Just started watching Down Cemetery Road and I'm loiving Emma Thompson's wardrobe. Considering getting her hairstyle for my next cut.

If you see this, post an album cover with a motor vehicle on it.

I love the way that Nick and David rushed to hig Alan and tell him how well he'd done when he was so obviously upset. #CelebrityTraitors

Thanks @sarahkendzior.bsky.social Dr Diane Rogers @dianearodgers.bsky.social @jkmuir.bsky.social Dr. Bethan Jones @memorieschild.bsky.social @xfiles720pcinema.bsky.social Dr Carl Sweeney @ckjsweeney.bsky.social Robert Shearman @robertshearman.bsky.social Dr. Ann Simon @annealiz1.bsky.social

@mattlodder.com Hi Matt! Hope you're well. I emailed you a couple of weeks ago from my Museum Wales email about the Jessie Knight research; got a meeting with the MW team next week so wanted to make sure I'm not doing anything you want to work on.

#Xfiles 31 Days of #Halloween Oct 24th Dr. Bethan Jones @memorieschild.bsky.social Hollywood AD When X-Files does comedy it does it well w its multiple in-jokes, references to pop culture conspiracy theories & general weirdness It's silly & self-referential but I think that's what we need sometimes.

Chatting with @historyonfilm.bsky.social this afternoon about, of course, The X-Files. Getting to talk about conspiracy, folklore and fandom with @dianearodgers.bsky.social and Ross Lennon is a great way to spend a few hours.

The UFF campus in Niterói where #aoir2025 is being held is gorgeous! There are palm trees everywhere and the view of the sunset was incredible. The day went well too; gave two papers (on AI and fan studies) and had some great questions. Fan studies roundtable today and then my presenting's done!

Excellent start to #aoir2025 with @adriamaral.bsky.social solving is to Brazil and an excellent keynote from R. Marie Santini. The conference seat is also stellar!

I'm in Brazil, I've got a new tattoo, I've seen friends and I thin I'm over the jet lag! Roll on tomorrow.

One of the most frustrating things about having bad eyesight is how hard it is to get new glasses. I'm limited in the kind of frame I can get and then the lenses have to be placed exactly right or I can't see. My newest ones have had to be sent back once already and they'll be returnd again today.

You're not paranoid if they really ARE out to get you. @librarianchef.bsky.social & friends peek at cultural phenoms, TV like THE X-FILES and films like SOFT & QUIET in their new book of essays on pop conspiracies. @mcfarland.bsky.social @memorieschild.bsky.social mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-...

In St Elvan's in Aberdare today for the Book Fair and obviously I'm reppung @philefest.bsky.social. Got the last 10 copies of my #xfiles book for sale though they're also available on Amazon and at www.tuckerdspress.com/product-page...

Have you ever purchased makeup or beauty projects based on your fandom? If you are 18 years or older, please fill out this 10 minute survey for a research project on embodied fan identities. Share widely! Contact with any questions: [email protected]. utexas.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

I've got a chapter in this collection on The X-Files (obviously) and have just found it it's available for pre-order from McFarland's website. I can't wait to read the rest of the essays. mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-...

I'm currently in Umeå for @digsum.bsky.social's Digital Darkside symposium. I'll be talking about AI and true crime and I'm looking forward to the next two days. The full programme (which looks awesome) is available here: www.digsum.org/dda.

Pleased to say that the reprint of the special issue "The Past, Present and Future of Fan-Fiction" that me, @berthac.bsky.social, @acafanmom.bsky.saccessand Lincoln Geraghty edited is now available as open access PDF online and in hardback: doi.org/10.3390/book....

It's 3 o'clock and I've been awake for ages with no sign of getting back to sleep so I might as well share the new tattoos I got yesterday. The War of The Worlds one was planned but the other two were a bit more spontaneous. And I've been giggling to myself because I can make the jawbone 'talk'.

I'm also stepping down from my editorial role at Popular Communication this year. The call for new editors is in the link below if you're interested in applying and I'm happy to answer questions.

I'm stepping down as co-chair of the SCMS Fan and Audience Studies SIG. If you'd like to take over nominate yourself in the below form.

Academic authors, here's a peek into the black box of journal publishing from an journal editor if you can bear it:

Anyone have access to Meyer et al (2025) "Chapter 4: The Paradoxical Collective Failures of That 90s Show: Reboots and Contemporary Nostalgia in the Age of Television" in The Cruel and Reparative Possibilities of Failure by Jessica M. W. Kratzer and Desirée D. Rowe (eds.)? #icanhazpdf

Currently in Utrecht for the Death, Dying & Disposal Conference (#ddd17). The university campus is gorgeous, and I've been enjoying the city as well. I'll be talking tomorrow about deathbots and true crime.

