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The art of conversation What French cafes are for. Quote of the Day ”Republicans want smaller government for the same reason crooks want fewer cops; it’s easier to get away with murder. James Carville Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Keith Jarrett | Shenandoah Link Long Read of the Day From Cockburn to clickbait Lovely essay by my friend Andrew Brown. Claud Cockburn, one of the finest hacks there has ever been, wrote that journalism is very simple: it is a mixture of advertising…
I Protest A lone demonstrator outside the old Chinese Embassy in London in the winter of 2014. Quote of the Day The first step in AI enterprise deployment was giving everyone Copilot, which mostly failed and is continuing to fail. The next step was pilots and trials to find and build point solutions and individual use cases. Almost all big companies are doing this, and it can work up to a point, but outside of some very specific industries (say, law), buying or building pieces of software one…
Norman Conquest 2.0 The British Museum in Bloomsbury, seen on a rainy afternoon a while back (when Britain still could make the rains run on time). From today it’s the temporary home of the Bayeux Tapestry which depicts events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England, which I’ve always thought must be the most thorough colonisation in European history. The tapestry will be exhibited from 10 September 2026 to 11 July 2027. Quote of the Day ”Sex is like money; only too much is enough.” John…
PHEW! WHAT A SCORCHER! Screenshot As the front page of British tabloids used to put it. Quote of the Day ”When people are least sure, they are often most dogmatic.” John Kenneth Galbraith Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Cavatina (from The Deer Hunter) Link Long Read of the Day We’re using the wrong pronouns for AI Interesting essay by Matt Ridley Most people who talk about artificial intelligence reach, sooner or later, for the singular. There is the AI, the machine, the mind we…
A rose by any name… … is still ravishing. Just noticed these as I was sitting at the table, with my favourite picture (HCB’s Rue Mouffetard) in the background. Quote of the Day ” We don’t love qualities, we love persons; sometimes by reason of their defects as well as of their qualities. Thomas Mann Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Keith Jarrett | Over the Rainbow (Tokyo 1984) Link Long Read of the Day America’s AI Policy Is Truly Chaotic A nice commentary by Francis Fukuyama on…
Street scene, London Snatched in true Cartier-Bresson style. And in B&W too. Quotes of the Day The American republic celebrated its so-called 250th birthday on Saturday. Here are two excerpts from speeches marking the occasion. First, Trump, speaking in Dakota near Mount Rushmore. Our American ancestors did not shed their blood at Concord and Trenton, Gettysburg and Shiloh, Midway and Normandy, just so that a band of thieves, radicals, and lunatics could come in and loot and pillage our nation.…
The Beeline Imagine how attractive these flowers would look if you were a bee. According to the invaluable Plantnet app, it’s Verbascum chaixii ViLL. Which is ‘Nettle leaved Mullein’ to the rest of us. Quote of the Day ”The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.” John Kenneth Galbraith Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news J.S. Bach | Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring | Leo Kottke Link I once heard him play this live at the Cambridge Folk Festival…
Fuchsia I think this is still my favourite flower. If you’re ever in Kerry at this time of the year you can drive down country lanes where the hedgerows appear to consist of little else. Quote of the Day ”If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story. The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy.” J.D. Vance June 26, 2026 Link Sadly, it’s true. Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel | Bist du bei mir | Placido Domingo &…
Café life Quote of the Day ”Criticism and Bolshevism have one thing in common. They both seek to pull down that which they could never build.” Noel Coward Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Abdullah Ibrahim | Little Boy Link Long View of the Day If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video might be worth a million. I could have generated a transcript of this video by Hannah Fry, a Cambridge professor, which provides the most useful and accessible explanation I’ve come…
Deux-Chevaux de luxe Beautiful example of French ingenuity. Quote of the Day ”Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil.” Thomas Mann Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Wagner | Tristan und Isolde, Act III: Liebestod| Karajan and the Berliner Phil Link As Groucho Marx might have observed, I don’t like the look of Wagner, but I sure like the noise he makes. Long Read of the Day 3 Lessons on Writing from Joan Didion’s Notes This essay by Jillian Hess will be interesting to…
