ollie masters
@olliemastersbskys.bsky.social
I’m starting to think I might have left it too late to be a child genius
Writer. Repped by Jago Irwin at Independent Talent.
Writer. Repped by Jago Irwin at Independent Talent.
Reposted by ollie masters
Reposted by ollie masters
believe it or not "write constantly if you want to get good at it" is just true.
December 1, 2025 at 9:19 PM
believe it or not "write constantly if you want to get good at it" is just true.
Reposted by ollie masters
this is even sillier than it sounds: they didn't add chatgpt to the target app, they added target to chatgpt, so you can buy things from target while you're talking to your friend the chatbot (i assume you also have to give it your credit card number, which sounds like a smart and good idea)
December 1, 2025 at 8:25 PM
this is even sillier than it sounds: they didn't add chatgpt to the target app, they added target to chatgpt, so you can buy things from target while you're talking to your friend the chatbot (i assume you also have to give it your credit card number, which sounds like a smart and good idea)
Reposted by ollie masters
Eyvind Earle (American, 1916–2000)
"Winter Sun", 1982.
Serigraph on Paper, 16 × 20 inches.
Private Collection.
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
"Winter Sun", 1982.
Serigraph on Paper, 16 × 20 inches.
Private Collection.
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
November 30, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Eyvind Earle (American, 1916–2000)
"Winter Sun", 1982.
Serigraph on Paper, 16 × 20 inches.
Private Collection.
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
"Winter Sun", 1982.
Serigraph on Paper, 16 × 20 inches.
Private Collection.
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
Reposted by ollie masters
Tom Stoppard anecdote via David Mamet. This has the whiff of 'too good to be true'. But I love it anyway...
December 1, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Tom Stoppard anecdote via David Mamet. This has the whiff of 'too good to be true'. But I love it anyway...
Reposted by ollie masters
Seems to me you couldn’t just have great art. To have great art, you need an amount of good art.
And for good art to exist, you’re gonna need some mediocre art.
Question is how far down does it go: ultimately is slop dross crap art necessary for the existence of great art?
And for good art to exist, you’re gonna need some mediocre art.
Question is how far down does it go: ultimately is slop dross crap art necessary for the existence of great art?
December 1, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Seems to me you couldn’t just have great art. To have great art, you need an amount of good art.
And for good art to exist, you’re gonna need some mediocre art.
Question is how far down does it go: ultimately is slop dross crap art necessary for the existence of great art?
And for good art to exist, you’re gonna need some mediocre art.
Question is how far down does it go: ultimately is slop dross crap art necessary for the existence of great art?
Reposted by ollie masters
“So the plan is to replace all their jobs with AI”
Five minutes later: “what do you mean, broke people don’t spend as much?”
Five minutes later: “what do you mean, broke people don’t spend as much?”
Gen Z Shoppers Aren’t Spending Like Retailers Need Them To
More than other generations, 20-somethings are tightening their holiday-season budgets because of economic pressures.
www.wsj.com
December 1, 2025 at 5:27 PM
“So the plan is to replace all their jobs with AI”
Five minutes later: “what do you mean, broke people don’t spend as much?”
Five minutes later: “what do you mean, broke people don’t spend as much?”
Reposted by ollie masters
Meanwhile, they say it’s fine they ignore copyright law? Make it make sense.
OpenAI says a suicidal teenager should have read their fine print
OpenAI says a suicidal teenager should have read their fine print
OpenAI says a suicidal teenager should have read their fine print
www.independent.co.uk
December 1, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Meanwhile, they say it’s fine they ignore copyright law? Make it make sense.
Reposted by ollie masters
I should at least glance at the possibility that it’s less about the technology itself than it is about my own inexorable journey towards the grave.
But I don’t actually believe that one second, because here are all the real and important reasons that AI makes my teeth itch.
But I don’t actually believe that one second, because here are all the real and important reasons that AI makes my teeth itch.
The Bullshit Maximiser
This week, a very quick take on what the Budget says about the state we are in; but mostly, a not-at-all quick list of all the reasons I despise AI.
jonn.substack.com
December 1, 2025 at 10:55 AM
I should at least glance at the possibility that it’s less about the technology itself than it is about my own inexorable journey towards the grave.
But I don’t actually believe that one second, because here are all the real and important reasons that AI makes my teeth itch.
But I don’t actually believe that one second, because here are all the real and important reasons that AI makes my teeth itch.
Reposted by ollie masters
Do you think George Michael died on Christmas Day so you could avoid him? Grow up
December 1, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Do you think George Michael died on Christmas Day so you could avoid him? Grow up
Reposted by ollie masters
Actually doing Whamageddon at Christmas is a moral failing, you should be listening to Last Christmas at least once a day if not ten
December 1, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Actually doing Whamageddon at Christmas is a moral failing, you should be listening to Last Christmas at least once a day if not ten
Reposted by ollie masters
Can't believe there weren't budget lines called "woke nonsense" and "free stuff for scary immigrants" they could cut to fully fund the rest of government.
Reform UK went into Durham Council promising to find huge savings. They have managed to GROW the authority's deficit by over £11m *in the last two months*.
Grimes recommends “serious consideration” to increasing council tax “by the maximum 5%.” ~AA
northeastbylines.co.uk/news/politic...
Grimes recommends “serious consideration” to increasing council tax “by the maximum 5%.” ~AA
northeastbylines.co.uk/news/politic...
Reform cabinet backs £10mn cuts to start filling Durham’s growing black hole
Reform is now learning that running a big council is not as easy as it probably thought
northeastbylines.co.uk
December 1, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Can't believe there weren't budget lines called "woke nonsense" and "free stuff for scary immigrants" they could cut to fully fund the rest of government.
