A large cruise ship backing out of its berth on a sunny evening. It has a large eye painted near the bow, with a wiggly blue line tracing backwards from the eye towards the stern. On the prow of the ship is painted a pair of plump red lips. The whole effect is of a gigantic ship going "I saw you from across the harbour and really liked your vibe".

1142

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 06/07/2026

Ah yes, US soccer administration, famously resistant to corruption

Bluesky post: "The people who are up in arms about this are hilarious. I've been following the USMNT for a decade and a half and we have been consistently punished for being more professional and less willing to bribe referees. I don't like the corruption but let's not pretend anyone is desecrating FIFA ffs"

Quoted post by the same author: "Our unwillingness to engage in flagrant corruption and unprofessional play has historically been one of our big world cup weak spots. So great news everyone"

3:56 AM Jul 6, 2026

040

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 20/06/2026

ooooh, it's now made it up to fifth spot on the app

BBC News app homepage, showing the story BBC "Five injured in suspected anti-Muslim attacks as armed man roams Edinburgh streets" in the lower right position of the top five stories on the homepage

120

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 19/06/2026

In accordance with ancient tradition, our next Prime Minister is announced to the nation while standing between a furry and a man with a bin on his head.

A victorious Andy Burnham MP (24,937 votes), as the result of the Makerfield by-election is announced, flanked by defeated candidates Count Binface (a bloke in a vaguely sci-fi costume with a large bin for a helmet; 95 votes) and Robert Pownall (who is in a full body fox costume, holding a sign reading "Protect British Wildlife"; 18 votes). There are some other candidates there just out of shot but that's not important right now.

Photo: Jon Super/AP

673910922

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 05/06/2026

for fucks sake I was trying to look up a clip of Tony Head

Me googling the phrase "ignore the shooty dog thing" (a slightly misremembered quote from Doctor Who). Google responds:

Understood! Let's pivot and look at how we can apply behavioral science to train dogs using positive reinforcement rather than reactive scolding.Training Dogs with Positive ReinforcementRenowned behavioral expert Karen Pryor's classic methodology, as outlined in Don't Shoot the Dog, focuses on changing behavior through clear communication. Instead of punishing a pet for acting out, trainers are encouraged to reinforce desired actions and simply ignore or redirect unwanted ones.The Rule of IgnoringThe easiest way to stop an unwanted behavior—such as jumping or begging—is to completely withdraw any reinforcement, including eye contact, speech, or touch.

3417

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 26/05/2026

genuinely curious about what he thinks happens when you drive at high speed into a brick wall "a few inches thick"

The unconventional leader – in this case President Trump – drives down the road, sees the brick wall and accelerates. Yes, there are bits flying off the bus, there is a fair amount of debris and damage, the passengers feel mildly nauseous, but, with luck, he’s through the wall. It is simultaneously high in potential risk and in potential effectiveness.

The risk, of course, is if any wall on the journey turns out to be not a few inches but a few feet thick.

140

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 24/05/2026

Huge fan of this Ryan Higgins dismissal today. Elegant. Textbook.

86521

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 21/05/2026

I don't think it's a good idea to legally privilege someone else's discomfort over another person's rights.

13.147 A legitimate aim for excluding a trans person from a separate or single-sex service for their own sex might be to prevent discomfort or distress for other service users.

653459994

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 14/05/2026

not to hand it to the Post but they were cooking with this paragraph

Critics charged toThe Post that EA is a calculating, smug nerd clique that prioritizes numbers over lives while protecting the power of those with the fattest wallets.

160

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 14/05/2026

if someone fires the starting gun, he isn’t afraid of gunfire

David Miliband being scared by surprise confetti

070

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 13/05/2026

finally our scientists have managed to crossbreed Gordon Brown with Chris Hayes

just a small graphic of a man that looks like someone crossbred Gordon Brown with Chris Hayes

030

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 09/05/2026

Catherine West MP (Lab, Hornsey and Friern Barnet)

Wikipedia page reading:
Wolf (horse)
Chilean Thoroughbred racehorse

For other uses, see Wolf (disambiguation).

