Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

James Loxley @oldnorthroad.bsky.social · 12h

They have a very particular set of skills, skills they have acquired over a very long career in failing to deliver parcels on time.

a man is talking on a cell phone and the words what i do have are a very particular set of skills

ALT: a man is talking on a cell phone and the words what i do have are a very particular set of skills

media.tenor.com

2

Reposted by James Loxley

Dr. Uncle Feared 🦊 🌈 @unclebeard1978.bsky.social · 13h

Me on the apps

A yellow sticker saying TOO GOOD TO WASTE

3 22

James Loxley @oldnorthroad.bsky.social · 14h

A green thought in a green shade

A photo of a window with distorted glass, framed in black; pressed against the glass are some dark green leaves on a branch. The whole is suffused with a gentle pale green light.

7

Reposted by James Loxley

Ricardo Autobahn @ricardoautobahn.co.uk · 22h

4 9 61

Reposted by James Loxley

Anita Chaudhuri @anitachaudhuri.bsky.social · 15h

This madness must be stopped.

7 15 98

Reposted by James Loxley

ɢᴀᴠɪɴ @whosthatgav.bsky.social · 15h

Sunday night on BBC1. Probably. 📺

4 12

Reposted by James Loxley

𝔐𝔞𝔤𝔫𝔢𝔱𝔰 🧲 @magnets.bsky.social · 18h

one thing i will never forget and forever be sickened by was that the leader of the SNP's, the First Minister's, in-laws were literally being bombed in an active genocide and the press and most of the political establishment just didn't care

The National @scotnational.bsky.social · 18h

Husam Zomlot thanked the people of Scotland in a rousing speech to SNP conference

🗣️ 'The Palestinian people will never forget the support of the people of Scotland when we needed it most'

Husam Zomlot thanks people of Scotland in rousing speech to SNP conference

www.thenational.scot

1 26 69

Reposted by James Loxley

Mark McGeoghegan @markmcgeoghegan.bsky.social · 21h

Analysis in @thetimes.com by @leaskyd.bsky.social & Anna Dowell of the sharp decline in British identity uncovered by the Scottish Social Attitudes survey.

With comment from Sir John Curtice on the polarising of Scottish politics and from myself on the decoupling of Scottish and British identities:

Why Scots are losing their British identity

With only a quarter of respondents to the Scottish Social Attitudes survey identifying with Britishness, Scotland faces a generational political split

www.thetimes.com

12 55 100

Reposted by James Loxley

Greg Jenner @gregjenner.bsky.social · 1d

You may call it ‘Chatfishing’, but I shall only refer to it as ‘Cyrano de Berger-App’
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

‘I realised I’d been ChatGPT-ed into bed’: how ‘Chatfishing’ made finding love on dating apps even weirder

Where once people were duped by soft-focus photos and borrowed chat-up lines, now they have to watch out for computer-generated charm. But it’s one thing to use a witty phrase – another thing entirely...

www.theguardian.com

18 78 380

James Loxley @oldnorthroad.bsky.social · 22h

On his way to Munich, Chamberlain quoted Hotspur’s line from Henry IV, part 1: ‘Out
of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.’ youtu.be/OzPwL5GiXIM?...

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain leaves for Munich (1938)

YouTube video by British Pathé

youtu.be

James Loxley @oldnorthroad.bsky.social · 22h

And Neville Chamberlain (ok, I know we don’t talk about him) was a huge fan of the eminent Shakespearean editor and critic John Dover Wilson, inviting him for dinner in Downing Street and maintaining a correspondence for years. jamesloxley.blog/2020/02/05/s...

