ollie masters

A Day in the Life of an Ensh*ttificator YouTube video by Forbrukerrådet - Norwegian Consumer Council

Brilliant 👏👏👏
First we had the Swedish Chef, now the Norwegian Enshittificator.
youtu.be/T4Upf_B9RLQ?...

so many things to like and appreciate about A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS but looming large among them is dan romer's incredible score ... we're so lucky to have this show!!!

The drawing for this (and some other pieces are) up now at: www.tomgauld.com/art-for-sale

If you think the BBC should be impartial then this is the place to let them know.

If you don’t want to pay for the BBC or have to watch adverts then this is the place to let them know.

You can‘t complain about the BBC unless you get involved

tech CEO in 2026: My computer has anxiety.
venture capitalist in 2026: Here, have 200 billion more dollars.

child in 2006: My NeoPet is angry at me.
mom in 2006: No it isn't sweetie, go to bed.
mom to dad in 2006: We have an idiot boy. Our boy is a little idiot person. It's too late to fix him.

“Cremuel, dude.”

Are we falling out of love with nonfiction? In the early 2020s, readers flocked to books to explain political turbulence. But is the world now too grim to read about – and are podcasters taking the place of authors?

my view on this is that publishers should stop it with the 80k wordcount obsession, so many contemporary non-fic books are obviously 40-50k pieces of work stretched to the extent that they become very boring to read - just let people write cheaper, shorter books! www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...

UK arts must not be sacrificed for speculative AI gains, peers say Ministers urged to abandon plans to let tech firms use work of novelists, artists and writers without permission

'Barbara Keeley, a Labour peer, said the UK’s creative industries faced a “clear and present danger” from AI firms using their work without credit or payment.'

Footnote: the @writersguildgb.bsky.social is doing excellent work to fight this blatant theft of people's livelihoods. Join your union!

'You broke my heart, dude.'

THE PERIL OF THE BRUTAL DARK: AN EZRA CAIN MYSTERY #1 Returns to Press! | DC The Peril of the Brutal Dark #1 becomes the third Vertigo title to go back to print, following sellouts of Bleeding Hearts #1 and End of Life #1.

The Peril of the Brutal Dark is SOLD OUT and going back to the printers!!
www.dc.com/blog/2026-03...

Getting some tranction on this, which is also my chance to say I am thrilled that Betty Gilpin has been cast in S2 of The Lowdown.

quite apart from Kemi Badenoch's dismal performance on BBC Breakfast, minimising the work of the RAF, she spoke of Labour 'not being built' for conflict because they came into power to do things like 'breakfast clubs' in such a disparaging way, like feeding kids is a joke ambition

Shut up about the flags, says local politician who spent £75k putting in just 164 flags nobody wanted and nobody needed, while the roads have become more uneven and potholey than when the romans built some of them

Can’t say I identify strongly with anyone who calls themselves an ‘equity punk’, but if I just lost a ton of money from investing in Brewdog and then the multi millionaire owner emailed that last paragraph to me, I’d get in my ford fiesta and go drive it through his open plan country mansion.

Just looked through writing gigs on LinkedIn, half of which turn out to be training AI when you click on them. Came back on Bluesky and to find someone complaining that writers who want to be paid for their work are "money grabbing twats".

Sometimes I think people deserve gen AI slop.

Finally!

I know this seems like a joke. But I actually think it would be brilliant

Scorsese’s Great Gatsby

Albion Treasury of British Comics 2026 edition cover

Albion returns to print in 2026 with a new collection courtesy of The Treasury of British Comics!
Classic comic characters return in Albion plotted by the legendary Alan Moore, scripted by the team of Leah Moore & John Reppion, with art by Shane Oakley.

treasuryofbritishcomics.com/news/albion-...

Meme triptych of Duke Leto and Paul Atreides Text: We must not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind. Why not? Because people are fucking idiots, Paul. They're just... incredibly stupid.

Happy world book day to those who celebrate! If anyone dressed up as a character from my Haru series, let me know and I'll send you a little print as a thank you for supporting my book!

We paid an ex-Tory MP to lobby for our fake Chinese firm - and authorities did nothing Investigation finds no rules were broken. It just goes to show how few rules there are.

Last week, UK lobbying regulator closed investigation into ex Tory MP Ben Howlett

We offered Howlett money to work for a fake Chinese investor. He introduced us to a dozen Labour MPs

Regulator didn't even speak to us. Our system is broken

New, by me: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/we-paid-an...

Rich Tea: A drink's too wet without one

Great advertising slogans we have known. Elegant, memorable, funny.

No, it is the children who are wrong This week: Keir Starmer has decided that he blames the voters. Also: some golden age anti-car propaganda; and some new maps of British living standards.

"Where’s the soul searching about why voters might have defected to a challenger from the left? Why, in God’s name, did anyone think it was a good idea to imply a large chunk of Labour’s coalition is, in fact, stupid?"

Newsletter out. Bit angry.

As it’s World Book Day, why not read Making Movies, Sidney Lumet’s superb book about his filmmaking process.
Here’s a telling anecdote about Akira Kurosawa that shows how important pragmatism is in the creative process.

No, it is the children who are wrong This week: Keir Starmer has decided that he blames the voters. Also: some golden age anti-car propaganda; and some new maps of British living standards.

"And yet Starmer’s statement made me more likely to vote for them. Because I have friends who’ve joined the Greens, and they are neither frenzied sectarians nor simply stupid."