One thing I found deeply moving about resistance in the Twin Cities was the universalism of loving your neighbor, the philosophy driving the opposition to the ICE/BP invasion. I couldn't help but notice the contrast with the blood and soil-ism of Miller and Vance. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Don't know what to do? Read the link.

HOTTE LOCAL SINGLES NEARE THEE are ynterested yn chess, falconrye, vernacular adaptaciouns of the Troy myth, gentle talke of the mysteryes and paynes of love, elaborate gardens.

“It’s not God’s peace without justice! Free Gaza Now!” These Christian leaders joined our Jewish kin today in beautifully living into the call of Psalm 101:1 and singing of God’s love and justice for Gazans and Palestinians.

@tacol0rd.bsky.social to our baby this morning: “if you like these high contrast cards you’re going to LOVE Caravaggio” #art #parenting

The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employee union, has now grown to a record size of 319,233 active members. 14,000 new members joined in the past five weeks. That’s nearly as many as the previous 12 months. minnesotareformer.com/2025/02/07/f...

“What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.” - Pope Francis

Me when ICE shows up during worship i.redd.it/16guw8ts4fi7...

A group of 19th century poets walk into a bar. ‘Why the Longfellow?’ asks the judgmental bartender.

I concede that on one level the ‘Gulf of America’ idiocy is just a toddler screaming in his sandbox. On another, I wrote a novel 35 years ago, TIGANA, about how tyrants erase (or try to) names, history, art to consolidate their control of people. So, it matters. Symbols do. So does acquiescence.

A delight to hear @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social and @madelinemiller.bsky.social speak last night about translation, interaction w/ ancient texts in the contemporary world, and about resistance to tyranny in every age. We’re excited to read both women’s writings with our baby Sylvia… never too early!

Marah & Motaz lost their home and work & were displaced with their baby Miela by the genocide in Gaza. They're still starving, freezing, and sick after a year of Israel's famine & siege. Please share & give to help, Marah's ill in the cold--they urgently need shelter, essentials & healthcare:

Very much enjoying this episode, as I knew I would! Such a great walk through of the history of feminist crit in Tolkien studies (delivered by my MA supervisor 🩷)

It’s true

Murkowski says call volume to the Senate is now 40x higher than normal:

As I have been telling my family since January 20, there's always tomorrow. And there will be a tomorrow where they don't win. That is wisdom that I learned from my parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles. They learned it from their elders, and so on. And now I teach it to the next generations.

Email your reps!

Senator Andy Kim just went to the USAID building, talked to the security guard there to confirm employees are being barred entry, and then did a press gaggle right there in front to call it out. This is doing something. This is making an effort on messaging. Other Democratic lawmakers: take notes.

Also, when you’re writing to your electeds, mention that Musk has access to the payment system that handles Medicare and Social Security, as many electeds live in abject fear of something happening to either of those programs. Especially red state electeds.

Must read. Musk has taken control of all of our money!

For Black History Month, did you know that one of our foundational Tolkien scholars is a Black woman? Melanie Rawls wrote "The Feminine Principle in Tolkien" (1984), among THE seminal works on women and Tolkien. She's written on JRRT and Ursula Le Guin among others and is a fantasist herself.

My book "Illustrating The Lord of the Rings in the Soviet Bloc" has a cover! Featuring artwork by the most excellent Yassen Panov, illustrator of the 1990-1991 Bulgarian #LOTR translation Vlastelinat Na Prastenite. The book is currently scheduled for release on September 18th #Tolkien

Another day of trying to replace the terrible news on your feed with beautiful landscape photography 📸 Cannon Beach, Oregon #photography #longexposure #ocean #oceanscape #oregon #oregoncoast

Oooh, I’ll pull an oldie out of my archives. This tiny sketch of Tintern Abbey is from 2018. We visited again this year while it was under repairs (which was actually cool to see as well!). Tagging: @miriamellis.bsky.social @mgcoco.bsky.social #artshare

“In 150 characters or less” by @nikitagill.bsky.social

THIS (some of) IS WHAT CLERGY ARE TO DO NOW (video at link) You don't cozy up to power You speak prophetic truth to those who have power when you have the mic You use your voice and position to demand moral reckoning, safety, care, love, protection. YOU. TAKE. RISKS. It's your damn job.

