Ah, the magic of those first moments after my morning tea, when I’m soaring the great heights of caffeine & glucose & I can accomplish *anything/ everything*… 5 min later it wears off & the executive dysfunction whacks me in the face, but I dream in those post-tea moments!

I asked a former coworker I haven’t seen in a decade if she wanted to go lie in the grass and cry with me and she said yes enthusiastically so I think I will start asking other people this rather than drinks/coffee

Happy Trans Day of Visibility, peeps! 🏳️‍⚧️❤️ (Image by Transpainter on Insta).

To whoever did this at the #NoKings in Boston: Thank you.❤️ It made me tear up. And we must to be reminded of needless damage to humanity that results directly from the careless, bellicose bluster coming from the Pentagon and White House.

Get out there, my US peeps! Be joyful but careful. ✊❤️ NO KINGS. NO ICE. NO WAR.

My lurgy continues… …so I blow my nose and sleep on the couch while watching episodes of the Great Pottery Throwdown and trying not to fall into nostalgia for the time before we entered the Fourth Order of simulacra. Wheee! 🏺💃🏻

Strong recommendation to teaching faculty to just say no to this stuff, even if you are AI curious/enthusiastic. This is meant to reduce faculty autonomy and capture human labor with automation. You're selling out your future self and the profession as a whole. www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-in...

Canvas Unrolls AI Teaching Agent

The new AI agent aims to save faculty time on “low-value tasks,” but stops short of fully automating grading. But some experts worry that the rise of agentic AI could lead to a dead classroom, where c...

insidehighered.com

Admittedly, I’ve switched to DuckDuckGo, but I’m wondering if some of these tools might work on it, as well. 🤔 My fave, unlisted tool: adding -ai to a Google search bypasses the automatic AI summary.

Kaz Cooke@kazcooke.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Secret tricks to get much better results out of the very dreadful 'Google search' these days, plus other search engines for specific things. Statospherically useful for researchers. open.substack.com/pub/cardcata...

THIS. Cutting based on numbers in majors and minors is a lazy form of administration, and one that disproportionately affects the arts and humanities. Do the hard work of factoring in nuance & allow students to take the courses that let them grow as humans, and not just as future workers…

Sam Brody@samuelhayimbrody.bsky.social · 7mo ago

What these admins will never tell you is that the *courses* in these majors are often full. Students don't *major* in these fields, but they really want to take the classes. They use number of majors as a metric on purpose so they can achieve their cuts.

Must write. I use the vibes from images to keep me focused, but I’m starting to think it’s a bit weird to do so… 😆 Still, it helps me. I get bored, hop onto social media (usually evil FB, alas), see these, and flow back into a writing vibe. Anyone else do this?! #academicSky #DarkAcademia

I just saw videos of two different men being kidnapped by I*E this morning, 5 minutes from where I live. Dear world: Don’t come here. Don’t buy US goods. Pressure your governments for sanctions against the US. No human is illegal. Never support this.

2026 basically

I measure my life in discussion posts and emails. You don’t know how good you had it, Prufrock.

Please enjoy this photo of leftover chocolate cake with two wishes stuck into it. The cake was gluten free so that we could all enjoy it. The wishes were whimsical and written on pink paper flags. In sum: in these dangerous times, I’m learning how to live BEAUTIFULLY through cake & good people! 💖

It was an absolute privilege to work with these wonderful scholars. I hope that people enjoy this special issue on YA and series and romance!

Journal of Popular Romance Studies@jprstudies.bsky.social · 10mo ago

🚨 A new Special Issue has been published today! The volume "(Un)defined YA / Series / Romance" features an introduction by Amanda K. Allen (@amandaallenphd.bsky.social) and six research articles. Follow the link and keep reading to discover them: www.jprstudies.org/special-issu... #RomanceResearch

I just finished participating in a WONDERFUL panel with Claire Battershill and Alice Staveley. They gave a fabulous presentation on their investigation of Virginia Woolf as an editor (SO interesting and thought-provoking), and I yammered on about junior novel editors and the making of American YA!

Okay, peeps. I need No Kings Day sign ideas. Have you made your sign? Care to share it?

I've REALLY enjoyed attending the #QueerBibliography conference these last couple of days! Giant THANKS to the organizers: Beth DeBold @elizaaudacis.bsky.social, Kirsten MacLeod @abroadabroad.bsky.social, and Sam Bailey @18thcenturysam.bsky.social! May there be more Queer Bibliographies to come!🌈

The Bibliographical Society of America@bibsocamer.bsky.social · last yr.

#QueerBibliography 2025: in the Making 🏳️‍🌈 Explores how books become queer through the hands of many! 📚 Featuring panels & a zine workshop (Newcastle Uni, June 11-13, hybrid). Free w/ registration by June 9! Learn more at https://bibsocamer.org/events/calendar/queer-bibliography-in-the-making-2025

About to drop into what looks like a FABULOUS #ChLA2025 panel titled "Girls and Maturation in 19th-Century Transatlantic Literature," featuring Anne Phillips, @melaniejfishbane.bsky.social, and Miranda Green-Barteet (who I'm pretty sure is here on BSky, but I can't remember her @)!

Just thinking about how calling Greta Thunberg’s boat a “selfie yacht” is an example of the type of anti-feminist, ageist discourse that uses popular aspects of girl culture to undermine and ridicule.

I'm getting legit scared to re-enter the country once I leave.

Paul Cohen@paulecohen.bsky.social · 2y ago

Le Monde reporting that a French scientist traveling to Houston to attend a conference was denied entry to US after a search of his phone & computer revealed messages critical of Trump's science cuts, "which [says CPB] conveyed hatred of Trump & could be qualified as terrorism". Computer confiscated

This piece explains what the dramatic cuts to the Department of Education mean for our K-12 and college students, as well as for the institutions themselves. #EduSky #AcademicSky #highered

Three Charts Showing Who Secretary McMahon Cut at the Department of Education - Education Reform Now

ERN is a network of supporters across the advocacy and policymaking arenas working to expand what works and change what is broken in the public education system.

edreformnow.org

The whole thing is important, but listen until the end: the US depends a lot on the flow of capital into the country because it is perceived as the safest port in a storm. Once that is no longer true, a lot of things Americans take for granted go away.

Brian Tyler Cohen@briantylercohen.bsky.social · 2y ago

A top economics reporter goes off script on national TV: “I am going to say this at risk of my job, but what President Trump is doing is insane.”

restoredcdc.org/www.cdc.gov/

Happy International Women's Day, peeps!

American exceptionalism is the bill of goods they sold you so that you wouldn't realize that other countries give workers rights, reasonable minimum wages, and health care that isn't job dependent.

Our colleges & universities should encourage, not suppress, open & vigorous dialogue & debate about even the most deeply held beliefs. Trump’s threats against student protesters are antithetical to the mission of higher education. We strongly condemn them. www.aaup.org/news/threats...

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau: "Today, the United States launched a trade war against Canada - their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. At the same time, they're talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin - a lying murderous dictator. Make that makes sense."

But sadly, this goes far beyond just taxes. The U.S. isn’t simply imposing tariffs—it’s employing gray zone tactics, a mix of economic pressure, political manipulation, and strategic coercion, all designed to weaken Canada’s sovereignty and force Canada into a lopsided economic & political union.

There may still be some U.S. citizens out there who can’t understand what it feels like for Canada to realize that our biggest threat, the worst & most dangerous villain in a world with many villains, is now the former “best friend” beside us. Or more accurately, its increasingly fascist government.