This is excellent and I look forward to hearing of its expansion Ireland’s basic income for the arts scheme becomes permanent.

“Translating passages about the stillness of Halley's Comet in the night sky 2,000 years ago above Babylon, was, to me, translating something about what it means to be human.” – Moudhy Al-Rashid, “Between Two Rivers”

So lush and romantic. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx8n...

Freedom is a heavy load, a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake. It is not easy. It is not a gift given, but a choice made, and the choice may be a hard one.

#Ausmedia covering complex mental illness in the context of violence and crime are urged to avoid using or repeating quotes containing stigmatising language or terms. Access free advice and resources for safe, responsible reporting: bit.ly/42eO3K4

Listening to Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto and thinking we’re so lucky he didn’t heed the beta reader who told him it’s totally unplayable and not worth even rewriting.

If you’re within reach of Tarntanya Adelaide in early March, this looks like a fab way to spend an afternoon (thread 👇🏻)

Across Australia: protest the visit of Israeli president Isaac Herzog on Monday 9 February. We will not be complicit in genocide. #Auspol #Gaza

COVID, flu and RSV haven’t suddenly changed. They now circulate year-round, but testing and reporting don’t. When surveillance weakens, outbreaks aren’t prevented — they’re detected later. Hospitalisations/aged-care homes/wastewater now matter more than raw case counts. Hopefully, CDC will help.

On the persistence of culture — food, art, literature, music — and the enormity of the acts that can extinguish it (thread 👇🏻) (rtyi @fionatribe.bsky.social …?)

Contrary to popular belief, there are actually six recognised human taste senses: * Sweet * Sour * Salt * Bitter * Umami * Proximity to the way mum made it

Staring at a comet in the night sky “I was but a blip in a beautiful universe so filled with wonder that I can hardly stand it. Thousands of years ago, people on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates shared in that wonder. They, too, looked up.” — Moudhy Al-Rashid, “Between Two Rivers”

Customers at the outdoor tables unexpectedly become cinematic extras as a young woman in a pink summer frock strides past, bearing aloft a hand-written sign saying SHE WANTS FLOWERS FOR V-DAY! Another lass wields a phone-cam & directs. They pause to chat and thank us for playing along 😎 #CafeLife

felt a movement in the force that we needed to revisit this most excellent chorographic endeavour… 🙏 www.youtube.com/shorts/L8TWn...

“It has not been in existence long enough to have made any history, but doubtless this will come later.” The physics department’s pitch drop experiment began in 1927. Still going, and arguably the world’s longest continuous lab experiment.

Fellow Victorians, please sign and share this petition to have @writersvictoria.bsky.social funding reinstated, so we're not the only mainland state... or UNESCO city of literature... without funding to a writer’s organisation: www.parliament.vic.gov.au/get-involved...

When the air pressure is low the You Yangs practise their looming. Today they’re more aloof. #Wadawurrung Country

Smile for the economy. My cartoon in today's @theageaustralia.bsky.social

Public relations or propaganda? So much depends on the purpose of the message and the identity of its audience.

Interesting essay shedding light on invisible labor in literature. #bookhistory

Update: found a generous curator who made time to assess this vase. It’s a John Butler design, dating to 1915. Butler was art director when Clarice Cliff joined Wilkinson’s in 1916. Thanks to @bam-pow.bsky.social @jontyscorner.bsky.social @drspacejunk.bsky.social for helping with this quest.

When people talk about the idea that some universities must go under, there’s a certain tendency to behave as if these smaller local campuses are negligible- regrettable casualties perhaps but not ‘real’ universities. This report does a great job of illustrating why that’s wrong.

The safe rideshare for women and children (and their pets) in Australia.

"Even though the system’s illegality has finally been exposed, the political commitment to bludger-bashing keeps it operating—this ideological thirst for punishment overrides any concern with trivial matters like common sense, evidence, or the law." #auspol thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...

