This just in: more than four thousand sexual assault lawsuits.

Uber’s Strategy for Fighting Sexual Assault Suits: ‘What Were You Wearing?’

The ride-hailing giant promised to handle legal claims “in a way that is best for the survivor.” Its lawyers are pursuing a far more aggressive strategy.

nytimes.com

We are excited for @laworldcon.bsky.social! It's just 25 days away! Have you voted in #SiteSelection yet? To hear more about the bid, come to the Future Worldcons Question & Answer on Saturday 29th August, 9am PDT. If attending virtually, there will be a livestream #BrisbaneIn2028 #MeanjinIn2028

Here's a recommended book-list-interview, for a UK publication. For everyone who has had enough of discourse (as I certainly have): it has a tiny mention of Nolan as the hook, but then we move on to some reading. www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/emil...

‘Homer Is For Everyone’: How Emily Wilson Elucidates & Obfuscates In Equal Measure

Classicist Emily Wilson has made headlines in recent weeks for slating Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster adaptation of The Odyssey – for which the director,

countryandtownhouse.com

If you want a big spectacular book-adaptation American movie about a reluctant clever hero on an impossible journey through weird places (which I do), Project Hail Mary is great.

I used to know this stuff but that was back in the 1980s. Any ideas? (post on his thread, not mine).

Jordan S. Carroll 🌹@jordanscarroll.bsky.social · 3d ago

what are the best books about the history of left-wing Catholic activism? the anti-war movement, liberation theology, etc.

They can up their bid to get ahead of the person in front. E.F.Cikamatana 🇦🇺didn't bother. She bid so high (138kg) that everyone else was done. She smashed it. Then on her second lift she smashed the #CommonwealthGames record. Enjoy. #MeanjinIn28 #Brisbanein28 #Oceania

@effjayem.bsky.social is at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow today at the same site as @glasgow2024.bsky.social Effjayem will of course be cheering 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 but also Team 🇦🇺🦘🐨 And look whose headquarters they passed this morning! Go Team Australia! #BrisbaneIn2028 #MeanjinIn2028

Should be a bigger story— “Alexandra Bravo, prosecutor investigating 🇺🇸 strikes on 3 Ecuadorian boats and survivor accounts of torture/kidnapping, shot dead… hitman on a black motorcycle opened fire… Bravo’s sister jumped to protect her, also killed…” www.dropsitenews.com/p/prosecutor...

Brunch is the word for breakfast/lunch combo. But is there a word for a lunch/dinner combo that is more substantial than afternoon tea? I'm at the #CommonwealthGames today and strongly suspect that will be my only meal.

The poetry Hugo is a go! At least until 2029, as there's a policy of re-ratifying new categories three years later. Thank you to @hollylynwalrath.bsky.social, @bugthewriter.bsky.social, @therisingtithes.bsky.social, and everybody else who made this happen!

Speculative Insight has been publishing 2 essays/month about SFF since January 2024. That means there's 31 free essays available to read right now! Pratchett's Men, the politics of translation, ethnicity is SEAsian SFF, Tolkien and myth-making... and so much more... www.speculativeinsight.com

Speculative Insight

A journal for exploring the ideas and themes that stand behind, inform, and develop out of, speculative fiction.

speculativeinsight.com

Corpus Christi has a new historical marker honoring the area's Indigenous people. It replaces a 1976 marker describing the "Karankawa Indians" as having "a reputation for savagery" and cannibalism. It also stated falsely that the Karankawa no longer exist. 🗃️ www.caller.com/story/news/l...

Karankawa peoples receive new historical marker in Corpus Christi

The new historical marker is located at the Hans & Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge.

caller.com

Over on Facebook we are debating the really important issue in Christopher Nolan's Odyssey. Is it possible for the puppy on the left to turn into the dog who plays Argos. Especially given that what podengo puppies actually look like is picture number 3.

This is what I am seeing. Our local Starbucks now has gender neutral toilets. I expect Costa to go the same way since all four loos are single cubicles.

Natacha@natacha.bsky.social · 2w ago

More businesses changing their toilet labelling as a result of GCs trying to dictate exclusionary toilet policy to everyone. A hotel bar this time.

Ahh memories of the time Mslexia printed a piece by Burchill calling me a "human toilet" and they refused to apologise Such feminism

Elaine Crory@elainecrory.bsky.social · 2w ago

So Andy Burnham's wife is getting endless nasty comments for having a body. I bet the "women's rights movement" that is heavily made up of trans-exclusive columnists who claim to be defending women are right on that. Yeah?

Fun thread. Do add your own ideas!

Brisbane in 28 Worldcon Bid@brisbane28.org · 2w ago

This week the team played Fantasy Guest List. Which fictional characters would we invite to be our Guests of Honour, Special Guests, or featured panelists, in which capacity and why. #Meanjin2028 #Brisbanein2028. (do play along and add ideas).

