The forecast is sunny and clear outside, with a 80% chance of sudden assault by Christ lasers.
Alicia Spencer-Hall
@aspencerhall.bsky.social
Writer. Researcher. Editor. Genderqueer femme. Crip. She/they. // medieval lit / media / gender / disability / pop culture // https://linktr.ee/aspencerhall
the fundamental thing wrong with this ai-driven "hyper personalization" pipe dream is that your preferences are constantly changing, primarily in response to experiencing things that are different from your current preferences and expectations, through this little-known process called Living.
onion person@junlper.beer · 16h agothis is the ultimate end point of capitalism, ai will completely atomize everyone and there will be zero shared experiences. there will be no culture, only pure consumption. this must be resisted
In my Gender and Jim Crow class, we have a whole session on lynching images. I don’t show the victims, I show the crowds. We zero in on the faces in the crowds, their expressions, the children, the mothers, the picnics, the jubilation…all of it.
Aparna Nair@disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 23h agoIve been thinking about lynching postcards a lot this year both because of the increasing evidence that this dark desire to witness and take joy in the suffering of the other has gone nowhere, but also, because Im teaching Pain and the Humanities again
here's mine: trains are cool and you knew it when you were 5, why are you lying to yourself now
Courtney Milan@courtneymilan.com · 19h agoHere is my pitch for anyone who has worries about rail: I think that building out rail is a necessary (but not sufficient) step in transforming American cities from totally car dependent to slightly walkable, in a way that no other form of transit is.
A recent 🧵by @elisewang.bsky.social explains the difficulty of finding executioners in medieval Europe. It’s an excellent 🧵. I find a similar thing in my research: even those tasked with executing people didn't want to stick around to watch them die. They left if they could. bsky.app/profile/elis...
Elise Wang@elisewang.bsky.social · 2d agoA return to firing squad everywhere might finally end the death penalty. Why? Because people have to be directly involved in executions (not pressing a button) it’s terrifically difficult to get them to do it. Medieval executions had the same problem!
Medieval Executions 🧵 Hi there. One of my areas of expertise is medieval crime and punishment. If you’re interested, here are some comments on medieval executions. Note that, just as today, practices and perceptions varied widely across medieval Europe... www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
‘Medieval’ and ‘disturbing’: US plan to livestream execution elicits global condemnation
Pentagon said execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, would be broadcast live
theguardian.com
There are more Ketchup sachets than nurses. More operational Furbies than professors of human geography. More dogs named "Digger" than people licensed to operate a JCB. And you ask why people are turning to Reform?
four years ago I posted this image of paleontologist Jan Smit looking at rocks and his son-in-law replied with something even better
I would also add that decades of having to argue the (economic) “value” against managerial forces who are disinterested in argument has fundamentally diminished the creative capacities of our disciplines
Rine Vieth@rinewithoutacat.bsky.social · 2d agoNot to take away from celebrating Carson, but she's a "former professor" here in large part because the university shut down her department and cancelled its classes. What pride does the institution claim now—years later—when austerity is forcing other scholars out? What does that 'pride' do?
This is a disaster. The ethics committee in Denmark that approved the Guinea-Bissau study which will withhold the birth dose of HepB vaccine “had never considered medical studies before but it changed the rules in order to vote on this one”. Four members of the committee have resigned in protest.
Controversial vaccine trial touted by RFK Jr gets go-ahead in Guinea-Bissau
Recommended dose of hepatitis B vaccine will be withheld from thousands of newborns by Danish researchers
theguardian.com
I’m in DC scheduled to give this talk today. But the organizers flagged slides in my deck that mention racism, structural gaslighting, New Jim Code and other themes that are off limits in the Land of the Free.
We will send them and they are often very pretty:
Courtney Milan@courtneymilan.com · yesterdayIn case you missed it last night: we are seeing reports all over the country of immigration surges and state violence. If you need whistles for your community, we will send you 100-3000 3d printed for free, and we will love doing it. 3dwhistles.com
Managed to get the #BBC to admit that it made a serious error in its reporting about trans healthcare, when in *two separate articles*, it misquoted NWJCC to claim patients of the Welsh Gender Service were referred inappropriately. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #BBCBias
New working paper: the Norwegian wealth tax was a huge success. The "exodus" of wealthy people never happened (less than 100 individuals left). Tax revenue increased by 71.5%. No changes in business activity or investment. www.nber.org/papers/w35854
I converted to Catholicism six weeks before running for office. Here’s what the pope gets wrong about live-streamed executions.
Most important bit of the BBC streaming reporting on the Fonagty report into mental health. #FuckWesStreeting
Anyone who has ever worked with photocopiers can tell you that they: 1. are malevolent 2. act with intent 3. display uncanny situational awareness 4. are pack hunters (swear at one, and they'll all turn on you) This doesn't mean they're alive, or conscious.
Academia is just 👌🏻 sometimes
After being demoted and forced to retire, mRNA researcher wins Nobel
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
arstechnica.com
David Ho@davidho.bsky.social · 2d agoLol. Princeton University praised Nobel laureate Anne Carson, a former classics professor at the school, on social media, despite denying her tenure in the 1980s.
7. Here's what makes certain people uneasy: To accept reality of ADHD is to accept the system itself is disabling, which means the structures must change, & that threatens those who benefit most from them. Easier to deny ADHD than to accept structural change
Princeton following in the footsteps of Penn celebrating a Nobel laureate, yet conveniently skipping over the fact that she was denied tenure at their institution. Remember Katalin Karikó & her groundbreaking work that enabled mRNA vaccines? www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medic...
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023 was awarded jointly to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman "for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of e...
nobelprize.org
David Ho@davidho.bsky.social · 2d agoLol. Princeton University praised Nobel laureate Anne Carson, a former classics professor at the school, on social media, despite denying her tenure in the 1980s.
Lol. Princeton University praised Nobel laureate Anne Carson, a former classics professor at the school, on social media, despite denying her tenure in the 1980s.
Princeton Celebrates Anne Carson, a Nobel Prize Winner Who Was Denied Tenure (Gift Article)
Carson, who was awarded the Literature prize on Thursday, was denied tenure when teaching at the university in the 1980s, leading social media users to mock a congratulatory message.
nytimes.com
LSBU wants to sack 66 academics and rehire them on worse contracts before Christmas. That's fire and rehire. Our members rallied on campus today. LSBU has now agreed to talks at ACAS. Management needs to come ready to listen.
trans people: gender is mostly vibes and chemicals. we're just trynna be happy in our bodies legions of cis people: i will devote the rest of my life to trying to destroy you with fire
Okay so we have a number now: the Onion is officially 6 months ahead of reality.
The Onion@theonion.com · 2d agoFrom The Archive: DOJ To Bring Back Firing Squad As Means Of Entertainment
This looks like he's holding a press conference to deny paternity in a Daily Wire reboot of the Mamma Mia franchise.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 4d agothis Rubio speech feels a lot like a 2028 soft launch
