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Crystal Lake

@crystal-b-lake.bsky.social

Writer, editor, & English professor in Dayton, OH. Artifacts: How We Think & Write About Found Objects. Co-founder: the-rambling.com. From rural Appalachia & writing about it. Posts are my own. She/her.

1,109 Followers  |  753 Following  |  65 Posts  |  Joined: 06.07.2023  |  1.909

Latest posts by crystal-b-lake.bsky.social on Bluesky

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Peer Review Paranoia The system is built on trust between scholars. AI is undermining that.

Thanks to @evankindley.bsky.social for shepherding this into print. www.chronicle.com/article/peer...

02.09.2025 22:07 β€” πŸ‘ 66    πŸ” 30    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 10

my college kid was heartbroken when on the first day of class the professor said "I used to spend 3 weeks teaching this part, but just have AI create it for you and we'll skip it." Skipping the most creative part of the work. The part my kid most looked forward to.

21.08.2025 13:50 β€” πŸ‘ 1553    πŸ” 222    πŸ’¬ 24    πŸ“Œ 146

Great idea!

21.08.2025 16:08 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

…protein bars, safety pins, stain-remover pens, chapsticks, cough drops, ibuprofen, dry-erase markers, menstrual products, bandaids. Essentially, all the stuff you never knew you needed to have at the office until you really needed it. What else would you put in such a kit?

21.08.2025 16:00 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
picture of a white mesh office supply caddy filled with the items listed in the post

picture of a white mesh office supply caddy filled with the items listed in the post

Here’s a thing I’ve started to do: leave a little β€œSurvival Kit” for our graduate student instructors in their offices before the first day of classes. It includes…

21.08.2025 16:00 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

Your keynote and reflection workshop were so inspiring, Cate! Thank YOU for leading our conversations about higher education in the directions they need to go!

20.08.2025 22:56 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
photograph of 8 graduate students standing with Catherine Denial.

photograph of 8 graduate students standing with Catherine Denial.

It was such a joy today to get to fan girl all the way out and introduce our graduate student instructors in English to Catherine Denial, whose work has influenced so much of the work I’ve been doing these last several years with our grad program. 😍

18.08.2025 23:24 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

Any other Hopkins authors get the LLM licensing email? Thoughts?

22.07.2025 18:41 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Sabotage Beastie Boys Β· Ill Communication Β· Song Β· 1994

open.spotify.com/track/0Puj4Y...

12.07.2025 02:19 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

β€œWork a little harder. / Work another way.”

12.07.2025 02:15 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ’―

25.06.2025 22:24 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Since the eighties, LuPone has been based in Connecticut. Years ago, she and Johnston got a flock of chickens and named them Marilyn, Rita, Eartha, Foghorn Leghorn, and the Fabulous Miller Sisters (Pia, Alexandra, and Marie-Chantal). All but three were massacred in a raccoon attack. "It was horrific," LuPone said. "There was blood and feathers and guts all over the place when my husband heard me screaming. He came down in this Victoria's Secret underwear, barefoot. We looked in the hen hut, and there was the raccoon, basically looking at us, going, I ain't finished.'"

Since the eighties, LuPone has been based in Connecticut. Years ago, she and Johnston got a flock of chickens and named them Marilyn, Rita, Eartha, Foghorn Leghorn, and the Fabulous Miller Sisters (Pia, Alexandra, and Marie-Chantal). All but three were massacred in a raccoon attack. "It was horrific," LuPone said. "There was blood and feathers and guts all over the place when my husband heard me screaming. He came down in this Victoria's Secret underwear, barefoot. We looked in the hen hut, and there was the raccoon, basically looking at us, going, I ain't finished.'"

There are whole movies that don’t have the twists and turns of this paragraph.

26.05.2025 20:14 β€” πŸ‘ 3930    πŸ” 852    πŸ’¬ 47    πŸ“Œ 65

This books sounds amazing! Congratulations!

23.05.2025 15:50 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

The work of the ACLS matters now more than ever, and I’m floored by the honor of being among this year’s awardees!

07.05.2025 17:27 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Book stack: Shows of London Milton on Film Pleasures of the Imagination Act of Reading  The Spectator vol 3 Storythinking Reading in the Brain

Book stack: Shows of London Milton on Film Pleasures of the Imagination Act of Reading The Spectator vol 3 Storythinking Reading in the Brain

Let β€˜em cook!

24.04.2025 12:09 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Title page for Archibald Alison’s Essays on the Nature and Principles of Taste (1790)

Title page for Archibald Alison’s Essays on the Nature and Principles of Taste (1790)

In my happy place.

10.04.2025 14:57 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Video thumbnail

Here's a VERY Rare Book!
Dare I say.... a UNICORN?

