This is the first History Reclaimed attack on @davidolusoga.bsky.social’s BBC Empire series, in The Spectator. The thread on its recycled Telegraph version shows how criticisms of the representation of Mike Mountain Horse and the invasion of Ijebu are based on untruths. But else do they argue?

I know you're out there somewhere, disgruntled Disney animator. This is your moment. COMIC ◆ www.smbc-comics.com/comic/daisy PATREON ◆ www.patreon.com/ZachWeinersm... STORE ◆ smbc-store.myshopify.com

Jesus Christ, the "remastered" Beatles Anthology documentary they re-released is filled with AI slop. Look at John and Paul's faces, and the "T" on Beatles.

This beautiful centenary collection of Joan Aiken stories takes you to a world of Gods and monsters, brave girls and sleepwalking bears, best read aloud at bedtime... Illustrated by Quentin Blake it's a classic... www.joanaiken.com/books/the-wi...

Another edition of the Roving Ranger has just been sent to its subscribers (belatedly)... Including: The Tower & the Ruin with my podcast; tons of events open for registration for 2026; Tolkien Tuesday going strong for December; a lot of amazing stuff, really... steady.page/en/thetolkie...

"she took the point at once, but she also took the spoons" reinforces my conviction that if I were any Tolkien character I would absolutely be one of the Sackville-Bagginses

Something new. #Tolkien

another new post #tolkien

Day 3 of #HooklandChristmasTree decoration. We take out the Dudman and Sackling Child. No-one remembers who made the scarecrow's twists of clothed straw, the stuffed potato sack of prophesying infant. Best we put it on a back branch lest we hear it whispering of tomorrow’s woes.

Join us for next month's First Monday Lecture on "A Radical Side of the Early Quakers" with Dr. Erica Canela on December 1. Register for this free, hybrid event at pendlehill.org/calendar/a-r...

We are…dying…to tell you about our new episode! Join us for a fun chat with Tom Racine about his new book, "Doomed to Die: An A-Z of Death in Tolkien", discussing Edward Gorey, imposter demons, and finding a J-name in Tolkien’s legendarium! athrabeth.simplecast.com/episodes/epi... #TomRacine

The desk J.R.R Tolkien used during his tenure at Merton College as Professor of English Language and Literature is up for auction at Christies, with an estimate of £50,000. It was subsequently owned by Dame Iris Murdoch and John Bayley. www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6...

#OnThisDay in 1967, #Tolkien writes to Clyde S. Kilby. In the Revised edition of Letters, there is a brief extract where Tolkien talks about his serious health issues and complains about Joy Hill saying it was not ‘serious’. Tolkien encloses a letter that he began earlier in the year (1/4)

Total number of #Voynich solutions received in November = 18. Can we break that record in December? I've received two already this month, so I'm well on my way...

According to @thetimes.com, people leaving Christianity in the UK are now more likely to become Pagans than converting to any other faith: www.thetimes.com/uk/religion/...

Things that will interest Bluesky; Misha Glenny, author of McMafia, replaces Melvyn Bragg as host of In Our Time.

Our Co-Chair @drjohnpuntis.bsky.social said: “The private sector isn’t a pressure valve for the NHS. Private hospitals rely on the same overstretched staff, so shifting more NHS money their way only pulls people out of an already thin workforce." www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

We received a very lovely, generous donation of knitted winter hats so we've made a Winter Warmer Tree to go along with our Winter Coat Rail. 🧶 Anyone needing a cosy hat can take what they need, and if anyone has any spare hats or gloves they can add them to the tree! ❤️ #LoveLibraries

A helpful dragon to remind you that the Call for Papers and Sessions for the inaugural European Conference on the Fantastic, Fantasy's Present Pasts (23rd-25th June 2026 in Glasgow), closes on Friday 12th December. More details here: fantasy.glasgow.ac.uk/index.php/20....

This reminds me of my favourite little factoid about hedgehogs. They used to be called 'urchins' in English, so a sea urchin was a sea hedgehog. In Welsh, a hedgehog is a draenog, and a sea urchin is draenog môr... a sea hedgehog.

On this day in 1976, Algie the Pig escaped his moorings on Battersea Power Station and made his way to a field in Kent, grounding flights at Heathrow along the way.

The venue told Left Foot Forward that one of the reasons that the event was cancelled was due to comments online criticising the hotel for hosting Farage and his "racist cronies" leftfootforward.org/2025/12/refo...

