For many years I have been posting little observations online. What you may not know is that for many years, artists have been illustrating them - for no reason other than they wanted to respond. Below is a thread of some of these beautiful drawings because they should be seen 🧵

“Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.” —Mary Shelley

This bobtail squid burrowing into the sand is already adorable, but please watch till the very end! It sticks out its little arms and earnestly sprinkles sand over itself 🦑𓂃◌𓈒𓐍

Substitute draw good with write good (particularly if it is #TTRPG related) and it is still 100% solid advice.

Finally finished my contribution to #CorsetRevivalProject #upcycling contemporary corsets saved from landfill. I’ve highlighted the Arctic Whaling Trade where the whalebone/baleen came from. Working on a 3d base has been a real challenge!

It’s a small thing to celebrate, but my very senior dog just ate a bowl of food for the first time in three days! The vet said he’s okay, just old with kidney disease that messes with his appetite, but it was really concerning and now he seems to be doing better.

Also, if you’re having trouble concentrating you’re not alone. BOSS, THE FASCISM

And TALK ABOUT YOUR STUFF. Talk about what you make, what you’re proud of, what gives you joy in your work *Especially* if it’s also how you make rent, do not be ashamed to promote your art and forcefully disregard anyone who tries to shame you

I've reached out to two 80's hardcore punk bands for lyrics licensing requests through their labels, telling them about #KeepingTime and my budget. Both times, the guys came back with, "nah go ahead, use it for free." Punk's not dead. In fact, they're still out there, being radically kind.

Yearly reminder that you CAN just become a different person, you're not as imprisoned in your life as you think. You can just be the one who dresses nice or exercises or reads a lot, or whatever. You can just start doing it, some people might make fun of you but they don't really care.

Open up this picture fully. Then look at the surface of Mars. Then look up to the top right. Spot Mars' moon Phobos high in the sky. Then notice the bright spot beside Phobos. That's Earth.

James Merril’s poem “Christmas Tree,” written while he was dying of AIDS. 1995.

Sending you an image of a quilt my mother’s friend made. They were both public school teachers in Texas.

In moving to another building, I was going through a collection of uncatalogued records that had been sitting on a shelf, untouched, for 60 years. After dozens of boxes of useless receipts, I pulled another matching box. Inside, was the original handwritten manuscript of Benjamin Franklin’s eulogy!

But to underline an important point you made, I think Today's Discourse Shenigans also don't realise that a core archival research skill is knowing when *not* to read - how to skip or skim. Like, they seem to think we are cursed to read every receipt in the building, but that's the fast bit tbh.

When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.

The research is the point. The reading is the point. The indecipherable handwriting is the point. The marginalia is the point. The weird quirks of penmanship are the point. The finding of the thing you didn’t even know you were looking for is the point

A sidecar made with lemons from my own tree. A wonderful way to celebrate Yuletide!

I don't want gen AI in my browser I don't want gen AI in my pc I don't want gen AI in my art I don't want gen AI in my games I don't want gen AI in my music I don't want gen AI in my movies I don't want gen AI in my books I don't want gen AI in my cart I don't want gen AI in my life

I think one of the reasons why people don't take the study of the humanities seriously is they think being a history buff = being a historian and reading a lot = being a literature scholar because there's still so little public understanding of what methodologies in those fields actually look like

An INCREDIBLE thread. Truly worth your time and then some.

A THREAD, which I am calling 'Some Of The Many Reasons Lichen And Moss Are Fucking Brilliant'. 1. They make public seating super comfy. bsky.app/profile/dj-a...

An important point #authors need to talk about: there are NO PAPERBACKS anymore. I’m at WW Norton and Harper Collins. They release hardbacks and ebooks and audio. Frequently they do NOT do a paperback at all. If they do, #books get remaindered. Unless you are a bestseller, you may never get one.

Just finished building a new dice tray. It holds three sets of dice and the storage compartment doubles as an phone/iPad stand. I’m so pleased with how it turned out! #Dnd #D&D #TTRPG #Daggerheart

Sometimes I think it’s going to be the librarians who will save us all.

Here’s your reminder to take chances even though it’s scary! I threw my hat into the ring for a freelance design gig-risky because I changed careers & haven’t done design work for about 5 years. The company loved my idea & now I’m designing a really, really cool thing for a #D&D related company!

THREAD. A collection of photographs of excellent trees I have met on walks. You will find the captions to each photo in the alt text.

I just finished my last assignment of grad school! My Masters of Library and Information Science and additional Graduate Certificate in Archival Science are done! #2MastersDegreesIn5Years #MLIS #VeryTiredArchivist

my number one most serious writing tip is to make cool friends. in the last year I've needed to know about blacksmithing, neo-medievalism in the american empire, and mid-century lesbian pulp publishing and each time I've been able to just. call a guy.

Nov. 18, 1775: The first ship built by Pennsylvania for its new navy, the 30-gun Black Prince, is completed in Philadelphia.

'Skeleton Wearing a Top Hat Playing the Shamisen for a Small Dancing Yōkai' (circa 1870) Kawanabe Kyōsai

I am often to be found caring for the unknown dead, who emerge, shattered, from their ancient and forgotten graves. Collecting them, burying them, praying them back to their rest. It makes me think, sometimes, of the transphobic refrain that in a thousand years our bones will somehow betray us.

Folks, Tom is back with another Alt Text Masterpiece 🙏

Mood, by noonsillustrations on IG.

For me it was Heidi by Johanna Spyri. My grade school library insisted that we read only easy reading until grade4. Heidi was on the older shelf. It was huge and I wanted it because it was a “real book.” I tried to check it out so many times only to be turned away by the librarian. (🧵1/4)

yes yes we all know about the Edmund Fitzgerald, rest her soul, but did you know about the ship laden with explosives that sank in the mouth of the Thames in 1944 and could explode at any minute and which attempts to disarm keep failing

Not me, a maritime historian, finding out today that my uncle apparently had breakfast aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald a few days before it sank. He was friends with several members of the crew! Apparently his Coast Guard vessel was doing a resupply run to the Fitz. How has this never come up before?!?

Not bad, sis.

Wow! 😮🤩 There's a new interactive map of Every Known Road in the Roman Empire!! 🤓 itiner-e.org We might have to have a lie-down.

Wondering why no one likes your posts anymore, even among your friends? It's because @jay.bsky.team and team have decided to hide a huge amount of content from all of our feeds by default. Here's how to turn it off. First go to the hamburger menu in the upper left corner

As well they should. Shout out to all the librarians who are standing up for our rights!

Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York

A pro-affordability, anti-Trump-corruption message unites the party. Every candidate can run on that, and every candidate can have their own take to fit that to their constituents. There's really no need to find fights to pick when the party agrees on more than it disagrees

Don’t mind me, just screaming at a pitch only dogs can hear…

Great example. I’ve often heard people say they believe medieval people discouraged or punished female literacy, whereas Mary is usually shown reading during the Annunciation, so every medieval person constantly saw images of the #1 female role model reading. The anti-learning Middle Ages is a myth.

Mine would be navigating this part of the Pacific Crest Trail in Newfoundland on the one year anniversary of my friend falling from a nearby cliff and dying. Who knew you could hold a chain that hard?

Until rent costs the same as a coffee I'm never going to believe a cup of coffee is a frivolity. Start endlessly shaming the people who buy a yacht while filing for bankruptcy first then we'll talk. Oh hi Gen Z, I hear you're Millennials now. Join the club, no t-shirts tho, we can't afford them. 🙃