@richardjamesfoster
Artist & writer. History & art buff. Museum of Photocopies. Quietus. Guardian. Louder than War. WORM, Rotterdam. Leiden. Write about music, NL, & my family history. #MDANT. 2nd book, The Punk Rock Birdwatching Club. Links: https://linktr.ee/richardfoster
De geschiedenis van een witte merel (1949). Leuke illustraties door André Vlaanderen, een druk reclametekenaar van toen. Zijn Gazelle-logo prijkt (geloof ik) nog steeds op de fietsen. #kringloop
Looks great as a poster!
This time next week i'll be in London for this one, would be great to see loads of you there given that between the train, travelodge and two days off work, it's costing me more than HALF the advance just to come and do it 😳😳😳😳😳😳
www.wearebardbooks.co.uk/event-detail...
Yes. And we have to talk about this now, because talking about it is the first step to making it seem like a callous crime rather than a surprising emergency.
So Trump rolls out the red carpet for Putin, protects Putin, bullies the Ukrainians for Putin, and in return Putin helps Iranians kill Americans.
Trump must act now or the case for him being a Russian asset of some type will be undeniable.
Russian intelligence is suspected of being behind several "self igniting" air freight fires around Europe, including one in Birmingham
news.sky.com/story/russia...
Trump’s War now providing a massive influx of cash for Iran’s ally Russia so they can continue to bomb civilians in Ukraine while we ask Ukraine for help against Iranian drones. Trump’s foreign policy in a nutshell.
"Russia is providing Iran with targeting information to attack American forces...
Russia has passed Iran the locations of U.S. military assets, including warships and aircraft...
'It does seem like it’s a pretty comprehensive effort,'" an official said.
Sounds like a Posy Simmonds strip!
They can cost a packet!
my view on this is that publishers should stop it with the 80k wordcount obsession, so many contemporary non-fic books are obviously 40-50k pieces of work stretched to the extent that they become very boring to read - just let people write cheaper, shorter books! www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
Watch these companies claim their models have feelings and must be treated with respect
They will start advocating for the mental health of robots far more than they've ever advocated for humans' mental health
Then it will be, 'don't shut the robot down, it will get upset and might take revenge'
Apropos stamp collecting, I really want(ed) to write a book called The Joy of Stamps.
Though I’m at the VERY BOTTOM RUNG of the Osman Scale.
Yes: and I’m under no illusion that my lovely, small, independent publisher published me to begin with because writing for The Quietus and now Graun - doesn’t hurt
That thread is wild
I can well imagine, Matthew.
I want books to challenge me. Or make me think, that’s brilliant- in a Simenon/Powell/Fournier/Beckett/Elizabeth Taylor way, to sound all bloody fusty…
Not read ‘em and I’m sure they deserve all the credit they get, but it’s more that media types have to dabble in bloody *everything*, don’t they? If stamp collecting was a thing, there’d be no end of Clerkenwell Types gushing on about their journey through a perforation table…
This is why I kind of shrug at the whole books game.
Happy birthday to Betty Boo. Here's a reminder of the time she rapped with Public Enemy in the McDonalds at Shepherd's Bush back in 1987 (look out for the unimpressed manager!)
Great article but by Gad, sir, these huntin’ shootin’ fishing’ Lords are a bunch of BORES.
Mr Religious just needed another 6…
🎂 Celebrate the fiftieth birthday of the beloved cloth cat Bagpuss, and share Sandra Kerr’s vivid memories of the 1960s folk revival in this classic episode from 2024.
🎧 Listen here: pod.fo/e/39467e
I may have my frustrations and disappointments about Starmer as a domestic politician, but internationally, I think he’s serious, responsible and trying to do his best for U.K. in unbelievably complex int’l environment, despite treasonous ghouls like Farage doing their best to undermine him.
Knockout piece
One of mine is too long to explain on here but a wildly inappropriate, surreal and impossible-to-explain day and night out in Antwerp ended as I flagged down what looked to be and indeed was a minor drug dealer’s car and used it as a taxi - got home safe, tipped the bemused driver.
Kaja Kallas @kajakallas.bsky.social :
We see the same drones that are attacking Kyiv every day, and now attacking also the Middle East.
Just a game to her
