will pooley

Take two 7 year olds in a primary school in PM's constituency.

His Dad is a banker
Her Mum is cleaner at that bank

Does he say Pascal Banque's son gets perm status at age 10 while in primary school & working class classmate Marie Cleaner not until 22 (consequence: international student fees)

*Enemies of the Future: As part of the 2026 AAR theme of Future/s, explorations of Luddism, anti-tech, anti-AI, intentionally low-tech, and anti-modern religion (e.g., Anabaptism). *Techno-futures: As part of the AAR 2026 presidential theme of Future/s, considerations of the transformative role of technology in creating new material forms, new scientific horizons, and new religious iterations. Does the science/religion dynamic change as technology changes? *Funding Structures, Funding Collapse: Studies of the transformed landscape of funding for science in the second Trump presidency and its implications for religion as well as how science and religion funding have built the field. *Prediction and Uncertainty: Considerations of science and prediction, of unpredictability, divination, prophecy, the affects of certainty/uncertainty, despair and hope, optimism/pessimism, and speculation. *Revisiting When Prophecy Fails and Cognitive Dissonance: Considerations of new research emerging in the past decade challenging or reframing Festinger et al.’s influential 1956 book When Prophecy Fails and Festinger’s follow-up volume Cognitive Dissonance. *Genealogies of Science and Religion (for a possible cosponsored session between the Science, Technology, and Religion and Cultural History of the Study of Religion units): Where does science and religion—as a subfield—come from? What are the origin points, lineages, inflections, institutional politics, and material conditions of knowledge production that have led to the current field? Proposals may consider the Pitts Digital Collection repository of “American Academy of Religion Program Books” and/or explore the history of the STR unit (founded as “Theology and Science” in 1987) and related subdivisions of AAR/SBL. We welcome proposals from all scholarly ranks including graduate, contingent, and early-career scholars. AI-generated proposals will not be considered.

AAR folks! The deadline for submissions is about to be extended to March 9. Have a look at our CFP for the Science, Technology, and Religion unit and consider submitting if you have something that you think might fit!

Hamma bead heart key chain in multi color. Hamma beads, for those not in the know, are little plastic beads children can arrange on a board with pins on it and then when you iron the beads, they stick together

also 🥰

"the barrister acting for the Zong’s owners illustrated that point bluntly thus:

‘What is this claim that human people have been thrown overboard? This is a case of chattels or goods. Blacks are goods and property; it is madness to accuse these well-serving honourable men of murder.’"

Woke up in a panic, realised I’d forgotten about World Book Day completely, and without hesitation my husband pulled a book about a pyjama party off the shelf and took Chomp to nursery in his jimjams. marry the smart one, pals

❤️

the article is going to be GREAT and i am so excited for the issue! working on that is one of the best and most enjoyable things ive done in years

it’s only Thursday morning! I have a whole two days to fill with further crushing developments. but at least the sun is shining and there were some hot cross buns left in the cupboard right

gotta say, i do it for the students. every single conversation we have at work that treats students like revenue, or problems to be solved is a reminder how far we have drifted from what a university is *for*

this week has been by some distance the absolute worst of my career* but yesterday a student came to see me and literally told me “you are a great teacher”

congratulations!

Okay, I know BlueSky is not LinkedIn, but I have just been made a Professor (of French History) and I am very delighted to announce it!

colour photograph of a sandstone building with lawns in front and a low sign reading 'Parramatta Female Factory' in the foreground

TIL that hair shaved from the heads of convict women incarcerated at the Parramatta Female Factory in the 19th century was used as a binding agent in the mortar in the building's stonework. Convicts often had to build their own prisons, but the corporeal aspect of this is particularly poignant.

1908: the Lancet, one of the most respected scientific journals, calls for 18 age limit on reading in bed amidst a moral panic surrounding children becoming "addicted" to novels, which were "designed to keep kids hooked" and destroy their attention/mental health

Green-blue-grey blocky soundwaves on background. Centred in black serif lettering “Sonance”, with “journal of early modern sound studies” underneath.

👀 Over the last few months, I’ve been working with the terrific triumvirate @spparkle.bsky.social, @emiliekmmurphy.bsky.social & Hannah Yip to set up “Sonance: A Journal of Early Modern Sound Studies”, a diamond open access journal dedicated to historic sounds in all their wondrous & eclectic forms.

delighted to announce a new scheme where my WORST puns will now be distributed via academic libraries across the country!

(inter library groan)

Screenshot of word marked up text: “And in Cossé-le-Vivien, the accusation was not just against the priest himself, but also "his vicars". This smacked of gender. The widow Portier and her daughters - the gendarmes noted - fought the clerics and gendarmes by throwing stones but also attacking "the most sensitive parts of their bodies" or their "private parts".

will i get away with this. only time will tell

Keir starmer:

Starmer is a very handsome man, wise and misunderstood!

Keir Starmer Starmer has his 'Love Actually' moment and stands up to Trump

call me old fashioned but when it comes to writing about the prime minister i think the FT could get someone a little less conflicted than former human rights lawyer keir starmer

THE PROPHECY

Nancy by Ernie Bushmiller. First panel, Nancy talking to a logger sawing a tree and pointing to a carved piece of trunk. Nancy: Can I have that piece? My boy friend carved it. Logger: Sure. Second panel, Nancy is watching the log burn in the fire place. Nancy: I'm mad at him.

Every once in awhile I think about this Nancy comic and it makes me laugh every single time. Absolute perfection.

The Folklore Society mistletoe logo

The Folklore Society’s Katharine Briggs Prize 2026 has opened for entries! Open to books in English having their initial publication in the UK & Ireland in the period from 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2026. Deadline for entries 31 May 2026. More info and rules: www.folklore-society.com/awards/the-k...

more like AAAAAARGHCHIVES

“Arrchives”

and who said LLMs had no sense of humour!

courtesy of dr squiddy, i present the protein snack you all need in your lives:

RIPPED FETA

😱

“New antiquarianism sits outside this model of engagement and impact. It operates as a parallel epistemology: a mode of producing, curating, and validating knowledge that runs alongside academic research infrastructures without being governed by them.”

obviously “antiquarian (complimentary)”

this is awful.

someone draw the ripped feta mascot i would do it but i am so bad at drawing