Matthew Parkinson-Bennett
@matthewpb.bsky.social
Publisher, Little Island Books @littleislandbooks.bsky.social. The best new Irish writing for young readers.
Pinned
Saw a “When you meet a Montessori Mom” video on IG, about this whacky rich hippie type.
This is weird to me because in Ireland Montessori schools are pretty mainstream and not all that different to other preschools.
Are we wrong or are they?
This is weird to me because in Ireland Montessori schools are pretty mainstream and not all that different to other preschools.
Are we wrong or are they?
November 26, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Saw a “When you meet a Montessori Mom” video on IG, about this whacky rich hippie type.
This is weird to me because in Ireland Montessori schools are pretty mainstream and not all that different to other preschools.
Are we wrong or are they?
This is weird to me because in Ireland Montessori schools are pretty mainstream and not all that different to other preschools.
Are we wrong or are they?
PSA for anyone going to the Irish Book Awards tomorrow: there’s going to be a taxi strike in Dublin!!!
November 26, 2025 at 1:26 PM
PSA for anyone going to the Irish Book Awards tomorrow: there’s going to be a taxi strike in Dublin!!!
Reposted by Matthew Parkinson-Bennett
Save 25% on Christmas gift books for children on www.littleisland.ie this Black Friday
Use code BF25 to save on all books!
Use code BF25 to save on all books!
November 26, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Save 25% on Christmas gift books for children on www.littleisland.ie this Black Friday
Use code BF25 to save on all books!
Use code BF25 to save on all books!
Weirdly absent from discourse around Kneecap is that the music is terrible
I’ll get my coat
I’ll get my coat
November 26, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Weirdly absent from discourse around Kneecap is that the music is terrible
I’ll get my coat
I’ll get my coat
It’s really interesting that there was a brief period a few years ago when “panpsychism” became in vogue and lots of articles popped up about it, and then LLMs arrived with lots of “Is Chat GPT conscious?” articles which made no attempt to engage with the actually useful literature of panpsychism
November 26, 2025 at 9:52 AM
It’s really interesting that there was a brief period a few years ago when “panpsychism” became in vogue and lots of articles popped up about it, and then LLMs arrived with lots of “Is Chat GPT conscious?” articles which made no attempt to engage with the actually useful literature of panpsychism
Reposted by Matthew Parkinson-Bennett
I'm so excited to see we've raised over 5k so far on the #Creatives4Sudan auction. Can you help us get to £10k? I'm offering a personalised original Loki drawing, and I really will go all out to make it as funny as possible. app.galabid.com/creatives4su... #KidLitUK #KeepEyesOnSudan
Sorry, GalaBid took too long to load. Please check your internet speed or try again.
app.galabid.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:30 PM
I'm so excited to see we've raised over 5k so far on the #Creatives4Sudan auction. Can you help us get to £10k? I'm offering a personalised original Loki drawing, and I really will go all out to make it as funny as possible. app.galabid.com/creatives4su... #KidLitUK #KeepEyesOnSudan
Reposted by Matthew Parkinson-Bennett
I think “is chat gpt conscious?” is just an unhelpful clickbait framing but perhaps a better question might be “is there a legit definition of consciousness according to which chat gpt has it but some animals don’t?”
My take is that this actually a really interesting question without an obvious answer – but then I also think that about the questions “is grass conscious”, “is language conscious”, “is the internet conscious”, “is my phone conscious”, “is Mona Lisa conscious”, etc etc etc
can’t fucking catch a breath
make it stop
make it stop
November 25, 2025 at 11:31 PM
I think “is chat gpt conscious?” is just an unhelpful clickbait framing but perhaps a better question might be “is there a legit definition of consciousness according to which chat gpt has it but some animals don’t?”
