Chindilani

Yup!

tfw you do too much philosophy for one morning and your brain blows a gasket so you just sit there staring at nothing like 😶

#PhDlife

Currently working on a taxonomy of the uncanny.

Cons: difficult.
Pros: gives me an excuse to watch loads of horror movies.

#PhDlife

Archaeologist here. For 99.5% of human history (ca 300-400,000 years), we were peaceful (no war). There was conflict and smaller scale violence, but countless studies on the 119 known modern hunter gatherer groups show cooperation, negotiation, and peace instead of conflict. Please read books.

Does anyone else find themselves paranoid about using em dashes now that they're apparently a signal that someone might have used AI?

I have never used AI in my writing, nor do I ever expect to, but I do really love an em dash. But now I'm nervous about using them in case people think I'm a robot😅

"I'll take a break from PhDing and listen to a podcast," I thought. So I put on the 'Jaws' episode of @horrorjoypod.bsky.social and what do they immediately start talking about? The uncanny in horror, aka exactly what I'm currently writing about 🤦🏻‍♀️

Aaaaand now I'm writing again 😁 #PhDLife

Screenshot showing enrolment on year three of a Doctorate in Philosophy.

Well, it's official: I passed year two (at Southampton philosophy we have to pass a viva every year because we like to be ✨extra✨) and am now enrolled in year three. Of seven, because I'm part time. Expected end year: 2030, which when I applied for the PhD felt like ages away and now doesn't.

Describing That Scene in Alex Garland's 'Men' (2022) for my PhD is proving... interesting.

"birth after birth after birth of grisly, screaming man-babies splitting each other open in their drive to be born"

PhD life:
- wake up
- feed cat
- make coffee
- open document
- delete 75% of yesterday's writing
- start today's writing and hope you have to delete less of it in the morning
#PhDLife

Once he'd hoisted me out and was pushing me back towards reception, the lifeguard started chatting with me. "You used to be a competitive swimmer, right?" he said. "Yes, but not since I was a teenager," I told him. "I can still tell," he replied.

OH NO WAIT THERE'S SOMETHING IN MY EYE.

Today's goal was simply to get into the pool. I did, and managed six laps, and had a chat with a carer who was there with some of her disabled clients. She gave me some useful advice about which local pools are good for disabled people.

We've been frantically scrambling to work out all the things that are going wrong in my body and desperately trying all kinds of meds, to no avail, until a few weeks ago when I finally managed to work out that one of the medications was a large part of the problem (thank you, Google Scholar!)

I've been really ill for the last few years, housebound and mostly bedbound for most of the past year, and had pretty much given up hope of ever swimming again.

Then in 2022 I got back into the water a couple of times, but then a catastrophic health event landed me in a wheelchair and I haven't been able to go back since. Until now.

tfw you start writing the 'HORROR' section of your PhD thesis, in which you begin by defining different types of fear, and at that very moment a large spider creeps out at you from behind the wardrobe 😱

I think (I hope!) I pulled that off. I liked the paper but did think there were a couple of concepts that could have been developed a bit further, which was pretty much what I said. Hopefully I said it kindly; I've been on the receiving end of horrible reviews before and I know how awful it can feel

Constructive and kind

Focus on the big things; you are not a copy editor nor co-author.

If something is not clear to you make a comment.

Thank you! I used to make my living as a copy editor so I expect that's one I'll especially need to keep an eye on.

Hello friends. Baby philosopher here about to do her first peer review. Any advice? #philosophy #phdlife

The words 'NO FUTURE' painted in white on a falling-down wall at night, lit by some overhead street lamps.

On Thursday at 2pm the Death Cluster is meeting on Zoom to discuss eco-anxiety, aka the increasing number of people struggling with their mental health because of climate change and environmental concerns.

Interested? Lmk and I'll send you a link.

The Flat Man by Rose Impey

Just found this on Etsy and felt a moment of pure horror. Who else was traumatised by this book as a kid? 😁
www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1...

I think I just made my first zine. How exciting.

Coming soon to a letterbox near you. But only if you want it to.

How do you say 'uncanny' in your language?

The May Queen from Ari aster's Midsommar sits on a throne dressed in flowers

What did I watch today?

There's really only one answer on the 24th of June.

Glad Midsommar 🌾🌷🌹🪻🪷🌺🌸🌼🌻☀️

(finally, the days are growing shorter again 😉)

She's been yelling at me all day because the SUN is HOT and I won't TURN IT OFF

A white fluffy cat is asleep on a desk, surrounded by piles of books.

Pangur's way of dealing with the heatwave:

- find the coolest place in the house
- lie down
- refuse to move

Personally I think this is very sensible.

You know you're in a heatwave when you try to record a YouTube video in the garden and the computer overheats and turns itself off 🥵

Today I learned (from @spiritspodcast.com) that the Hindu god of love is called 'Kama.' Romani people came from India and we have retained some of the language and traditions. So I love it when I find little throwbacks like this: our word for 'love' (and also 'sun') is 'kam' or 'kama.' ❤️💛☀️

You know what's a really fun thing to aspirate? Sour fizzy sweets 😩 #TheJoysOfDysphagia