Love it! Merry Christmas 🎄

Get caught up: www.lifeisasacredtext.com/beware-of-co...

You know who was really obsessed with race, like way more than any 'woke' person? American enslavers. Those guys - totally focused on race. And yet for some reason, no one complains that a race based system of slavery is obviously a form of 'identity politics.'

Please take a moment to sign a petition to add Hellbenders to the Endangered Species list. They are one of only three Giant Salamander species in existence (and the only North American one!), and they are insanely cool creatures that deserve to keep existing. Snot Otters forever!

Putting my shop on vacay mode in a few days for maternity leave. Don’t want to get stuck with orders to ship *and* a new baby 🤣 so anyway, last chance to purchase for a few months! emilyaustindesign.etsy.com

Social media platforms as Oxford pubs: • Threads: Lamb & Flag. Always busy but so noisy you can't have a proper conversation. • Bluesky: Royal Oak. Few people but with lots of rooms and nooks and a good buzz. • X: Swan & Castle (Wetherspoons). Makes me feel ill. Owner is a politics twat. /1

Last day to get stuff at a discount! Also, in the next week or so I’ll be shutting down my shop for maternity leave. TBD when exactly it will reopen. So grab stuff while you can. 😉

I also just watched this vid. Thanks Marcel for following up with more resources. Very helpful!

You will never find a bigger Paul McCartney fan than myself, but even I cannot deny that "Wonderful Christmastime" poses a challenge to any serious theodicy.

Adham is raising funds for his family to survive and escape the ongoing genocide in Gaza, which has left them homeless and without income, and in dire need of scarce and expensive essentials under imposed famine. Progress is very slow. Please share or give if you can.

How do you say “Bandersnatch” or “Tumtum tree” in Old English? Take a look at Tolkien’s recently discovered Old English translation of Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky.” A few of my favourite phrases in the link. #TolkienTuesday #TolkienTrewsday #Tolkien.

2 December on the #fantasyadvent: Winter gatherings and celebrations at Brambly Hedge! (Yes, that’s a prime example of miniature fantasy, what my next book is about!) More on the Brambly Hedge books here: bramblyhedge.com/brambly-hedg... @UofGFantasy 🎄🐁 🎄🐁🎄🐁

In time to benefit from the holiday sale, prints of my latest Tolkienian watercolor, Through the Gorse, are now up in my shop: emilyaustindesign.etsy.com/listing/1816...

Next feature from my shop sale, winter Hobbiton cards! emilyaustindesign.etsy.com/listing/7384...

In the early 1990s Sergei Iukhimov created a number of First Age Tolkien depictions heavily inspired by the decadent fin de siècle aestheticism of Aubrey Beardsley. Sadly the mists of time have rendered many of the reproductions hazy, but here's one that goes hard nonetheless...Túrin's death (1993).

Adventures in creation care… drilling holes in a stump for bees

Bluesky has made it. I can once again explain very online things to my not very online wife and have her stare at me, bewildered. We’re back baby!!!!

Read to your children. To this day, my mom credits my sisters and my intelligence on both parents reading to us, long after we could read for ourselves, into our early tween years. On long road trips, mom used to read full novels, even historic non-fiction to the family from the passenger seat.

Random, but one thing I have found unexpectedly satisfying about late pregnancy is how badass it feels to do squats. Even just around the house, any time I have to pick something up from the ground, my legs are doing more work than before and I feel strong.

Just posted my latest Tolkien Pop! article on Substack, where I explore how #Tolkien and On Fairy-stories can help us better appreciate #Spongebob for the wellbeing of our world open.substack.com/pub/tolkienp...

A poster of "Bilbo's Last Song (at the Grey Havens)", printed over artwork by Pauline Baynes, published on 26 November 1974. Tolkien first composed it in Old Norse as Vestr um haf ("West over sea") in early 1920s. His secretary, Joy Hill, rediscovered it in 1968, and Tolkien gifted it to her.

2024 is the centennial of James Baldwin's birth! Throughout the year, there are celebrations of every sort. Among them: the reminder that JB Review’s 10th anniversary lands in this momentous year! I’m also aiming to get to the Schomburg’s Baldwin exhibition before it closes Feb 28th.