Simon Gray

The Missives is my blog/podcast. It's my Socratic take on political philosophy and is an invitation to conversation. It's free and always will be. open.substack.com/pub/themissi...

Posting your opinion on social media

The bird even realized he had won Original post

'Tis the season! If you missed out before, it's time to get your hands on the 10th Anniversary Edition of 'Death and the Irish'! wordwellbooks.com/index.php?ro...

I know you all find this lovely but my dog finds it triggering.

“If it should turn out to be true that knowledge and thought have parted company, then we [will have] indeed become … thoughtless creatures at the mercy of every gadget which is technically possible, no matter how murderous it is.” Hannah Arendt, predicting the future in 1958

This is absolutely the wrong take on "Bad Apples" -- a must-see for anyone who is concerned with freedom, the individual and the state. (And/Or wants to see some stellar acting, not only by our Saoirse)

'One of the biggest challenges sexual assault survivors face is simultaneously navigating the university and the criminal justice system, which "serve different purposes, operate under different rules and timelines, and lead to different outcomes"' Absolutely true to my professional experience.

Just helping with editing here. These bots aren’t sentient. They’re doing what they’re programmed to do. OpenAI, a private company supposedly bound by laws, committed federal crimes.

After a long day at the aquarium, the otters help tidy their toys away. Payment is made promptly and entirely in ice cubes.

Here I am reading Arendt's "On Violence" while this is happening up the road. Thinking the book should be called "Violence versus Power" -- but the Irish edition would be "Violence, Power and the Rain".

it's a perfectly good song. don't let people negatively polarize you against music imo

Oh yes there is!

It's almost as if I had extensively researched and written about this once upon a time...

Doesn't regulating and fact-checking run contrary to the whole spirit of MAHA though? My understanding is that they've had enough of regulators (who let the opioid crisis happen) and experts (who pushed the drugs). I know and you know that this is a skewed view. But I doubt you'll persuade them.

I think MAHA is very straightforwardly the triumph of the snake oil salesmen and the way we beat it is the same way you always beat snake oil salesmen: regulate their claims

The ultimate clap back to an incompetent government's PR team.

Renaming my political philosophy to "Good Trouble".

We've reached a new level of "Things Were Better in the Old Days", and from a most unexpected source.

Over a quarter of #Clacton voters voted for a bin. 😂

I'm adding "Pippin's Law" to my list of Not-Completely-Serious Principles: - Occam's Razor; - Hanlon's Razor; and - Godwin's Law (which I used as a humorous intro to my most recent Missive, otherwise very dark)

Seems a bit insulting to Count Binface but otherwise accurate. (And supported by @therestpolitics.bsky.social )

"Pushing Iceland closer to Europe" Does that mean we have to re-draw our map? (✍️ @terriblemapshq.bsky.social )

I'm used to getting my death notices on Instagram. RIP Orbital

In Ireland, it's this kind of unintuitive thinking that gets housing wonks promoted.

This advice is accurate for me. Despite being up to 20 Missives I still imagine no one is reading them. I'm only partly incorrect.

Beavis and Butthead sure did well for themselves.

I don't know who William Powell is but I can tell he's my kinda guy.

I'm sorry BlueSky. I know everyone is up in arms about John Cleese and today's right-wing atrocity. But I'm here for this madness instead.

that is in fact literally in the bible. it's Matthew 6:5.

Yesterday I learned that during appeasement French journalists mockingly called Chamberlain Monseur J'aime Berlin, which is exceptional work. Well done France.

The Odyssey by Homer Simpson.

I completely forgot that the Odyssey is the source material for "O Brother Where Art Thou?"

I'll never understand a world where horror like this isn't all anyone can talk about.

I'm listening to an album that I pretty much ignored in the 90s but friends I am 100% here for it now. All bangers no clangers.

Meanwhile in #UKPolitics… 🤪 #VoteBinface

Well this is fascinating. (And in typical #BlueSky fashion, sources are cited.)

Game on, Nige.

Although I treat politics as "sports for nerds!" (to quote John Oliver), I am genuinely worried by R3f0rm. So is it too early to celebrate this as if my team had won the league title?

A case study in the concept of value: Extrinsic Value: This performance is going to underpin some @lastweektonight.com sketch to come. Intrinsic Value: This performance is just plain brilliant in itself.

Unscientific survey: Is this audiovisual joke wildly clever, or is it just for neuro-spicey nerds (like me)?

....And an even worse idea if said clothing was made in China and you're trumpeting American exceptionalism.

A $3 @mta.info subway fare and some good Q train timing can buy you one hell of a view of the July 4th fireworks and the Brooklyn Bridge light show! Huge shoutout to the train operator for slow rolling over the Manhattan Bridge and the conductor for announcing it.