Julia M. Wright

I finally remembered the best one - PG Wodehouse learning of Jack Kerouac's recent death during a 1969 interview with the Paris Review and having a perfectly Bertie Wooster-ish reaction: 'those chaps sure do go quickly, don't they'

The Covid vaccine rollout across Canada, but especially in Nova Scotia, is about administrative ease, not infection control, population health, or public health. We know there's an annual wave around September, yet nothing changes. Another year of failure.

The Senator from Wisconsin cannot frighten me by exclaiming, “My country, right or wrong.” In one sense I say so too. My country; and my country is the great American Republic. My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.
--Senator Carl Schurz (1872)

A two-column, three panel meme, with three rows of text on the left tied to three rows of images of Lisa Simpson on the right. Row 1: text, “me asking for clarity”; image, Lisa sitting at a table looking innocently inquisitive. Row 2: text, “how others perceive me asking questions”; image, Lisa with hands raised, looking angry and shouting into a microphone. Row 3: text, “me still with no clarity”; image, Lisa with arms outstretched, looking confused, frustrated, and generally perplexed.

Being on Dal’s Senate right now asking Senate leadership who/which body actually refused to give the students a refund for the lockout—knowing Senate did not even discuss it, let alone decide on it, despite reports otherwise—is like:

Photo exhibition highlights reality of Canadians with long COVID | Watch News Videos Online Watch Photo exhibition highlights reality of Canadians with long COVID Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca

Global News: 'Photo exhibition highlights reality of Canadians with long COVID'

'The Living with Long COVID exhibition is a collaboration by the Museum of Vancouver and SFU's Faculty of Health Sciences - offering a glimpse into the daily lives...'

globalnews.ca/video/114650...

From https://www.who.int/europe/emergencies/situations/covid-19: “ On 5 May 2023, more than three years into the pandemic, the WHO Emergency Committee on COVID-19 recommended to the Director-General, who accepted the recommendation, that given the disease was by now well established and ongoing, it no longer fit the definition of a PHEIC. This does not mean the pandemic itself is over, but the global emergency it caused is – for now.”

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard “post-pandemic” since the WHO ended the emergency phase… I hope there are, or soon will be, studies of how that 2023 WHO statement got so quickly and widely mangled so public health can better guard against inadvertently feeding misinformation.

We all need to laugh at the shiny massive pickups. They’re clearly not work vehicles. At best they’re conspicuous consumption.

The shot I missed was the driver who reversed five car-lengths up the sidewalk to get into a better position to turn into the gas station at Quinpool and Oxford.

A picture of a stopped car, half on the sidewalk.

Another pic in the irregular series, “Halifax Drivers Who Think the Sidewalk is an Extra Lane.”

Our colleagues at the U of Lethbridge need your support. Join their letter writing campaign for a fair deal. ULFA members are paid an average of 15-20% less than academic staff at comparative institutions, and have some of the worst health benefits in the industry. www.ulfa.ca/take-action/

Alberta hospital’s mask mandate for measles ended a day after it alerted province, health officials Internal e-mails show AHS staff fielded questions about mandate from province

It's unreal the level of hatred for masks that AHS and AB Gov't has.

It's a safety tool that works to protect patients and staff. Why won't we use it?

www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

A cartoon version of our president standing atop a pile of money in front of Dalhousie’s Hicks building, with a large headline reading “No tuition cuts despite three weeks of class lost.”

The cover of the print edition of our student paper this week. The image doesn’t appear to be on the online version.

This Friday, Oct 3, join CUPE3912 for their rally. Great chance to show solidarity for our colleagues @dalhousieu.bsky.social #KeepDalStrong

Hey authors, the official list of Anthropic works is available for searching.

secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup

Emergency World Naked Bike Ride planned in Portland, with blurred photi of naked bicyclists.

Portland enacts emergency powers of nudity to check federal overreach.

Thomas Moore and the Transatlantic, 1800–1840 Thomas Moore and the Transatlantic, 1800–1840

@juliamwright.bsky.social’s brilliant new book on Thomas Moore and the Transatlantic is now available! Visit our website to learn more and to purchase a copy for your library! edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-thomas-...

The best way to prevent Long COVID is to prevent getting COVID-19 or getting it multiple times. That means staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and wearing a well-fitting mask, especially when indoors among crowds. Learn more: http://nyc.gov/longcovid Text in the image reads: "Text reads: Prevent Long COVID. The only way to prevent Long COVID is to avoid getting COVID-19. With every infection, there is a risk of developing Long COVID. Wear a well-fitting mask (such as an N 95, K N 95 or K F 94) that covers your nose and mouth, especially when indoors among crowds or where there is poor ventilation. Stay up to date with your vaccinations. For most people, this means getting just one updated COVID-19 vaccine dose this year. Stay home if you are feeling sick and wear a mask if you are unable to stay home. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Wash your hands often and use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. N Y C Health logo."

