Booked in for the second day of the @nhm-london.bsky.social #Pokemon event (surprise surprise that Day 1 tickets were gone). Just hoping that its not a) overrun with scalper gangs, b) stock purchases are limited to 1 or 2 items per person, and c) there's stock left when I get there.

Anyone else getting these ideas at the moment? "Dear BBC, you have until Sunday or I want... one billion dollars!"

The collaboration between @nhm-london.bsky.social and Pokemon sounds great, but I hope the museum is prepared and has policies in place to stop scalper gangs (e.g., regulating access, limiting number of purchases of individual items, maintaining stock). Otherwise, it'll all end up on eBay. #Pokemon

Delighted to have been invited on to BBC Radio Wales's Phone-In show hosted by Jason Mohammad to talk about the new Spider-Man film and location filming. You can listen here at www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m.... I'm on after about 90 minutes! #JOMECResearch

Doing a little market research: do you teach at a university where an edited collection about #Pokemon that approaches multiple aspects of the franchise, from industry to experiences to fan practices, may be useful? If so, can you give a heads up? Thanks in advance!

Doing a little market research: do you teach at a university where an edited collection about #Pokemon that approaches multiple aspects of the franchise, from industry to experiences to fan practices, may be useful? If so, can you give a heads up? Thanks in advance!

Earlier this academic year, my students recommended that I listen to Olivia Rodrigo. I'm very grateful Watching her headline Glastonbury is inspiring and important for so many reasons.

Thanks to the BBC, Im aboe to sit in my office and work whilst listening to Wet Leg's Glastonbury set. They sound amazing, and the scream part of 'Ur Mum' gave me goosebumps.

I genuinely find the number of young people going to the Chris Brown concert upsetting. The guy's an abuser and misogynist, and yet 1000s of people are giving him their money and attention.

New Mechademia issue out, edited by Jacqueline Berndt and all articles open access. Very nice to see out! Also, personally highly recommend the piece on web novels, publication industry + platform muse.jhu.edu/issue/53482

I feel like my journey into work has seen me crossover into Silent Hill: first, there was a woman on the train loudly declaring that she was a teacher, only to then name Africa as a country. Then, there's a guy stood outside the station with a PA singing the theme from 'Only Fools and Horses'.

I really should write something about the new 'Walking with Dinosaurs'. In fact, I should write something about the entire franchise...

I'm joining @drrossgarner.bsky.social and @direjackalope.bsky.social for an edited collection on the Pokémon franchise. We already have many great chapters but are seeking some more in specific areas. Check out the targeted CFP below & pls share widely! rebeccawilliams.org/2025/05/17/1...

The latest episode of #DoctorWho has got me singing 'Dugga Doo' on repeat. I want tees, plushies, a vinyl release of the song, as well as an episode set on the creatures home planet.

Best episode of #DoctorWho since we found out that Daleks don't store stuff. Brilliant. More of that and those characters, please.

Disappointed to have to miss this. Anyone interested in the paper, it's coming out as a chapter (co-written with @drrossgarner.bsky.social) in a collection on horror themed events, probably in 2026 ☠️💀🦴🎃

This a great chapter with a hot take on archives!!!! Already worth hitting download for! 💚🦖 library.oapen.org/handle/20.50...

I've got a chapter in this that uses autoethnography to explore the boundaries between collecting and curating in aca-fan practice. Also, dinosaurs!

Affect in Fandom is out soon, which I co-edited with great colleagues! It's an open-access book with splendid scholarship on fan fic, cosplay and games. How do feelings, texts and memories shape fandom? What do fans create, and why? Find out in March! #mediastudies www.aup.nl/en/book/9789...

I'd really forgotten how much my OCD slows down my writing: the endless checking of notes and quotes, of ordering them in a way that seems logical, then re-reading the pages and pages of notes for what's relevant (and the self-doubt that comes with that). It's exhausting.

Seeing David Lynch coming up in the 'In Remembrance' section of the #BAFTA Awards has set me off again. I can't believe he's gone.

For the first time since early October, I actually managed to sit down and write something research-based. It was a very enjoyable experience.

I don't have many heroes, but David Lynch was one of them. Thank you for looking into the darkest areas of the human mind and finding the horror, beauty, and absurdity that lies there. May you rest in a place both beautiful and strange.

We all know that celebrity culture in the era of social media is a strange thing. However, witnessing the person who voiced your favourite Disney princess deal with the destruction of her family home as a result of the California fires is very troubling.

As a lifelong Doctor Who fan I feel that I must apologise for that awful, schmaltzy mess of an episode that was called the 2024 Christmas Special. It was truly dreadful.

