Philip Purser-Hallard
@purserhallard.com
Philip Purser-Hallard writes stuff -- most recently Sherlock Holmes: The Monster of the Mere. Posting about writing, TV, SF, Doctor Who, politics, language, crosswords, things I like, things I'm interested in, things.
Pinned
Philip Purser-Hallard
@purserhallard.com
· Nov 14
Since new followers are arriving literally in their dozens, here's a quick rundown of my books and why, if you're interested in the stuff I post here, you might like to read them. Or vice versa.
Links are to my website, where there are links to buy from various sources.
Links are to my website, where there are links to buy from various sources.
Christ, if the next season of Only Murders in the Building has a novelty "British" angle then I am 100% more not watching it than I already was.
November 26, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Christ, if the next season of Only Murders in the Building has a novelty "British" angle then I am 100% more not watching it than I already was.
A stripper, being human, is infinitely more likely to fall in love than a chatbot is to comprehend meaning in the textual structures it assembles based on statistical likelihood.
I've seen people say that getting attached to ChatGPT is like "believing the stripper really loves you", but that's not true. It's more like believing that the dryer personally composed that little jingle on a lonely sockless night just to win your affections.
November 26, 2025 at 2:00 PM
A stripper, being human, is infinitely more likely to fall in love than a chatbot is to comprehend meaning in the textual structures it assembles based on statistical likelihood.
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
almost every novelist you read who's not from the airport fiction or bestseller sections is working a full on day job, including multi-award winners and absolute legends, or they have a spouse or trust that supports them. virtually across the board. just normalize in your mind that's how it works.
I know we know this, but authors need to get better at talking about how they actually make their money. Stop pretending it's from the books.
November 25, 2025 at 10:35 PM
almost every novelist you read who's not from the airport fiction or bestseller sections is working a full on day job, including multi-award winners and absolute legends, or they have a spouse or trust that supports them. virtually across the board. just normalize in your mind that's how it works.
Annoying that we'll never be able to confirm that this is a general rule, rather than us being unusually rubbish.
I reckon the evolutionary mechanisms that generate intelligent life also make it highly likely it destroys itself upsettingly soon after achieving industrialisation. hope everyone's having a good tuesday
November 25, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Annoying that we'll never be able to confirm that this is a general rule, rather than us being unusually rubbish.
Obviously the problem here is the BBC commissioning someone who'd criticise Trump in the first place, brutally suppressing the free speech of all the alternative speakers who'd have given him their unqualified support instead.
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
Reith lecturer accuses BBC of censoring his remarks on Trump
Dutch writer Rutger Bregman says claim that Trump was ‘most openly corrupt president in US history’ was removed
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Obviously the problem here is the BBC commissioning someone who'd criticise Trump in the first place, brutally suppressing the free speech of all the alternative speakers who'd have given him their unqualified support instead.
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
Keeping an eye on this to see how long it takes them to correct it.
For a start, this Guardian TV review has confused Ken Clarke with Kenneth Clark. Basic fact checking has gone out the window here. The irony as they’re talking of the imminent fall of western civilisation. What a time to be alive
@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
Civilisations: Rise and Fall review – TV that will make you despair for our own plummeting society
The mightily stressful and incredibly close-to-the-bone BBC show traces the demise of four ancient worlds – and it’s wildly prescient stuff. Will we never learn?
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Keeping an eye on this to see how long it takes them to correct it.
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
A T. rex fighting a Stegosaurus is less historically accurate than a T. rex fighting Dame Barbara Cartland.
November 24, 2025 at 9:19 AM
A T. rex fighting a Stegosaurus is less historically accurate than a T. rex fighting Dame Barbara Cartland.
Seeing good people attempting the "This may not have been true, but the fact I *thought* it was tells us something important about society" defence after propagating the Gmail/LLM story.
Sorry, but that one's bollocks whoever screwed up. Check your sources, admit your mistakes and learn from them.
Sorry, but that one's bollocks whoever screwed up. Check your sources, admit your mistakes and learn from them.
November 24, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Seeing good people attempting the "This may not have been true, but the fact I *thought* it was tells us something important about society" defence after propagating the Gmail/LLM story.
Sorry, but that one's bollocks whoever screwed up. Check your sources, admit your mistakes and learn from them.
Sorry, but that one's bollocks whoever screwed up. Check your sources, admit your mistakes and learn from them.
A movie that takes place where you're from.
November 23, 2025 at 8:35 PM
A movie that takes place where you're from.
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
Happy Doctor Who day! To celebrate here is the greatest of Doctor Who images: Verity Lambert using a Mechanoid as a lighter.
November 23, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Happy Doctor Who day! To celebrate here is the greatest of Doctor Who images: Verity Lambert using a Mechanoid as a lighter.
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
nerds, probably :p
November 23, 2025 at 10:21 AM
nerds, probably :p
What's he scared of here? I mean, say it's The Wicker Man, or something else cartoonists would have a field day with. The worst case scenario is he can buy the originals of some cartoons of him in his favourite film, and hang them in the loo. Cartoonists will draw cartoons whatever he says.
November 23, 2025 at 10:08 AM
What's he scared of here? I mean, say it's The Wicker Man, or something else cartoonists would have a field day with. The worst case scenario is he can buy the originals of some cartoons of him in his favourite film, and hang them in the loo. Cartoonists will draw cartoons whatever he says.
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
I would write the heck out of the Doctor's first encounter with Bastet -- the ferocious lioness version, rather than the cuddly kitty.
