all these universities kept axing medieval history departments as if they thought tyrants beefing with the Pope was going to stop being relevant

one of my favorite things when buckaroos do bad things is we are given opportunity to find grace. it is a loaded word because there are religious connotations but as a non religious buckaroo i find the concept so powerful: not just forgiveness but grace. thankful for those moments when they come

They’re telling me a great empire will be destroyed if I attack Persia. Even the oracles who don’t like me very much, very nasty, they all said to me, “Sir, it’s one of the great empires, and it’ll be destroyed. And all because you attacked Persia.” That’s what they’re telling me.

Honestly, I am absolutely disgusted by academics suggesting that AI can do the reading and writing for you. At a certain point, what you're bragging about is fraud. And in a broader sense, what you're contributing to is the erosion of knowledge and the destruction of trust in academic publishing.

Imagine if worms in hats did drive apple-cars about though.

I need to see one of these guys in person one day.

I don't know how much good these petitions really do, but I don't think they can hurt. Please sign and share!

21st century humans: can't understand why ancient Mesopotamian diviners thought they could predict the future from wordplay-based omens. Also 21st century humans: "This AI told me how to fix my lawn mower once, this computer is basically God now."

Humans can be pretty excellent.

Perseus Rescuing Andromeda, by Paolo Veronese, 1576-78, 📸 by @JOHNRU55ELL

It is one thing for professors to resist AI in education; it is far more powerful when students do. Only a coalition between the two groups of students and teachers —and not the antagonistic one between “cheaters” and “cops”—will be powerful enough to create a movement.

Fantastic article. This, in particular, cannot be said often enough: "A liberal arts degree ... is not meant to be efficient."

In today's installment of Old Lady Yells At Clouds:

You could actually structure your moral code around the idea that law enforcement doesn't exist to execute people. You don't have to create perfect victim narratives, you can just refuse to accept that the state gets to kill people.

I fear my tipping point into madness is "Thus is un-American" posts in response to ICE terrorizing immigrants. I beg you to open Wikipedia (I would say a book but let's start small) and read up on The Trail of Tears, Fugitive Slave Catchers, Japanese internment, Indian Boarding schools & Jim Crow

The scribe emerges in the margin from the line-filler to write the text. Bodleian Library MS. Douce 6; Psalter; c.1320 CE-1330 CE; Flanders (Ghent) f.61r @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

We all need a a timeline cleanse! A small Corinthian aryballos in the shape of an owl (circa 630 BC). It served as a perfume container. On display at Antikensammlung München A lovely weekend to all of you ☃️😀 📷 me

#AIASCS folks, is anyone else having trouble getting into the virtual platform — and more importantly, have you figured out how to solve the problem? It keeps telling me that my login credentials are wrong, but I'm using the ones they sent me.

British Quakers are refusing room bookings from terfs as policy. If you were waiting for an org to stand up for LGBTQIA+ rights, and unflinchingly withstand bullying and lawfare, here you go, friends. Good luck to the raging bigots, they'll get nowhere with threats.

The tech bozos should receive a bill every time a librarian has to look for a fabricated book or article. Slop enablers should be held accountable. Another class action suit needed here - a global one. The UN needs an anti-AI charter. WTAF is this timeline. 1/n

Yeah, once again, disabled workers, parents and caregivers who rely on work from home would appreciate it if everyone from bosses to politicians to rando pundits online would stop blaming wfh for everything from cratering morale to the death of entire cities. Just a small note, really.

spoke with the executive director of my local food bank today and got this really incredible line: "if you donate 1 can of green beans, we can give away 1 can of green beans. but if you donate a dollar, we can give away 6 cans of green beans"

1st November is All Saints' Day BnF MS Latin 1141; Sacramentarium of Charles the Bald (?); 9th century, c.869-870; ff.5v, 6r @gallicabnf.bsky.social

Watch out for Ea Nasir this Halloween!

