Alison Atkin
@alisonatkin.bsky.social
Artist. Osteoarchaeologist. Canadian. Doing creative things with heritage in the NW (UK). Multi-passionate person. Can expect knitting, gardening, ttrpg, nerdery, and occasional hamster content. she/her
Reposted by Alison Atkin
I saw a mouse!
Where?
There on the stair!
Where on the stair?
Right there!
For #FindsFriday this lovely little Roman toy or joke mouse made from a scrap of leather at marvellous @vindolandatrust.bsky.social
Where?
There on the stair!
Where on the stair?
Right there!
For #FindsFriday this lovely little Roman toy or joke mouse made from a scrap of leather at marvellous @vindolandatrust.bsky.social
November 21, 2025 at 8:11 AM
I saw a mouse!
Where?
There on the stair!
Where on the stair?
Right there!
For #FindsFriday this lovely little Roman toy or joke mouse made from a scrap of leather at marvellous @vindolandatrust.bsky.social
Where?
There on the stair!
Where on the stair?
Right there!
For #FindsFriday this lovely little Roman toy or joke mouse made from a scrap of leather at marvellous @vindolandatrust.bsky.social
Reposted by Alison Atkin
There is one more post to be written here, about how AI is now often an austerity technology, inserted into a human process to compensate for the fact that there is just not enough time and money, and many workers are expected to do more and more with less and less.
November 21, 2025 at 7:59 AM
There is one more post to be written here, about how AI is now often an austerity technology, inserted into a human process to compensate for the fact that there is just not enough time and money, and many workers are expected to do more and more with less and less.
an LLM poem will never match the delight that a @brianbilston.bsky.social poem can bring
When I read things like this, I'm reminded of how the play and poetry of language — even punctuation! — are ABSENT from most of the purely functional discussions of "why + how we write" precipitated by LLMs. I wish students could see the fun, freedom + productive friction in the process
A Granta series on punctuation and grammar: lol's, transitive verbs, ellipses, quotation marks, line breaks, xox's... 🤗
November 20, 2025 at 9:30 PM
an LLM poem will never match the delight that a @brianbilston.bsky.social poem can bring
Reposted by Alison Atkin
When I read things like this, I'm reminded of how the play and poetry of language — even punctuation! — are ABSENT from most of the purely functional discussions of "why + how we write" precipitated by LLMs. I wish students could see the fun, freedom + productive friction in the process
A Granta series on punctuation and grammar: lol's, transitive verbs, ellipses, quotation marks, line breaks, xox's... 🤗
Mark Up | Granta
For an online series, Mark Up, we invited writers to tell us their thoughts on...
granta.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:11 PM
When I read things like this, I'm reminded of how the play and poetry of language — even punctuation! — are ABSENT from most of the purely functional discussions of "why + how we write" precipitated by LLMs. I wish students could see the fun, freedom + productive friction in the process
🧶
There SO MUCH going on in this lovely story. But the stickler in me wants to know if these sheep are truly, exclusively gay. After all, they might be baaa-sexual.
www.washingtonpost.com/style/fashio...
www.washingtonpost.com/style/fashio...
I love your sweater. Is it made from gay sheep wool?
Grindr partnered with Rainbow Wool and designer Michael Schmidt to create a fashion show featuring clothing made entirely from the wool of gay sheep. Wait, what?
www.washingtonpost.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:23 PM
🧶
Reposted by Alison Atkin
what an incredible use of free will
I’m howling.
November 20, 2025 at 4:27 PM
what an incredible use of free will
Sometimes it's really difficult to see/feel you're making progress with a new skill.
But on a first read through I can get the gist of many Spanish posts now and with a little extra work I learn new vocabulary and grammar.
Total bonus when linguistic/cultural gems come across your feed too!
But on a first read through I can get the gist of many Spanish posts now and with a little extra work I learn new vocabulary and grammar.
Total bonus when linguistic/cultural gems come across your feed too!
Yo. Yo soy la obsoleta que quiere que sigáis usando las onomatopeyas en castellano.
Poco plasta soy para los broom, los boom y los bang y los flap y los blink y los splash que me encuentro, amigues. Os faltan Mortadelos y Zipizapes y cómics en castellano (con cariño, porque ojalá no).
