Sophie Irwin
@sophielouirwin
Politics nerd and Francophile. But also really quite keen on music, books and dogs. And dark chocolate Digestive biscuits, eaten upside down, obviously. UK.
In the pub earlier. The guy in front ordered a pint of Guinness. Barmaid asked if he'd like to personalise it. Guy scanned the wotsit and when the pint arrived, by some kind of wizardry, the froth on top had formed itself into a photo of the guy. Mind actually blown.
Amy Winehouse: she died 15 years ago today 😢. Oh, the great things she would have gone on to do, given the chance. Mural in Camden Town
A propos previous post, Timothy Snyder's book is excellent. Concise, informative, practical.
Happy Bastille Day Quite nice to pause and reflect that tyrannical regimes cannot and do not last forever. Just sayin'
We've had climate warnings for decades, which have largely fallen on deaf ears as too theoretical. Humans are clever and resourceful when we choose to be, but only truly learn from lived experience. Well, we're living it now. Systemic change is needed now. Hello, people in power? Hello?
Been wondering what Major Jason Watson was arrested for, since nothing he said seemed to infringe on his First Amendment right to free speech. Turns out he was arrested for "Crowding, Obstructing and Incommoding". Ah, now it makes sense....lots of crowding, obstructing and incommoding going on there
Today's Guardian: Dave Eggers punchily points out the glaring hole in the middle of AI to the kids in his creative writing workshops, "You're one of one. You're unprecedented in the entire line of human history. Only you can think of what you can think of. Why would you cede that to a machine?"
The supermarket that sounds like Disco has a clever new ruse: keep the staffed checkouts but get rid of the staff! Cuts down on those pesky employee costs. And, by a happy coincidence, the CEO can award himself a jolly little pay rise. SO hard trying to scrape by on a mere £10 million a year. FFS
Aargh, might've overdone the coffee this morning... (This is a spider web after the spider has ingested caffeine. Apparently NASA scientists did this experiment... were they just really bored that day?)
You're not alone. It's a widespread problem. Listened to this recently on BBC Sounds - very interesting. Yes, it's pretty much all down to smartphones. But really, is there a more effective escapism drug than a bloody good read? Reading will never die.
Jeez, a bit traumatised by recent trip to well-known supermarket. What the hell is that? Isn't the world tough enough already without being confronted by some kind of Monster from the Deep when you're just popping in for some fennel and a nice packet of Hula Hoops?
So, the UK needs a new leader... Can we have a Mamdani please? Genuinely decent human being. Dynamic, with radical ideas for improving people's lives and not afraid to rock the boat to make things happen. Just the ticket!
Happy 100th birthday David Attenborough! Extraordinarily wonderful human being, obviously. And actual, proper influencer ❤️
Marina Hyde excels herself in yesterday's Guardian (from an already very high bar).
The madder the world gets, the more I turn to the wonder of birds. It somehow helps. The Tailorbird actually stitches its own home. Not sure if they knit themselves little jumpers in cold weather though.
We're on our way to London for this! May the far right crumble to dust in the face of reason, resistance and love. Screw them.
Happy Birthday to the effervescent, the magnificent Liza Minnelli. Seeing Cabaret at the age of 12 at a friend's birthday party was quite the formative experience.
14th February ❤️ Love in all its many and splendorous forms.... really, what else is there?
Oi! Where are my raisins?? This one comes every morning. Named him Ringo before I realised he was actually a female. #idiotbirdwatcher
This is why Dry January is a preposterous idea and an outright impossibility. (Cartoon by Tom Gauld)
Beautifully put Mr Russell. That's exactly how I feel about fascists. And Reform UK. And the Tories.