Martin McGrath
@martinmcgrath.bsky.social
Tries to be funny, often fails. Irish, Labour, LFC, NUJ & CIPR. Has a PhD, isn't afraid to use it. University lecturer in PR, branding & design, also sometime journalist, writer & editor. Will work for karma. "He's not angry, he always sounds like that."
The Airbnb coup went almost unnoticed...
February 4, 2026 at 12:30 PM
The Airbnb coup went almost unnoticed...
Aaronofsky started his career with 5 films (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler & Black Swan) which I admire
His career has been in a spiral ever since
"On This Day... 1776" is embarrassing, not just because of the AI slop. He's managed to make 4 minute episodes feel interminable
His career has been in a spiral ever since
"On This Day... 1776" is embarrassing, not just because of the AI slop. He's managed to make 4 minute episodes feel interminable
February 3, 2026 at 10:33 PM
Aaronofsky started his career with 5 films (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler & Black Swan) which I admire
His career has been in a spiral ever since
"On This Day... 1776" is embarrassing, not just because of the AI slop. He's managed to make 4 minute episodes feel interminable
His career has been in a spiral ever since
"On This Day... 1776" is embarrassing, not just because of the AI slop. He's managed to make 4 minute episodes feel interminable
I sincerely hope that Tony Blair's mobile phone is steadily filling up with messages from Gordon Brown going "I FUCKING TOLD YOU SO" over and over and over again.
February 3, 2026 at 10:07 PM
I sincerely hope that Tony Blair's mobile phone is steadily filling up with messages from Gordon Brown going "I FUCKING TOLD YOU SO" over and over and over again.
"Never mind Manufacturing Consent – have a read of Not Giving A Shit About Consent. I thought Chomsky cared about power and exploitative elites? Still, nice photo of him laughing it up with Steve Bannon."
Zing...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Zing...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Never forget Epstein’s little helpers – the powerful men who knew about his crimes, and helped him out anyway | Marina Hyde
I’m sorry, but this is not just a political scandal. Time to refocus on the horrific mistreatment of women and girls, and the role of these ghouls, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde
www.theguardian.com
February 3, 2026 at 8:51 PM
"Never mind Manufacturing Consent – have a read of Not Giving A Shit About Consent. I thought Chomsky cared about power and exploitative elites? Still, nice photo of him laughing it up with Steve Bannon."
Zing...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Zing...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
BBC BREAKING NEWS: Following the glorious victory of Lord Protector Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, his military advisor General Bubba Hoedown of Trumperica's Greenland Expeditionary Force today announced the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the Chief Executive of Great Again Britain PLC.
February 3, 2026 at 8:48 PM
BBC BREAKING NEWS: Following the glorious victory of Lord Protector Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, his military advisor General Bubba Hoedown of Trumperica's Greenland Expeditionary Force today announced the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the Chief Executive of Great Again Britain PLC.
I don't care what anyone says, I won't really believe Mandelson's career is dead until i see it nailed inside a lead-lines box, encased in concrete and then dropped to the bottom of the Marianas Trench (and, even then, I'd want it watched 24 hours-a-day, just in case...)
February 3, 2026 at 8:48 PM
I don't care what anyone says, I won't really believe Mandelson's career is dead until i see it nailed inside a lead-lines box, encased in concrete and then dropped to the bottom of the Marianas Trench (and, even then, I'd want it watched 24 hours-a-day, just in case...)
There'll be so many of those going in the bin, it could be worth a fortune...
...in about 200 years.
...in about 200 years.
February 3, 2026 at 6:30 PM
There'll be so many of those going in the bin, it could be worth a fortune...
...in about 200 years.
...in about 200 years.
ORAC's granddaddy...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard...
Babbage’s Analytical Engine, the Harvard Mark I, and the atomic bomb
Babbage’s Analytical Engine, the Harvard Mark I, and the atomic bomb
Harvard Mark I - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
February 2, 2026 at 11:10 PM
ORAC's granddaddy...
