Last reskeet: A followup to yesterday's posts about @thaliarchus.bsky.social's poem Spearhand Faring. People wrote a lot of alliterative English poems back then, and are still writing alliterative verse today (and not just about giant robots and mobile suits); @rhunedhel.bsky.social has the details.

For online info about the Alliterative Morte Arthur and other Middle English alliterative poems, check out alliteration.net/historical-texts/translations-middle-english/

While I'm skeeting re modern SF-ish works inspired by older texts, I urge you all to check out the Gordian Cycle by @sunshinemoon.zone, which riffs on the Ulster Cycle of Irish legends. The final story in particular is a four-course feast of gonzo goodness. sunshine-moon.itch.io/the-gordian-...

Ah, thank you for the correction! And for others, note that the Standard Ebooks folks have created a nicely formatted free (and DRM-free) EPUB version of Malory's Morte D'Arthur, downloadable at standardebooks.org/ebooks/thoma...

Follow-up from my last reskeet: Spearhand Faring by @Thaliarchus takes inspiration from the Alliterative Morte Arthure, a Middle English poem that's surprisingly readable in the original—more so than Chaucer, for example. You can find it online at metseditions.org/read/KWj7bbR... 1/2

Folks, don't sleep on this. It's great fun, especially if you're a fan of giant robots and alliterative verse. What, you missed part 1? I'm sorry for you. But you can buy the whole thing at <https://thaliarchus.itch.io/spearhand-faring> (assuming itch isn't acting up).

This is a really excellent long-form review of a book about critics of capitalism, worth reading by anyone who makes a habit of opining on the topic online. (It's paywalled, but if you're interested I'll gift a 30-day subscription to the first person who asks.)

Last night I completed my third Math Academy course, Mathematics for Learning, and celebrated by blogging about it. The course took me 105 days; I aimed for 40XP/day (MA's measure of effort) and averaged 48. I missed my goal only 11 days and skipped MA only 1 day. frankhecker.com/2025/09/03/m... 1/

Whale Store xoxo wasn't quite as good as I thought it would be, but Milk and Love are still worth watching, and the setting is a welcome change from the upper-middle to upper-class milieus common in Thai GL series.

Have you ever heard this? Recommended for more old-timey computer goodness crossed with modern electronic music: johannjohannsson.com/discography/...

I received volume 3 of the English edition of @galetteweb.bsky.social #yuri today. I’m building a complete collection!

One other difference: If it were a real Philip K Dick novel, the bed would spontaneously begin psychoanalyzing him.

Earlier this month I learned how to teleport quantum states with PhysicsGraph, which aims to do for physics what Math Academy is doing for mathematics. It's still in its infancy, but based on its first course (Intro to Quantum Computing) I think it can do just that. frankhecker.com/2025/08/17/l...

I recently bought a couple of books of Middle English poems (for reasons), and now I'm getting email solicitations for works like Funeral Rites of the Yotvingians (only $144!) and Offa's Dyke Journal (not what you think)

Today on Okazu - Ayaka Is in Love with Hiroko, 2nd Stage Okazu Staff Writer @frankhecker.com says that this sequel of the manga-inspired series provides a satisfying ending to the story of Ayaka and Hiroko, but takes it’s sweet time getting there. okazu.yuricon.com/2025/08/10/a...

It's 4 am and I can't get back to sleep, so I might as well post more thoughts about art and artists, this time focusing on the role of organizations like @subvert.fm and @metalabel.bsky.social and the general idea of the “artist corporation”. As usual, preliminary thoughts, subject to correction 1/

I noted with interest the announcement of the Lemnisket (aka PhysicsGraph) service: "Math Academy for physics", per the founders: lemnisket.com Why interesting? It's an endorsement of the Math Academy philosophy, principles, and practices ("imitation is the "sincerest form of flattery"): 1/

Lots of great baihe works coming out from @baiheverse.com. I was reading Straight Girl Trap when Bilibili shut down their English site, very glad to see it be available again. #yuri

Today on Okazu – Into the Baiheverse: When We Met and The Clouds of Past Millennia Okazu Staff Writer @frankhecker.com introduces us to new Baihe publisher Baiheverse, with a look at two of their initial works in English. Check them out at @baiheverse.com! okazu.yuricon.com/2025/07/04/i...

As we near the end of Yuri Day, a reminder that I have a free-to-download book about the manga Sweet Blue Flowers by Takako Shimura. (It also discusses the history of S literature, #yuri, and related things, from arranged marriages to textile workers.) frankhecker.com/that-type-of... 1/2

Back in the day (before the Internet made it so everyone could do it) there were actual broadcast radio stations that played The Beatles 24x7, there was so much to choose from. We need Radio @djsabrina.bsky.social, she deserves no less.

I finally got around to casting my vote for the supporter-member board representative of @subvert.fm, the cooperative/corporation working to create a member-owned Bandcamp alternative. I wanted to take time and consider all the candidates, read their statements, and do some background research. 1/3

I bought this on a whim because it was on sale. My god this thing is heavy, it’s making the case for ebooks all by itself.

Vrai does good work. I can’t speak to the treatment of BL in this article, but their discussion of #yuri is spot on. The only other thing I’d like to have seen (if space permitted) is mention of the increasing trend toward stories featuring adults.