My take is that this actually a really interesting question without an obvious answer – but then I also think that about the questions “is grass conscious”, “is language conscious”, “is the internet conscious”, “is my phone conscious”, “is Mona Lisa conscious”, etc etc etc
November 25, 2025 at 11:16 PM
My take is that this actually a really interesting question without an obvious answer – but then I also think that about the questions “is grass conscious”, “is language conscious”, “is the internet conscious”, “is my phone conscious”, “is Mona Lisa conscious”, etc etc etc
Reposted by Matthew Parkinson-Bennett
of course a machine built entirely to simulate human reactions to prompts is going to seem conscious if it’s built successfully enough, that’s the criteria for success, saying “a sufficiently advanced chatbot will seem human” is like saying “a sufficiently advanced blender will blend various foods”
November 25, 2025 at 10:43 PM
of course a machine built entirely to simulate human reactions to prompts is going to seem conscious if it’s built successfully enough, that’s the criteria for success, saying “a sufficiently advanced chatbot will seem human” is like saying “a sufficiently advanced blender will blend various foods”
Theory: the Ireland football team has ADHD
November 25, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Theory: the Ireland football team has ADHD
What are the odds the outstanding athlete of his generation, one of the greatest of all time, who combines preternatural talent, ferocious competitive drive and an eerie calm under pressure is not at least a bit of a weirdo
Yeah. We should probably assume that any elite athlete is a bit of a psychopath, tbh
November 25, 2025 at 8:57 PM
What are the odds the outstanding athlete of his generation, one of the greatest of all time, who combines preternatural talent, ferocious competitive drive and an eerie calm under pressure is not at least a bit of a weirdo
Interesting bit in the DJ Carey doc imo was when sb said that there was an assumption that a good hurler would always also be a good person. Hate that shit.
November 25, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Interesting bit in the DJ Carey doc imo was when sb said that there was an assumption that a good hurler would always also be a good person. Hate that shit.
1-word title: BOYNE
If you were a despotic president, what movie would you force Hollywood to make? I want to see Quentin's Star Trek movie or maybe Kill Bill Vol 3.
November 25, 2025 at 7:40 PM
1-word title: BOYNE
The funny part is this is really bad news for Portugal
A few days after Cristiano Ronaldo was at the White House, FIFA says it has suspended the remaining two games of Cristiano Ronaldo's three-game ban for violent conduct, meaning he can play in Portugal's first two World Cup games.
Coincidence or not, it's certainly timing.
Coincidence or not, it's certainly timing.
November 25, 2025 at 5:18 PM
The funny part is this is really bad news for Portugal
Reposted by Matthew Parkinson-Bennett
when its definitely not a hostage situation
November 25, 2025 at 4:19 PM
when its definitely not a hostage situation
Ranelagh had one thing going for it, one of the best chippers in the city. Once it went the way of The 4 Provinces, Laser and the snooker place, there was no reason to continue keeping it and its odious denizens around
Supporters of Ireland's planning system say it is wonderfully democratic. But here is a major project supported by repeated democratically-elected governments and put through a rigorous planning process (including plenty of public input) being stopped by 20 people. That's not democracy. It's chaos.
Dublin’s €10 billion MetroLink to face legal challenge from group of 20 Ranelagh residents
Judicial review could delay planned 18.8km line running from Swords to Dublin Airport and through city centre
www.irishtimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Ranelagh had one thing going for it, one of the best chippers in the city. Once it went the way of The 4 Provinces, Laser and the snooker place, there was no reason to continue keeping it and its odious denizens around
Reposted by Matthew Parkinson-Bennett
The problem with this article is they asked too many lawyers and not enough historians.
As a historian, I'd say the legality of Trump's immunity and pardons depends on how he leaves office.
At 40 over 55 approval? He's immune.
At 25 over 65? He's probably not immune & self-pardons aren't legal.
As a historian, I'd say the legality of Trump's immunity and pardons depends on how he leaves office.
At 40 over 55 approval? He's immune.
At 25 over 65? He's probably not immune & self-pardons aren't legal.
John Roberts has secured his place in history alongside Al Capone and Bernard Madoff. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/o...
Opinion | Why Trump Won’t Face Prosecution This Time Around
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:20 PM
The problem with this article is they asked too many lawyers and not enough historians.
As a historian, I'd say the legality of Trump's immunity and pardons depends on how he leaves office.
At 40 over 55 approval? He's immune.