The oldest adage in journalism is, surely, "don't upset the advertisers" #cynical_hat_on
the oldest adage in journalism is “follow the money”
new in the FT:
new in the FT:
January 31, 2026 at 11:56 PM
The oldest adage in journalism is, surely, "don't upset the advertisers" #cynical_hat_on
The notion that America has lost out from having an open economy in a free trade world is nonsense, but it is useful rhetoric to obscure the fact that the power and wealth that America has accumulated as global hegemon is concentrated in a tiny number of hands in a chronically unequal society
The thing that gets me is that these statements are accurate, that is a correct description of US policy. And as @bretdevereaux.bsky.social likes to note it should be followed by "And then the US became the richest, most powerful nation in the history of the world"!
Translated "it's fine if they're slaves or indentured servants"
January 31, 2026 at 8:57 PM
The notion that America has lost out from having an open economy in a free trade world is nonsense, but it is useful rhetoric to obscure the fact that the power and wealth that America has accumulated as global hegemon is concentrated in a tiny number of hands in a chronically unequal society
... except for one (largely unnecessary) street fight, they could have cut the violence altogether and left Simon a pacifist (my preferred comic book iteration - there are too few super-powered pacifists).
January 31, 2026 at 7:17 PM
... except for one (largely unnecessary) street fight, they could have cut the violence altogether and left Simon a pacifist (my preferred comic book iteration - there are too few super-powered pacifists).
Watched Wonder Man today.
Bloody loved it.
A funny bit of Hollywood fiction, two great leads, and enough respect for the (frequently abused, third-tier) Simon Williams character to make it fun for fans without carrying any Marvel baggage (even with Trevor Slattery).
My only complaint...
Bloody loved it.
A funny bit of Hollywood fiction, two great leads, and enough respect for the (frequently abused, third-tier) Simon Williams character to make it fun for fans without carrying any Marvel baggage (even with Trevor Slattery).
My only complaint...
January 31, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Watched Wonder Man today.
Bloody loved it.
A funny bit of Hollywood fiction, two great leads, and enough respect for the (frequently abused, third-tier) Simon Williams character to make it fun for fans without carrying any Marvel baggage (even with Trevor Slattery).
My only complaint...
Bloody loved it.
A funny bit of Hollywood fiction, two great leads, and enough respect for the (frequently abused, third-tier) Simon Williams character to make it fun for fans without carrying any Marvel baggage (even with Trevor Slattery).
My only complaint...
Dan Ariely? Really.
Duke’s student newspaper is all over this. Neither Ariely nor the university are saying anything so far www.dukechronicle.com/article/duke...
Duke professor Dan Ariely had longstanding friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, newly released files show
Ariely is named in 636 of the some 3 million newly released files. He was a prominent professor at Duke over the course of his correspondence with Epstein.
www.dukechronicle.com
January 31, 2026 at 6:10 PM
Dan Ariely? Really.
Now imagining Brooklyn being taken to court for discriminatory behaviour...
January 31, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Now imagining Brooklyn being taken to court for discriminatory behaviour...
Weirdly, I had always assumed Sophia Money-Coutts was a parody bit (and that "Money-Coutts" was a bit too on the nose to be really funny) - I am disappointed to discover that she is real (for certain values of "real")
January 31, 2026 at 12:45 PM
Weirdly, I had always assumed Sophia Money-Coutts was a parody bit (and that "Money-Coutts" was a bit too on the nose to be really funny) - I am disappointed to discover that she is real (for certain values of "real")
Glad it's not just me!
January 31, 2026 at 9:18 AM
Glad it's not just me!
I am for diversity in announcer accents as much as the next non-RP speaking oik, but you need to pick your battles.
There's a Channel 4 trail for "Chateau DIY" that asks you to "Join twelve intrepid Jews*..." (that's what I'm hearing) and it is just too plausible.
* "duos" apparently
There's a Channel 4 trail for "Chateau DIY" that asks you to "Join twelve intrepid Jews*..." (that's what I'm hearing) and it is just too plausible.