0121

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 07/05/2026

I was thinking about it when I saw this post the other month, and how everybody got fooled by the trendline into thinking it shows something other than a sudden shift from 2020 on.

Bluesky post from Hank Green: My hottest “I have no data to back this up” take is that phones aren’t making young people less happy. What’s making them less happy is living in a world where everyone is having their reality defined by recommendation algorithms that can only care about whether something keeps you watching.

This is followed by a graph (from the Institute for Family Studies, which uh is a very particular kind of organisation) titled "Young adult happiness is falling". It shows a scatterplot of the % of adults aged 22 to 35 who say they're very happy or pretty happy. It bumps around the high 80s to low 90s mark for four decades, then drops sharply and erratically post-2020.

030

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 04/05/2026

I like how BBC Sport implicitly agrees here that the theatrical cuts are the definitive versions

Indeed, it would be possible to watch the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy between Chelsea's previous league goal - at Aston Villa in early March - and their latest strike in this defeat, which were more than 550 playing minutes apart.

173

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 10/04/2026

(but seriously it's great foreshadowing)

New York Post article -
Headline: Euro-vision: Mayor Eric Adams’ son chasing racy rap dreams … in Albania

By Bernadette Hogan and Emily Crane
Published Nov. 24, 2022

[Image of the guy performing on a TV stage]

Mayor Eric Adams’ son is chasing his rap dreams — all the way to Albania.

The Big Apple’s first son, Jordan Coleman — aka rapper “Jayoo” – took to the stage in the capital city of Tirana Wednesday night to compete in the Albanian equivalent of “American Idol.”

120

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 09/04/2026

The people WILL NOT STAND for giving Cheltenham Borough Council the right to allow markets in Cheltenham town centre, but of course our corrupt political elite are entirely captured by Big Hypothetical Cheltenham Market.

A screenshot from the quoted website showing that - according to their sample, which is transparent bollocks - 85% of people oppose the Cheltenham Borough Council (Markets) Bill, but that it has passed the House of Commons on a voice vote.

184

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 24/03/2026

both chronologically and spiritually

Website screenshot reading:
One day closer to the end.
The launch of YouTube is now closer to the Chernobyl disaster than to today.

Followed by a timeline illustrating this:
Apr 26, 1986 → Feb 14, 2005 → Today
18 yrs, 10 mo to past event
21 yrs, 1 mo to today

095

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 07/03/2026

everybody always (rightly) dunks on the Sun for this but I think it's important to remember they were copying a story from the Times and we should also mock them

Times headline and standfirst:
Frankenstein’s monster? He was stitched up, say millennials
Concern for animal rights causes students to sympathise with the murderous creature

2110

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 06/02/2026

honestly top tier work to send this notice round the day before the magazine cover hits the news stands

CONFIDENTIAL – STRICTLY NOT FOR PUBLICATION: Ipso has asked us to circulate the following advisory:

Ipso has today been contacted by a representative acting on behalf of Peter Mandelson.

Mr Mandelson’s representatives state that he does not wish to speak to the media at this time. He requests that the press do not take photos or film, approach, or contact him via phone, email, or in-person. His representatives ask that any requests for his comment are directed to [REDACTED]

The Times Magazine cover, featuring a picture from a photoshoot of Peter Mandelson in his home, apparently cooking something in his fancy kitchen.

Magazine cover text:
'I'VE HAD A LOT OF BAD LUCK, NO DOUBT SOME OF IT OF MY OWN MAKING'

Peter Mandelson: From ambassador's residence to Wiltshire domesticity, By Katy Balls

34925

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 03/02/2026

reminds me of this deeply cursed email from the files, like don't pretend you don't know what you're doing here Peggy

To: jeevacation@gmail.com[jeevacation@gmail.com]; jeevacation@gmail.com[jeevacation@gmail.com]

From: Peggy Siegal

Sent: Thur 5/17/2012 3:08:04 PM

Subject: Re: Cannes

Sitting next to Brett Ratner...he produced Woody's 3 hour documentary that just was shown at Cannes. We are about to see Roman Polanski documentary. Brett says hi and he loves you!

