Tom Freeman
@tomfreeman.bsky.social
Occasional editor and writer. Purveyor of half-baked opinions. Intermittently able to make my nieces laugh. (SnoozeInBrief on Twitter)
My blog on usage, editing and suchlike: https://stroppyeditor.wordpress.com
My blog on usage, editing and suchlike: https://stroppyeditor.wordpress.com
Reposted by Tom Freeman
Owing to a typo, my 5th-level ranger is now wielding a B-road sword, which inflicts 2d4 points of damage but is only usable while travelling along medium-sized thoroughfares that connect to larger roads
November 11, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Owing to a typo, my 5th-level ranger is now wielding a B-road sword, which inflicts 2d4 points of damage but is only usable while travelling along medium-sized thoroughfares that connect to larger roads
Well the Daniel Craig movies were a reboot rather than sequels to the previous ones, so we can now simply return to the Connery-Lazenby-Moore-Dalton-Brosnan timeline
James Bond’s death in No Time to Die is causing a nightmare for the next film. Writers are stuck because Bond “was blown to pieces.”
Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:
“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."
radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:
“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."
radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
November 11, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Well the Daniel Craig movies were a reboot rather than sequels to the previous ones, so we can now simply return to the Connery-Lazenby-Moore-Dalton-Brosnan timeline
Egyptian geese getting it on. At first rather sweet, then a bit awkward, then comically loud #NewRiverBirds
November 11, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Egyptian geese getting it on. At first rather sweet, then a bit awkward, then comically loud #NewRiverBirds
News reporting, like justice and science, is as much about integrity of process as it is about accuracy of results. Fudging the evidence as a shortcut to the conclusion is unjustified, whether or not ample good evidence for that conclusion exists.
The worst you can accuse Panorama of doing is making a misleading edit – and I’d dispute that! – to make *a point that was true*.
The programme aired without anyone seeing any issues with the edit. It was on iPlayer for a year without complaints. Donald Trump *did* incite Jan 6th.
The programme aired without anyone seeing any issues with the edit. It was on iPlayer for a year without complaints. Donald Trump *did* incite Jan 6th.
Tory culture spox demanding the BBC "grovel" to Trump is baffling. Who is this supposed to chime with?
Just a bizarre line that no one who doesn't use X would ever think.
Just a bizarre line that no one who doesn't use X would ever think.
November 11, 2025 at 9:30 AM
News reporting, like justice and science, is as much about integrity of process as it is about accuracy of results. Fudging the evidence as a shortcut to the conclusion is unjustified, whether or not ample good evidence for that conclusion exists.
In Donald Trump, I think the anti-BBC right may have finally found a champion who is popular enough to win over the hearts of the British public
November 11, 2025 at 8:00 AM
In Donald Trump, I think the anti-BBC right may have finally found a champion who is popular enough to win over the hearts of the British public
Sure, I read books! A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium.[1] Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent.[2][3] Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mostly of writing and images.
November 10, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Sure, I read books! A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium.[1] Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent.[2][3] Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mostly of writing and images.
I love the Volvo ad where the daughter is driving the dad around and he keeps doing the intensely annoying thing of telling her what to do next but in fact the car's AI beats him to it, telling her what to do next, and it's not in any way intensely annoying, honest
November 10, 2025 at 9:14 PM
I love the Volvo ad where the daughter is driving the dad around and he keeps doing the intensely annoying thing of telling her what to do next but in fact the car's AI beats him to it, telling her what to do next, and it's not in any way intensely annoying, honest
I sure hope Trump never finds out that The Apprentice was edited to create the false impression that he was an astute businessman who could process information, remember names, stay awake, make wise decisions, and utter whole sentences without soiling himself
November 10, 2025 at 8:45 PM
I sure hope Trump never finds out that The Apprentice was edited to create the false impression that he was an astute businessman who could process information, remember names, stay awake, make wise decisions, and utter whole sentences without soiling himself
"We retract and apologise for the broadcast, which used falsely edited remarks as a shortcut to the finding of the US House of Representatives January 6th Committee's 845-page report, namely that President Trump incited a mob to storm the Capitol and steal the election. Here's a three-dollar bill."
November 10, 2025 at 5:16 PM
"We retract and apologise for the broadcast, which used falsely edited remarks as a shortcut to the finding of the US House of Representatives January 6th Committee's 845-page report, namely that President Trump incited a mob to storm the Capitol and steal the election. Here's a three-dollar bill."