Through a glass, brightly A window in a lovely old Yorkshire hotel Quote of the Day ”The markets are moved by animal spirits, and not by reason.” John Maynard Keynes C.f. the current AI ‘investment’ bubble Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Abdullah Ibrahim | Bra Timing From Phomolong Link Long Read of the Day Sovereign AI is really hard to achieve This is a really sobering read from Anton Leicht on what Europe would need to do to achieve AI sovereignty. It was prompted by the fact…
I’ve been reading Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed by Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff). And so has another reader of this blog who had a terrific idea for an experiment. He (or she) fed the text of the book into eight of the best-known language models — ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, DeepSeek, Gemini, Copilot, Manus and Perplexity. And they were all asked the same question: “How would the 19th century philosopher Karl Marx analyze this 21st century phenomenon?” The individual responses were then fed…
Farewell to Venice On our way to the airport. Quote of the Day ”I don’t mind growing old. I’m just not used to it.” Viktor Borge Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Mozart | Così fan tutte, K. 588, Act 1: “Soave sia il vento” Link I know, I know: Fiordiligi and Dorabella are being taken for a ride. But it’s a gorgeous tune. Long Read of the Day When Super-Chickens Started to Roost Terrific blast by the redoubtable Margaret Heffernan on techbro arrogance and Tony Blair choking on the…
In-flight refuelling A hoverfly extracting nectar from an obliging flower. I was reminded of aircraft in-flight refuelling methods. Quote of the Day ”Male domination is so rooted in our collective unconscious that we no longer even see it.” Pierre Bourdieu Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Bizet | Minuet from L’Arlésienne | María Cecilia Muñoz, flute; Alina Traine, Harp Link Thanks to Joe Dunne for alerting me to it. Long Read of the Day Meet the New Bosses, Worse Than the Old…
My newspaper rightly pulled out all the stops to celebrate David Hockney — and to mourn his loss. He was a ‘national treasure’ in the same league as David Attenborough and Alan Bennett Quote of the Day ”You will know you’re old when you cease to be amazed.” Noel Coward Hmmm…. I’m getting there. Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Mumford & Sons + Friends Bonnaroo | Amazing Grace Link A venerable hymn given the bluegrass treatment. Long Read of the Day What would Muskism be without…
Hopefully… Seen in Arles on a Summer evening Quote of the Day There are three ways to make a living: Lie to people who want to be lied to, and you’ll get rich. Tell the truth to those who want the truth, and you’ll make a living. Tell the truth to those who want to be lied to, and you’ll go broke. Jason Zweig Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Mark Knopfler | If this goodbye Link Long Read of the Day The Five Books That Could Save America Remarkable essay by Larry Lessig, someone…
Bag Lady plus mutt Part of Paul Day’s bronze frieze under his Meeting Place sculpture at the Eurostar station in St Pancras. Note the way the dog’s head has been fondly polished by passers-by. Quote of the Day ”Never mistake activity for achievement.” John Wooden (famous basketball coach) Applies to much of the ‘AI-slop’ currently being generated. Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Tom Waits | Picture In A Frame Link Long Read of the Day How To Read A Novel: Or why fiction gives us…
Plan B(ee) This giant scabious (Cephalaria gigantea to you and me) sure knows how to attract customers. Suggests that “Busy as a bee” is an accurate simile. Quote of the Day ”If you think hiring a professional is expensive, wait until you hire an amateur.” Red Adair, the famous oil-well fire specialist Thanks to Euan Williamson, who was reminded of it when he read Derek Bok’s quote about the cost of education in Friday’s edition. Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Planxty | True…
England’s Green and Pleasant Land Impending showers included. Quote of the Day ”If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” Derek Bok (President of Harvard 1971-91) Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Eric Whitacre | Sleep | Voces8 Link Hypnotically beautiful. Like a lullaby for a peaceful death Long Read of the Day The independent writer’s advantage in the age of AI Lovely essay by Jasmine Sun on why secrets, live presence, and a distinct voice matter more than ever in an…
Galway Bay I love this picture, which was taken on the northern shore of Galway Bay with the barren hills of the Burren on the other shore. Quote of the Day ”The British have long had a taste for bad books, but they like them well written.” Malcolm Bradbury John Field | Nocturne No. 6 in F Major, H. 40 (“Cradle Song”) | Elizabeth Joy Roe Link Long Read of the Day The Men Who Don’t Want Women to Vote Terrific long read (Gift article) by Helen Lewis in The Atlantic on masculinism, which she says…
