Douglas Murphy
@entschwindet.bsky.social
I spend my days in an architecture school
I've written some books
Chatting about music, culture, politics etc etc
I've written some books
Chatting about music, culture, politics etc etc
oh man I've been around enough people near or at the end of their lives to be a little bit used to seeing those huge bruises you get so easily at that stage… it makes me almost feel sorry for the bastard
January 22, 2026 at 9:55 PM
oh man I've been around enough people near or at the end of their lives to be a little bit used to seeing those huge bruises you get so easily at that stage… it makes me almost feel sorry for the bastard
one thing I hadn't quite got my head around before is that when you see stars, or typical images of stars, you aren't seeing the radius of the object at all, the apparent 'width' is just the camera being overloaded by the light, and the star itself is a near-as-damnit infinitesimal point
January 22, 2026 at 9:51 PM
one thing I hadn't quite got my head around before is that when you see stars, or typical images of stars, you aren't seeing the radius of the object at all, the apparent 'width' is just the camera being overloaded by the light, and the star itself is a near-as-damnit infinitesimal point
reading a long read about this very subject… seems pretty bad! www.ft.com/content/c894...
January 22, 2026 at 1:52 PM
reading a long read about this very subject… seems pretty bad! www.ft.com/content/c894...
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
Too many sensitive Americans on here today. Look, convince the New York Times to write a dated article about British food. Equilibrium will be achieved.
January 21, 2026 at 7:50 PM
Too many sensitive Americans on here today. Look, convince the New York Times to write a dated article about British food. Equilibrium will be achieved.
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
Und thus, modernity comes to a close just like it started, with a guy ranting at windmills
Trump: "There are windmills all over Europe. There are windmills all over the place. And they are losers. One thing I've noticed is that the more windmills a country has, the more money that country loses, and the worse that country is doing. I haven't been able to find any wind farms in China."
January 21, 2026 at 2:02 PM
Und thus, modernity comes to a close just like it started, with a guy ranting at windmills
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
Isn't it very weird that they never announce that AI will be able to replace management and CEO?
January 21, 2026 at 10:10 AM
Isn't it very weird that they never announce that AI will be able to replace management and CEO?
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
there isn’t a salaried person alive who, having to do their own expenses paperwork, hasn’t been tracked down across all time and space by a finance drone behaving like Predator to make them account for a VAT miscalculation on a muffin bought from the Pumpkin Café at Peterborough station
New - Nigel Farage has been found by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to have made 17 standards breaches, adding up to over £380,000 in late declarations.
He’s apologised, so no further investigation (which seems unusual for a breach this large)
He’s apologised, so no further investigation (which seems unusual for a breach this large)
January 21, 2026 at 9:56 AM
there isn’t a salaried person alive who, having to do their own expenses paperwork, hasn’t been tracked down across all time and space by a finance drone behaving like Predator to make them account for a VAT miscalculation on a muffin bought from the Pumpkin Café at Peterborough station
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
we're at international order breakdown level "the Prime Minister of Belgium quoting Gramsci" www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
January 20, 2026 at 2:14 PM
we're at international order breakdown level "the Prime Minister of Belgium quoting Gramsci" www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
we're getting all the downsides of cyberpunk (social alienation, ruthless hyper capitalism, digital mass surveillance state) but none of the promised upsides (cheap street food, cool jackets, super drugs that make you really fast and strong before they kill you)
January 20, 2026 at 9:25 PM
we're getting all the downsides of cyberpunk (social alienation, ruthless hyper capitalism, digital mass surveillance state) but none of the promised upsides (cheap street food, cool jackets, super drugs that make you really fast and strong before they kill you)
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
this is a rollicking great read
it's a story of a bunch of tenured idealists who believed that they were building a university dedicated to free speech and free inquiry, but then lost control of their project to... the right-wing megadonors who funded the university
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
it's a story of a bunch of tenured idealists who believed that they were building a university dedicated to free speech and free inquiry, but then lost control of their project to... the right-wing megadonors who funded the university
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
They Wanted a University Without Cancel Culture. Then Dissenters Were Ousted.
