Last week, @jackiantonovich.bsky.social asked for my thoughts on the new smallpox aDNA study that had just come out. I said I'd need a little more time to sort thru it. bsky.app/profile/moni.... I've now had time to go thru my files, so here's a quick summary on where we are in the history of VARV.

Monica H Green@monicamedhist.bsky.social · 3w ago

Thanks for the query @jackiantonovich.bsky.social. I already knew this study on the Chilean genomes was coming out, but I need some time to assess its historical significance. Here's a link to the last smallpox aDNA pub'd earlier this year. Not included in the present study: bsky.app/profile/moni...

A tl;dr summary of the following 🧵: the recovery of smallpox aDNA from an early modern Chilean site is a VERY IMPORTANT milestone in the history of this global disease--still the only human disease to be completely eradicated. My reservation is whether claims of a European source are supported.

I don’t know if anyone else listened to the Culture Study pod on the Odyssey, but I was surprised to hear Sarah Mesle (PhD, English) come down so hard on Wilson’s review (she just seemed mad, she got lots of money, etc). Agree or disagree, I feel like scholars should respect her right to critique.

'Ô muse, dis moi l' homme aux mille tours' is the first line of the first translation of the Odyssey by a woman, Anne Dacier in 1716. She had previously translated the Iliad in 1699. And she got involved in a controversy, much like the current Nolan vs Wilson one #QuerelleD'Homer

We're back! @brettrushforth.bsky.social and Chris Hodson joined me to talk about two decades of collaborating on BEYOND THE OCEAN, using visual and material culture to tell a different story, and more. Plus a cameo by Eminem! Listen here: player.captivate.fm/episode/f2ca... 🗃️

Episode 107: Chris Hodson and Brett Rushforth Upend History in 1.2 Voices

Quickly and easily listen to Drafting the Past for free!

player.captivate.fm

Call For Proposals: Conference on Families in Early American and Atlantic Worlds April 15-17, 2027 Hosted by the John Carter Brown Library (Co-chairs Julie Hardwick and Karin Wulf) Details at: forms.gle/QWcB23XGbwu6...

The latest HLQ is here, with articles in art history, literature, disability studies, and the blue humanities. There are pastors, captives, painters, healers, actors, sailors, poets, liars, polar bears, and parrots. It's big-tent #earlymodern studies, and it's #nuntastic. muse.jhu.edu/issue/57325

And the reason people socially construct brute facts is that those constructions allow us to coordinate action. If we don't have units of measure, we can't easily give each other directions. If we don't have labels for symptom clusters like ADHD, we can't easily develop treatments or policies.

Stephen Wild@stephenjwild.bsky.social · 3w ago

Something can be both a brute fact and a social construct. The distance between points A and B? Brute fact. Unit of measurement to describe the distance (cm, inches, rods, parsecs)? Social construction. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

As I've said before: What high-paying long-term jobs do they pretend exist here? A data center isn't a place where execs come and do Big Deals. Go to the server room at your workplace; are there lots of rich people in there spending money?

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3w ago

Hassett: "Data centers are very good for towns bc they create so many jobs & bring people in with high incomes that can buy houses & stuff like that. So if you take a sleepy town that hasn't seen much in the last 30 years & put a data center there, there are gonna be a bunch of happy residents."

your apartment, the sport of basketball, and the Republic of Korea are all social constructs. mere recognition of this fact does not actually make the question of whether you are standing in your own apartment, playing basketball, or a Korean national up in the air until settled by op ed editors

there are a lot of philosophical concepts that get egregiously misused out of the seminar room (and in the seminar room, to be fair). but in terms of sheer pernicious misuse "social construct" has gotta be top 5 somewhere and it's not number 5

Scott Bryan@scottygb.bsky.social · 3w ago

Channel 4 has announced documentary “The Great ADHD Myth?” It “seeks to determine whether ADHD is a genuine neurodevelopmental disorder, or a social construct.”

No professional accomplishment has ever made me happier than this. theonion.com/translator-o...

Translator Of Original ‘Minions’ Epic Poem Slams ‘Sexless, Bloodless’ Film Adaptation

PHILADELPHIA—In a 4,500-word essay published in Harper’s Magazine, Emily Wilson, known for her popular translation of the Minions epic poem, blasted the latest film Thursday as a “sexless, bloodless” ...

theonion.com

I seem to have become a Crying Baby Charmer and I am drunk on this power.