In The Story & the Engine, the Doctor refutes the Barber's claim to be Anansi, Dionysus, Sága, Bastet and Loki with personal memories of the first four. He leaves out Loki: a hybrid trickster, liar and shapeshifter, normally male but sometimes female, who lives among gods but isn't one of them. Hmm.
November 22, 2025 at 10:09 PM
I would write the heck out of the Doctor's first encounter with Bastet -- the ferocious lioness version, rather than the cuddly kitty.
I'm wondering about writing a Big Book of Doctor Who. Something that analyses the whole damn 62+-year saga as a story, in the same primarily narrative terms that the Black Archives treat individual episodes and serials. Would anyone be interested in that?
November 22, 2025 at 5:03 PM
I'm wondering about writing a Big Book of Doctor Who. Something that analyses the whole damn 62+-year saga as a story, in the same primarily narrative terms that the Black Archives treat individual episodes and serials. Would anyone be interested in that?
In The Story & the Engine, the Doctor refutes the Barber's claim to be Anansi, Dionysus, Sága, Bastet and Loki with personal memories of the first four. He leaves out Loki: a hybrid trickster, liar and shapeshifter, normally male but sometimes female, who lives among gods but isn't one of them. Hmm.
November 22, 2025 at 4:53 PM
In The Story & the Engine, the Doctor refutes the Barber's claim to be Anansi, Dionysus, Sága, Bastet and Loki with personal memories of the first four. He leaves out Loki: a hybrid trickster, liar and shapeshifter, normally male but sometimes female, who lives among gods but isn't one of them. Hmm.
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
While on tour promoting 'Wake Up Dead Man', Rian Johnson goes off on AI for “making everything worse in every single way.” bit.ly/47UBPfH
November 22, 2025 at 2:00 AM
While on tour promoting 'Wake Up Dead Man', Rian Johnson goes off on AI for “making everything worse in every single way.” bit.ly/47UBPfH
I've thought this ever since the recorded announcements at train stations started saying "I'm sorry for the delay."
my most butlerian jihad coded belief is that we should probably make it illegal – and more importantly, we should work toward a cultural consensus that it is immoral – to design a computer program whose interface uses the first person
November 21, 2025 at 6:04 PM
I've thought this ever since the recorded announcements at train stations started saying "I'm sorry for the delay."
We've always said the Black Archive would cover Doctor Who "from 1963 to the present day". I feel a vague relief that, with next year's book on The Daleks (broadcast 21 December 1963 to 1 February 1964) we're finally making good on that -- at least as far as the earlier boundary's concerned.
November 21, 2025 at 12:09 PM
We've always said the Black Archive would cover Doctor Who "from 1963 to the present day". I feel a vague relief that, with next year's book on The Daleks (broadcast 21 December 1963 to 1 February 1964) we're finally making good on that -- at least as far as the earlier boundary's concerned.
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
Just read an article about non-jury trials and saw "judge-only" hyphenated across a line. My tired brain assumed it was an archaic legal term pronounced to rhyme with "curmudgeonly".
November 20, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Just read an article about non-jury trials and saw "judge-only" hyphenated across a line. My tired brain assumed it was an archaic legal term pronounced to rhyme with "curmudgeonly".
It's only a "spork" if its father was a spoon and its mother a fork. If it was the other way round, it's a "foon".
Similarly, if its mother was a skirt and its father was shorts, then it's not a "skort", it's a "shirt". No, hang on.
Similarly, if its mother was a skirt and its father was shorts, then it's not a "skort", it's a "shirt". No, hang on.
November 21, 2025 at 9:15 AM
It's only a "spork" if its father was a spoon and its mother a fork. If it was the other way round, it's a "foon".
Similarly, if its mother was a skirt and its father was shorts, then it's not a "skort", it's a "shirt". No, hang on.
Similarly, if its mother was a skirt and its father was shorts, then it's not a "skort", it's a "shirt". No, hang on.
In response to a question I was asked yesterday, the official Black Archive policy on AI is: "Raston Warrior Robots will have to pry the manuscripts out of our cold, dead hands before AI is used in any aspect of creating the Black Archives."
November 21, 2025 at 9:13 AM
In response to a question I was asked yesterday, the official Black Archive policy on AI is: "Raston Warrior Robots will have to pry the manuscripts out of our cold, dead hands before AI is used in any aspect of creating the Black Archives."
Just read an article about non-jury trials and saw "judge-only" hyphenated across a line. My tired brain assumed it was an archaic legal term pronounced to rhyme with "curmudgeonly".
November 20, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Just read an article about non-jury trials and saw "judge-only" hyphenated across a line. My tired brain assumed it was an archaic legal term pronounced to rhyme with "curmudgeonly".
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
I am still yet to see a single example of a service or function that is not actively shitter with AI than without it.
November 20, 2025 at 7:50 PM
I am still yet to see a single example of a service or function that is not actively shitter with AI than without it.
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
Black Archive covers are all done by Cody Schell using icons created by @blairbidmead.bsky.social, which is why they are always awesome.
Excellent - because (a) AI covers are crap* and (b) visual artists deserve protection from lazy AI slop just as much as those who do the writing.
* Like both of these covers.
www.rnz.co.nz/life/books/t...
* Like both of these covers.
www.rnz.co.nz/life/books/t...
Top writers ruled out of NZ book awards due to AI covers
For the first time AI regulations have been applied to the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, including every detail from cover to cover.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 20, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Black Archive covers are all done by Cody Schell using icons created by @blairbidmead.bsky.social, which is why they are always awesome.
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
With a cover by Cody Schell, using Blair Bidmead's splendid crystal icon!
November 20, 2025 at 1:00 PM
With a cover by Cody Schell, using Blair Bidmead's splendid crystal icon!