Inside the civil war at the anti-woke university backed by Bari Weiss.
www.politico.com
January 16, 2026 at 5:28 PM
this is a rollicking great read
it's a story of a bunch of tenured idealists who believed that they were building a university dedicated to free speech and free inquiry, but then lost control of their project to... the right-wing megadonors who funded the university
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
it's a story of a bunch of tenured idealists who believed that they were building a university dedicated to free speech and free inquiry, but then lost control of their project to... the right-wing megadonors who funded the university
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
Pretty devastating takedown of American political science, and its inability to acknowledge anti-liberal forces harpers.org/archive/2026...
In the Land of the Data Blind, by Jason Blakely
Why political science can’t grasp Trumpism
harpers.org
January 9, 2026 at 8:05 PM
Pretty devastating takedown of American political science, and its inability to acknowledge anti-liberal forces harpers.org/archive/2026...
One of Jonathan Meades's pet terms is 'analingual', which sums up much of everyone's behaviour these days
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Machado presents Trump with her Nobel award at White House meeting
Trump thanked Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, calling it
www.bbc.co.uk
January 16, 2026 at 11:09 AM
One of Jonathan Meades's pet terms is 'analingual', which sums up much of everyone's behaviour these days
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
Oh wow. Trump got a hand-me-down Nobel Peace Prize! Did you know:
It would not be the first time a Nobel laureate has given his or her medal away: in 1943 Nobel Literature laureate Knut Hamsun gave his medal to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.
It would not be the first time a Nobel laureate has given his or her medal away: in 1943 Nobel Literature laureate Knut Hamsun gave his medal to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.
January 16, 2026 at 2:19 AM
Oh wow. Trump got a hand-me-down Nobel Peace Prize! Did you know:
It would not be the first time a Nobel laureate has given his or her medal away: in 1943 Nobel Literature laureate Knut Hamsun gave his medal to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.
It would not be the first time a Nobel laureate has given his or her medal away: in 1943 Nobel Literature laureate Knut Hamsun gave his medal to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.
it's the same guy
January 16, 2026 at 10:52 AM
it's the same guy
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
wikipedia turns 25 today! the last unenshittified major website! backbone of online info! triumph of humanity! powered by urge of unpaid randos to correct each other! somehow mostly reliable! "good thing wikipedia works in practice, because it sure doesn't work in theory" - old wiki adage
January 15, 2026 at 1:47 PM
wikipedia turns 25 today! the last unenshittified major website! backbone of online info! triumph of humanity! powered by urge of unpaid randos to correct each other! somehow mostly reliable! "good thing wikipedia works in practice, because it sure doesn't work in theory" - old wiki adage
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
Replacing an opportunist ethnonationalist bigot with a conviction one. Is that an upgrade?
NEW: Kemi Badenoch confirms that Nick Timothy -Theresa May's former chief of staff at No 10 - will be the new shadow justice secretary.
January 15, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Replacing an opportunist ethnonationalist bigot with a conviction one. Is that an upgrade?
was the now-standard LLM rhetoric i.e.:
"so-and-so didn't just play the guitar – they LIVED the guitar"
designed into the interface, or is it actually the case that this is what spews out as the most statistically convincing way to phrase any argument?
"so-and-so didn't just play the guitar – they LIVED the guitar"
designed into the interface, or is it actually the case that this is what spews out as the most statistically convincing way to phrase any argument?
January 15, 2026 at 4:47 PM
was the now-standard LLM rhetoric i.e.:
"so-and-so didn't just play the guitar – they LIVED the guitar"
designed into the interface, or is it actually the case that this is what spews out as the most statistically convincing way to phrase any argument?
"so-and-so didn't just play the guitar – they LIVED the guitar"
designed into the interface, or is it actually the case that this is what spews out as the most statistically convincing way to phrase any argument?