* "duos" apparently
January 30, 2026 at 10:51 PM
I am for diversity in announcer accents as much as the next non-RP speaking oik, but you need to pick your battles.
There's a Channel 4 trail for "Chateau DIY" that asks you to "Join twelve intrepid Jews*..." (that's what I'm hearing) and it is just too plausible.
* "duos" apparently
There's a Channel 4 trail for "Chateau DIY" that asks you to "Join twelve intrepid Jews*..." (that's what I'm hearing) and it is just too plausible.
* "duos" apparently
Reposted by Martin McGrath
![[Scene is a kitchen - a middle aged woman called JANET is boiling peas at the stove. A younger more colourfully dressed woman named LIZ approached her.]
JANET:
Ugh...
LIZ:
What's up?
JANET:
I am so bored of cooking peas!
LIZ:
Have you tried...
AI peas?
JANET:
AI peas?
LIZ:
They're peas with AI!
[Liz holds up to us a packet of peas labelled: Pea-i AI - Peas with AI].
LIZ:
Al-powered peas harness the potential of your peas
JANET:
What
LIZ [Now a voiceover as we cut to a whizzy technology diagram of peas all connected by meaningless dotted lines]
Why not take your peas to the next level with Al Peas' new Al tools to power your peas?
[Show a techno diagram of a pea with a label reading 'AI' pointing to a random zone in it]
LIZ:
Each pea has Al in a way we haven't quite worked out yet but it's fine
[Show Janet and Liz now in a Matrix-style world of peas]
LIZ:
With Al peas you can supercharge productivity and make AI work for your peas!
JANET:
What
LIZ:
Shut up
LIZ:
Our game-changing Pea-Al gives you the freedom to unlock the potential of the power of the future of your peas workflow
From opening the bag of peas
to boiling the peas
to eating the peas
To spending millions on adding Al to the peas and then having to work out what that even means.
JANET:
Is it really necessary to-
LIZ [Grabbing Janet by the collar]:
THE PEAS HAVE GOT AI, JANET
[Cut to an advert ending screen, with the bag of peas and the slogan:
AI PEAS: Just 'Peas' for god's sake buy the AI peas.
[Ends]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreiayqa37f7kik7l7s7fbtfp2sir5ckb662ry2lylinyjrfa2rkvvka@jpeg)
Or, perhaps, the Wild English Man has flourished?
January 29, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Or, perhaps, the Wild English Man has flourished?
I think it's the opposite they're finding shocking....
January 29, 2026 at 5:31 PM
I think it's the opposite they're finding shocking....
I am not watching Irish Traitors but I am enjoying my timeline filling up with English people who are shocked that the Irish aren't English.
January 29, 2026 at 12:24 AM
I am not watching Irish Traitors but I am enjoying my timeline filling up with English people who are shocked that the Irish aren't English.
There has to be some way to sing The Homes of Donegal and in a way that doesn't sound like a dirge.
It's ironic that so much uptempo Irish music is about everyone dying, war and/or homesickness and then this one song about being with people you like in a place you love is sung like a funeral march
It's ironic that so much uptempo Irish music is about everyone dying, war and/or homesickness and then this one song about being with people you like in a place you love is sung like a funeral march
January 29, 2026 at 12:16 AM
There has to be some way to sing The Homes of Donegal and in a way that doesn't sound like a dirge.
It's ironic that so much uptempo Irish music is about everyone dying, war and/or homesickness and then this one song about being with people you like in a place you love is sung like a funeral march
It's ironic that so much uptempo Irish music is about everyone dying, war and/or homesickness and then this one song about being with people you like in a place you love is sung like a funeral march
this is the correct answer to every question
January 28, 2026 at 11:11 PM
this is the correct answer to every question
No chance. Those horses don't even have water wings. They'd be fish food before they even got to Greenland.
January 28, 2026 at 10:45 PM
No chance. Those horses don't even have water wings. They'd be fish food before they even got to Greenland.