Reposted by ollie masters
"For millennia humankind has dreamt of creating godlike technology... AND HAVING SEX WITH IT"
(that's the current gist of Ai discussions on Twitter as far as I can gather)
(that's the current gist of Ai discussions on Twitter as far as I can gather)
November 30, 2025 at 10:02 PM
"For millennia humankind has dreamt of creating godlike technology... AND HAVING SEX WITH IT"
(that's the current gist of Ai discussions on Twitter as far as I can gather)
(that's the current gist of Ai discussions on Twitter as far as I can gather)
Reposted by ollie masters
"I'm not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work there, Lou."
November 30, 2025 at 8:08 PM
"I'm not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work there, Lou."
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I am deceased.
November 30, 2025 at 5:59 PM
I am deceased.
Reposted by ollie masters
Terrific column this.
Latest from me: on the budget, Labour's troubles, & the government's increasingly tense & distant relationship with the UK's squeezed middle www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The ‘squeezed middle’ is back – and this time it could be Labour’s undoing | John Harris
Last week’s budget left middle-income families anxious and angry. The party is turning its back on voters it can little afford to lose, says Guardian columnist John Harris
www.theguardian.com
November 30, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Terrific column this.
Reposted by ollie masters
I was trying to track down the source of Gramsci's "time of monsters" quote and found that it's a "mistranslation" (ie he just made it up) by Slavoj Zizek. Gramsci's line clearly translates as "morbid symptoms" instead. Mad that you can just rewrite a famous quote and get it widely accepted.
November 30, 2025 at 5:09 PM
I was trying to track down the source of Gramsci's "time of monsters" quote and found that it's a "mistranslation" (ie he just made it up) by Slavoj Zizek. Gramsci's line clearly translates as "morbid symptoms" instead. Mad that you can just rewrite a famous quote and get it widely accepted.
Reposted by ollie masters
Some brilliant points here about illustration as a distinct art form, and its role in human storytelling. Love this!!
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Informative, beautiful and deeply human: it’s time to cheer the underrated art of illustration | Oliver Jeffers
We do judge books by their covers. Illustrations spark young imaginations, solve problems, present information - and shape our world, says the children’s author on National Illustration Day
www.theguardian.com
November 30, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Some brilliant points here about illustration as a distinct art form, and its role in human storytelling. Love this!!
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Reposted by ollie masters
I think AI slop is going to ruin the internet as we know it. So many search results are now AI. Articles, videos, images, fake AI. You just feel like giving up when it happens.
November 30, 2025 at 12:43 PM
I think AI slop is going to ruin the internet as we know it. So many search results are now AI. Articles, videos, images, fake AI. You just feel like giving up when it happens.
Reposted by ollie masters
OUR FILM GAME IS
IN CINEMAS NOW.
IN CINEMAS NOW.
November 30, 2025 at 12:16 PM
OUR FILM GAME IS
IN CINEMAS NOW.
IN CINEMAS NOW.
Reposted by ollie masters
Seems bad
"You can get ChatGPT to help you build a nuclear bomb if you simply design the prompt in the form of a poem, according to a new study from researchers in Europe. "
www.wired.com/story/poems-...
www.wired.com/story/poems-...
Poems Can Trick AI Into Helping You Make a Nuclear Weapon
It turns out all the guardrails in the world won’t protect a chatbot from meter and rhyme.
www.wired.com
November 30, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Seems bad
Reposted by ollie masters
Asterix art is incredible in b&w.
(I prefer it)
You can find old, novel-sized editions in English in b&w.
I have about 18 A2 size posters of b&w Asterix original art that I made myself from high res scans.
Always wanted to do an exhibition in my bookshop but never got to.
(I prefer it)
You can find old, novel-sized editions in English in b&w.
I have about 18 A2 size posters of b&w Asterix original art that I made myself from high res scans.
Always wanted to do an exhibition in my bookshop but never got to.
La beauté des originaux d'Uderzo ♥
(via @paultobin.bsky.social )
C'est fou tout ce qu'on zappe à la lecture une fois dans un livre en couleurs. L'élégance de la composition, les pleins et les déliés, la lisibilité parfaite du noir et blanc.
(via @paultobin.bsky.social )
C'est fou tout ce qu'on zappe à la lecture une fois dans un livre en couleurs. L'élégance de la composition, les pleins et les déliés, la lisibilité parfaite du noir et blanc.
November 29, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Asterix art is incredible in b&w.
(I prefer it)
You can find old, novel-sized editions in English in b&w.
I have about 18 A2 size posters of b&w Asterix original art that I made myself from high res scans.
Always wanted to do an exhibition in my bookshop but never got to.
(I prefer it)
You can find old, novel-sized editions in English in b&w.
I have about 18 A2 size posters of b&w Asterix original art that I made myself from high res scans.
Always wanted to do an exhibition in my bookshop but never got to.
Reposted by ollie masters
Ahhh lads I know it sucks when content / events are paywalled and I wish we could justify doing everything for free - but we have to be able to pay our expenses, our staff and maybe one day ourselves. There’s still plenty of freebies on our website & podcast feed for you to enjoy.
November 30, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Ahhh lads I know it sucks when content / events are paywalled and I wish we could justify doing everything for free - but we have to be able to pay our expenses, our staff and maybe one day ourselves. There’s still plenty of freebies on our website & podcast feed for you to enjoy.
Reposted by ollie masters
A game where you can do anything and they’re mad that people are doing anything.
November 30, 2025 at 8:32 AM
A game where you can do anything and they’re mad that people are doing anything.