My latest is about the stunning evidentiary weakness of the White House’s anti-woke report on the National Museum of American History. If it had blue sealant it would peel. The shoddy workmanship in Trump’s 250 commemorations never stops! newrepublic.com/article/2128...

I Fact-Checked Trump’s Anti-Woke Report on the American History Museum

The document is notably short on evidence—and at odds with what I witnessed during a visit to the museum this week.

newrepublic.com

Hey, the court just gave final approval to the settlement in Bartz v. Anthropic. I'm reading through the order right now. www.courtlistener.com/docket/69058...

Judgment AND Order AND Terminate Civil Case AND ~Util - Terminate Motions – #680 in Bartz v. Anthropic PBC (N.D. Cal., 4:24-cv-05417) – CourtListener.com

Judgment AND Order AND Terminate Civil Case AND ~Util - Terminate Motions

courtlistener.com

I missed at the time that Olise broke Pele's record for most assists in a World Cup. big time player. a real genius imho

As soon as this happened, I knew Spain was going to win it. The Trump Curse is real.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last mo.

Trump: "Spain is a wasted cause. We don't want to do any trade business with Spain anymore, by the way. I'd like to cut it off. Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. Cut off all trade with Spain, please. Including visits. We don't want anything to do. They're hopeless. Bad people."

Worth posting this one again 😅

This is already the worst halftime show I’ve ever seen and it’s just started

No. It’s not. Full public support for higher ed would solve all the problems in public higher education. An educated public is essential for the survival of the republic, and the republic is priceless.

NPR@npr.org · last mo.

If an undergraduate program's graduates don't earn more than workers who never went to college, that program could be cut off from federal student loans. But is a degree just about making more money?

📣 Call for Applications 📣 History Workshop is seeking to appoint one Editorial Fellow in 2026, with specialism in pre-1800 CE history from any part of the globe. This is a part-time, paid role. Application deadline: 7 August 2026. Please share widely!

Call for Applications: Editorial Fellowship at History Workshop, 2026

History Workshop is seeking to appoint one Editorial Fellow in 2026, with specialism in pre-1800 CE history from any part of the globe.

historyworkshop.org.uk

have never been so excited for a 3rd place match and hope spain kicks argentina’s ass in the final - thank you for reading my exhaustive postmortem re: yesterday’s game✌🏽

100% and Alexi Lalas jumped hard on the bandwagon *and* David Beckham was apparently kitted out as well. I’m sorry but not even a brilliant team can overcome vibes that bad.

roxanne panchasi@rpanchasi.bsky.social · last mo.

ok that was 100% timothée chalamet’s fault

Also I’m judging every single one of you fair-weather fans and Monday-morning quarterbacks. Just know that I hold a grudge like a true Scorpio.

Meghan K. Roberts@meghankroberts.bsky.social · last mo.

Honestly, France played an amazing World Cup and I’d rather watch them than Spain any day. I’m sad for the amazing players, who deserved better, and bummed that this loss will make white supremacists around the world happy. But hey, it’s Trump’s World Cup. Allez les Bleus, always.

Honestly, France played an amazing World Cup and I’d rather watch them than Spain any day. I’m sad for the amazing players, who deserved better, and bummed that this loss will make white supremacists around the world happy. But hey, it’s Trump’s World Cup. Allez les Bleus, always.

the writing style I aspire to

Margarita@margarita.bsky.social · last mo.

The author applies what I can only describe as a gossip-y cadence to subtle research.

Oh, wow, this got a much bigger response than I was expecting. Today has gotten away from me and I need to go pick up my kids from camp. But I will try to follow up soon!

Meghan K. Roberts@meghankroberts.bsky.social · last mo.

Anyone know a good/reasonably priced web designer? Squarespace just announced they’re raising my website subscription by 58%, so it’s time for us to part ways. I need someone to help me migrate my existing site to a good long-term platform (recommendations welcome).

Shocker, my fellow customers at the only nice wine store in our region were France supporters 😂 allez les bleus !

Belgium made fan guides for the cities they’re playing in? and they make cheat sheets for each match? That’s adorable.

Anyone know a good/reasonably priced web designer? Squarespace just announced they’re raising my website subscription by 58%, so it’s time for us to part ways. I need someone to help me migrate my existing site to a good long-term platform (recommendations welcome).