Apparently the decision of the WI to rescind trans inclusion was prompted in part by an internal faction. If I were a cis member of the WI, I would want those bigots named,shamed and shunned. Aggressively promoting transphobia should have social sanctions applied to it.

This is genuinely massive, like earth-shakingly big in terms of pushing back the anti-trans exclusion drive. The anti-trans movement have lost a case they didn't expect to lose and really couldn't afford to. I can't imagine them not appealing (near infinite money) but now the precedent exists.

I bought a wreath for the door in town on my way back home at lunchtime, and before I had much time to object, the stallholder shoved two free coffee plants in my hand because they were unhappy with the cold and not really sellable. 😳

There's no point in getting angry at the Guides or the WI for no longer being trans inclusive, and while there are people saying "but they have loads of money; they can fight this in court", that money isn't intended for legal costs; it's for running the orgranisations

New jag just dropped

Not now, mysterious sea beast www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The masked burglar broke into the closed Virginia liquor store early on Saturday and hit the bottom shelf. The bandit was something of a nocturnal menace: bottles were smashed and alcohol pooled on the floor. The suspect acted like an animal because, in fact, he's a raccoon.

Okay @erinbiba.bsky.social it’s time for my second-most anticipated annual thread: Cats in Christmas Trees (and Battling Menorahs). Starting off strong with Donut.

There’s a poem with the first line “I will die in Chicago while looking for a job in winter” and sadly I can neither recall nor locate the title or name of the poet. Does this ring any bells, poet friends?

Oh @rianjohnson.bsky.social played all innocent "I'm not doing a muppet thing with Knives Out" he knew HE KNEW

Me

Alert, alert, we have Muppet Benoit Blanc!

Making this my 2026 motto: yes we're helpful, but 'Librarians also do not have endless time and bandwidth and resources'

A short essay by me on the history of advent calendars in the UK. martinjohnes.com/2020/12/01/a...

The bastards got lovely John Finnemore! He of course manages to be hilarious about it while quite accurately explaining. "My publishers were a company cursed, through what they often assured me was no fault of their own, with the most terrible luck." johnfinnemore.substack.com/p/the-unbear...

I read this every Christmas and the excellent BBC radio version is still available:

Alt text available here bsky.app/profile/neil...

Oh joy, another helpful AI infographic via LinkedIn. Off I go to my job as a liberaian, maybe to run some critical evaligane workshops and of course use New! Boulean! Logic!

I think that must have been in one of the Gnostic Gospels.

Away in a manger, the French for 'to eat', a oisseau's a birdy, and pieds is your feet.

Wild mammals when caught: freaks out and flails like their life is in danger Wild birds when caught: calmly looks at you confused and offended

For the next round of 'tweet that lives rent free in your head', I've just been reminded of this:

New book #ThingsLeftUnsung on sale now worldwide in hardback edition. Stocking-filler paperback edition out on 8th December, with the Kindle edition available in time for Christmas reading. Profits from the hardback edition will go to City Hospice, Cardiff. amzn.eu/d/8x56n5Y

In Welsh it's mis Rhagfyr, which means 'the month of foreshortening'. Does what it says on the tin, I guess.

Your annual reminder that the most revealing difference between Irish and Scottish Gaelic is definitely in the words for December: Mí na Nollag (Month of Christmas) in Ireland, and An Dubhlachd (the Blackness) in Scotland. So once again may I wish you all a lovely Blackness.

This is somewhat nerdy/technical but reveals utterly woeful practices at the OBR – where they relied on free Wordpress plugins to protect some of the most sensitive economic data the UK publishes. Absolutely dismal stuff, and not just one junior staffer screwing up.

So chosen because of the way it will prompt those online to say "actually, that is two words". qed.

This is super exciting - mRNA vaccine against EBV enters early stage phase 2 trial in 180 people with a recent MS diagnosis. The virus is known to play a significant role in its development www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...

White rabbits white rabbits 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇

interesting reverse of something I talked about the other day, where modern songs with a clear origin are mistaken for traditional folksongs: "House of the Rising Sun" actually *is* a folksong. I always assumed it had been written sometime in the 1950s.

"Imagine you’re having a quiet evening at home when suddenly there’s a knock on the door. You open it to find a boisterous crowd carrying a horse’s skull mounted on a pole and draped in ribbons – the Mari Lwyd has arrived."

While I agree and have found browsing of immense benefit, bookshelves are finite. We literally cannot have All The Books on the shelves. There just isn't any space.

At the end of the day, don’t we all just want to read books in front of a crackling fire in a Scottish Highlands cottage during a raging snowstorm whilst enjoying a plate of chocolate croissants?

Creative writer/teacher friends of Bluesky! I’m looking for good pieces of ‘craft’ writing that discuss strategies for implementing peer feedback on creative work. What to take, what to leave. how to make the most of the dialogue, but also take responsibility for the final decision. Any tips?

An STRANGE CREECHER making NOISES

The culture outside is frightful But critique is so delightful And since we've no place to know Adorno, Adorno, Adorno

Yes, everyone, it's time for another Very Theory Xmas. We're here until early January with Terry Eagleton's chocolate orange, shameless theory puns, and of course #LastZizekIGaveYouTheReal. Rejoice!

one more cab calloway thing: he performed "minnie the moocher" in blues brothers, which was a 1931 song in a 1980 movie, the modern equivalent would be aerosmith performing "back in the saddle" in a movie released this year, you're all welcome

Hey BlueSky, especially #science peeps. Looking for Xmas gifts for the 12yr old. He loves his circuit kit and reading nonfiction. Are there good engineering/electrics reference books out there? He does uni-level maths with his dad, so they can be complex..more about the tone being engaging?

Brought a pair of high-top Docs to Japan. Got a job in slushy Snow Country. Discovered they are very very far from being waterproof. Miserable first winter.

I read the Telegraph D&D article so you don’t have to. In short, it is so one sided I’m inclined to say it both racist and homophobic. It also attributes the rise of D&D’s popularity exclusively Stranger Things. Ignoring the likes of Critical Role, 5th edition and the golden age of tabletop games.

apparently the Telegraph has written about the state of modern D&D and I have to say it is sad to see one of the bastions of modern fantasy being ideologically captured by lunatics and forced to pump out a steady diet of divisive wank. D&D on the other hand seems largely fine though

Observe mine Marvellous Tail!!

A great broadcaster.

yes next question

My cat is having a good social media day when he get five likes.

Any article complaining about "woke" is bullshit, & propaganda. The writer is either a willing participant, or an ignorant dupe

Some of our most precarious members, tutors and demonstrators on 'guaranteed hours' contracts, have had their work hours cut or disappeared entirely in management's cost cutting spree. All the money paid to Nous could have gone to them. #StopStaffCutsatUoE www.theferret.scot/consultancy-...

Me, everyday for the next month