Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 12h

Today marks 50 years since the Balibo Five were murdered by Indonesian armed forces in East Timor. Reflecting on this story now it strikes me how young they were. Five journalists just trying to show the world the truth of what was going on. It's a story that remains as politically fraught as ever.

Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 13h

This article in The Age today explores the depressive and vulnerable slump many authors enter when their book goes out into the world. I dare say these emotions extend to writers of smaller works as well.
www.theage.com.au/culture/book...
#writerlife #writers #author #booksky

Your new book is out! (And now you feel like a ‘first-class numpty’)

The long-awaited moment of publication can bring emptiness, anxiety and a surprising lack of fanfare.

www.theage.com.au

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Reposted by Alia Parker

Jessica Price @delafina777.bsky.social · 1d

Okay, for all you quiz junkies, I made a just-for-fun version (results aren't recorded) that shows you 6 samples:

jlp-experiment.github.io/ai-detection...

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Reposted by Alia Parker

Diversity Arts Australia @diversityartsau.bsky.social · 7d

📚 Without Diversity Arts Australia…

Writer and broadcaster @mrbenjaminlaw.bsky.social adds his voice to our Giving Day campaign, sharing why the work of DARTS matters

🧡 Donate now: bit.ly/without-dive...

#WithoutDiversityArtsAu #AusArtDay

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Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 1d

Thursday 23 Oct is AusArt Day, a new initiative by Creative Australia that encourages us to make tax-deductible donations to participating creative organisations, like @asauthors.bsky.social (ASA).
You can donate to ASA here:
www.asauthors.org.au/news/back-bo...
#ausartday #creativeaustralia

Reposted by Alia Parker

Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 3d

When exactly did we decide to get dressed?
(WARNING this post contains an extraordinary fact about lice.)

#essay #podcast #evolution #clothing #writer #history #humans #fashion

We were naked for a long time, and then...

When exactly did we decide to get dressed? Writer Alia Parker explores the origins and evolution of clothing.

www.mindflexing.com.au

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Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 1d

"Rainbows are visions, but only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide."

- Kermit the Frog

Here's a little song by a puppet to brighten your day. Such wonderful lyrics. I sing them to my daughters all the time.

#themuppets #lyrics #rainbows #poetry #song
youtu.be/jS5fTzMP_mg?...

A Special Performance of "Rainbow Connection" from Kermit the Frog | The Muppets

YouTube video by The Muppets

youtu.be

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Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 3d

When exactly did we decide to get dressed?
(WARNING this post contains an extraordinary fact about lice.)

#essay #podcast #evolution #clothing #writer #history #humans #fashion

We were naked for a long time, and then...

When exactly did we decide to get dressed? Writer Alia Parker explores the origins and evolution of clothing.

www.mindflexing.com.au

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Reposted by Alia Parker

Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 6d

Hugely impressed with the new barista’s coffee art! If there’s one thing I suck at, it’s this. I specialise in big white blobs. Nice cup colour selection, too. Some of you might remember my post on how that can change the taste of your coffee… www.mindflexing.com.au/p/turns-out-...
#coffeeart

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Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 3d

Any other writers out there release recordings of their written work as a podcast? Keen to find you.

#podcast #writers #audiobook #essays #substack #read #author #recommendations

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Reposted by Alia Parker

Community Publishing in Regional Australia @communitypubinaus.bsky.social · 6d

The CFP for our upcoming online symposium has officially closed!

Didn't manage to get your abstract submitted in time? No worries! Caitlin will still accept abstracts until early next week - so you still have a few more days to get yours in.

The image has a bright yellow and orange background and dark greed text. An illustrated image of a megaphone is in the bottom left corner, it is also dark green.
The text reads: Online Symposium. Reading, Writing and Publishing in Regional Australia Monday 24 November 2025 Abstracts Due: 10 October 2025

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Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 6d

Do you like podcasts? This month's essay is also available on the Mind Flexing podcast. It's short and sweet - only 9 min and explores the emerging buzzword Anthropocene and whether or not we're really in it.
mindflexing.substack.com/p/is-this-re...
#climatechange #environment #world #substack

Is this really the Anthropocene?

