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Paul Clammer

@paulclammer.bsky.social

3.3K followers 940 following 1.1K posts

Writer | BLACK CROWN: Biography of Henry Christophe, King of Haiti | Antarctic Editor | Recovering Lonely Planet guidebook author | Bristol https://paulclammer.com/

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Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · Nov 17

Hello everyone!

I'm a UK-based writer: my last book was BLACK CROWN, a bio of Haiti’s revolutionary king and am now working on the lives of polar power couple Ernest & Emily Shackleton.

Before that too many Lonely Planet guidebooks to remember (but hence our Moroccan rescue street cat).

Copies of 'Black Crown : Henry Christophe, the Haitian Revolution and the Caribbean's Forgotten Kingdom' by Paul Clammer

Polar explorer Ernest Shackleton, with his wife Emily. They are on board a ship: he is in naval uniforn; she is in hat, jacket and long skirt in classic Edwardian style.

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Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 1h

What a very precise way of discovering what I was doing 45 years ago this week: spending my pocket money on my first ever copy of 2000AD. The start of a weekly fix of Thrill-Power that's lasted way longer than most things in my life: a good investment for 14p. Thank you @2000ad.bsky.social!

Colin Smith @colinsmith.bsky.social · 1h

Dated this very day in 1980, 2000AD #181 with its pulptastic cover by Carlos Ezquerra featuring Strontium Dog. It was all a mere 45 years ago.

Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 6h

Unsolicited Crick pic.

Francis Crick and James Watson with a model showing the structure of DNA.

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Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 1d

I LOVE the Bristol Know Your Place maps! They taught me so much about how the area I live in developed (you can literally see my street appear with the arrival of the railway!), plus all the great crowdsourced map overlays like statues, the Bristol Blitz, LGBT Bristol history etc etc. So good.

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Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 1d

It's not a miracle cure of course - there are still plenty of days when it's almost impossible to get off the couch. Sending good thoughts, these conditions are really shitty.

Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 1d

I'm so sorry. My partner has this and it's tough. Do you find yourself crashing after times when you were able to have something approaching a 'normal' day? She has a fitbit-style monitor that helps keep track of the day and it's made a difference, at least in understanding a day and pacing it out.

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Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 1d

He has to stay in power until Chantal Biya's hair is ready to assume power. Because surely it's sentient by now?

Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 1d

Working on a book project, I sit with my unfeasibly complicated timeline that pulls together every source and event, wondering how anything fits. And I always marvel at how it leads to entirely new theories and conclusions. It's hard and slow, but why would you deny yourself the gift of that magic?

Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 2d

This sounds fascinating Michael!

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Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 2d

This is super cool – I grew up in Cambridge and always loved the prehistoric carvings on the outside of the Sedgwick Museum, so I'm delighted to know the themes are echoed inside!

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Reposted by Paul Clammer

Alex von Tunzelmann @alexvont.bsky.social · 4d

I agree with every word Zelda Williams says. And this at the end from OpenAI makes me want to go full Ned Ludd. Creators can’t have a blanket opt-out on copyright infringement of their work and have to fill out a form appealing to OpenAI’s mercy every time? Fuck off into the sun

OpenAI told the Guardian that content owners can flag copyright infringement using a “copyright disputes form” but that individual artists or studios cannot have a blanket opt-out. Varun Shetty, OpenAI’s head of media partnerships, said: “We’ll work with rights holders to block characters from Sora at their request and respond to takedown requests.”

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Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 5d

Happy birthday Henry Christophe - 258 years of people spelling your name wrong! 😉

Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 5d

Interesting exercise!

Screenshot of an Instagram suggested search feed.

Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 8d

Useful thread for UK authors—like me—who had their books stolen to train AI and had hoped for even a few crumbs from the Anthropic settlement.

Jason Sanford @jasonsanford.bsky.social · 9d

The official database of works eligible for the Anthropic AI settlement has been released and, as I suspected, many authors are screwed. Basically, if your books weren't officially registered with the US Copyright Office you're out of luck. 1/ secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/results

Welcome to the Anthropic Copyright Settlement Website
Are you the legal or beneficial copyright owner of a book included in the Anthropic Copyright Settlement?
You could get a payment from the $1.5 billion Settlement.

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Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 8d

'Leave the girl - it's the scarf I want!'

Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 8d

Good? That book seems to be getting a lot of love these days?

Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 9d

What a wonderful essay - thanks for sharing.

Reposted by Paul Clammer

Michael Tisserand @tisserand.bsky.social · 9d

For the 75th anniversary of Peanuts here’s a link to an essay I wrote about Charles Schulz’s deep love of Krazy Kat

www.michaeltisserand.com/ottimliffs

Ignatz throwing a brick at Charlie Brown, drawn by Charles Schulz

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Reposted by Paul Clammer

Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 10d

This is the alternative universe I'd like to move to, please.

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Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 11d

I can remember endlessly trying to perfect the logo to draw on my school books. 😆

Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 12d

I had the 7-inch single as well!

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Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 12d

I have just bought a copy based on these recommendations!

A book: 'The Ruin of All Witches' by Malcolm Gaskill'.

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Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 12d

Age yourself with a film you saw in the cinema as a kid.

Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 12d

I would love this - I'd order it like a shot.

Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 13d

Such a great essay, and prompted me last week to listen to some brilliant albums I hadn't heard in years.

Paul Clammer @paulclammer.bsky.social · 14d

One of Bristol's best kept secrets: Beese's cafe, where they send a ferry across the river to pick you up for coffee and cake (or a pint). Easy to forget you're still technically in the city.