BBC leadership seems like Starmer's No10: repeatedly blundering into gaffes and rows; handling these in a way that maximises damage sustained; responding to certain sorts of criticism with abasement and others with disdain; above all, failing to think seriously about what they're doing, why and how.
November 10, 2025 at 1:35 PM
BBC leadership seems like Starmer's No10: repeatedly blundering into gaffes and rows; handling these in a way that maximises damage sustained; responding to certain sorts of criticism with abasement and others with disdain; above all, failing to think seriously about what they're doing, why and how.
It strikes me that US government shutdowns would generally put much more pressure on a party that cares about using government to help people than they put on a party that doesn't
November 10, 2025 at 12:35 PM
It strikes me that US government shutdowns would generally put much more pressure on a party that cares about using government to help people than they put on a party that doesn't
Intensely sceptical about bringing back The Night Manager for a second (and third) season. I'll give it a go, but it does have a huge neon sign on the front saying "THIS IS PROBABLY NOT GOING TO WORK"
November 10, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Intensely sceptical about bringing back The Night Manager for a second (and third) season. I'll give it a go, but it does have a huge neon sign on the front saying "THIS IS PROBABLY NOT GOING TO WORK"
Reposted by Tom Freeman
Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?
November 10, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?
"Strong message here"
November 10, 2025 at 9:10 AM
"Strong message here"
If BBC News's rivals who are today damning it for bias were held to similar standards, most of them would be shut down on the spot.
November 10, 2025 at 8:12 AM
If BBC News's rivals who are today damning it for bias were held to similar standards, most of them would be shut down on the spot.
These two swans are getting on a bit - they've been raising cygnets locally since at least 2007 - but they're still devoted to each other #NewRiverBirds
November 9, 2025 at 8:17 PM
These two swans are getting on a bit - they've been raising cygnets locally since at least 2007 - but they're still devoted to each other #NewRiverBirds
Reposted by Tom Freeman
BBC News is a news organisation. It is there to do proper news not "represent the views of its viewers" - as funneled through right wing press/social media. If the next DG understands that it will be in a far better place.
November 9, 2025 at 6:52 PM
BBC News is a news organisation. It is there to do proper news not "represent the views of its viewers" - as funneled through right wing press/social media. If the next DG understands that it will be in a far better place.
Kingdom is good. First Attenborough I've seen that ends with a cliffhanger.
November 9, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Kingdom is good. First Attenborough I've seen that ends with a cliffhanger.
Hate to say it, but I’m underwhelmed by The Rose Field. It and The Secret Commonwealth just feel like a big macguffin hunt whose purpose never quite materialises. Lots in there that’s good – prose, characters, scenes – in fact most of the chapters are good – but it doesn’t amount to much of a story.
November 9, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Hate to say it, but I’m underwhelmed by The Rose Field. It and The Secret Commonwealth just feel like a big macguffin hunt whose purpose never quite materialises. Lots in there that’s good – prose, characters, scenes – in fact most of the chapters are good – but it doesn’t amount to much of a story.
Red herrings are no less a form of herring than Atlantic herring. And now red herrings are on their way to doing something even more remarkable: becoming cooked.
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
“A.I. is no less a form of intelligence than digital photography is a form of photography,” the philosopher Barbara Gail Montero writes in a guest essay. “And now A.I. is on its way to doing something even more remarkable: becoming conscious.”
“A.I. is no less a form of intelligence than digital photography is a form of photography,” the philosopher Barbara Gail Montero writes in a guest essay. “And now A.I. is on its way to doing something even more remarkable: becoming conscious.”
Opinion | A.I. Is Already Intelligent. This Is How It Becomes Conscious.
Skeptics overlook how our concepts change.
nyti.ms
November 9, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Red herrings are no less a form of herring than Atlantic herring. And now red herrings are on their way to doing something even more remarkable: becoming cooked.
Best wishes to Liz Truss on her one working day of the year
November 9, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Best wishes to Liz Truss on her one working day of the year
Can't get the bloody sign generator thing to work, I don't care, it's stupid anyway, waste of time, I'm going to bed
November 8, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Can't get the bloody sign generator thing to work, I don't care, it's stupid anyway, waste of time, I'm going to bed