Elephant, 1637 Rembrandt Van Rijn (Albertina, Vienna)

America's beef cattle herd is the smallest in 75 years, in part because of drought. Beef imports are also down, because of tariffs. Unsurprisingly, beef prices are at record highs www.npr.org/2025/09/18/n...

Critical part of the President's new $100,000 charge for H1-B visas: The Administration can also offer a $100,000 discount to any person, company, or industry that it wants. Replacing rules with arbitrary discretion. Want visas? You know who to call and who to flatter.

“Dear Toad, I am glad that you are my best friend. Your best friend, Frog.”

For something that will have all the ambience of the Wichita Marriott's conference center and wedding space

I like that VA emails me my ballot. Early voting has started and I'll get mine in the mail soon.

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Tech companies have snatched millions of YouTube videos to train their AI models. Search The Atlantic’s new AI Watchdog tool to see if yours have been used:

I'm so proud to be on the MERL podcast, where I'll be discussing the opening chapters of my new book, which you can preorder now: reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/contest...

This week has been a long year. But you know what to do. 😍

Articles are included. The first time I used it I had 15 articles, but now it is just 2. Not sure how that changed?

#CharlieKirk did this.

Which destroyed the Yankee's base base on what the did yesterday. Previous owners are rolling over in their graves. #ShameYankees

Wow such an amazing rainbow in a very distraught & unstable world.

Neil Jenney, Beasts and Burdens, 1970 #artbots #moma https://botfrens.com/collections/14377/contents/1137060

I have gotten our @greenhouseuis.net #envhum book talks for September & October posted! Always on Mondays at 16:00 (4pm) Central European time. For details see: newnatures.org/greenhouse/

ESEH 2027, “Environmental History Beyond Disciplinary Boundaries,” will take place on 6–10 September in beautiful Salzburg, Austria! #ESEH2025 #ESEH2027 #envhist #envhum @mknoll.bsky.social

Wow! Congratulations

Arctic expeditions were giant money laundering schemes with the end goal of producing penguin footage and I am fine with that. Scenes of Norwegian-Penguin diplomacy from Roald Amundsen's successful push to reach the South Pole. The films were intended to be sold and to accompany his lecture tour.

“…unburdened by the structures of modern environmental law, imprisoned workers helped turn an unbroken wilderness into a beehive of economic activity…” - @cjeffersonhall.bsky.social I loved this work, found it intriguing, and it is a timely read. I would highly recommend!

I was a lifelong critic of Robespierre’s program of mass executions of elites. Then I watched the first six months of Trump’s second term.

Andrea Hayes, textile artist based in Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland, known for her textile landscapes #WomensArt

Wow! Congratulation Marion. This is wonderful.

Just now…

Why is there no oven cleaning built in to Euro ovens (high temp) rather than I have to use toxic chemicals to clean my oven. Think I'll live less cuz this. It is insane that the EU doesn't require hight-temp oven cleaning to reduce chemical exposure.

"Keith Sakata, a psychiatrist at the University of California at San Francisco, said he has admitted a dozen people to the hospital for psychosis following excessive time spent chatting with AI so far this year."

"The disciplining of Ben Robinson is a violation of his academic freedom that sends a chilling message to all faculty members." jeffreycisaacdesign.wordpress.com/2025/08/19/i...

That MIT report is having some fall out. 95% of AI doesn't work and humans are having to work harder because of layoffs. AI is a meme coin.

My family emigrated from what is now Slovakia to minister to new immigrants working in Ohio/PA factories and mines in 1920/21. They created & served their community, served in WWII & Vietnam. The helped invent computers, digital imaging, biotech, nuclear tech and much much more. We are America

"How to Report ICE" zine editions now available for free printable download: NYC Philly Durham, NC Pittsburgh, PA All of Massachusetts Northern California from Humboldt to Monterey Counties! More to come! Please share widely. drive.google.com/drive/folder...

There is a direct link to what Trump said about slavery & his approach to Gaza displacement. Slavery was the US's original sin that still haunts America for its violence, racism & misogyny. The US policy in Gaza is perpetuating these same cruelties.

Went ahead and updated my map of cities with higher crime than D.C. to accommodate the two new states from the Deep South who are sending troops to the capital. In the five states there are 64 cities, home to 1.7 million people, that had more crime in 2024 than D.C. www.pbump.net/o/more-peopl...

This is of course absurd! It suggests that teaching methods don't change over time. As an ITA reader in first grade--weird phonetical alphabet--they got rid of it the next few years because we couldn't read English. Fortunately I was reading before 1st grade so recovered quickly, but spelling oof.

MIT’s NANDA initiative found that 95% of generative AI deployments fail after interviewing 150 execs, surveying 350 workers, and analyzing 300 projects. The real “productivity gains” seem to come from layoffs and squeezing more work from fewer people not AI.

My contacts at U of Oregon have asked to circulate this to-do list + this list of contacts to call and write to speak against the proposed evisceration of several programs (and termination of affiliated tenure-track, tenured, and career faculty).

A massive attack on several humanities units (Arabic Studies, Judaic Studies, Holocaust Studies, Classics, Religion, German & Scandinavian, Russian/East European/Eurasian Studies) *and* tenure now unfolding at the University of Oregon (a blue state!). Closure of units and faculty layoffs threatened.

I just left the Everglades Immigrant Interment Camp. No, I’m not using their ridiculous name. It was a very tough to witness humans in those cages. Every Floridian should be ashamed that our taxpayer money is being used for this.

The Department of Energy said it will close FOIA requests from last year unless the requester emails the agency to say they are still interested. Experts say it's an "attempt to close out as many FOIA requests as possible." 🔗 www.404media.co/trump-admini...

Hey, history and medievalist friends. If you're doing any teaching on maps this semester, I have a couple of digital resources you might find useful. #skystorians 🗃️ 1. Matthew Paris's Map A fully annotated & interactive copy of Paris's c.1250 map of England. 1/3 historiacartarum.org/annotated-cl...

People don't really understand how difficult it was to eat before the 1950s. Since the 1930s egg production revolutionized, chicken production revolutionized, fresh fruits & veg revolutionized. Both chicken and eggs were very expensive not that long ago.

this is so wonderfully weird, give her all the golds 🥇

Teruglezen | Wetenschappers in heel Nederland worden geraakt door het beleid-Trump: hun onderzoeken liggen stil, ze kunnen niet meer samenwerken met Amerikaanse collega’s of zien belangrijke data verdwijnen:

This is bad. It is also a trend that is coming for every public university. Republican are breaking all the systems.

Test for a mushroom & smoked paprika cream crepe gateau. Brown, white & chanterelle duexelle--lemon, white wine, lemon zest, garlic. Will be taller

This is what happens when unit are run like a business. Knowledge doesn't matter on numbers & therefore $$$. The sciences are much more expensive and grants don't necessarily make unis $$. It is bad business when you shut down programs that have marginal cost savings & not the most expensive ones.

All I can do is 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

Doing a very slow train tour of Germany's most beautiful places. The train is the trip & see places on the side. Bochum via Köln to Trier-Stuttgart-Konstanz-Mainz-Köln-Bochum. Next is Hamburg & Sylt. Def needed to break out of health issues and abusive PI.

TFW you are traveling and something needs explaining and the very nice people try to explain things in German which didn't work but then in French which did, even as I'm crap at both.

I am appalled by what is going on in Gaza and help where I can, but I can't possibly support all of the people contacting me. I'm so sorry I can't help all of you and would if I could. I will continue to support the organizations I can.