Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Sep 1

Fair points. Also, the majority of the reading public cant be trusted. Sunday Times bestsellers list doesnt lie.

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Sep 1

Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction/Futurist Fiction is 100x better than Crime Fiction/Crime Noir as a genre. Much more interesting and imaginative. Yay or nay?

2 3

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Aug 28

A wholly inadequate tourist board of its day. Took our book to boost Edinburgh to its current level of tourist popularity.

1 1

Reposted by Kevin Williamson

Jorie Graham @joriegraham.bsky.social · Aug 27

This story is shockingly stupid even for @nytimes.com
‬⁩—where they always promote AI. Take this insanity: “Asking help from a chatbot,you’re going to get empathy,”Ms. Rowe said, “but you’re not going to get help.”

You’re going to get EMPATHY?

It’s a f*cking machine.

It’s mimicking “empathy”.

Jorie Graham @joriegraham.bsky.social · Aug 27

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/t...

A Teen Was Suicidal. ChatGPT Was the Friend He Confided In.

www.nytimes.com

4 4 21

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Aug 9

Just 2 days to go until my first Robert Burns Not In My Name show. The show this Monday is sold out but there are still some tickets left for the show on Mon 18th August (see link below). Be nice to see any of you there.

1

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Aug 2

Jings!

1

Reposted by Kevin Williamson

Mark Cousins @markcousinsfilm.bsky.social · Jul 25

Tomorrow, Edinburgh, noon

2 30 81

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Jul 25

If Adolf Hitler flew in today
They'd send a limousine anyway

1 12

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Jul 23

Judi Dench in Reykjavik 🌋

icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/news/20...

Highest sulfur pollution in Reykjavík since start of volcanic unrest

Monitoring stations in the capital area have this morning recorded the highest levels of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) since volcanic activity began on the Reykjanes Peninsula. According to the City of R...

icelandmonitor.mbl.is

2

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Jul 17

Quite the opposite. The UK govt is cutting red tape so that fresh water cooled data centres can be rolled out fast across the country.

1

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Jul 17

As hot weather necessitates a hose pipe ban in England what happens when more and more of our fresh water is diverted to cool "ramped up" data centres? These data centres will have Priority Use contracts over domestic users. The fresh water problems have barely begun.

www.gov.uk/government/n...

Prime Minister sets out blueprint to turbocharge AI

Artificial intelligence will deliver a decade of national renewal, as part of a new plan announced today (13 January 2025).

www.gov.uk

1

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Jul 17

This morning I've mostly been thinking about tech unicorns in the UK (168 of them all valued at £1bn+) and the 3,700 AI companies in the UK (valued at £72bn in 2024).

And, Who is asking the difficult eco/energy Qs about scaling up data centres to host all this?

www.business.gov.uk/campaign/gro...

Artificial Intelligence

www.business.gov.uk

2 1

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Jul 16

dailygalaxy.com/2025/07/two-...

Two Enormous Mystery Structures Beneath Africa Have Left Scientists Stunned

Two giant, mysterious structures have been discovered beneath Africa, and scientists are struggling to understand what they are.

dailygalaxy.com

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Jul 16

This morning I've been mainly thinking about BLOBS deep in our planet's lower mantle and their relationship to mantle plumes and volcanic eruptions

#volcano 🌋

dailygalaxy.com/2025/07/expl...

Scientists Discover the Explosive Power of Earth's Mysterious BLOBS – Is an Eruption Coming?

What if deadly volcanic eruptions are caused by structures deep inside Earth?

dailygalaxy.com

1

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Jul 14

Remember that grief metafiction published in The Guardian on 12 Mar which Sam Altman claimed was written by AI? What happened to this amazing literary software? Also, where was the transparency of the prompt sheets used? Also, if I need stardust to throw in investors eyes where can I get some?

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Apr 8

Sam Altman of Open AI recently produced an AI rabbit out a hat. A metafiction on grief - published in The Guardian - that he claims was written by an as yet unreleased and unnamed creative writing AI program. Despite all the hype has anyone confirmed the authenticity of its AI authorship...