Shakespeare as Currency

John Dover Wilson’s Correspondence John Dover Wilson was one of the best known, and most influential, Shakespearean scholars of the 20th century. His greatest achievement was the complete edi…

jamesloxley.blog

1 1 12

Reposted by James Loxley

C. Buckthorn @cbuckthorn.bsky.social · 1d

This is amazing. I laughed out loud www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

As 32-year-old Rich points out, though, "it's not like using ChatGPT guarantees success".
When he met someone in a bar one Friday night and swapped social media handles, he asked AI what his next move should be.
ChatGPT discerned that sending an initial message on Monday midmorning would set the right pace. "Then it gave me some options for what the message could be," says Rich.
"Keep it light, warm, and low-stakes so it reads as genuine interest without urgency," the bot advised. "Something like: Hey Sarah, still laughing about [tiny shared moment/reference if you've got one] - good to meet you!" Rich went back and forth with ChatGPT until he felt they'd hit upon exactly the right message ("Hey Sarah, it was lovely to meet you") but sadly she never replied, he says. "It's been two weeks now."

170 740 4K

James Loxley @oldnorthroad.bsky.social · 1d

Meant to say ‘Existing somewhere you can’t access (and who you are sure is probably horrible)’, but failed. Ah well.

1

Reposted by James Loxley

Mark Williams @mrfw17thc.bsky.social · 1d

God, imagine being driven by unevidenced fears of people you've made no effort to understand, making outlandish claims about who they are and what they do, then stoking those fears in others and making it all worse.

And then making a show about witches with Alice Roberts.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 1d

Witches of Essex: Rylan and Prof Alice’s look at one of history’s most shameful periods is unfailingly moving

This engaging if slight show sees the unlikely duo reopen witch trials from 400 years ago on the hunt for justice. It’s Blackadder crossed with CSI – with a sprinkling of Philomena Cunk

www.theguardian.com

3 6 40

James Loxley @oldnorthroad.bsky.social · 1d

Well if it’s good enough for Her Grace Charlotte Dowager Duchess of Somerset then it’s good enough for me.

1 1

James Loxley @oldnorthroad.bsky.social · 1d

This is what I say to my students when they’re wary of speaking in class - we don’t need the last word, just the first word. Thanks for helping me see that that applies to me too!

1 1

Reposted by James Loxley

Cethan Leahy @cethanleahy.com · 1d

"Yes… Hahaha… Yes!"

Laszlo Krasznahorkai standing next to a window looking out in a black and white photo

19 95

Reposted by James Loxley

Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 1d

There are so many Diane Keaton performances to remember, but a lot of people haven't seen Reds, and A) my God, see it, it is a masterpiece and B) her performance as Louise Bryant is one of the bravest, toughest, least sympathy-courting pieces of work by an American actress in the last 50 years.

49 170 930

James Loxley @oldnorthroad.bsky.social · 1d

A summary, of sorts: I’m struck by the number of people I’ve seen say ‘I thought this was my personality but it turns out it was ADHD’ and both a) that is exactly what you would conclude if you have ADHD, and b) that is not very helpful if you’re trying to work out how to live beyond a diagnosis.

1 2

James Loxley @oldnorthroad.bsky.social · 1d

Well not if you wanna make an actual living

1

James Loxley @oldnorthroad.bsky.social · 1d

He was the physics teacher, so not my thing at all, but yeah not ideal

1

James Loxley @oldnorthroad.bsky.social · 1d

I’m still trying to work it out, cos ADHD masking is weird or at least very different from, say, ASD masking (as far as I understand that). So these are preliminary thoughts that probably need more work…

1 1

James Loxley @oldnorthroad.bsky.social · 1d

Oh my! I well remember a teacher telling me ‘I deserved to fail’. Yeah, that was fun. 🫠

1

Reposted by James Loxley

Mia Farrow @miafarrow.bsky.social · 1d

She was an absolutely wonderful actress- and a rare and fascinating person. Thoughts with her children and sisters. Rest in peace Diane.

77 250 2.1K

James Loxley @oldnorthroad.bsky.social · 1d

ADHD, I realise, sometimes manifests with or alongside existential shame - it has defined my life, and made me utterly miserable for a long time. I’m not sure how those of us in this situation get beyond that, but trying to understand the dynamics of masking is probably a start.

2 5