Ash on a Star✨️
@ashonastar.bsky.social
阿修是星辰的灰烬✨️just ashes from stars✨️
i write and study and sometimes even draw
i like linguistics, ancient history,
and writing about little crabs & birbs🦀🦢🌈✨️
lets yap at 3am about medieval astronomy & medicine
(eng/рус/日本語/汉语)
i write and study and sometimes even draw
i like linguistics, ancient history,
and writing about little crabs & birbs🦀🦢🌈✨️
lets yap at 3am about medieval astronomy & medicine
(eng/рус/日本語/汉语)
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
statistically a lot of you won’t know about ocellated turkeys, so, here you go
November 28, 2025 at 1:09 AM
statistically a lot of you won’t know about ocellated turkeys, so, here you go
I can always tell when something sus and bad is going on because my tiktok algorithm suddenly becomes 100% dog videos or musicians or cosplay/fanart videos, and like 6-12month old memes... so then I immediately check biski to see what new war crime is happening
November 29, 2025 at 7:40 PM
I can always tell when something sus and bad is going on because my tiktok algorithm suddenly becomes 100% dog videos or musicians or cosplay/fanart videos, and like 6-12month old memes... so then I immediately check biski to see what new war crime is happening
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
Northwestern’s leaders will likely try to justify their choice to appease fascist extortion with some BS about needing to help researchers get federal funds that were illegally withheld, so it’s important to note that virtually all of the researchers said not to.
So apparently the administrators at Northwestern have caved to the extortionist demands of the Feds. Faculty voted 595-4 AGAINST this measure.
November 29, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Northwestern’s leaders will likely try to justify their choice to appease fascist extortion with some BS about needing to help researchers get federal funds that were illegally withheld, so it’s important to note that virtually all of the researchers said not to.
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
I am SO EXCITED to share this Fifth Saturday extra: @annleckie.com and @byzantienne.bsky.social in conversation about questions of empire and imperialism in their respective novels.
Read it now: www.speculativeinsight.com/extras/leckie-and-martine
Read it now: www.speculativeinsight.com/extras/leckie-and-martine
Ann Leckie and Arkady Martine: in conversation — Speculative Insight
Ann Leckie and Arkady Martine have both written novels that focus on empires, imperialism, and colonialism, and how people react to and work within those structures. I asked them to chat with me, a...
www.speculativeinsight.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:47 PM
I am SO EXCITED to share this Fifth Saturday extra: @annleckie.com and @byzantienne.bsky.social in conversation about questions of empire and imperialism in their respective novels.
Read it now: www.speculativeinsight.com/extras/leckie-and-martine
Read it now: www.speculativeinsight.com/extras/leckie-and-martine
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
Communities need used-book shops.
As the trends in our world are increasingly standardized and entrenched by "predictive" technologies that stifle innovation and reduce human actions into economic categories...
We need a full range of possibilities for readers and communities to explore and share.
As the trends in our world are increasingly standardized and entrenched by "predictive" technologies that stifle innovation and reduce human actions into economic categories...
We need a full range of possibilities for readers and communities to explore and share.
November 27, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Communities need used-book shops.
As the trends in our world are increasingly standardized and entrenched by "predictive" technologies that stifle innovation and reduce human actions into economic categories...
We need a full range of possibilities for readers and communities to explore and share.
As the trends in our world are increasingly standardized and entrenched by "predictive" technologies that stifle innovation and reduce human actions into economic categories...
We need a full range of possibilities for readers and communities to explore and share.
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
Little Egret
#ArtDD2025 #dailydrawing well that's the goal
A lovely recent early morning encounter #egret @everyheron.bsky.social
#watercolour #bird
@drrjwarren.bsky.social @andykaitken.bsky.social @holnicotenh.bsky.social @stevecobbin.bsky.social
#ArtDD2025 #dailydrawing well that's the goal
A lovely recent early morning encounter #egret @everyheron.bsky.social
#watercolour #bird
@drrjwarren.bsky.social @andykaitken.bsky.social @holnicotenh.bsky.social @stevecobbin.bsky.social
November 27, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Little Egret
#ArtDD2025 #dailydrawing well that's the goal
A lovely recent early morning encounter #egret @everyheron.bsky.social
#watercolour #bird
@drrjwarren.bsky.social @andykaitken.bsky.social @holnicotenh.bsky.social @stevecobbin.bsky.social
#ArtDD2025 #dailydrawing well that's the goal
A lovely recent early morning encounter #egret @everyheron.bsky.social
#watercolour #bird
@drrjwarren.bsky.social @andykaitken.bsky.social @holnicotenh.bsky.social @stevecobbin.bsky.social
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
The wonderful @adapalmer.bsky.social does a podcast on lessons from history for resisting authoritarianism, tryranny and censorship. For my Canadian fellow citizens, think Doug Ford and Danielle Smith. Every act of resistance matters.