Spent a couple of hours in minor injuries this afternoon because I did something to the MCP joint on my index finger while taking the bins out on Tuesday. Had x-rays and there's damage to the knuckle, probably caused by the rheumatoid arthritis, and possibly a fracture so I'm now sporting a splint.

Had a lovely few days in west Wales with friends. It consisted of a lot of breakers and picnics and we saw a dolphin mother and calf up close in Dale.

Immigration isn’t devolved. Voting Reform at the Senedd Election because of small boats would be foolish. Devolution means that some issues are in Welsh Government control. You should look at those issues, check manifestos, and decide who’d best serve Wales’ interests. Spoiler: it’s not Reform.

🚨HAPPENING NOW: Hundreds arrested in Parliament Square in protest organised by Defend Our Juries The arrest of otherwise peaceful protesters is a violation of the UK’s international obligations to protect the rights of freedom of expression and assembly. 1/3

I'm proofreading my dad's latest book (on Commonwealth War Graves in the Cynon Valley) and the majority of people born here in the early 1900s could speak Welsh and English. 80 years later and when I was born hardly anyone did. One of my biggest regrets is not being able to speak the language well.

The Yellowjackets' soundtrack is banging! And today is the day I realised that Apoptygma Bezerk's "Cambodia" was originally by Kim Wilde.

I've just watched the first episode of Yellowjackets. I'm aware that I'm a bit behind on this but it's really good!

New YouGov polling. A monumental failure of our political class to educate, a monumental failure of our media to report fairly, for a generation

UK university staff: keep signing!

I'm really enjoying Dexter: Resurrection but there's no way the tattoo in episode 4 would take more than one session!

#fanstudies pals, i am teaching fan studies this fall. what are your favorite pieces published in the last 5 years? this is for upper division undergrad. (self-promo is allowed, and bonus if you want to do a video interview.)

Continuing my tradition of getting tattooed while travelling with this piece by Vaclav Palecek at Bobek Tattoo. The elbow area is painful but Prague is so pretty!

Today sees the publication of the full report of @britishacademy.bsky.social Supportive Offboarding project, a research-led intervention to improve how the television industry supports its freelancers as their contracts come to an end. Available here: doi.org/10.18746/shk....

First time at the @memstudiesassoc.bsky.social conference and I thin our paper on algorithmic afterlives, grieving and commemorating went down well. We talked about deatbote and AI generated videos of murder victims. #MSA2025

Nice to see the article I helped work on with Jenny Hall and Brendan Paddison while at York St John is out! It looks at the role of dark sky leisure events in addressing light pollution. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Had an excellent day at Bristol tattoo convention yesterday. For some cool new stuff, caught up with friends and got a new tattoo. Thinking I might add some woodcut frogs to it at some point.

Has anyone got access to Le Monde? I'm trying to read this article but I have to subscribe. www.lemonde.fr/en/environme...

Amazing seeing Alanis Morissette last night though i wish they'd kept it at the Castle. We ended up watching from by the food trucks! Still, it was great to sing along to Jagged Little Pill and Thank You was the perfect finale.

@perkinskeighley.bsky.social I hear you're joining us at Cardiff! That's excellent news, we'll have to meet up for a cuppa.

I've been working on an (overdue) book chapter for weeks and I'm really struggling with it. I've got a ton of really interesting data with some great quotes but I can't work out how to bring it all together. So frustrating!

Love to hear @enwright.bsky.social getting a shout out from @doktornick.bsky.social in the computer games dialogue at ##ldml_25. #historicalgames

Looking forward to attending (and presenting at) this conference later in the year.

Hey folks! When we joined, Blue Sky was super new so our follow options were limited, but now our timeline isn't necessarily showing us much fan studies content. So if you want to be followed, drop a reply here! Tell us what you're working on!

Another week another conference but this time I'm in Brighton for #ldml_25. I'm not presenting this time, though I am looking for GLAM sector professionals to user test the resource we've been creating on the Synthethic Pasts research project. Already been to some great sessions.

There are, obviously, lots of questions for @suzannerblack.bsky.social following her paper and lots of interest in what fans do and why. This is why we need more fan studies papers in all conferences!

Loving hearing fan fic being discussed by @suzannerblack.bsky.social at the Digital Humanities Association conference. Great to see fan studies scholars like @alothian.bsky.social and @melstanfill.bsky.social being introduced to a (potentially) new audience.

Up in Glasgow for the 2025 UK Ireland Digital Humanities Association conference on the theme collaboration beyond boundaries. I'll be giving a paper eith @jenkidd.bsky.social and Eva Nieto-McAvoy on the work we've been doing on synthetic media and resurrecting the dead with AI.