Sort of spurred by this: I still think that part of the whole Post Pandemic Social Settlement should have been a huge (inter)national effort to properly ventilate our spaces and that should have included ACs and heat pumps for places in Europe, and it's just a shame we generally didn't do this.

Colleagues at Exeter have asked me to circulate this petition as widely as possible: www.change.org/p/stop-redun...

A brief appreciation thread for some of my colleagues in Classics at Exeter, who the University of Exeter have put at risk of redundancy @exeter.ac.uk. A few are on here, most are not, but I'm going to say nice things about them anyway.

One of my favourites 💜

this is what i mean when i say ai is a rhetorical technology. functionally this is a tool for *justifying deportation*, not a tool for assessing age. when someone is pitching an ai product, don't ask them what it's supposed to do. ask yourself what it's supposed to justify

Such a tough choice! A technology no one asked for or a livable future. 'Sorry kids, I know you Southern Europe used to be a nice place before the summer temperatures destroyed crops and made it unlivable, but having to compare my own emails was such a drag.'

Sorry for the threads screenshot i stole, but this is important. I knew a dude who got his master's degree in religious studies in his eighties. People come out start dating or transitioning in their 90s. Life is wild and can be so wonderful, and as long as you're drawing breath, change is possible

The guy who was the best at painting British rain, has died. #RIP #DavidHockney

What a life, RIP David Hockney. Thank you for brightening the world with your art 🎨

Just need everyone to know that the Belgium men's soccer team has new jerseys based on the art of Rene Magritte and this is the official photo shoot

Had a fantastic time at The Shop for Mortals and All Fools, a one-woman rendering of The Bacchae (plus a bit extra), created by Vinicius Salles. A moving and multi-sensory immersive experience. Heartily recommended www.tickettailor.com/events/murmu...

Our newest blog post is now out! Check out what PhD candidate Ilaria Truzzi did with our small grant scheme 🏛️ wcc-uk.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2026/05/21/s...

Yes. Using a computer now feels like this at all times.

Today!! 🏛️

Is it really bad that I can’t stand this style of account and block them on sight? Why does the maker use an AI avatar? What’s going on with the subjectivity here? I feel a bit old-man-shouting-at-clouds about this.

Well done, gender criticals. If trans women aren't safe, no women are safe. Poor soul. Just let people live their lives in peace.

A few weeks ago we rushed over to a bird rescue centre with a nest of hatchlings we found discarded. We thought they were all dead at first, but then two moving slightly. Just found out they were goldcrests and one has survived 🥲 You can donate to them here wildlifeaid.org.uk/contact-

Well this is more like it!

Every summer I repost this article on how to spot drowning. Please read it and pass on. In the last few years I’ve had SIX messages from people who saved a kid’s life after clicking on the link from my feed. slate.com/technology/2...

That’s AI-more ♫ When the shape formed by rain will forever remain That’s a Zoongie When you walk with a stride that young benches would ride That’s a Zoongie When your dress fumbles light and your laugh steals delight That’s a Zoongie When it looks to your eye like it’s writ by AI That’s a Zoongie

@rhiannone.bsky.social You are Julia Cleopatra aka Lezbia.

Latin word for you: blatta, -ae. "An insect that shuns the light; of several kinds, the cockroach, chafer, moth, etc." A fragment of 'The Maiden' by Decimus Laberius: amore cecidi tamquam blatta in pelvim

My apologies to the girl on the train with whom I accidentally made eye contact while she was covertly eating straight jam out of a jar with a spoon: I did not mean sour your communing with the fruit.

'Hallucinated citations are more prevalent in work authored by researchers with little pre-2022 publication history. When fake citations occur, they disproportionately credit already established, highly cited, often male authors, the study found.' 2/2 arxiv.org/abs/2605.07723

People will be like ‘Bluesky is all academics & historians’ & I’ll be like, ‘You mean the people who enthusiastically tell me the coolest shit I ever heard?????’

I thought this was me!

Final days to apply: Non-stipendiary Early Career Research Associates (ECRAs) Deadline Wednesday 20 May Each position is tenable for up to three years and is open to UK-based researchers in any field of classical studies. Full details: ics.sas.ac.uk/awards/fello...

Actual, proper rain! ☔️ 🙌

Imagine praising Jeff Bezos 🥴

I've hit 100 responses to my survey on personal tutoring - half way there! If you're an academic in UK HE who's had pastoral responsibility for students in the last five years, whatever that's called, I'd love to hear your thoughts - it shouldn't take more than ten minutes. Do share if you can.

Sure! Here's a list of ten truths universally acknowledged that you can use in your writing.

Wow, they actually *retracted* this so-called meta-analysis about ChatGPT effects on learning performance, though it got massive metrics and social media attention before that. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Can’t wait until you can connect your loyalty cards to these so you can get more “bargains”.

Aargh totally missed that Songkick has been acquired by Suno AI 🙄

The IES, English Association @englishassociation.bsky.social and University English @univeng.bsky.social are always available to support colleagues throughout the sector in these challenging times. There's more information on our website here: ies.sas.ac.uk/leadership-c...

Upside of my training today: new PB of dumbbell bench press of 9x22.5kg followed by 8x 22.5kg (either side obv). Downside: forearms feel funny when I try to type now.

so. My monograph IRISH SHAKESPEARES is finally coming out this autumn 💚 not available to preorder yet but get your libraries to order!!

Amazing website tracking instances of fraud, plagiarism, falsehoods and disinformation in media outlets caused by people choosing to use text generation tools instead of critical thinking, research and analysis pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/d...

Classicist and Italianist outing to Ancient Grease the musical. Very raunchy, very queer, very fun. The lively and talented ensemble had us laughing (and blushing a bit). Definitely captures some of the spirit of myth too.

Really looking forward to seeing lots of you at the WCC tenth anniversary later! Let's start a hashtag, like the olden days. 😄 #TenYearsOfWCC @womeninclassicsuk.bsky.social @lizgloyn.bsky.social @annapjudson.bsky.social @chrissieplastow.bsky.social

Thanks to the ICS library staff, there are also some wonderful displays in the library foyer on the third floor, celebrating powerful ancient women and also the work of women in the ICS and the Societies. Check them out when you arrive! @womeninclassicsuk.bsky.social #TenYearsOfWCC

Oh, will you look at that - I had missed that my WCC And Me blog post is up on the @womeninclassicsuk.bsky.social blog - just in time for #TenYearsOfWCC!

Even I -ostensibly a Classicist - have needed the Wayback Machine for research recently.

Two important volumes - the collected papers of Prof Pat Easterling, the first (and so far only) woman to hold the Regius Chair of Greek at Cambridge, an alumna & honorary fellow of @newnhamcollege.bsky.social, & a hugely important scholar on Greek tragedy. All online via Cambridge core...

Very rude that we’ve endured a ‘90s fashion revival, countless big Spice Girls/ All Saints 💓/ Oasis reunions, but no Alisha’s Attic reunion tour.

This is a nice bit of good news. A good reminder to redouble our conservation efforts!