Poco plasta soy para los broom, los boom y los bang y los flap y los blink y los splash que me encuentro, amigues. Os faltan Mortadelos y Zipizapes y cómics en castellano (con cariño, porque ojalá no).
November 20, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Sometimes it's really difficult to see/feel you're making progress with a new skill.
But on a first read through I can get the gist of many Spanish posts now and with a little extra work I learn new vocabulary and grammar.
Total bonus when linguistic/cultural gems come across your feed too!
But on a first read through I can get the gist of many Spanish posts now and with a little extra work I learn new vocabulary and grammar.
Total bonus when linguistic/cultural gems come across your feed too!
Reposted by Alison Atkin
🎬 We put Sh*t Chester in the dock!
Join us for a special screening of Sh*t Chester: The Movie - asking all the hard questions you've been wanting answers to.
Then stick around for a Q&A with the man himself + a few surprises!
📆 30 Nov 5.30pm
🎟️ FREE 👉 buff.ly/2BabLQX
📸 @Stuartrobphoto
Join us for a special screening of Sh*t Chester: The Movie - asking all the hard questions you've been wanting answers to.
Then stick around for a Q&A with the man himself + a few surprises!
📆 30 Nov 5.30pm
🎟️ FREE 👉 buff.ly/2BabLQX
📸 @Stuartrobphoto
November 20, 2025 at 3:30 PM
🎬 We put Sh*t Chester in the dock!
Join us for a special screening of Sh*t Chester: The Movie - asking all the hard questions you've been wanting answers to.
Then stick around for a Q&A with the man himself + a few surprises!
📆 30 Nov 5.30pm
🎟️ FREE 👉 buff.ly/2BabLQX
📸 @Stuartrobphoto
Join us for a special screening of Sh*t Chester: The Movie - asking all the hard questions you've been wanting answers to.
Then stick around for a Q&A with the man himself + a few surprises!
📆 30 Nov 5.30pm
🎟️ FREE 👉 buff.ly/2BabLQX
📸 @Stuartrobphoto
yooo (good) dates are so freaking delicious, in case you forgot
November 20, 2025 at 3:24 PM
yooo (good) dates are so freaking delicious, in case you forgot
Reposted by Alison Atkin
Also - come and get my job! Which I’m still partially doing, but someone needs to take up the slack/ allow me to send them to far flung locations to retrieve mysterious ancient samples. See the World*!
*mainly Britain.
crick.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...
*mainly Britain.
crick.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...
(Senior) Laboratory Research Scientist - Bioarchaeologist
Salary for this Role: LRS level from £36,535 per annum plus benefits SLRS level from £45,700 per annum plus benefits Job Title: (Senior) Laboratory Research Scientist - Bioarchaeologist Reports to: Po...
crick.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com
August 13, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Also - come and get my job! Which I’m still partially doing, but someone needs to take up the slack/ allow me to send them to far flung locations to retrieve mysterious ancient samples. See the World*!
*mainly Britain.
crick.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...
*mainly Britain.
crick.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...
oh no, I'm about to have an opinion on the internet
I think if you're not on your way to/from or at a sporting or sporting-adjacent event, dry robes look very silly
I think if you're not on your way to/from or at a sporting or sporting-adjacent event, dry robes look very silly
November 20, 2025 at 1:19 PM
oh no, I'm about to have an opinion on the internet
I think if you're not on your way to/from or at a sporting or sporting-adjacent event, dry robes look very silly
I think if you're not on your way to/from or at a sporting or sporting-adjacent event, dry robes look very silly
Every time I see stories like this I can't help but feel extremely fortunate to have gone through my education when I did. It was such a sweet spot of having access to computers, fairly advanced software, but also eventually digitised books and articles... and yet *none* of this utter bullshit.
"Students at the University of Staffordshire have said they feel “robbed of knowledge and enjoyment” after a course they hoped would launch their digital careers turned out to be taught in large part by AI"
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
‘We could have asked ChatGPT’: students fight back over course taught by AI
Staffordshire students say signs material was AI-generated included suspicious file names and rogue voiceover accent
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Every time I see stories like this I can't help but feel extremely fortunate to have gone through my education when I did. It was such a sweet spot of having access to computers, fairly advanced software, but also eventually digitised books and articles... and yet *none* of this utter bullshit.
