Dr. Fade
@fade.bsky.social
2K followers 350 following 18K posts
Classicist, writer, that sort of stuff. Currently teaching Latin to the youth. Yes, my dog's name is Adverb.
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fade.bsky.social
(It's also pretty much the only form of Roman theater where women acted as well as men. Which contributed to its low/scandalous reputation.)
fade.bsky.social
Mime is performed without masks, which is part of what distinguished it from a few other comedic theater genres in Rome.
fade.bsky.social
Nope, definitely verbal. I'm not quite sure where the shift happened in the language derivative.
fade.bsky.social
Hey, I like the rain! It's fantastic rain, high quality, nicely drizzly, good coverage.

Just kinda wishing I'd packed an umbrella.
fade.bsky.social
It means something fairly different than modern mine, but yes!

Think: slapstick semi-improv street theater skits on broad comic themes, mostly sex, food, and deceit. (The most common theme is adultery.)
Reposted by Dr. Fade
fade.bsky.social
Dear god. I remember the week of 100% inflation in Ecuador many years ago, with the exchange kiosk in the mall updating the numbers multiple times while the line inched forward, and how the dollar seemed like the most stable, reliable currency in the world.
fade.bsky.social
it me (approximately every four weeks)
fade.bsky.social
The bus driver offered me a poncho, but with a first period prep I'll have time to dry off anyway. Today is my semiannual reminder that I need to check the forecast before heading out every morning, not just the night before.

Besides, I'd rather walk in the rain than the blazing sun.
fade.bsky.social
I would love to get engagement from my students through activating their curiosity about the language, but I am very much not above hitting the "wow, ancient Rome was weird and/or horrifying!" buttons first if that's what's available.
fade.bsky.social
I just have basic phone camera controls, and while portrait mode + tapping the center of focus I want usually does just fine for my standards... "usually".
fade.bsky.social
Hilariously that's like the fourth shot I took of him in that pose because my camera kept insisting on blurring him and putting the random background objects into crisp focus. But I persisted!
fade.bsky.social
Chivvying myself through morning routines by whispering "You remember the reaction of undergrads in your Ancient Comedy class when you explained the standard plot of Roman mime to them, so just imagine what high school students will think. They may even ask questions! Engagement!!!"
Reposted by Dr. Fade
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
Colleagues in ocean science academia: 🧪🦑🌎

I am working on the section of my marine biology career advice book about applying to graduate school. I have lots to say here from both my own experience and years of teaching this stuff, but I’d welcome your input on any or all of this if you’re willing.
Reposted by Dr. Fade
sarahebond.bsky.social
Shout out to Johns Hopkins University's Archaeological Museum, which has just reopened after being closed for almost 3 years! I visited 3 years ago, right when it closed and it is an amazing space with a huge offering of mummy masks & epigraphy as well hub.jhu.edu/2025/10/13/j... (Pics below by me)
plaster mummy feet with sandals painted from the JHU Archaeological Museum Mummy masks from the JHU Archaeological Museum Mummy mask from the JHU Archaeological Museum mummy mask of a woman from the JHU Archaeological Museum
fade.bsky.social
If they are very good I shall also tell them about the (lightly documented) increase in spectacle and SFX for dramas during the imperial era.
fade.bsky.social
Anyway here's Adverb watching GBBO with me last night.
A speckled dog with a single large brown spot on his side lies flat on a pillow, bushy tail curled in, ears perked, staring at Prue (not pictured) judging someone's highly sculpted tart.
fade.bsky.social
Today is one of those days where a significant enough chunk of my students will be gone during some periods that they can't teach anything new, but enough will be present that I still need to teach a proper class, so... Guess my Latin 1 students get to learn about Roman mime today!
Reposted by Dr. Fade
jlphistory.bsky.social
Footnote and Index pictured with the founder of Antifa.
I had somehow forgotten how great this photo is. Footnote and Index are pictured with The Grinch, who is lying on the floor with them both. Footnote is looking off camera because someone is trying to convince her to be calm. Index is flopped on the floor where she is waiting for her moment to cause chaos. Not shown is that Index peed on the grinch right after this pic.
Reposted by Dr. Fade
mariness.bsky.social
The really fun part is that this particular contract has a whole section about how I guarantee that everything I'm providing is human generated, and that I did not use any AI tools, which was all true RIGHT UP UNTIL NOW WHEN ADOBE IS TRYING TO FORCE ME TO USE AI.
Reposted by Dr. Fade
scalzi.com
I note some opposition to this proposition, ie "But surely [author] holds up better than every other!" and "there is no perceptible variation in literary opinion based on disparate life experiences," and in both cases: oh, honey. Okay.
scalzi.com
The answer to "how does [author] hold up?" is always "for whom?" Bester holds up fine to me, but I'm a 56-year-old white dude who has a vested interest in the genre. My take on his hold-uppedness will be different than, say, a 15-year-old BIPOC girl approaching science fiction for the first time.
publiusmaximus.bsky.social
How does Alfred Bester hold up?
Reposted by Dr. Fade
Reposted by Dr. Fade
kateelliottsff.bsky.social
A short, and super useful, four part thread on structure and recipes. Succinctly and clearly explained.
maryrobinettekowal.com
My hot take is that none of these are structure. These are all recipes that describe structure.

Structure is the Salt, Fat, Acid Heat of writing.

3-Act/Hero's Journey etc are recipes.

You can make great meals without using a recipe if you understand the principles of structure.
ddwardiswriting.bsky.social
So #WritingCommunity how do we feel about structure?

Do you use the 3 act structure? The 5 act?

Hero's Journey? Save the Cat? Super Structure Method? Story Genius Method?

Something else?

What have you got?
fade.bsky.social
The AI slop with its banal insults really grinds my teeth, and it's not like I can afford the dentist right now.