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
It's a shame that in these anti-political times, Jenrick doing extremely lucrative planning favours for mega-rich donors is not something anyone bothers to mention about him
January 15, 2026 at 2:58 PM
It's a shame that in these anti-political times, Jenrick doing extremely lucrative planning favours for mega-rich donors is not something anyone bothers to mention about him
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
Ninety UK universities to have posted accounts so far cut 13,300 jobs last year, spending £303 million on severance pay - sector-wide total clearly going to be well in excess of predicted 10,000. Great reporting by @patrickjack.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/news/pay-spe...
Pay-off spend up by two-thirds as universities shed 13,000 jobs
Analysis of UK sector accounts shows number of job losses well above predictions, with experts warning cuts are not over yet
www.timeshighereducation.com
January 15, 2026 at 7:55 AM
Ninety UK universities to have posted accounts so far cut 13,300 jobs last year, spending £303 million on severance pay - sector-wide total clearly going to be well in excess of predicted 10,000. Great reporting by @patrickjack.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/news/pay-spe...
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
Again, note how one hand washes the other: our horrific wingnut papers create a panic out of fuck all, hand in hand with the craziest MPs and our wackiest “experts”; together they go apeshit for months on end and as soon as any opportunity appears, the Sensible Moderates apply the stamp of approval.
January 14, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Again, note how one hand washes the other: our horrific wingnut papers create a panic out of fuck all, hand in hand with the craziest MPs and our wackiest “experts”; together they go apeshit for months on end and as soon as any opportunity appears, the Sensible Moderates apply the stamp of approval.
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
It seems that AI might really unleash a productivity and innovation revolution in the UK if we use it this way: we identify everyone who thinks it's a good idea to rely on AI, and fire them immediately.
January 14, 2026 at 10:58 AM
It seems that AI might really unleash a productivity and innovation revolution in the UK if we use it this way: we identify everyone who thinks it's a good idea to rely on AI, and fire them immediately.
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
The White House says the Smithsonian Institution must submit materials about current and upcoming exhibitions and events for a review that will determine whether they express "improper ideology." n.pr/4583d8f
Today is the Smithsonian's deadline to give thousands of documents to the White House
The White House says the Smithsonian Institution must submit materials about current and upcoming exhibitions and events for a review that will determine whether they express "improper ideology."
n.pr
January 13, 2026 at 11:54 AM
The White House says the Smithsonian Institution must submit materials about current and upcoming exhibitions and events for a review that will determine whether they express "improper ideology." n.pr/4583d8f
I do feel a little as though the last year has really cemented (if you will) beyond all doubt the connection between an exclusive appreciation of classical architecture and being a big old fascist
January 12, 2026 at 4:51 PM
I do feel a little as though the last year has really cemented (if you will) beyond all doubt the connection between an exclusive appreciation of classical architecture and being a big old fascist
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
Democracy dies with the erasure of the public civic realm. The story behind the privatization of Dallas City Hall is a prime example of this.
The Sinister Plan to Demolish a Brutalist Icon in Dallas
Behind the spectacle of City Hall’s potential demolition is the transfer of funding away from the public and into a few extraordinarily wealthy hands.
hyperallergic.com
January 12, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Democracy dies with the erasure of the public civic realm. The story behind the privatization of Dallas City Hall is a prime example of this.
Reposted by Douglas Murphy
once again shoutout to every dipshit who insisted it was hysterical to talk about trump and white supremacy in the same breath www.rawstory.com/trump-267487...
Trump appalls with attack on Civil Rights Act: 'White people very badly treated'
Critics pounced on President Donald Trump Monday after he complained to the New York Times that the Civil Rights Act – the landmark 1964 legislation that outlawed racial discrimination – was “unfair i...
www.rawstory.com
January 12, 2026 at 2:51 PM
once again shoutout to every dipshit who insisted it was hysterical to talk about trump and white supremacy in the same breath www.rawstory.com/trump-267487...