Joy

Skegness, one of your absolute finest people right here. Buy her a drink whenever you see her.

Voice of experience speaking right there!

I do however feel somewhat out of place in a group of phone scrolling parents...

Using the hour and a half sat at a children's jumping about party (technical term) as a chance to start @emilytesh.net The Incandescent. So far it's doing an excellent job helping me ignore the heat and screaming!

This is obviously satsumas. They are the best! Exceedingly annoyed when the online shop substitutes with so-called 'easy peelers'

Shows of Weakness They've got the tanks. We've got the power.

In the linked essay, I mention Nancy Mace's standard TERF question, asked most recently to Tim Walz: "What is a woman?"

My answer is simple. A woman is not a *what.* A woman is a *who.*

I want to expand a bit from the essay on what I think this matters.

www.the-reframe.com/shows-of-wea...

Impeccable Table Manners – The Guyliner

Then what you also need to look out for is @theguyliner.bsky.social commentary on them (read past ones here theguyliner.com/category/imp...)

A chart that explains what to do If You Find A Baby Songbird Out Of The Nest. Is it hurt or did a cat get it? (Cat bites & scratches cause deadly infections.) or, Has a person kept it for over a day, given it food or water, or gotten it wet? If yes, Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or wildlife care center near you. An online search can help. If no, what does it look like? Eyes not yet open. You have a hatchling. It's very young. Eyes open; feathers few & may be in tube-like sheaths. You have a nestling. Feathered; awkwardly hops or flutters; tail & wings short. You have a fledgling. Many sharp teeth; large claw on second toe. You have a velociraptor. If a hatchling or nestling, can you see the nest? If yes, Return it to its nest. The parents won’t care if they can smell you. If no, Make a nest from a basket & dried grass. Wire it to a tree. (Note: A few species, like Juncos, need a nest on the ground.) If a fledgling, is it in immediate danger? If yes, carefully move it to a safer spot nearby. If no, DO NOT INTERVENE! Though the bird looks awkward, it’s in a natural stage & the parents are still feeding it. If a velociraptor, has it seen you? If yes, back away slowly. Do not show fear. If no, run. Watch for others that may attack from the sides. FYI: Some babies (eg. swifts, most woodpeckers) only sit on the ground if in trouble. When in doubt, keep watch & contact a wildlife rehabilitator if needed!

Found a baby songbird? Here's a newly updated chart!

A selection of late spring garden finds and my illustrations of them & their names in calligraphy alongside.

A selection of autumnal nature and botanical finds, my illustrations of them and their names alongside on a double page spread of a sketchbook. Drawing materials and other small nature finds are nearby.

Cornflowers, Nigella, sweet peas and Russian sage in shades of blue, mauve and purple on one page of a sketchbook and my illustrations of them on the opposite page, along with the fountain pen I used to draw them nearby on a wooden table.

Various spring nature and botanical finds with my pen and ink drawings and watercolours of them on pieces of sketchbook paper. A watercolour palette and fine paintbrush are nearby.

My 14 June botanical illustration & mental health w'shop's now enrolling
I'll teach you:
🌿How to break down plants into simple shapes & add shading
🧠How time spent creatively alters brain biochemistry to improve mental health.
Limited spaces,earlybird price:
workshops.emmamitchell.uk/courses/bota...

The Magicians of Caprona by @Rebecca Fraimow and Emily Tesh "Tonino wondered how he could laugh like that at something so horrible until he remembered that he had stood himself a score of times and laughed himself sick at just the same thing."  Two households...

And we're back! Starting off the 80s with a cream pie and a clown car, it's Magicians of Caprona, a joyous structural experiment in comedy and heterosexuality that is also somehow a sequel to Charmed Life

zencastr.com/z/x3fhRKxo

A series of headlines about refugees and benefit claimants getting free driving lessons

🚘 FREE DRIVING LESSONS FOR REFUGEES?!

If you've seen those headlines and felt a twinge of outrage, you're not alone.

But let's take a closer look at who's actually getting these lessons and why.

🧵
1/16

A fabulously entertaining new podcast about ancient Greece How did a myth about the consequences of poor judgment become a parable for aspiration? The question is posed by the Greek writer-actor Alex Andreou in his fabulously entertaining new podcast. His top...

Blimey! The Spectator loves Podyssey!!!

www.spectator.co.uk/article/a-fa...

NB: Browsing works because actual human librarians take the time to categorize materials so that like things live together on the shelves. It's. not. magic. it. is. professional. labor.

Hot weather reminder If you're on antidepressants or antipsychotics your body may not regulate heat as well. Remember to try and stay cool, drink plenty of water and find shade if you can.

