Friday 23 July, 2026

Non-musical chairs I keep thinking that I must do something about these aged chairs, which have stood outside through wind, hail and rain for many years. There’s something touching about their quiet endurance, and now I need to make amends. Sanding them down and a coat or two of paint or preservative is the least I can do. Quote of the Day ”The danger of the past was that men became slaves. The danger of the future is that men may become robots.” Erich Fromm ## Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Sharon Shannon | Blackbird | Live at Dolans Link She’s a charismatic musician who lights up every room she enters. Long Read of the Day Sketching the new dysto-utopian world with massive presence of artificial intelligence If you want to know what the world might be like if the techlords of Silicon Valley get their way, then this essay by the economist Branko Milanovic is just the ticket. (Spoiler alert: there’s no good news here. And yet democracies could stop it happening if…