1

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Jul 14

A few weeks ago I was in Hamburg and went to see an Ian Hamilton Findlay exhibition inspired by the French Revolution #BastilleDay 🇫🇷

1 6

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Jul 14

Not so much a State of the Nation address but a state of the nations summary. Well worth a read. #wherearewenow

Mike Small @bellacaledonia.bsky.social · Jul 14

Britain is an altered state, altered out of all recognition, even in the past ten years. The question for political movements in Scotland seeking transformative change is how do we respond and adjust to these profound changes
bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/07/14/l...

Late Britain, Hyper Normal Island

Britain is an altered state, altered out of all recognition, even in the past ten years. The question for political movements in Scotland seeking transformative change is how do we respond and adju…

bellacaledonia.org.uk

1 2

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Jul 10

🎯

Brian Bilston @brianbilston.bsky.social · Jul 10

And now for today’s climate forecast …

Today’s Climate Forecast

And onto today’s climate forecast,
where we can expect to see a prolonged spell of inaction,
interspersed with patches of hazy promises
across many areas.

Over Westminster and other centres of government,
a build-up of hot air will cause inactivity to soar
to record levels over the coming days,
in spite of the high pressure.

Elsewhere, a front of chronic misinformation
will sweep in from the east,
bringing with it a thick band of climate change deniers
and the chance of scattered falsehoods,

while powerful gusts of idiocy and ignorance
look set to blow across social media.
Outbreaks of ‘We just got on with it in 1976’
and ‘It’s called the British summer, mate’ are likely.

In summary: unsettling.

Brian Bilston

1 1

Reposted by Kevin Williamson

madoc cairns @madoc.bsky.social · Jul 5

Ahead of the expected proscription of Palestine Action - the first time a protest group has been legally redefined as terrorist - I went through the Hansard of the 2000 Act they're being banned under. Turns out MPs were assured the law wouldn't be applied this way. Thread 🧵🔽

10 320 500

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Jul 4

Q. Which country has the most active volcanoes?

A. USA with 165 active volcanoes, 42 of which have erupted since 1950.

#volcanostats 🌋

www.teawamutunews.nz/2025/07/how-...

How the US tops volcano list - Te Awamutu News

Last week, I covered how volcanically active Indonesia is, noting that it ranks fourth globally for the number of active volcanoes. So, let’s talk about who comes in at number one. That title goes to....

www.teawamutunews.nz

1

Reposted by Kevin Williamson

Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · Jul 1

Robert Burns: Not In My Name
11 & 18 Aug, Edinburgh – tickets from £9.38

Showcasing the radical subversive poetry of Robert Burns: the stuff he couldn’t put his name to during his lifetime. A performance by @kevwilliamson.bsky.social with films by Alastair Cook
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/robert-bur...

ROBERT BURNS: NOT IN MY NAME

A performance by Kevin Williamson with films by Alastair Cook

www.eventbrite.co.uk

6 13

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Jun 29

ROBERT BURNS NOT IN MY NAME

Heads up to say I'm gonna perform Robert Burns Not In My Name at Leith Depot for 2 nights only. Mon 11th + Mon 18th Aug at 7.30pm. Burns as you've never heard him before. With films by Alastair Cook. You're all welcome. Details:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/robert-bur...

ROBERT BURNS: NOT IN MY NAME

A performance by Kevin Williamson with films by Alastair Cook

www.eventbrite.co.uk

4 7

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Jun 27

Welcome back! Edinburgh has missed you. Delighted to see my favourite indy cinema reopen. 🎬

Filmhouse Edinburgh @filmhouseedinburgh.bsky.social · Jun 27

Our doors are OPEN! 🚪🎉🍾💖

1 1 9

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Jun 22

Not read that one but will definitely check it out. Geoff Dyer is the best of the eclecticists. Even wrote a fantastic book on Tarkovsky's Stalker I like to go back to now and again.

1 2

Kevin Williamson @kevwilliamson.bsky.social · Jun 22

Agree 100%. The dishwasher was AI's advance guard in Big Tech's plan to eradicate human agency. Hot soapy water will kill the machines.

1 2