Reposted by Alison Atkin
What's the first recorded instance in art history of a sample -- a distinct and recognisable unit of another work, meaningfully incorporated into the totality of the new work?
November 20, 2025 at 8:44 AM
What's the first recorded instance in art history of a sample -- a distinct and recognisable unit of another work, meaningfully incorporated into the totality of the new work?
Reposted by Alison Atkin
It’s the exclusive everyone wanted, the story that will win next year’s Pulitzer…
I can reveal London’s giant AI generated Christmas artwork, the subject of much online mockery, is being torn down - and I honestly *genuinely* think you’ll never guess why. www.londoncentric.media/p/ai-artwork...
I can reveal London’s giant AI generated Christmas artwork, the subject of much online mockery, is being torn down - and I honestly *genuinely* think you’ll never guess why. www.londoncentric.media/p/ai-artwork...
London's giant AI artwork to be torn down
The bizarre story of why a much-talked-about creation is being torn down. Plus: Docklands Light Railway extension, giant laser stalks the night sky, and more tales of Android phone theft rejection.
www.londoncentric.media
November 20, 2025 at 7:18 AM
It’s the exclusive everyone wanted, the story that will win next year’s Pulitzer…
I can reveal London’s giant AI generated Christmas artwork, the subject of much online mockery, is being torn down - and I honestly *genuinely* think you’ll never guess why. www.londoncentric.media/p/ai-artwork...
I can reveal London’s giant AI generated Christmas artwork, the subject of much online mockery, is being torn down - and I honestly *genuinely* think you’ll never guess why. www.londoncentric.media/p/ai-artwork...
Reposted by Alison Atkin
This is a really interesting article about a horrifying distortion of sign language happening in the UK, and which its creators are now trying to export to other countries and their sign languages
Learn actual sign languages from Deaf people, not from hearing people making their own weird versions!
Learn actual sign languages from Deaf people, not from hearing people making their own weird versions!
I will not fight with people on Threads about Makaton. I will not fight with people on Threads about Makaton. I will not thebaffler.com/outbursts/si...
Signed Away | Sara Nović
The hearing world continues to pillage and caricature the deaf community—most recently with the proprietary, sign-based system Makaton.
thebaffler.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:18 PM
This is a really interesting article about a horrifying distortion of sign language happening in the UK, and which its creators are now trying to export to other countries and their sign languages
Learn actual sign languages from Deaf people, not from hearing people making their own weird versions!
Learn actual sign languages from Deaf people, not from hearing people making their own weird versions!
Reposted by Alison Atkin
For anyone interested in ancient diseases (either historical or prehistoric) here's an excellent, readable, comprehensive summary of where we are with ancient pathogen DNA.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Insights into infectious diseases through ancient pathogen genomics - Nature Reviews Microbiology
In this Review, Kocher, Krause and Spyrou explore how ancient pathogen genomics is providing new perspectives on the history and evolution of infectious agents. They show how ancient DNA has revealed ...
www.nature.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:15 PM
For anyone interested in ancient diseases (either historical or prehistoric) here's an excellent, readable, comprehensive summary of where we are with ancient pathogen DNA.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Most popular cartoons will have been dubbed - so you don't have to know if it's available in Spanish. I'm just looking for recommendations of younger audience animated shows I might actually enjoy watching!
What are your favourite animated TV series aimed at kids between 5 - 9? *Your* favourite, not theirs.
I'm looking for shows I can watch that have been dubbed into Spanish. Dubbed cartoons are much better than dubbed live action and frankly, that's about the language level I'm at right now.
I'm looking for shows I can watch that have been dubbed into Spanish. Dubbed cartoons are much better than dubbed live action and frankly, that's about the language level I'm at right now.
November 19, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Most popular cartoons will have been dubbed - so you don't have to know if it's available in Spanish. I'm just looking for recommendations of younger audience animated shows I might actually enjoy watching!