Volunteer #librarians from around the world joined forces to build the Nancy Drew collection on Open Library—volunteering their time to organize series, verify editions, untangle authorship, and clean up metadata so anyone can discover these books. Learn more ➡️ blog.openlibrary.org/2026/01/30/a...

Archaeologist Mary Shepperson, quoted in “Between Two Rivers“ by Moudhy Al-Rashid: “In the past, before electric heaters and air conditioning, the only thing standing between human beings and great physical discomfort was architecture.”

Write* about what excites, intrigues, enrages you. Your art, your voice, is unique and worthy of expression (thread👇🏻). * draw, paint, knit, sculpt, photograph, animate, whatever

Diane Lemaire #Australian aeronautical engineer. 1944 1st woman engineering graduate @unimelb.edu.au Technical Officer @ Aeronautical Research Laboratories. Post #WWII worked @ UK National Physical Laboratory, did MSc @ Cornell in US returned to ARL b #OTD 2 Feb 1923 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_L...

Doors section at Bunnings when?

Of interest to reporters and other professional communicators in Australia. The guidelines on Mindframe’s website are quite comprehensive and cover a range of health-related topics.

Noooo. Mr Tulk, the iconic Melbourne cafe that's in the SLV, is being forced to close?! WTAF? Why mess with something that ain't broke? If you are similarly incensed, there's a petition - pls sign: www.change.org/p/save-mr-tulk

Zoos Vic are out running emergency triage stations in bushfire zones right now, taking in the burnt koalas and so forth (my poor shriveled heart ow), FYI you can give them $ www.zoo.org.au/donate/emerg...

The luxuriant stretch, the come-hither glance...

All these CEOs stompinge around graspinge for moneye and biohacks and powere but the best way to lyve forevir ys to make people laugh and be part of unforgettable storyes that make them feel less alone. Love and art and comedye are cosmic and eternal. The worlde will remembir the true stars.

That I am gay as morning, light as snow, and all the straining things within my heart...you'll never know

“The Albanese government promised a once-in-a-generation fix to Australia’s broken environment laws. Instead, the draft National Environmental Standards put up for public comment over summer look worryingly familiar,” writes Louise Morris. Read the full piece on The Point: https://theaus.in/4rlvsJ0

Some lovely @mcsweeneys.net to end your working week: How to become a professional writer Definitely share it with your author-y friends. 😄

Fellow writers: I am deeply saddened to share that if we want the rewards of having written, we must submit to the mortifying ordeal of writing

I’ve sometimes wondered what happens to the sample we dutifully post back to the screening program…

The parents’ group met in the park for a couple of hours. A flock of black prams, all the parents wearing black leggings or shorts with black/grey/white shirts. Babies mostly dressed in grey, white and beige. A monochromatic tableau amidst the park’s lush lawns and garden beds. #CafeLife

3350 BCE, in the city of Uruk: a middle manager named Kushim started writing down information to help with his job. Five thousand years later, we’re still following his lead.

Wow, that looks like a really good, thought-provoking— …it’s on Substack. Never mind.

On a certayne kynde of darke nighte yn Januarye, the past doth seeme so close. All of the thinges that hurt, and all of the thinges that were delightful. The smyles on the faces of friendes. Those tymes, irrevocable. Ich hope everichon Ich knewe ys doinge okaye, and Ich mourne those who are gone.

Here's a link to the official UNESCO website for the 2026 International Day of Women and Girls in Science: unes.co/rcf7e3

Bakery was quiet this morning so I contributed to the local economy. #NoRegrets

9.00 am Thursday: first round of appointments at the hair salon and all five of the customers are Margarets.

Saw this, thought of you @lynne-kelly-42.bsky.social

Henceforth I will be using the full name at every opportunity. (though tbh @shebahride.bsky.social is less of a mouthful)

Mordor she wrote #LibraryShelfieDay

Same could easily happen here in Australia and tbh I’m not confident our leaders, elected representatives, public servants and CEOs of good conscience are ready for it.