Varifocals?
Author: defjaf
It makes sense that the two leaders, a remain-supporting leaver and a leave-supporting remainer, closer to each other than to their own parties, would eventually work together.
At least there are still the Mekons, now reporting from the desert at Joshua Tree. My favourite band in one of my favourite places.
Corbyn set to whip MPs to back public vote as frontbench threatens revolt.
So Corbyn finally does the right thing. But…
He [shadow minister Gardiner] said Labour could not be portrayed as a party that wanted remain at any price.
I don’t understand — what’s the “price”?
The last Brexit vote that had as little legal force as today’s “indicative votes” was the referendum.
“The answer, of course, is not to abandon p-values entirely, but to bear in mind their, and our, limitations.“ — The Guardian (editorial)
It’s rare for a newspaper to have a view on the details of scientific methodology! (But I don’t entirely agree with that view…)
RIP Scott Walker, possibly the only person ever to write a song about a brown dwarf (an astronomical object, heavier than a planet, lighter than a star).
Theresa May’s Message to Britain at a Perilous Moment: It’s Parliament’s Fault
As a distraction from the terrible news, isn’t it funny that the NY Times style guide requires referring to Members of Parliament as “M.P.s”, as opposed to “MPs”, universal in the UK (sorry, “U.K.”)?
At least someone is taking back control.
Just to be clear: the Labour position is that there are achievable versions of Brexit that are better than staying in the EU?
To the Tories, the problem with the EU is that it represents a “statist juggernaut”; in the rest of Europe, the problem with the EU is that it represents a “capitalist juggernaut”… “Brexit marks the end of Britain’s role as a global superpower”– Fareed Zakaria (CNN).
“If this vote is not passed tonight, if this deal is not passed,” Mrs. May said, “then Brexit could be lost.”
Hope springs eternal.
7 Labour Lawmakers Resign in U.K., in Rebuke of Jeremy Corby
I’m pretty sure I’m proud of my MP*, @ChukaUmunna, for this bold move.
*he’s MP where I live in Lambeth—except I can’t vote in the UK.
Congratulations to newly-minted Imperial Astrophysics PhD, Dr Ciarán Conneely! It’s been a pleasure supervising him and learning from and with him about his thesis topic, “Application of Cosmic Microwave Background Techniques to a Gravitational Wave Stochastic Background”.
Did not expect to see this canvas bag emblazoned with the cover of Pere Ubu’s 1978 album “The Modern Dance” hanging off the back of a pram in a playground on Clapham Common, London. @ubuprojex
@help
micro.blog iOS client is crashing when trying to post on my iPhone, but not iPad. Probably relevant: I just upgraded to a new phone and restored settings from backup of old phone.
Joshua Tree National Park’s Signature Trees Are Among Shutdown Victims
Unsupervised visitors destroyed trees to carve new off-road paths… Others spray-painted graffiti…
Perfect (distressing) symbol of, well, pretty much everything wrong with the country today.
Jeremy Corbyn Says Brexit May Have To Be Delayed To Get A Better Deal With The EU
I would love to have Labour back in power, and am no fan of the Tories, or Theresa May in particular, but the problem is not with her prowess as a negotiator.
RIP Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=terg_LPT3X0&feature=share
Ricky Jay, Magician Who Mastered Sleight of Hand, Dies at 72
Of course, “Mastered sleight of hand” doesn’t do justice to his immense dedication, knowledge, and talent.
Thank you, SF Department of Elections, for making my vote count (eventually).
Trump deciding not to pardon either turkey this year would be excellent fake news.
Looking for a macOS menubar app for easily exporting pictures from the Photos app — I remember seeing something like this recently, but can’t find it. Pointers welcome!
Delivered my first undergraduate lecture in a couple of years. I think I presented the material (extragalactic astrophysics) ok, but consider it a triumph that I didn’t collapse in a chalk-dust induced coughing fit. (Nb. I really like writing on blackboards!)
Better than we feared. Not quite as well as we expected. Worse than we hoped.
I don’t have enough bourbon in the cupboard for a truly bad outcome tonight.
No, really, I voted, but in slow motion. Step 9 will be “On___, your ballot for the November 6 election was counted!”
I voted, by the weirdly antiquated combination of an early-2000s web page letting me fax a PDF of my ballot, in the last place I lived in the US. Which was, uselessly, Nancy Pelosi’s district. But still.
The Irish border problem isn’t actually solvable, right? #brexit
I have been coming to Paris pretty regularly over the last 30 years and I am always struck by the unique smell of the Metro.