Furies: Stories of the wicked, wild and untamed by Caroline O'Donoghue, Chibundu Onuzo, CN Lester, Helen Oyeyemi, Susie Boyt, Linda Grant, Kamila Shamsie, Margaret Atwood, Ali Smith, Claire Kohda, Rac... DRAGON. TYGRESS. SHE-DEVIL. HUSSY. SIREN. WENCH. HARRIDAN. MUCKRAKER. SPITFIRE. VITUPERATOR. CHUR...

Finished reading #Furies yesterday. A collection of short stories from a range of authors, reflecting on and inspired by the words branded on women/other over the centuries. Reshaping, retelling, and reclaiming these narratives. The book is a journey and I loved following the tumultuous curves 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Film club night, Sew Torn, ⭐️⭐️⭐️. Divided the room intensely with scores ranging from ⭐️⭐️ to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Nice indie film, low cerebral energy, fun metaphors, thematic, excellent acting, and good pace.

‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid Internal ICE material and testimony from an official obtained by 404 Media provides the clearest link yet between the technological infrastructure Palantir is building for ICE and the agency’s activit...

“Palantir is working on a tool for ICE that populates a map with potential deportation targets, brings up a dossier on each person, and provides a ‘confidence score’ on the person’s current address”
https://www.404media.co/elite-the-palantir-app-ice-uses-to-find-neighborhoods-to-raid/

"They drag people out of their houses at any hour of the day and night…families are torn apart. Men, women, & children separated…children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared.”

- Anne Frank, 1942

Israeli genocide has dropped right off the legacy media's radar. Not one of the campaigners and groups we work with, however, has shown the same level of forgetfulness

First day back at work and I am starting with an IT course on #NVivo. Already it is so obvious to me how wildly easier my research and data management throughout my PhD would have been with this piece of software.

A sylvanian otter and a mole stand on a balcony with a dishevelled library in the background.

Cyril and Joe run the “school” and “library” at the commune. Most of the books are self published and the “school” has a huge focus on “free play”. Apparently the children’s innate moral compass will guide them. Cyril and Joe are very proud of their philosophy degrees.

Table lit by candle light, scattered with books, character sheets, and dice.

The rule books and character sheets for #ForbiddenLands are stunning. Narratives in their own right before the adventure has even begun. Adapting solo rules so we can play a DMless duet. #TTRPG #HappyNewYear

I have too many books on the go at any one time for this to be a viable option for me!

what does everyone use for bookmarks now that train tickets are mostly digital?

2026 sees the start of a film club. So far we’ve watched ’The Phoenician Scheme‘ (⭐️⭐️⭐️) which divided the room, and ‘Oppenheimer’ (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) which left us all with lots to discuss.

Unauthorised. You do not have the necessary permission.

Today at around 430pm I submitted my PhD thesis. I let my 3yo goblin press the submit button. It was beautiful and wild. It was also immensely anticlimactic as I was met with an error message saying I didn’t have the correct permissions to follow through on the request. I am not joking! #AcademicSky

If words have consequences (and they do) and if it is right to restrict some expressions and slogans after Bondi massacre, then must also be right to restrict some Islamophobic and white supremacist speech, given the use of murderous violence by the far right. But Labour are stalling on this.

HR: "Please sign this contract."
Me: "Sure, but what's the work schedule it refers to?"
HR: "Ohh, we'll confirm that after you've signed."
Me: "But won't I then be contractually obliged to fulfill it?"
HR: "Yes."
Me: "So can I see the details first?"
HR: "..."
Me: "Please?"
HR: "..."
#AcademicSky

Sadly, no! That would have made it an immensely helpful comment, as opposed to infuriating when she doubled down and stood her ground! Still, it was done with love and a genuine desire to help and critique. Heart was in the right place!

SKULL OF THOMAS AQUINAS: TAKE A LEFT NOW
PRIEST: No, the GPS says we have to keep going—
SKULL: I KNOW A SHORTCUT
PRIEST: Do you remember the last ti—
SKULL: FOR THOSE WITH FAITH, NO EVIDENCE IS NECESSARY; FOR THOSE WITHOUT IT, NO EVIDENCE WILL SUFFICE

Is it just me, or is writing any academic paper at least 60% looking up words in a dictionary to ensure they have the exact meaning you want to elicit*? #AcademicSky

*Not just academia it would seem. I looked up ‘elicit’ 2mins ago just incase. Good job too as I was originally typing ‘illicit’.

Today's study music comes from a genre I'm going to call Battle Opera. And I love it. Highly recommend the album 'Runaljod - Ragnarok' by Wardruna. Especially loving the song 'Odal'. #NowListening #AcademicSky @wardruna.music-social.com

Yesterday my mother-in-law, who is proofreading my thesis for me, rang me to tell me that a core idea of my thesis is wrong. I appreciate her proofreading immensely, but not her academic or editorial suggestions… sigh! #AcademicSky

Beautiful Soup: On the Afterlives of Monique Wittig’s Unique Utopias - Journal #158 Sophie Lewis on the fiction writing of Monique Wittig, radical French theorist of lesbianism.

www.e-flux.com/journal/158/...

I have made this for so many people, and every time I get asked for the recipe or asked to make it again!

Delivering some lectures and seminars for a different university this coming January onwards, and their admin makes my home institution look practically saintly by comparison. #AcademicSky

Fantasy vs reality WFH with 3yo. Fantasy: 3yo sits by me drawing &/or listening to her Yoto while I type away. Reality: 3yo is stressed by my need to WFH again, I am under a pile of soft toys, my back is agony, Sarah & Duck is on. Only 2wks to go. This is the final push. #AcademicSky #StudentParent

Graphic stating 'More than 1/4 of police forces in England and Wales still haven't implemented basic policies for investigating sexual offenses.' Cites The Angiolini Inquiry Part 2: First Report Prevention of sexually motivated crimes against women in public as the source.

Over 1 in 4 of police forces in England and Wales still haven’t implemented basic policies for investigating sexual offences.

That’s why we’re supporting Nina Cresswell to hold the police force that failed her to task:
https://goodlaw.social/4w3n

Black Violin See the releases of Black Violin on TIDAL

I have just come across Black Violin for the first time and I am absolutely obsessed tidal.com/artist/36439... #BlackViolin #NowListening

A screenshot of my current reading pile on GoodReads. Letters to my Weird Sisters On Autism and Feminism by Joanne Limburg (50% read). Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula K. Le Guin (37% read). Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates (20% read).

A screenshot of my current reading pile on GoodReads. The Book You Wish Your Parents Has Read [and your children will be glad you did] by Philippa Perry (10% read). Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Julie Smith (50% read). A Lover’s Discourse Fragments by Roland Barthes (10% read).

December is the month when I try to finish reading all my half started books in order to start afresh in January. On track for my reading target of 2025 but OH MY DAYS I’m not convinced I’ll clear this backlog before the new year!

Having nonacademic friends proofread your read work really shines a light on how neurotic academia is, meanwhile having academic friends proofread your work really demonstrates how research is simply never "finished". #AcademicSky

Pot holes of knowledge I've acquired this week: 1) everything you didn't want to know about asbestos, 2) the history of Discord, 3) everything about Angelina Jolie, 4) Tidal vs. Spotify, which led to, 5) a brief history of Kanye West. Next up: 6) what's the difference between a roar and a meow?

The single best thing about finding my 3yo Goblin and her friend “working” at my desk, is that they were doing so with “their babies” on their laps. Now to check the damage to my thesis… #academicsky