0201

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 30/01/2026

Polite notice for award-winning poets: fuck off with that free verse shit

Poetry Writing: All of the following: (1) advanced degree in creative writing, literature, poetry, or related; (2) publications in reputable literary journals, anthologies, or poetry collections that demonstrate mastery of a wide range of traditional forms, from haiku to sonnet to villanelle; (3) history of awards, fellowships, or residencies from recognized organizations; (4) one or more of the following: (a) published collections with major presses, (b) poems in outlets like Poetry Magazine, (c) awards like National Book Award for Poetry, (d) fellowships from NEA or Guggenheim.

Special Note: If your publication record is primarily free verse, please do not apply, as the position requires a deep understanding of classical forms and poetic techniques.

2282

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 30/01/2026

great opportunity for any academics who yearn to train Grok for forty bucks an hour, though

Academic Writing: All of the following: (1) 5+ years in academic writing, with extensive experience in peer-reviewed publications, theses, dissertations, or scholarly books for academic fields; (2) authored articles in top-tier journals, books with reputable presses, citations exceeding 500+ via Google Scholar, or an h-index of 10 or higher; (3) public portfolio of samples, including abstracts, full papers, or proposals demonstrating rigorous argumentation, citation styles (APA, MLA, Chicago), and original contributions; (4) PhD in relevant field. Postdoctoral experience or fellowships (e.g., Fulbright) preferred.

1151

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 30/01/2026

Distraught to discover I'm not sufficiently qualified for the non-fiction writing position

Nonfiction Writing: All of the following: (1) 5+ years in non-fiction writing (memoirs, biographies, historical accounts), with 3+ published books showing commercial and/or critical success; (2) public portfolio of samples/manuscripts demonstrating structure, prose, and non-fiction standards; (3) awards, funding success, or memberships in orgs like BIO/ASJA. Bachelor's degree or higher in English, History, or Journalism highly preferred.

1237

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 20/01/2026

going to use "at my most enigmatic and expansive" to describe the next time I have a few too many wines

Screenshot from BBC News live text coverage of Trump press conference:
19:27
This news conference could go on for a very long time

(byline: Gary O'Donoghue, Chief North America correspondent at the White House)

This is the president in his most enigmatic and expansive mood. During the campaign this used to be called "the weave" – meandering from subject to subject, often the connections not immediately obvious.

581132185

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 19/01/2026

I got this, which also works incredibly well as a caption

Veronika the tool-using cow scratching her back with a stick, while sitting in a field in the stunning landscape of the Austrian Alps. Text from The Guardian's payment solicitation nagwall appears as though it's captioning the picture, reading "Under pressure, undeterred".

3261

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 15/01/2026

what the fuck does that even mean

In a statement, Rajan said leaving Today "might be mad", but added he was "extremely excited to jump into the great digital Narnia of the creator economy".

9140

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 12/01/2026

This is so silly I had to go and check the full text of her post and... it's actually even sillier? She's claiming this as a policy breakthrough? "just 5% of the area" lol

We have identified 2,000 hotspots which make up 25% of violent crime in England and Wales, but just 5% of the area.

The next Conservative government under my leadership will recruit 10,000 extra police officers, and use half of them to patrol intensively these crime hotspot areas. This is paid for within our Golden Economic Rule, thanks to the savings we have announced such as from the welfare budget, cutting the size of the Civil Service and reducing foreign aid.

139619

Tom Phillips @tom-phillips.com · 10/01/2026

it was at roughly this point that I began to get a sense of why the bus hadn't turned up

A country road in Cornwall, almost entirely blocked by a tree, which has come down in the recent storm, its root system tearing out a huge amount of earth from the bank on the side of the road, with the whole business kind of collapsing down to leave only a tiny gap on the left hand side.

411511