Reposted by Alison Atkin
just learned we won an award for our blog post about Tom Holland and stormwater management.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
What Tom Holland’s historic lip-sync showcase taught us about stormwater management
Grab your umbrella and your tights.
neorsd.medium.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:22 AM
just learned we won an award for our blog post about Tom Holland and stormwater management.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
Reposted by Alison Atkin
Mechanic [sliding out from under Optimus Prime]: I think I see what the issue is. This truck is also a big guy somehow
November 18, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Mechanic [sliding out from under Optimus Prime]: I think I see what the issue is. This truck is also a big guy somehow
What are your favourite animated TV series aimed at kids between 5 - 9? *Your* favourite, not theirs.
I'm looking for shows I can watch that have been dubbed into Spanish. Dubbed cartoons are much better than dubbed live action and frankly, that's about the language level I'm at right now.
I'm looking for shows I can watch that have been dubbed into Spanish. Dubbed cartoons are much better than dubbed live action and frankly, that's about the language level I'm at right now.
November 19, 2025 at 8:09 AM
What are your favourite animated TV series aimed at kids between 5 - 9? *Your* favourite, not theirs.
I'm looking for shows I can watch that have been dubbed into Spanish. Dubbed cartoons are much better than dubbed live action and frankly, that's about the language level I'm at right now.
I'm looking for shows I can watch that have been dubbed into Spanish. Dubbed cartoons are much better than dubbed live action and frankly, that's about the language level I'm at right now.
Reposted by Alison Atkin
I've just put this year's @chalkdustmag.bsky.social puzzle Christmas cards on sale at ko-fi.com/mscroggs/shop.
Visit Matthew Scroggs's Shop!
I've opened a shop. Come take a look!
ko-fi.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:37 AM
I've just put this year's @chalkdustmag.bsky.social puzzle Christmas cards on sale at ko-fi.com/mscroggs/shop.
Reposted by Alison Atkin
In common with every camera-wielding lifeform in Glasgow, I have seen the Rebel Bear's latest piece.
November 17, 2025 at 5:32 PM
In common with every camera-wielding lifeform in Glasgow, I have seen the Rebel Bear's latest piece.
Reposted by Alison Atkin
The witch made him hot chocolate.
"They say I'm strong," he said. "And I am."
He took a sip.
"They say I can overcome any hardship."
"Mm," said the witch.
"And I can. I do."
The witch said nothing.
"But I shouldn't have to!"
"No."
The witch held the hero as he wept.
"No, you shouldn't."
"They say I'm strong," he said. "And I am."
He took a sip.
"They say I can overcome any hardship."
"Mm," said the witch.
"And I can. I do."
The witch said nothing.
"But I shouldn't have to!"
"No."
The witch held the hero as he wept.
"No, you shouldn't."
November 18, 2025 at 7:50 PM
The witch made him hot chocolate.
"They say I'm strong," he said. "And I am."
He took a sip.
"They say I can overcome any hardship."
"Mm," said the witch.
"And I can. I do."
The witch said nothing.
"But I shouldn't have to!"
"No."
The witch held the hero as he wept.
"No, you shouldn't."
"They say I'm strong," he said. "And I am."
He took a sip.
"They say I can overcome any hardship."
"Mm," said the witch.
"And I can. I do."
The witch said nothing.
"But I shouldn't have to!"
"No."
The witch held the hero as he wept.
"No, you shouldn't."
This is beautiful. It's poetry, but as an osteologist, your bones will only ever tell us a fraction of who you were - and your sex and gender will only ever be estimates, if studied. Even with the grave goods your loved ones leave with you, we'll only ever build a part of the picture of who you are.
I am often to be found caring for the unknown dead, who emerge, shattered, from their ancient and forgotten graves. Collecting them, burying them, praying them back to their rest. It makes me think, sometimes, of the transphobic refrain that in a thousand years our bones will somehow betray us.
November 18, 2025 at 4:49 PM
This is beautiful. It's poetry, but as an osteologist, your bones will only ever tell us a fraction of who you were - and your sex and gender will only ever be estimates, if studied. Even with the grave goods your loved ones leave with you, we'll only ever build a part of the picture of who you are.
Reposted by Alison Atkin
“We turn our hearts into museums of the people that we love to keep them alive inside us.”
November 18, 2025 at 4:17 PM
“We turn our hearts into museums of the people that we love to keep them alive inside us.”