[fixed link] 🚨🎯 by @nychealthy.bsky.social:

"The best way to prevent Long COVID is to prevent getting COVID-19 or getting it multiple times. That means staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and wearing a well-fitting mask..."

Learn more: nyc.gov/longcovid

Link to OP: x.com/nycHealthy/s...

Children and teens who had a Covid reinfection had a doubling of #LongCovid risk (PASC) and a significant increase in many other adverse outcomes (Figure) www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

We’ve been sold this government efficiency shit for decades yet here we are. It’s never about efficiency it’s about cuts and a lot of ppl fall for it hook, line and sinker
Government is meant to be effective before efficient yet the former is excluded consistently

This image describes Nova Scotia's COVID Forecast for the fourteen-day period between Sep 27 - Oct 10, 2025 which is produced by COVID-19 Resources Canada. Nova Scotia's COVID Forecast outlook is VERY HIGH [Increasing] Nova Scotia's COVID INDEX SCORE is 11.6 About 1 of every 42 people is infected. Estimated infections this week: 23,700-37,100 What these numbers mean: MODERATE 1-5, HIGH 5-10, VERY HIGH 10-15, SEVERE >15 COMPARED TO THE LOWEST POINT IN THE COVID PANDEMIC IN CANADA How much higher are key indicators compared to the lowest point in the COVID pandemic in Canada? Waste water, infections: HIGH; 8.2X higher Long COVID: HIGH; 5.8X higher Hospitalizations: VERY HIGH; 14.4X higher Deaths: VERY HIGH; 12.4X higher HOW TO HELP: EVERYONE: "UPDATE vaccines every 6 months WEAR N95-type masks AVOID indoor social gatherings AVOID crowded non-essential places" Who is HIGH RISK? People 60 and older, babies < 1 year, pregnant ALL AGES: immunocompromised OR medically at-risk OR no vaccine or infection in the last 6 months Recommendations are based on the COVID-19 Risk Index from the Peterborough ON Public Health Unit COVID-19 Resources Canada is a grassroots organization of volunteer scientists supporting Canadian COVID responses. Sources, data and methods for the COVID Index are available at www.Covid19Resources.ca

Canadian COVID Forecast Sep 27 - Oct 10, 2025

NOVA SCOTIA

VERY HIGH [increasing]

About 1 of every 42 people is infected.

Compared to lowest point of pandemic in Canada:

-Infections: 8.2 x higher
-Long COVID: 5.8 x higher
-Hospitalizations: 14.4 x higher
-Deaths: 12.4 x higher

screenshot of the webpage announcing that the 2026 recipients of the Distinguished Scholar Award of the Keats-Shelley Assoc of America are Professor Julia M. Wright and Professor Richard C. Sha (also pictured via headshots).

Congratulations to Dal English’s Professor @juliamwright.bsky.social on winning the Distinguished Scholar Award of the Keats-Shelley Association of America, alongside Professor Richard C. Sha! @dalhousie.bsky.social

We live in the dumbest timeline. Imagine all the good $10m could do for actual health initiatives.

This is it. That e-mail posits a problem at Dal that is actually a problem that Dal has with her decision to lock faculty out. I haven't seen any tension at all on campus except when senior admin are mentioned.

This is an important thread, but I'll add that the pushback is not universal--and if you push something back it tends to squeeze out in unexpected places, including cultural works (I trace some of this here: mh.bmj.com/content/medh...).

1. The intense and all-encompassing institutional and societal pushback seen in some countries against any intervention to mitigate the impacts of Covid-19, whether that be vaccines, or air filtration / purification, or masks, is not simply as a result of mandates or lockdowns.

IMPORTANT: Healthy indoor air has become a human right.
⬇️ 🧪 #healthpolicy
Thanks @luckytran.com

a stuffed white cat is sitting on top of a box and asking why ? Alt: a stuffed white monkey is sitting on top of a box and asking why ?

A wee thread 🧵: Everyone I spoke to at Dalhousie today was upset by the president’s “short Friday note”: faculty, staff, students, unionized or no.

The main reason? 1/6

Simultaneous strikes at three Halifax universities a possibility, says union HALIFAX - The union representing part-time faculty at three Halifax universities says its members could strike at the same time, potentially disrupting classes for thousands of students.

www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/atlantic/sim...

Part-time faculty at Saint Mary's University, Mount Saint Vincent University, and Dalhousie are in various stages of contract negotiations. And Lauren McKenzie, president of CUPE, says talks between the local unions and the schools are difficult.

a man is standing on a stage holding a microphone and saying `` now what i should have said . '' ALT: a man is standing on a stage holding a microphone and saying `` now what i should have said . ''

Honestly, saying nothing would have been better than that “people are urging me to say something” email to faculty. #KeepDalStrong

"I got caught doing wrong, so I was urged by some people to send a non-apology"
#keepdalstrong

Just when you thought it was safe to check your Dal email…

I do feel badly that #DalLockout2025 upset our senior admin so. They should probably look into who ordered it so they can be told never to do something so destructive again, and to refund the students.

#KeepDalStrong