Tlingit artist Nicholas Galanin, “Architecture of return, escape (The British Museum)”, a deerskin map a floor plan of the British Museum and possible escape routes for various Indigenous cultural belongings held there.

"Non enim solum ipsa fortuna caeca est, sed eos etiam plerumque efficit caecos, quos complexa est..." Cicero, De Amicitia, XV.54 #TuesdayThought BL Royal 20 C IV; Giovanni Boccaccio, De casibus virorum illustrium in French translation); 15th century; France; f.1r

Although classified as carnivores, wolves may sometimes follow an omnivorous diet. They can eat meat, eggs and even fruit! This time of year, pumpkins are a special treat for our ambassador wolves.🎃 #wolffact

companies make it difficult or impossible to disable ai in their products because it is an authoritarian project made from a stack of consent violations in a trenchcoat they don't give you a checkbox for "i don't want this and will never use it" because they know many people would check that box

Reposting so that I don't lose this.

Good morning, friends. I've got a rather busy day, so I'm afraid I must be quick with the eel post. But don't worry, friends...I won't leave you eel-less. Please enjoy this wonderful interlinear eel and heron. Perhaps they're having a conversation about the evils of lightning. 🗃️🧪

Part of resisting fascism is resisting the normalization of cruelty and lack of empathy. We are surrounded by horrific cruelty and tragedy. We can’t normalize it. We can’t blame victims without losing our own humanity.

Will happily take suggestions. I’ve tried One Tab, but I don’t like it as much, for several reasons.

Sure, that's what Big Heron wants you to believe. (Big Bird knows better.)

This is definitely a heron and not a muppet, I swear. 📷: KRT, Commodore Park/Ballard Locks

“I asked ChatGPT” well I asked the three Fates and the one with the scissors got very agitated when I told her you were using your one precious life thread talking to that cursed thing

AI doesn’t save labor; it magnifies the immiserating conditions of the labor done by those who haven’t been laid off.

I received a heartbreaking email today: A paper in a special issue I’m editing is being retracted because one of its authors is afraid of losing their job and their legal status in the U.S. if they publish a scientific study on evolution. Yes, on evolution, nature's engine of diversity.

It will soon be the Spring Equinox.... British Library Add 18856; Guyart des Moulins, Bible historiale; c.1420 CE; France, Central (Paris); f.5v

As we approach the Spring Equinox, here's what Stonehenge looked like in the 16th century. British Library Add MS 28330; Lucas De Heere, Corte Beschryvinghe van Engheland, Schotland, ende Irland; 1573 CE-1575 CE; England (London); f.36r

A toxic toy? A #Roman lead figure of a #camel, presumably a kid's toy (height 5.08cm, length 7.62cm). Dating probably 1st century AD,  from Lower #Egypt. On display at the British Museum 📷 me 🏺 AncientBluesky #archaeology

Uhhh dawg? Your gyre is widening

Oh my goodness, yes, let's make today be a debate about whether thing x distracts from thing y or vice versa. We all know the real enemies of the x-distractors are the y-distractors, no other enemies that we should be focused on. Yeesh.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

“Now the one who has money wants more money still” νῦν γὰρ ὁ χρήματ᾿ ἔχων ἔτι πλε[ί]ονα χρήματα/ θέλει #AnonymousDrinkingoSong

Here's your #DailyDose of medical history! COFFIN COLLARS were used to thwart bodysnatchers in early 19th century. The collar was fixed around the neck of a corpse and bolted to the bottom of a coffin. Bodysnatchers sold bodies to anatomists and medical schools. Follow me for more useless facts!

That’s that.

PLINY THE ELDER: it says here that roasted millipedes are a cure for asthma RFK Jr: correct PLINY: and boiled frogs fix whooping cough? RFK Jr: also true CATO THE ELDER: and a flock of flying birds… RFK Jr: yes, yes, can predict the shape and size of an infant’s cranium

This account is just Severance memes now. (Not my creation, if it needed saying.)