So, I've seen #Wicked twice now, and I stand by stance that it's the best piece of mainstream Hollwyood cinema since 'Avengers: Endgame'.

Every now and then I'll open the folder on my hard drive with ideas for research that I've never developed further. There's a great set of notes about a project on the Loch Ness monster that brings together my knowledge on the Mesozoic in pop culture with areas like media tourism.

New in Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture intellectdiscover.com/content/jour...

Got an email from a student taking our Popular Music module asking for a chat as she'd 'heard I was a Radiohead fan'. Talked to her for about an hour, lent her the 33 1/3 book on OK Computer for the assignment, and we talked for about an hour on the band's cultural significance.

Talking about Baudrillard, hyperreality, and special effects at four o'clock on a dark Monday afternoon. Wonderful.

Really interesting documentary on BBC Three at the moment about Logan Paul and Crypto. Has interesting themes with the posters on #Pokemon investor forums that I've been tracking for some forthcoming research.

👉 The Media & Communication starter pack of starter packs 📺 🎞️ 📱 💬 Internet Studies: go.bsky.app/LVrPemK Internet Studies 2: go.bsky.app/KHmxfWf Internet Studies 3: go.bsky.app/9uYafGv Media Theory: go.bsky.app/RGLr16b Audience Studies: go.bsky.app/2CKVP4u

💥New: How to get started with academic Bluesky 👨‍💻 @nedpotter.bsky.social #AcademicSky #PhDSky

I really enjoy giving my lecture on 'Environmental Concerns in Screening Locations', but I do understand why students find it depressing when I unpack the carbon footprint, waste, and resource use of blockbuster movies.

A shameless plug for all the season one episodes of my podcast, Ill Effects. All retweets appreciated as I was building this in a year when I wasn't on Twitter! If you're unsure where to start the Beatles episode is my fave!

Japan's public and private sectors are making efforts to secure workers from India, targeting not only students and highly skilled IT engineers but also workers for industries that are suffering labor shortages. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/11/19/japan/japan-seek-indian-workers/?utm_mediu…

Excited to join BlueSky and share the newest issue of Flow! Featuring work by Andrew deWaard, Jacqueline Johnson, Eric Harvey, & Juan Llamas-Rodriguez. Topics include: Louise Linton, contemporary music stardom, Queen Charlotte's wigs, and subway flood videos. Read it here: flowjournal.org

Do you play video games? We’re after people over 18 to complete our pilot survey for our #GAMEHEARTS research here: Please share. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

‘But if you’re going to grapple with the full-on force of “The Rite of Spring,” it’s difficult to imagine a better treatment than Disney’s, with its bold visualization of what had never before been seen (space, dinosaurs in motion), and its exhilarating sense of movement. A ripple of…

Trying to switch from the other place to here, so an intro to me via a cowritten piece I'm proud of, on the plurality of platform capitalisms, that came out earlier this year. Nice to see you here! journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Perhaps it's time to dig out that idea about 'The Prisoner' that I've had kicking around for a long time. Or maybe the one about 'Walking with Dinosaurs'.

📢 SPECIAL ISSUE CFP JUST LANDED! Check out the details of our upcoming special issue on Gaming Fandom guest edited by Hayley McCullough & Ashley P. Jones at the following link: bit.ly/3YAz8eN! Deadline is 1/1/2025 -- get your submissions in!

As promised, the Popular Culture and Media Studies starter pack! If you work in this realm and would like to be added, just let me know. :) I wanted us all to be able to find each other here. go.bsky.app/JtBHuwU

I'd be fascinated to see some figures about deactivation of Twitter accounts this week. So many friends seem to be rightly jumping ship.

Remember. Don’t engage. Just block. That’s how we do things here on BlueSky.

I've left Twitter permanently because I can't contribute to Musk's Empire building with a clear conscious. I know it's a futile gesture, but it's something I can do in protest about the direction of the world.

Well, 'Transformers One' was odd SF world-building until it became a mediation on leadership, and then reducing that to a decision between military might and bestowal by a benevolent diety. Oh, and then the reintroduction of Michael Bay's neoliberal 'freedom fighters' schtik. Sigh.

After a very frustrating day, I've taken myself to the movies to see the new Transformers animated film.

WSJ reporting Epic Universe target opening date of Memorial Day 2025 (May 23-26, 2025). I'm guessing many weeks of soft open and previews before then, probably not the entire park though. www.wsj.com/business/uni...

Watched the SpaceX rocket launch and felt so ambivalent. A phenomenal scientific achievement, but thorougly soured by it being associated with Elon Musk and all that he represents.