At 25 over 65? He's probably not immune & self-pardons aren't legal.
As a historian, I'd say the legality of Trump's immunity and pardons depends on how he leaves office.
At 40 over 55 approval? He's immune.
At 25 over 65? He's probably not immune & self-pardons aren't legal.
We learned the other day that our distributor has been left massively out of pocket by B&T shutting down.
And they are passing $10k of that on to us.
We can’t afford to lose that much. But what can we do? Nothing.
So, this is good news, but damage is already done.
And they are passing $10k of that on to us.
We can’t afford to lose that much. But what can we do? Nothing.
So, this is good news, but damage is already done.
The book manufacturing giant Lakeside Book Company has acquired distributor Baker & Taylor Publisher Services, an important asset of the soon-to-be-closed library wholesaler. The purchase includes the print-on-demand operation located in BTPS’s headquarters in Ashland, Ohio.
Lakeside Book Company Buys B&T Distribution Arm
The book manufacturing giant Lakeside Book Company has acquired distributor Baker & Taylor Publisher Services, an important asset of the soon-to-be-closed library wholesaler.
buff.ly
November 25, 2025 at 4:09 PM
We learned the other day that our distributor has been left massively out of pocket by B&T shutting down.
And they are passing $10k of that on to us.
We can’t afford to lose that much. But what can we do? Nothing.
So, this is good news, but damage is already done.
And they are passing $10k of that on to us.
We can’t afford to lose that much. But what can we do? Nothing.
So, this is good news, but damage is already done.
Finally somebody is doing something about the podcast shortage
November 25, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Finally somebody is doing something about the podcast shortage
According to this FT podcast Ireland’s neutrality prevents it from defending the undersea transatlantic cables. This is rubbish right?
podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/f...
podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/f...
How Ireland became the weak spot in Europe’s defences
Podcast Episode · FT News Briefing · 25/11/2025 · 10m
podcasts.apple.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:19 PM
According to this FT podcast Ireland’s neutrality prevents it from defending the undersea transatlantic cables. This is rubbish right?
podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/f...
podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/f...
Reposted by Matthew Parkinson-Bennett
In the Times today offering commentary in the Love Song of RFK Jr:
November 25, 2025 at 10:07 AM
In the Times today offering commentary in the Love Song of RFK Jr:
Reposted by Matthew Parkinson-Bennett
Our #BlackFriday sale is now on! 🖤 📚
Enjoy 25% off children's and YA books with the code 'BF25' - only at littleisland.ie until 2 Dec 2025.
#books #BlackFriday2025 #BlackFridayDeals #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #YAbooks #booksale #bookstagram #booktok
Enjoy 25% off children's and YA books with the code 'BF25' - only at littleisland.ie until 2 Dec 2025.
#books #BlackFriday2025 #BlackFridayDeals #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #YAbooks #booksale #bookstagram #booktok
November 25, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Our #BlackFriday sale is now on! 🖤 📚
Enjoy 25% off children's and YA books with the code 'BF25' - only at littleisland.ie until 2 Dec 2025.
#books #BlackFriday2025 #BlackFridayDeals #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #YAbooks #booksale #bookstagram #booktok
Enjoy 25% off children's and YA books with the code 'BF25' - only at littleisland.ie until 2 Dec 2025.
#books #BlackFriday2025 #BlackFridayDeals #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #YAbooks #booksale #bookstagram #booktok
Remember when the 2012 Olympic logo was claimed by some to be a secret swastika and by others to secretly spell “ZION”
I’m very sorry to announce this to the rest of the country & the world, but a transitional logo has been chosen for the 2034 Salt Lake City Olympics & this is it. Why does it say Utah? We don’t know. Why is the font illegible? Yet another mystery. Did they go ugly on purpose? Again, no idea.
November 25, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Remember when the 2012 Olympic logo was claimed by some to be a secret swastika and by others to secretly spell “ZION”
A good example of book design that sacrifices user experience to the designer’s mad whims
November 25, 2025 at 9:28 AM
A good example of book design that sacrifices user experience to the designer’s mad whims