How could I (almost) miss that it's #NationalUnicornDay?
#volvelle #interactive #popup
#NewberryLibrary
i-share-nby.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01...

09.04.2025 19:31 β€” πŸ‘ 331    πŸ” 66    πŸ’¬ 16    πŸ“Œ 6

Data providers like EBSCO, ProQuest, Sage + Cengage are β€œimplementing β€œlocal controls” on databases, particularly related to health + race. β€˜Under even the smallest of threats, the co’s have provided the tools or have secretly put on the tools… that apply the content blocking on these systems”

09.04.2025 02:34 β€” πŸ‘ 136    πŸ” 107    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 14
picture of a cat wearing a neck tie and shaking its β€œfist”

picture of a cat wearing a neck tie and shaking its β€œfist”

I guess even the cats are angry hedge fund managers now, and nothing makes sense anymore.

08.04.2025 01:15 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Excerpt from Rutgers University Senate resolution calling for a Mutual Academic Defense Compact. The excerpt reads:

"BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the Rutgers University Senate urges the President of Rutgers University to formally propose and help establish a Mutual Academic Defense Compact (MADC) among all members of the Big Ten Academic Alliance;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, under this compact, all participating institutions shall commit meaningful funding to a shared or distributed defense fund. This fund shall be used to provide immediate and strategic support to any member institution under direct political or legal infringement;"

Excerpt from Rutgers University Senate resolution calling for a Mutual Academic Defense Compact. The excerpt reads: "BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the Rutgers University Senate urges the President of Rutgers University to formally propose and help establish a Mutual Academic Defense Compact (MADC) among all members of the Big Ten Academic Alliance; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, under this compact, all participating institutions shall commit meaningful funding to a shared or distributed defense fund. This fund shall be used to provide immediate and strategic support to any member institution under direct political or legal infringement;"

This exciting resolution from Rutgers University Senate is exactly the kind of model I think higher ed needs: a mutual defense pact of, in this case, Big 10 schools. They call for member institutions to create a joint defense fund and make resources available to any member institution under attack.

30.03.2025 14:47 β€” πŸ‘ 4735    πŸ” 1542    πŸ’¬ 66    πŸ“Œ 270

Fire up your typing fingers, friends, because I can’t wait to read your essays as a new member of PMLA’s advisory board starting this summer.

28.03.2025 23:49 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Living to Work in Severance - The Rambling In this essay, Andrew Strombeck considers how Severance reminds its viewers that the Always-Be-Hustling era masks grim truths about work. As long as we view work as a place to find our best selves, we...

For all you #severance fans, don’t sleep on this brilliant essay about the show by the one and only @drew-strombeck.bsky.social.

the-rambling.com/2022/10/21/i...

23.03.2025 05:47 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

So grateful for and impressed by the work you did in this role, Kathy!!!! Our field is the better for it! ❀️

20.03.2025 22:30 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Eighteenth-Century Studies – ASECS

Eighteenth-Century Studies is looking for a new Book Review Editor! Deadline to apply is April 15. Details are at asecs.org/publications...

20.03.2025 19:24 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Delighted to feature this essayβ€”a must-read for anyone interested in eighteenth-century numismaticsβ€”as part of the Vetusta Monumenta project!

13.03.2025 13:29 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

These are the days, it never rains but it pours…

02.03.2025 03:08 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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PP&T Curio: Thing: B. F. Skinner's pigeons Behavioral psychology is for the birds. Β  Having a "bird-brain" wasn't such a bad thing in the mind of psychologist B. F. Skinner. A pioneer in behaviorismβ€”the study of human and animal behaviors es...

Pigeons turn out to have been central to how we think about psychology!

curious.com/curios/14242

27.02.2025 18:59 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Headline from NYT β€œHouse Passes Budget Plan to Slash Spending…”

Headline from NYT β€œHouse Passes Budget Plan to Slash Spending…”

The irony that now we really do need someone in the government to β€œstop the steal.”

26.02.2025 03:28 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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A Twist of the Kaleidoscope | The Point Magazine Has academia ruined literary criticism? Is this the end of literary studies? Has contemporary culture reduced authors to mere influencers building their brand? Or is […]

I’ve got a new essay in @thepointmag.bsky.social reviewing books by Michael Chaouli, Jonathan Kramnick, and Lauren Oyler, and talking about what I love about (reading about) literary criticism, and how I do not love The Discourse.

thepointmag.com/criticism/a-...

20.02.2025 17:37 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 2

Check out @drew-strombeck.bsky.social with work from a new book project in the latest issue of NOVEL! 😍

17.02.2025 18:01 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

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