Nicholas Birns

Towards the ocean

Celebrating our first anniversary as tradition demands — seeing a 1pm screening of the 4K restoration of Barry Lyndon

The feast

Corn on the grill

We just had to up the cap on my Intro to Medical Humanities course for this autumn. Students here are hungry for the interdisciplinary approach to complex questions and issues that the humanities provide. In its second year, it’s become one of our most consistently enrolling courses.

descriptive narration is one of the few formal features that differentiates the novel as an art form. our antinovel culture continues apace.

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MLB is calling up its first female umpire, promoting Jen Pawol for Saturday's Marlins-Braves game
Full story: https://tinyurl.com/5n95hwxf 

CALL FOR PAPERS 39th Annual Conference of the Eighteenth-Century Scottish Studies Society at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, 9–11 April 2026, Philadelphia, PA, USA ECSSS celebrates four decades as an affiliate society of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies by holding its annual conference with ASECS in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The site will be the centrally located Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown. On this occasion, as in the past, ECSSS will sponsor its own panels at the ASECS meeting. Papers are invited on any aspect of eighteenth-century Scottish history, thought, and culture, but we would particularly encourage proposals for papers and panels relating to the 250th anniversaries of relevant events that occurred in 1776, such as the role of Scots in the American Revolution (especially in regard to Philadelphia), the publication of the Wealth of Nations, and the death of David Hume. Details of the ECSSS-sponsored plenary speaker and the evening reception will follow in due course, along with information on any other aspects of the programme in which ECSSS are involved. Because the programme for the ASECS meeting goes to press at the beginning of October, we have to put together the ECSSS programme by the end of the summer. Please act quickly in order to help us organize the programme in time. Please email a title and brief abstract of your proposed 20-minute paper, along with a one-page CV, to Rachel Bani (rachel.bani@converse.edu) by 10 September 2025. Those submitting proposals for 3- or 4-paper panels should send the panel title and abstract as well as titles and abstracts of the individual papers and CVs of the presenters by the same deadline. Please ensure that any proposal include ‘2026 conference proposal’ in the email subject line.

CFP: 39th Annual Conference of the Eighteenth-Century Scottish Studies Society
9–11 April 2026, Philadelphia, USA

Papers are invited on any aspect of #C18th Scottish history, thought, & culture, especially the notable 250th anniversaries in 2026

Deadline: 10 Sept. Full details in ALT-text

My recently published article on Tolstoy and pacifism BETHINKING OURSELVES: Angelaki: Vol 30 , No 4 - Get Access

Woman’s memoirs give fascinating insight into life in 17th-century northern England Newly reunited manuscripts by Alice Thornton show how she navigated personal crises during tumultuous events such as the civil war

www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

The head of Medusa as the centre-piece of a shield in a mosaic from Kos (3-4c AD), now in the Palace of the Grand Master in Rhodes. The Head of Medusa featured on the Shield of Athena in Greek Mythology and was regarded as a symbol to ward off evil
#mosaicmonday

'When the Great Officer of the Center Chen Wei arrived, someone told him what [9 year-old] Kong Rong had said. "Clever little boys don't necessarily grow into great men," Wei said.
"A clever little boy, were we?" Kong Rong replied.
Wei had nothing to say to that.'

(Shishuo xinyu, early 5th c.)

A doctor performing cupping on a patient's back in CUL, MS Ii.5.11 f. 20v.

Over 3 years, the Curious Cures in Cambridge Libraries project has conserved, catalogued and digitised 190 manuscripts, containing a staggering 7000+ pages of medieval medical recipes. Now freely available.
#Highered #library #books #medicine
www.lib.cam.ac.uk/stories/curi...

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay - Collector’s Edition Our Collector's Edition of Tigana draws on Italian typography, materials, and craftsmanship to honour the novel’s richly Italianate world. Lavishly illustrated by Julien Delval and signed by Guy Gavri...

On pre-sale today. Someone’s birthday? Yours? Pause on their site to see how cleverly and subtly they did the 26 copy ‘true collectors’ edition. The white-on-white. When Tony showed me I was so impressed.

conversationtreepress.com/products/tig...

Allan Ahlberg, beloved children's author, dies aged 87 Working first with his wife Jane, and later with illustrators including Raymond Briggs and Bruce Ingman, he wrote more than 150 books

One of the real ones. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...

@alas-not-me.bsky.social and Kristine Larsen at today’s Tolkien conference.

YouTube video by Freestyle Digital Media INTO THE SPOTLIGHT | Official Trailer 2025

Earlier this week, I got a chance to see "Into the Spotlight,' a documentary about a theatre program for adults with disabilities.
It was one of the most moving, beautiful things I've ever watched.
I strongly encourage you to watch it. Trust me, it will change you.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOaR...

I’ve been reading about Ukrainian bread.

Now I know why my grandma always gave me the first slice of bread.
People believed, those first slices drew attention to whoever ate them.
She wanted me to be loved.

Should I write about bread superstitions?

Goodnight from Orkney

The Hidden Author Abstract. This chapter offers a preliminary profile of the author of John. It argues that the core of the Gospel—that is, chapters 1–20—is the product of a

My latest book, The Gospel of John: A New History, is now out with OUP!

If you'd like a taste, follow the link below to get the first chapter for free. (There's an option to see it as a PDF.)

academic.oup.com/book/60236/c...

A Playful Story Collection Unbound From Realism or Form

A Playful Story Collection Unbound From Realism or Form www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/b...

Neighborhood Social — Jane Addams Hull-House Museum

theater buffs + art nerds of chicago!

a pro-social experiment in staging performance in the neighborhoods is reconstituting this fall!

join us september 4 in bucktown; benefit imperiled cultural institutions and enjoy a good party!

www.hullhousemuseum.org/neighborhood...

#RussianLiterature #censorship
Excellent article by Anna Aslanyan, author of Dancing on Ropes: Translators and the Balance of History

So Trump wants to arrest Obama.
He wants to arrest Oprah.
He wants to arrest Beyoncé.

The MSNBC talking heads going on about this don't mention a very salient feature these three Americans have in common. Not once.

I wish I were more surprised.

peak c19 fabulosity!

‘His life is a tribute to this country’ Driven by the motto Fiat Lux, Berkeley illuminates the world.

There is actually some good news. @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social has established a chair in civil rights law in honor of Thelton Henderson.
inspire.berkeley.edu/o/his-life-i...

we need a better metaphor than “sandwich generation.” more like the “tug-of-war generation” but it’s really tugs of love and the true tragedy is not being able to be in two places at once. in other words, I would like to be *more* sandwiched but the bread is geographically spread out and it’s awful.

‘It’s so boring’: gen Z parents don’t like reading to their kids – and educators are worried Screen time has increasingly replaced story time, and experts warn this could lead to children falling behind

if there's any truth to this, it's worth remembering that Gen Z grew up with leveled reading "benchmarks" and ELA assessments and and were for years asked to produce answers about "the main idea"/conflict/resolution/etc. instead of being encouraged to engage with & love literature on their own terms

Repost...

'Standing Kauri' ~ Wooden spoon carved in 30,000 year old Kauri wood excavated in New Zealand.

'Stickman' ~ Carved in Walnut.

'Stubby' ~ Carved in Narra wood (Amboyna).

#spoon #spoontaneous #art #design #woodworking #craft #woodenspoon #carving #woodart #object 🥄