King’s re-framed An unusual view of one of Cambridge’s iconic buildings. Quote of the Day ”We live in a world where there is more and more information and less and less meaning.” Jean Baudrillard This insight, that reality has been replaced by representation, was what inspired the movie The Matrix. Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Franz Schubert | An die Musik, D. 547 (Live at Metropolitan Opera, New York, 2023) | Lise Davidsen Link Short and exquisite. Long Read of the Day On…
Popping up I know, I know, it looks as though we are starting an opium farm. But they just popped up in a part of the vegetable bed that was lying fallow with no encouragement from us. Quote of the Day ”People are wrong when they say opera is not what it used to be. It is what it used to be. That is what’s wrong with it.” Noel Coward I disagree. That’s exactly what’s right about it. Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Dick Gaughan | Ruby Tuesday Link Long Read of the Day The Hidden…
A new villager arrives! Spotted on an evening walk the other day. Quote of the Day “I think there are two realities. Yes, AI is far better than a lot of people realize. And yes, it is still pretty bad at a lot of stuff that a lot of people care about (and it may stay that way). Anyone making bets about the future on either side should bear that in mind.” Will Douglas Heaven, writing in MIT Tech Review Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Felicity Lott RIP Mozart | *Ach, ich fühl’s |…
Welcome to Cambridge Quote of the Day ”The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd.” Bertrand Russell Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Bob Dylan & the Grateful Dead | Pledging My Time | (May/June 1987 Rehearsals) Link Long Read of the Day The “Learned Helplessness” Of 2026 What happens when a mad king rules and liberal democracy disappears into thin air. Prescient (and utterly depressing) essay by Andrew Sullivan. Here’s a…
Colosseus In the end, electrification is the best way to slow climate change. Quote of the Day ”I love criticism just so long as it’s unqualified praise.” * Noel Coward Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Crosby, Stills & Nash with James Taylor and Emmylou Harris | ”Teach Your Children” Link Long Read of the Day The Reality of AI and the Crisis of Meaning At the moment I’m spending a lot of time and energy on trying to find ways of talking about AI to people and groups who are…
A tale of two kisses Robert Doisneau’s famous photograph of two carefree lovers outside the Hotel de Ville in Paris is 1950 must be one of the best-known images in the world. The picture, he later said, “represented a perfect fantasy. It encapsulates the world’s view of Paris as the city of love and freedom.” And now, another Parisian kiss, this time from May 14, 1941. It shows a woman saying goodbye to her husband, probably for good. That day, some 3,700 foreign-born Jews obeyed a summons by…
Oi! Where’s our grub? Screenshot We have a bird box in our garden which is used every year by Blue Tits. On Saturday I noticed that the fledglings were getting shirty about the Deliveroo service being provided by their (exhausted) parents. This is a still from the video I made of their impatience. By the time you read this they will have flown the nest and hopefully have learned to feed themselves! Quote of the Day Most economists will acknowledge that technological progress can cause some…
Word-processing, old-style Quote of the Day ”One of my greatest pleasures in my writing has come from the thought that perhaps my work might annoy someone of comfortably pretentious position. Then comes the realization that such people rarely read.” John Kenneth Galbraith Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news The Rolling Stones | Start Me Up Link} One of my favourite tracks. Microsoft payed a fortune for the rights to use it on the launch of Windows 95. Which was a rather nice joke,…
The Wedding Party Quote of the Day ”Having to read footnotes resembles having to go downstairs to answer the door while in the midst of making love.” Noel Coward Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Handel | Waft her, Angels, through the skies (Jephtha) | Thomas Cooley | Voices of Music Link Long Read of the Day Freedom of Navigation A salutary read by Scott Galloway about the systemic implications of Trump’s private war on Iran. Since the start of the war, prices of urea and ammonia…
Alliums ahoy! Some striking white ones in the Orchard in Grantchester on Friday afternoon. Quote of the Day “Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.” Picasso Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Louis Armstrong | What A Wonderful World Link The BBC put on a wonderful — and moving — celebration of David Attenborough’s 100th birth in the Albert Hall on Friday night, which ended with a recording of him reading the lyrics of this song against a backdrop of clips from his…
