Today’s moment of zen. Harold Bloom points out that nowhere in #Hamlet does #Shakespeare imply hamlet’s father loved him. In fact the only familial love is between Yorick and Hamlet. Seen the play a dozen times and never noticed that. Western canon pg351.

the loch ness monster is the original hard-to-reach respondent

This morning’s thought for the day from Harold Bloom. In an essay on Ibsen and #trolls: “the opposite of trollishness is wit and the high spirits that sheer wit can engender,”. The western canon pg 330.

I remember the “internet of things” #iot being talked of hopefully. Now it’s here and all it is is just the #bus texting you and then sending a real time tracker so you can be sure it’s late. Better than waiting in the rain. But just as late.

The bus is so late I’m contemplating second breakfast. I look forward to the inevitable “which one are you booked on?” Conversation at the park and ride.

The children in the meeting made candle surrounds to bring some light to the darkest part of the year. Hope your November is not just full of rain. #quakers

Reset the clock - first undergraduate survey request of the academic year. NOPE. PUBLIC SERVICE SKEET follows In case folks are interested, here's the reason UK and Scottish #civil #servants are a bad plan for building your research on 🧵: We get LOTS of survey requests, especially from students.

A little #Morag #cat update. She’s now 13 and slowing down. Recently a cheeky boy 🐈 has been coming into the house and snuffling her dinner. She has been getting stressed. So we got a new cat flap with a microchip lock so only she can get in and some anti-anxiety meds.

Just had tea and will shortly be making and baking empanadas. Hard to beat that for a Friday evening. #middleage

Oh god! My eye! My eyeeeee…

I was planning on looking outside. Didn’t realise more technique was needed. #northern #lights #aurora

Weirdly I may have the followers to answer this. @huttoncpc.bsky.social and other #potato #spudsky folks- can anyone help on this question?

Today’s thought for the day, when did you last read aloud to a friend? Her proscribed for grief by Harold Bloom, the Western Canon, pg 270. Morning commute reading continues to deliver.

A radio programme like the Shipping Forecast but it’s called Bin Day and it just reads out every single council in the country’s bin schedule

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older but “Crisis at the #BBC” season seems to come around earlier each year. Barely got the Halloween bunting taken down.

How did I get here in the airing cupboard? Pull up a chair pal and I’ll explain all it to you.

The unhurried face of a #cat who does not in fact live in this house. Home from the gym to meet this fella at the top of the stairs.

Boosting this comment I saw in chat earlier. Hard to overstate how much #KE (Knowledge Exchange) work is prevented because #universities don't seem to have a proportionate response- it's a small contract - ergo small risk and so on; instead given the same process and time as a major grant.

#Cheese News! 🐭🐁🧀

How physically do people who order extra hot coffee not burn their mouths? I would genuinely have blisters if my code was hotter than normal. Genuine curiosity about the biology here? I would have assumed mouths all burn at the same temperature? #science #question

Thought for the day courtesy of Dr Johnson. Popped out to me on the bus this morning’s commute reading. From Harold Bloom, Western Canon “nor has any man found the evils of life so formidable in reality as they were described in his own imagination.”

Morag breaches the breakfast wall in search of illicit lactose.

We had a terrific night! Hope you all survived. If you're reading this and you've not survived let me know. #halloween

Magnificent 💯

Birds but they get spookier each time. 🎃👻 Enter if you dare...🚪

Happy Halloween from the un-familiar and me. 🎃 😾

#STV news has been greatly improved by removing sub editors. Actual surprise is good, but… news.stv.tv/east-central...

I spent one summer as an assistant lockkeeper at Culham about 5mins walk from Orwell’s grave. A surprising number of visitors would fail to find it because they didn’t know it was a nom-de-plume. Teenage me would only selectively give out this information.

Me in Tescos: Christmas stuff out before Halloween 🎃. Grump grump. Me in choir- oh Christmas song prep starts this week!😁🎅🎅 Make sure you contain multitudes folks.

Watching Scottish Bluesky - I think today with the Land Reform Bill being debated in parliament is the first time I’ve had the feeling of a viable Scottish political community here. Actually interesting things being said and real-time commentary.

It’s October and I’ve lost my first pair of gloves of the winter. Looking back fondly at the university years where a friend crocheted mittens-on-strings after watching me go through half a dozen pairs.

Also I have just realised I’m at the eldest household teenager has nicked my hoodie and is wearing it stage.

At point I have to assume that people are actively targeting my week off when they’re putting out these stories! Great to see RESAS programme work on the TV news.sky.com/story/the-gr...

I think one thing about this AWS outage is a reminder that the safest place for eggs is tidily in that one basket, no?

Morag #cat hoping that there will be spilt milk she could help out with. She is lactose intolerant, so there really won’t be. That said, today’s life tip is be like Mo- see spilt milk as an opportunity.

Humans are a domesticated species and therefore require contact with other domesticated species to flourish.

Met this little fella in the Stromness museum. As I mixed up the bookings and now will not be getting home till after midnight I feel like he’s my current #mood #goblin.

Really nice to hear this on the potato research at JHI. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s...

Loved this question. It’s the desperate search to convince someone to take on a Local Meeting role that isn’t shared pastoral care (tea & sympathy), in time for Nominations. Also unlimited afterwords on things that didn’t quite arise in meeting.

Welcome to Bluesky 💙🦋

#Cat #poem, a still life. Morag at probably 14 years old.

Today I have filled out 4 work related doodle polls. Who knows what exciting meeting dates await us?

#Cat #poem, a still life. Morag at probably 14 years old.

Just finished both The Spell Shop and The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst. If you want a cosy fantasy, literally the antidote to 90% of the Bluesky misery feed then I would heartily recommend. Just a joy from beginning to end. Audiobook wonderfully read too by Caitlin Davies.

As a historian, I can certify that we are in the bad times. But bad times eventually end. In the meantime: • Figure out a small way to help someone • Figure out a small way to fight back • Figure out a small place to find joy • Figure out a small way to grow and thrive And do it often.

MILLENNIAL BLUESKY POSTER: you know, when I was a kid, I thought QUICKSAND would be a lot bigger of a probelm!!!! 🤣🤣 JOHNNY QUEST: *quote-tweeting* wow. okay. not even sure how im supposed to respond to this. I'm glad YOU didn't have that experience, I guess???

It’s beginning to feel like a pattern @emberbus.

Keep seeing things about drone delivery services. Because if there’s one thing that’s really easy to do in this country it’s reliably find front doors based on our extremely rational numbering and road naming system. Piece of cake.

It’s Bookshop Day so here’s a poem in celebration of all those amazing bookshops out there.