#64—A major city is running out of water and a great migration has begun.

mindflexing.substack.com

Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 6d

Hugely impressed with the new barista’s coffee art! If there’s one thing I suck at, it’s this. I specialise in big white blobs. Nice cup colour selection, too. Some of you might remember my post on how that can change the taste of your coffee… www.mindflexing.com.au/p/turns-out-...
#coffeeart

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Reposted by Alia Parker

LariceLu @laricelu.bsky.social · 7d

🤔… Is CBS News’ integrity officially toast?

I enjoy my subscription to The Atlantic and recommend buying one.

Meanwhile, here’s a gift of this revealing article by @jonathanbchait.bsky.social: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Bari Weiss Still Thinks It’s 2020

She co-founded The Free Press as a bastion of liberalism in an illiberal time. Her arrival at CBS is paved with excuses for illiberal friends.

www.theatlantic.com

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Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 6d

Thank you!

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Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 6d

A major city is about to run out of water. An island has begun to depopulate. Are we living in the Anthropocene?
Read this month's thought expedition here: www.mindflexing.com.au/p/is-this-re...

#climatechange #watercrisis #anthropocene #environment #naturelovers #worldnews

Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 7d

This month, we explore the Anthropocene. As a major city runs out of water, an island disappears and a great migration of peoples gets underway, it's time to understand what this term really means.
#climate #environment #watercrisis #writer #geology #essay
open.substack.com/pub/mindflex...

Is this really the Anthropocene?

#64—A major city is running out of water and a great migration has begun.

open.substack.com

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Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 10d

The Nobel Prize for Literature will be awarded in three days. It's fair to say, when it comes to literature at least, that the Nobel is always 'interesting'. It rarely leaves the northern hemisphere. Could this be the year someone like Australia's Alexis Wright breaks through?

‘Who is that?’: How the Nobel Prize became a literary joke

Like many things in life, the Nobel Prize for Literature sounds pretty impressive if you don’t know much about it.

www.theage.com.au

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Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 10d

My 2-yo old just pointed at a photo of the US National Guard in a NYTimes article and said, 'they are baddies'. Amused, I asked her why, to which she said, 'because they are angry'.

Reposted by Alia Parker

Writers Victoria @writersvictoria.bsky.social · 15d

📢 Applications now open – Final Year of the Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship. Applications are open now from 1 October to 16 November 2025. To apply visit:
writersvictoria.submittable.com/submit

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Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 15d

Swung by one of my favourite lookouts, the Three Sisters in Katoomba. Wild fact: there were once seven rock formations that jutted out above the Jamison Valley, and the story of these Seven Sisters, part of an ancient songline, was linked to the Pleiades star cluster (AKA the Seven Sisters).

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Reposted by Alia Parker

Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 16d

Anyone out there have a problem with the word 'bucolic'? I was once told not to use it 😆
Here's a little something about why I think that is...
www.mindflexing.com.au/p/whats-wron...
#writer #essay #words #substack

What's wrong with the word 'bucolic'?

#16—And why do so many people think it's a disease?

www.mindflexing.com.au

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Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 16d

That horror that hits when you fill out a survey and realise you've gone up a significant age bracket. 🫣

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Reposted by Alia Parker

Mel Campbell @incrediblemelk.bsky.social · 16d

I just did the MEAA's Media Freelancers Survey!

If you're a freelancer, even if you're not an MEAA member, please do the survey so our union better understands our precarious, atomised working conditions & can break free from old worksite-based organising tactics that don't serve us now

2025 Freelance journalists, photographers and media workers survey

Please click the link to complete this form.

meaa.io

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Alia Parker @aliaparker.bsky.social · 16d

Anyone out there have a problem with the word 'bucolic'? I was once told not to use it 😆
Here's a little something about why I think that is...
www.mindflexing.com.au/p/whats-wron...
#writer #essay #words #substack

What's wrong with the word 'bucolic'?

#16—And why do so many people think it's a disease?

www.mindflexing.com.au

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