A gentle reminder from Mind for those on antidepressants in this heat - not everyone knows this, so please spread the word and stay safe ☀️ @mindcharity.bsky.social

Superb insult

Title: SOME GRAMMATICAL VOICES FOR USE IN SCIENTIFIC WRITING ACTIVE VOICE e.g. Our team collected samples and then we tested them. CLICKBAIT VOICE e.g. We collected some samples... You won't believe what happened next! PASSIVE VOICE e.g. Samples were collected and tested. HAIKU VOICE e.g. Quiet science lab. Workers arrive with samples. The testing begins. PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE VOICE e.g. We did all the collecting and testing. No need to thank us. Just doing our job. CONSPIRACY VOICE e.g. Mysterious "Samples" were harvested and covertly "tested" by so-called scientists.

My latest @newscientist.com cartoon

Sunday School: More Equal Than Others Podcast Episode · Quiet Riot · 20/04/2025 · 59m

NEW Sunday School: More Equal Than Others

@pimlicat.bsky.social & @sturdyalex.bsky.social discuss the Supreme Court decision on the Equality Act, and Trump’s latest attempt to blackmail Ukraine.

🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/1s9P...

🍏 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/q...

7:08pm, April 12, my kindergartener uttered the words I’ve been waiting a month for:

Mommy, I think my pet worms want to go live in the wild.

Anyone can go in! You don’t have to spend any money it’s free. But you can bring your little drink treat in that’s ok.

It’s nice and quiet and people are reading and really this place is hopping. Young, old, families, all kinds.

I want to know more about this anxious toaster and its clearly tense relationship with its companion kettle.

Oh my.

Since February 26, an additional 1,322 adults (from 14,482 to 15,804) and 141 infants (from 1,541 to 1,682) have died as a consequence of a single frozen USAID program.

A small child reads with an older man in a library.

Public #Libraries are running lots of informative, entertaining events to mark #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek. Why not pop in to your local #Library and see what is going on - or borrow something from their #ReadingWell collection? www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk

Chart showing instances of wild animals using a hamster wheel left out in the wild, with visits dominated by wild mice, followed by slugs, rats, shrews and a few frogs and snails.

In 2014 Dutch scientists left a hamster wheel outside, to see if wild animals would use it like their domesticated counterparts.

The answer: hell yes! 734 visits from wild mice - plus rats, shrews, slugs ("running" being subjective here) & even frogs and snails.

The apparent reason: fun. Just fun.

Twenty More Government Reforms the Media Hasn't Been Telling You About You probably won’t have read much about these announcements over the past few weeks

🔴Twenty More Government Reforms the Media Hasn’t Been Telling You About

You probably won’t have read much about these announcements over the past few weeks

bylinetimes.com/2025/01/24/w...

A collection of bright summer flowers I grew in my garden, placed on a dark enamelled chipped background and arranged to create a rainbow. Species/varieties include nicotiana, Russian lavender, marigold, nasturtium, viola, poppy seedhead, fennel, cosmos, Mexican fleabane, cornflower, borage, larkspur and sweet pea.

If social media's stressing you out just now (me too) then here's a gentle antidote:
pause for a few seconds & focus on the details in my photo👇-your brain's very likely to release dopamine,lifting your mood due to the bright colours & is ikely to relax in response to seeing these botanical patterns

Some rare good news re UK immigration policy that I thought worth sharing

100s of refugee families who were accepted for UK resettlement but had been waiting years for relocation have finally arrived in Britain in the last yr, as the new govt has been quietly prioritising their cases

Short thread🧵

Armed and Underground: Inside the Turbulent, Secret World of an American Militia Rounding up migrants. Lists of “friendly” sheriffs. Debating political assassinations. Internal messages reveal AP3’s journey from Jan. 6 through the tumultuous lead-up to the 2024 election. One membe...

Back in August, I wrote an investigation based on records the mole sent me, along with extensive interviews with militia members and files I got from several other sources. www.propublica.org/article/insi...

But that was still the tip of the iceberg. Now the mole is coming forward.

A five by five grid drawn on a pad, like a classic bingo card. Top row: gym equipment, taxidermy, sofa bed, attic, large collection of jigsaws Second row: too much crafting stuff, bookcase of 70s/80s classics, electronic drum kit, black & decker workmate, folded towels Middle row: lounge sleeping, bed next to fridge, *DUVET*, caravan, old cuddly toy Fourth row: 80s tv/film-related bed linen, garage sleeping, adult in child bed, scary dolls, bed under desk Bottom row: sleeping bag, brass instrument, own house but not own bed, inappropriate electrical points, Proper Cancellation Stuff...

I have made a #DuvetKnowItsChristmas bingo card! And done alt text on it (as everyone else should, if they're able).

So, let's try doing #duvetknowitschristmas here this evening? People are literally Driving Home For Christmas right now, which MIGHT JUST mean that they'll be sleeping somewhere unusual. 1/