14 hours until the @galetteweb.bsky.social Galette EN Vol 3 kickstarter ends (at 1600 UTC, 12 pm EDT, 9 am PDT, Friday, May 30). They need only 13 more backers to hit the next stretch goal. If you like reading #yuri manga, check it out and "Back this project"! www.kickstarter.com/projects/gal...

A reminder: For US #yuri fans the Galette kickstarter ends at 12 pm EDT / 9 am PDT on Friday, May 30. Don’t wait to support it and accidentally miss out on it. Do it now and help get to the next stretch goals.

I recently finished my second mathematics course on the Math Academy online service. I wrote an update on my experience here, for any math-interested people who might want to check out the service: frankhecker.com/2025/05/19/m... Some additional thoughts to follow . . . 1/

Apropos of the X vs. Bluesky debate: I've now seen at least two instances of prominent X posters inventing insulting names for Bluesky: "Blutarsky", "Bluestasi", etc. It seems childish and oddly defensive, as if they're viscerally offended that anyone might not see X as the One True Social Network.

Very true. This is the album that contains the song (“Lose Myself”) that got me interested in @djsabrina.bsky.social. I’d rank “The Makin’ Magick II Album” as a whole among her very best—which is saying a lot.

We're not building a New York startup. We're building a global co-op. A network for international solidarity. A Mondragon of music.

I was a major Smith fans once, but I had no idea (probably because I don't live in the UK) that they did a collab with 60's English pop star Sandie Shaw. Her version of "Hand in Glove" with the Smiths is pretty good; listen to how long she holds the final note on "and I really don't caaaaaare". 1/2

This, and the underlying AT Protocol change that made it possible, are great steps in creating a thriving ecosystem of social network implementations. I contributed to the Blacksky project previously, and just signed up as a subscriber. Please consider joining me: opencollective.com/blacksky 1/11

Fragrance of the First Flower is a really excellent series, I enjoyed rewatching season 1 and the release of season 2 gave me the chance to review it. Recommended if you’re llooking for a realistic adult #yuri / #GL / #LGBTQ drama.

Since my thread on Bluesky user verification "did severals" (as we used to say on Cohost), I thought I'd add just a few more thoughts. First, thanks everyone for reading and (especially) commenting; I'm glad you found my own comments of interest. 1/4

Another useful discussion touching on user verification, with two key points being a) designing for communities (see my last repost) and b) not having to carry forward legacy concepts, but rather being free to explore new designs better suited to the current context.

A thread worth reading about alternative approaches to user verification focused more on trust and identity within particular communities. As I commented to someone else, user verification as practiced in old Twitter and new Bluesky is really more for the benefit of celebrities, not communities.

Apologies for @-ing, but this thread on Bluesky verification and the analogy to TLS server certificates and browser root CA lists may be of interest to @laurenshof.online, @pfrazee.com, @dustyweb.bsky.social, and others. If not, please feel free to ignore.

My thoughts on Bluesky verification as someone who was deeply involved in an analogous scheme (selecting trusted root CAs for browsers) at Mozilla many years ago. The analogy is not exact: not trusting a verifier just means no checkmark, while not trusting a root CA means nasty security warnings 1/

My rewards from the @galetteweb.bsky.social kickstarter 2 arrived safe and sound. They look great! #yuri

new music video! youtu.be/F7vauA42FSI

FOR FREEE!!! SPACE YURI IRISH LEGEND FOR FREEEEE GO RESD IT GO READ IT GO READ JT

"Who Knows Girls' L" is surprisingly good for a low-budget student production. It's still airing (at episode 8 of a planned 28) but I'm reviewing it now to encourage #yuri fans to check it out and (if they're so inclined) to help fund it. You can watch it on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@WhoKnowsGir...

I’m not a Simpsons fan, but I am a Boards of Canada megafan, and this is a great use of their music. Well done!

"This all started because I don’t know what an eigenvector is." I've been (re)learning mathematics using #MathAcademy, a new online service, and wrote an 11-part series reviewing it and summarizing the book The Math Academy Way that outlines how it works. 1/ frankhecker.com/2025/02/08/m...

The Gordian Cycle stories continue to be great fun. This one combines elements from Mad Max: Fury Road and Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars, to great effect.

The second @galetteweb.bsky.social kickstarter by the numbers: over ¥8M pledged (up from ¥7M for the first kickstart), 400% over-subscribed, 755 backers (up from 637), average pledge of over ¥10,600 (down slightly from ¥11,100). Congratulations again! #yuri

Following a Wikipedia trail after being curious about synthetic division (which I was never taught), found out about the mathematical treatise with the best title ever: "Jade Mirror of the Four Unknowns" (actual title 四元玉鑒). Modern mathematicians should emulate this and choose more evocative titles.

What a pleasant surprise! A package arrived with new copies of Galette Special English edition 01 and Galette Special Booklet 01 to replace the copies that were damaged in shipping. Thank you @galetteweb.bsky.social! Now I'm looking forward to getting my copy of Galette Special English Edition 02!

Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright is indeed fun to read, but what you _really_ want to do is to listen to it read by the author: www.twitch.tv/thaliarchus/...

Any day with a new @djsabrina.bsky.social track is a good day. In other news, Sabrina has upgraded her TV from SD to HD. 😉