The second edition of THE PLEASANT PROFESSION OF ROBERT A. HEINLEIN by @effjayem.bsky.social is out January 2027! This critical analysis examines Heinlein's arguments about the nature of science fiction, American politics, and himself. Pre-order here: services.publishing.umich.edu/Books/T/The-...

She was part of the Hugo Award-winning Galactic Surburbia Podcast, and is one of the Verity! podcast members. She's written a range of fiction over the years; these days she's focussing on cosy (cozy) fantasy: tansyrr.com #oceanianSFF #Brisbanein28 #Meanjinin28

The Teacup Magic Emporium

Cozy fantasy signed books, magical merch and other delightful trinkets associated with the writings of Tansy Rayner Roberts.

tansyrr.com

Just going to say here, I think I've said this before, a 'historically accurate' version of the Odyssey is not possible because the Odyssey does not take place in a historical setting - it takes place in a fantastical pastiche of four centuries, mixed in with gods and monsters.

Watcher Guru@watcher.guru · 2w ago

JUST IN: Elon Musk says Grok will make a "full-length movie" of The Odyssey that is "historically accurate" by the end of this year.

The reality of Texas's abortion ban.

Texas Observer@texasobserver.org · 2w ago

"When we left the room, the parents and the entire medical team had been stunned into silence. I remember thinking that it couldn’t get worse than that heartbreak. Until it did."

Small achievement day. After 14 years of the project being constantly derailed/put on the back burner, I have a complete manuscript on the work of children's author, Geoffrey Trease. I've sent it to Doxoo (because who has a printer?) and then it's time to start editing. #NeverGiveUp#NeverSurrender!

this is such a good and astute way to put it; so much gender critical feminism seems to stem from the belief that being a woman is a uniquely awful thing, and I mean no one's arguing that living in a patriarchal society as a woman is always a riot but what a depressing and pessismistic view of life!

Dr Jo Kershaw@mthrjo.bsky.social · 2w ago

So I think deep down they *have to* assume trans women are acting malignly, because they can’t imagine wanting to be a woman, while there seems to be a tendency see trans men as either failing to understand that it’s normal to be miserable about being a woman - or as traitors letting the side down.

Have you read @julietmarillier.bsky.social's work? Juliet Marillier is from New Zealand and now lives in Western Australia. Juliet writes historical fantasy strongly inflected with folkore and romance, and has claimed multiple award nominations and wins. ...

Home - Juliet Marillier Author

Note, the following outline contains spoilers for The Amber OwlStasya and her companions have made a remarkable journey to find the true heir to the

julietmarillier.com

In 2025 Juliet was awarded the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award. She was most recently at Celsius 232! julietmarillier.com #oceanianSFF #brisbanein28 #meanjinin28

Home - Juliet Marillier Author

Note, the following outline contains spoilers for The Amber OwlStasya and her companions have made a remarkable journey to find the true heir to the

julietmarillier.com

They’re kids!

JJ in DC@jjindc.bsky.social · 2w ago

🧊✈️ SEATTLE ⛓️😲 👉 Young men & boys in shackles are herded by hired thugs from a chartered Eastern 737 to a waiting bus, to be transported to GEO Group's Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington 👀

A lot of people don’t realize the dust bowl wasn’t a natural phenomenon. It happened when agrobusiness interests dramatically transformed the plains without regard for drought, and created vicious dust storms that choked whole families to death. That’s what I think of when I read about data centers.

Compulsory heterosexuality is when a global reactionary wave upholds the erasure of queer visibility as one of its core tenets. Enforcing heterosexual existence as the only visible, legible, and acceptable form of existence. With all the hate I hold in my heart, fuck that.

QueerAF@wearequeeraf.com · 3w ago

One of the world's largest book publishers will begin to sell 'safety covers' for LGBTQIA+ books Source: https://www.wearequeeraf.com/understand-the-lgbtqia-news-new-guidance-makes-it-next-to-impossible-for-schools-to-be-supportive-of-trans-childrens-social-transition/

I'm delighted & proud that this article, based on my Historical Research Lecture 2025, is now published in its final form in the @ihr.bsky.social journal Historical Research. It's the 'Editor's Choice' (thanks, @saracharles.bsky.social!), so open access for 6 months. academic.oup.com/histres/arti...

Can popular history be radical? Historical research and writing for the public with a manifesto for radical popular history

Abstract. This article, a transcript of the 2025 Historical Research Lecture, re-visits the question of what makes history radical, asking what kind of rad

academic.oup.com

Did you know that Australia has multiple time zones and that *not all of them use Daylight Savings Time*? This means that at some times of the year we have five time zones, and at other times, three. During Worldcon, we'll only have three.

Oh this. A hundred times this.

Eric Shmeric@ericdienstfrey.bsky.social · 3w ago

Editors, if your article is claiming that a thing is different or unique, please send it off to historians who write about that subject. And please know the difference between an actual historian vs someone who merely writes about old movies and tv shows. Thank you.