Newcastle University staff invited to a ‘Doodling for Wellbeing’ session (‘Let your pen dance across the page' in 'a perfect escape from the everyday hustle and bustle'. Invites sent on same day 153 academics were informed of their location in 'redundancy pools', with 38 redundancies planned. 1/2

If trans people have to do this then everyone has to do it, because there's no way to know if someone is trans just by looking, and apparently self-ID is a threat to civilisation. Congratulations to those whose bigotry brought us here.

GB News : "Brexit is a good thing?" Brexit Fisherman : "It's been a disaster" "But exports?" "Red tape is 100 fold, our main market is the EU" "But EU fisherman?" "They didn't come here" "But charge more?" "They can buy in the EU" "How would you vote?" "I'd vote for Remain in a heart beat"

Bring it on !!! 🤍🩷🩵

The BBC keep doing this. This isn't true. This is straightforwardly wrong in law. The ruling *only* applied to the Equality Act 2010. Trans women are still legally women for the vast majority of purposes! That's the whole point of the Gender Recognition Act. I've put in a complaint. So can you.

They're going after Parkrun again, you know, that event where lots of people of all ages, abilities and genders run around a local park and it not, in any form, a race?

Oh hello, THE VOURDALAK has landed on Channel 4's free streaming service. A ripping adaptation of the Tolstoy (also seen in Mario Bava's BLACK SABBATH, of course). Love the commitment to having the titular blood-sucking cadaver portrayed by a life-size walkin' talkin' marionette, good stuff...

A great article here on the ruling yesterday and how it immediately changes very little but how its implemented has some impact… www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

This is not the answer, cracking jokes at the expense of a minority group reveals another agenda. Just gross. #transrightsarehumanrights

Today and every day

BREAKING: Nintendo is halting Switch 2 pre-orders due to Trump tariffs. The console is still set to launch in June. But the price might increase Here's @ethangach.bsky.social with more: kotaku.com/switch-2-pre...

Post Edited: Adolescence (Netflix, 2025) Hits the US by Kim Akass https://cstonline.net/adolescence-netflix-2025-hits-the-us-by-kim-akass/

The human face of all those bullshit, blue tick Twitter accounts full of racism, lies, cowardice & cruelty…

This segment from @maryannefranks.bsky.social is an incredibly tight argument that captures the breadth of the Trump assault on free speech perfectly and in less than a minute. Spread it far and wide.

I've already suffered with shortages of meds for past two times now... this shit is real.

Collaborators with the fascists.

RIP Linda Williams. we've lost an intellectual giant whose debts to film studies & pornography studies can never be repaid. i'm grateful that she got her flowers before she passed, with a symposium & special issue honouring her work in recent years. long may her writing be taught in our classrooms.

Looking for the bit that says she'll tax the rich...can you check and see we've missed that part? #AusterityIsAPoliticalChoice

🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦

Grim reading... voice.cymru/two-weeks-in...

Are you interested in #BodyHorror? If so, you need to check out @horrorhomeroom.bsky.social special issue 9: Body Horror - released today! 17 completely free short essays on various aspects of the genre (including one by me 😁). It’s a superb issue! Please check it out and share. #HorrorSky #FilmSky

A Flight of Dragons ! To celebrate my run up to 50... gulp.

The analogy stretches to the fact that he is trying to take over as many Government departments and hubs of data as he can, because in his mind, they are “power ups” to “buff” his character.

Fight for our universities! Fight for education! #Education #Scotland #University

So pleased to be cited and also have a Videographic work featured alongside some amazing work in Monstrum Journal's special edition on Queer Horror. www.monstrum-society.ca/monstrum-v7-...

Friends of Dorothy, meet lovers of Leatherface. @thepetermarra.bsky.social's "Queer Slashers" is now out in ebook from Indiana UP, focusing on films made by queer filmmakers like ALL ABOUT EVIL, SERIAL MOM, and STRANGER BY THE LAKE. Paper formats coming soon. iupress.org/978025307194...

Prompted by another thread, I was reading about the history of Birkbeck College. The horror of educating the working class beyond what was needed to do their jobs echoes down the ages

TRUMP TRADE WAR UPDATE: Colombia: Lasted 4 hours - Trump accepts what was already offered. 🇨🇴 Mexico: Lasted one weekend - Trump accepts worse than before. 🇲🇽 Canada: Lasted one weekend - Trump accepts what was already agreed. 🇨🇦 Two-step process established: 1. Try to look tough 2. Just fold 🤡

George Monbiot sums up the BBC perfectly.

Publishing folks - how is the sector reacting to this? Can journals be moved abroad (aren’t they already international)? insidemedicine.substack.com/p/breaking-n... #OpenAccess #AcademicSky

Join Charlotte Baker for a deep dive into the work of director Mike Flanagan, exploring how writers can learn from his many creative techniques! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-influe...

#SaveThePCC Some of you may have read about the situation regarding our new landlord wishing to add a new redevelopment break clause, with only 6 months notice to our lease. For now, we're simply asking you all to share & sign the petition below; you.38degrees.org.uk/p/princechar...

Trees down on BofA... We're ok and cosied up with the Martha... #stormeowyn

The speed with which companies are abandoning DEI is a clue about how shallow their commitment to it ever was.

SUBMISSION CALL! submissions are open for (s)crawl literary magazine's inaugural fall 2025 issue. see submission guidelines & submit your work on our website: scrawlmag.com know someone who would be interested? tag them and share this post to spread the word! #litmag #horrorlitmag #horrorwriters

There's no other word for it in this current climate. Just gross.... #universitycrisis

Who run the world?

They put a toddler in the White House.

Those present at the inauguration were mostly (if not all) white, rich, and males wearing ties. Trump’s core supporters were left out in the cold. Think about it.

Terrifying.

Now it's dark...

A multi-screen video essay by the very brilliant Dayna McLeod that puts Wild at Heart (directed by David Lynch, 1990) in conversation with The Wizard of Oz (directed by Victor Fleming, 1939), to (parts of) Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game (1989). vimeo.com/651811352?sh...

Am now officially on Research Leave (15 year wait), but as is expected with Academia, now that I've stopped to breathe, the illnesses have come to visit for some time. So I'm hoping this will give me some restorative time to think and cosy up with Martha... Before the thinking work will start.

'I got death and rape threats from men who thought I put feminist symbol in video game'

“We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist” James Baldwin

Facebook has already contributed to the demise of journalism and this will be the final nail in the coffin; newsrooms —especially outside the U.S. where subscription models are difficult sells—get grants from Facebook to provide fact-checks. That money allows them to do other journalism! 2/

Oh dear... fucking Zuck has gone and pushed me over the edge with the removal of Fact Checking on Meta platforms... It's a graft but I'm jumping ship to bsky.app/profile/drde... from now so follow me there if you're so inclined... Time to take a stand against the corrupt ghouls...