🧵 The first popular web browser was Mosaic, released in 1993 by NCSA at the University of Illinois. 🌐 Most people today have never heard of it, but its original site is preserved on the #WaybackMachine ⤵️ web.archive.org/web/19961220... #Wayback1T #InternetHistory

We talked with Professor Michael D.C. Drout about his #Tolkien book _The Tower and the Ruin_, releasing today. It is a fantastic book and was a great conversation! youtu.be/Jsx0ZPOqfS4

My daughter Naomi is a Data Specialist at the non-profit Family Reach which helps cancer patients. As a cancer survivor, I was fortunate to have a family who helped manage. May you all find safety, health, joy, & love this season. (Naomi as model-Salvation) fundraise.familyreach.org/fundraiser/6...

Reminder

Oh. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Alt text for those who need it. This is amazing.

We are thrilled to announce the dates and location of #Westmoot26! It will take place May 22-24, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Bookings open soon, watch our website!https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/westmoot-2026/

2nd December 2025 14.59

CHAPBOOK TUESDAY As we move into December, here's a chapbook featuring a robin that caught my attention. THE COURTSHIP, MARRIAGE AND PIC NIC DINNER OF COCK ROBIN AND JENNY WREN This is a story that has it all ... love, romance, commitment and a nice pie. What's not to like? 19th century edition.

The thought that there are actual adults celebrating over splitting up little kids who just want to hang out together and do nice things is absolutely sickening. After denying them gender-affirming care, they're also denying them the support of their wee friends. Evil.

Dear friends and followers, we need your help this #GivingTuesday after a bad year for nonprofits in the US. Please donate and spread the word: cartoonistsrights.org/donate

I was asked if I could do my Monster Month book as a poster, so I have done so.. www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/1763...

Adding alt text to this because this is fucking amazing and everyone deserves to read it.

Recordings are now available of Jane Ohlmeyer's excellent RHS Anniversary Lecture: 'Visible | Invisible: Voices of Women in Early Modern Ireland' bit.ly/3MdjXEn Jane's lecture was given on 21 November and is available to watch or listen to again. #Skystorians 1/2

Bonus panel here: www.smbc-comics.com/comic/out-2 #smbc

CPWDCS CZM Rewind ⏪ Margaret talks with Robert Evans about the English rebels who threw on dresses, declared a fake person their leader, and set about fighting the Industrial Revolution. @margaret.bsky.social @iwriteok.bsky.social @whysophiewhy.bsky.social www.iheart.com/podcast/1119...

Who benefits from changes made in this budget? Low-income families with children, particularly with three or more children, are clear winners. In 2028-29, a low-wage single parent with 3 children who receives UC will be £4,960 per year better off, thanks to the removal of the two-child limit.

Apparently the Roger Stevens building @universityofleeds.bsky.social has been voted Leeds' favourite modern building. Clearly people in Leeds are very strange, like ducks, or have never been inside the Roger Stevens building trying to find a specific lecture theatre. 🤷

I've finally found something that I've been looking for for years. Yes, it's an old colander... but it's there's something special and historical about the artefact... can you tell what's so extra interesting about it?

I've got black & white film rolls that need to be used so I'm offering AWA cosplayers absolutely free shoots in black & white. Application has been updated to reflect this change, so if you're interested, time is running out to apply! Application is on my website: arguingmeadows.com

who is funding this?

Mari Lwyd Charity Auction Info Artwork, books and goodies raising money for @womensaid.bsky.social @refugecharity.bsky.social @galopuk.bsky.social @lovingmeuk.bsky.social and Mankind Initiative Preview page: skullsandsheetsauction.wordpress.com Auction page: www.ebay.co.uk/usr/skullsns...

📣 And my lot is now live! Win the auction for my new book Household Lore & you'll get to dictate what I write as the dedication! Perfect for a Christmas present or just to keep on your bookshelf! #WritingCommunity #Charity #Folklore #MariLwyd #Booksky #Refuge 🎄🎁 📚 www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15748994...

What is the opposite of rage bait? That's our word of the year.

Do you write research software for the humanities? Consider writing a software paper to share your work! Reach out to me, @nolauren.bsky.social , or any of the other editors at the CHR journal with your questions or ideas.

Inspired by natural polymers like DNA, chemists have devised a way to engineer plastic so it breaks down when it is no longer needed, rather than polluting the environment

A through-provoking piece from @theblochian.bsky.social, citing the @n8research.bsky.social Statement on Sustainable Scholarly Publishing and anticipating the launch of @ojcollective.bsky.social, non-profit/community-led research infrastructure to fund diamond OA journals 💎 🔓

Police consider corporate manslaughter charges in Post Office scandal