Mercury Natis

I get that. I think a lot of people are uncomfortable referring to people they don't know personally by their first names, like it's disrespectful. I don't feel that way personally! Both of these men are dead, and we did call Kamala Harris Kamala en masse for months.

And as a bonus: We very often refer to famous and significant men by their surnames, and women by their first names. I like to mix it up whenever possible.

A lot of my work is thinking about Tolkien as a person, both wonderful and flawed in all the ways that people are so very human. And so I often call him John Ronald to take him off that pedestal and get to know him as a person. I'm also researching his relationships with other people, so also that.

I've realized that I've never explained widely why I try to refer to Tolkien as John Ronald as frequently as I do. We often put him up on this pedestal (such as referring to him as The Professor, and even people wanting him to have Sainthood which is truly wild), and I like to undo that a bit.

Announcing our first keynote speaker for GIFCon 2026: University of Glasgow’s Dr Maha Atal!

Announcing GIFCon’s next keynote speaker: Oliver Langmead!

#Fantasy #FantasyConference #KeyNoteSpeaker #GIFCon #GIFCon2026

Cats out of the bag! We're very excited for this!!

a cartoon dog is sitting at a table with a cup of coffee surrounded by fire . ALT: a cartoon dog is sitting at a table with a cup of coffee surrounded by fire .

Anyway, this is why I am in a constant state of This is Fine Dog at the moment. Trying to write my silly little PhD while living under the real threat of my literal worst nightmare panic fuel. Keep on keeping on, the horrors persist and so does thesis.

This is also why my major critique of Oppenheimer was that it actually pulled its punch right when it needed not to. There is a scene where he watches that video footage, and starts imagining it on the people around him. They should have showed the footage, even briefly. People need to *see* it.

We also need to be reminded regularly, in a setting in which we can learn from it and unpack it. This was then reinforced recently by reading "Level 7" in an MA class. This is why films like Oppenheimer need to happen every decade or so, to remind us. Otherwise we end up in complacent stupidity.

Reason #349583 why education is essential: nothing put the fear of nuclear war in me like seeing footage of what happened to the people of Hiroshima & Nagasaki in 8th grade history class. Its burned into my brain. We shouldn't be seeing it constantly, but we do need to see it young & in a classroom.

the stink of gender resentment coming off Silicon Valley has been obvious for a while. these men hate women because they hate being told no.

Thank you!

I did a thing!

I do not like this gen AI
I do not like what it implies
I do not want it in my art
I do not think it makes you smart
I do not want it in my games
I do not like its goals and aims
I do not want it in my books
I do not like the way it looks
I do not like it, I don't care
I do not want it anywhere

What I think a lot of people seem to be failing to understand is that Zionism is a cult not an ideology, and as a cult it preyed on us as Jews in our weakest, most vulnerable moment and told us it would keep us safe. The way to undo that is with empathy, not violent accusation.

Calling AI "slop" has been one of the most effective instances of the public rebranding a product and it pisses them off.

Today's great podcast rec episode.
pca.st/episode/1672...

if you’re cis and you don’t get it this is LITERAL TORTURE

it will result in dead trans people

and with their other goal of making us “sexually explicit” for existing

you see the pipeline right?

we exist -> we’re jailed for it -> we’re tortured and die

WE NEED YOU TO STOP THIS

Bring this back because I came across a Tolkien quote to support me: “We all need literature that is above our measure - though we may not have sufficient energy for it all the time.” (Letter 215)

Sign the Petition Keep the Classical Languages Major at the University of Iowa

Hi friends. As I previously noted, the U. of Iowa is planning to get rid of African American studies; Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies, & the Classical Languages major—along with others. If you wish, please sign the classics petition: www.change.org/p/keep-the-c.... I will add more as I find out.

Oof. I just read your post in the most uncharitable, pedantic way possible, and I gotta tell ya: it's not looking good for you.

Donate to Help Mercury Yeet the Teet! (or: a top surgery fundraiser), organized by Mercury Natis Hello world, it’s me, Mickey, and this is a top surgery/elect… Mercury Natis needs your support for Help Mercury Yeet the Teet! (or: a top surgery fundraiser)

I also currently have a GoFundMe for top surgery! Please consider donating, the more I get, the less likely that I need to go the Medical Tourism route (which has dangers and complications).
gofund.me/a5e31e43a

See - now THAT'S the America I love. Y'all were built on telling authority to go fuck itself when it steps over the line.

Stay the course, friends.

I’m transgender, I live in Kansas, if you want to help rn donate to either the ACLU of Kansas or the ACE foundation in Wichita - the ACE foundation especially is the organization that will help people with money for groceries, rent, etc. More orgs also included in attached img

acefoundationict.org

My review of QUEER APPROACHES TO TOLKIEN (ed. Robin Anne Reid, Christopher Vaccaro, & Stephen Yandell) is out in the open-access Journal of Tolkien Research.

I had a lot of thoughts on this book, mostly very positive! Thankful to Douglas A. Anderson for commissioning this. tinyurl.com/ezbhcxn7

Exactly!!! I often refer to fascists as cultural parasites. They will try to coopt everything and anything popular. All we can do is stand our ground and ignore their clamoring for attention.

I think there's a whooole lot of us. The Norse Pagans who aren't fascists have the hardest time of it. The vintage fashion folks have a slogan "vintage style not vintage values" that works beautifully. Banging my pots and pans that aesthetic taste and intellectual interest =/= political opinion!!

a man in a leather jacket is holding a remote control and says you gotta fight ALT: a man in a leather jacket is holding a remote control and says you gotta fight

I feel like it's worth restating the obvious: I'm a radical leftist, and everything I do is informed by this. Academic nuance, a personal longing for peace, and antiquarian interests do not inherently equal centrism.