www.wmnf.org/rethinking-t...
www.wmnf.org/rethinking-t...
Rethinking the Renaissance: Ada Palmer on Myths, Power, and the Future We’re Fighting For
Uncover the reality of the renaissance through conversations with Ada Palmer. What does it reveal about our current struggles?
www.wmnf.org
November 26, 2025 at 10:23 PM
The wonderful @adapalmer.bsky.social does a podcast on lessons from history for resisting authoritarianism, tryranny and censorship. For my Canadian fellow citizens, think Doug Ford and Danielle Smith. Every act of resistance matters.
www.wmnf.org/rethinking-t...
www.wmnf.org/rethinking-t...
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
help me i cant stop taking videos of pelicans in flight just to track their heads. 🪶
November 26, 2025 at 11:08 AM
help me i cant stop taking videos of pelicans in flight just to track their heads. 🪶
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
Hey, if you used to have Harry Potter soundtrack music on your holiday playlist because it fits that vibe so well, but now it makes you feel mighty icky, might I suggest grabbing some tracks from Williams' similar soundtrack for HOOK, especially "The Never-Feast"?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W7Y...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W7Y...
The Never-Feast
YouTube video by John Williams - Topic
www.youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Hey, if you used to have Harry Potter soundtrack music on your holiday playlist because it fits that vibe so well, but now it makes you feel mighty icky, might I suggest grabbing some tracks from Williams' similar soundtrack for HOOK, especially "The Never-Feast"?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W7Y...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W7Y...
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
This very good rabbit (drawn by Ursula) is the first thing you see when you crack open A Larger Reality, the book created by Winter texts to accompany the exhibition of the same name.
(There are many very good Ursula drawings inside.)
www.wintertexts.com/catalog/p/a-...
(There are many very good Ursula drawings inside.)
www.wintertexts.com/catalog/p/a-...
November 25, 2025 at 10:32 PM
This very good rabbit (drawn by Ursula) is the first thing you see when you crack open A Larger Reality, the book created by Winter texts to accompany the exhibition of the same name.
(There are many very good Ursula drawings inside.)
www.wintertexts.com/catalog/p/a-...
(There are many very good Ursula drawings inside.)
www.wintertexts.com/catalog/p/a-...
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
In 1924, Calvin Coolidge's 16-yr-old son played tennis on the White House grounds w/o wearing socks. He got a blister and was dead from infection a week later.
This is unthinkable today—which is why I wrote this series. Cuz the systems that save us from this kind of fate are in urgent need of care.
This is unthinkable today—which is why I wrote this series. Cuz the systems that save us from this kind of fate are in urgent need of care.
For a yr, I've been working on a series for The New Atlantis about the vast systems that underlie our lives. Our ancestors built them up over decades to fend off hunger, thirst, darkness and disease. But too few of us know about them—and they're all at risk. The conclusion is now available online:
Why We Are Better Off Than a Century Ago
Our ancestors built grand public systems to conquer hunger, thirst, darkness, and squalor. That progress can be lost if we forget it.
www.thenewatlantis.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:03 PM
In 1924, Calvin Coolidge's 16-yr-old son played tennis on the White House grounds w/o wearing socks. He got a blister and was dead from infection a week later.
This is unthinkable today—which is why I wrote this series. Cuz the systems that save us from this kind of fate are in urgent need of care.
This is unthinkable today—which is why I wrote this series. Cuz the systems that save us from this kind of fate are in urgent need of care.
It's interesting that Scouting America is "no longer a meritocracy" because they don't exclude girls and trans kids. It's very interesting that this is his definition of meritocracy.
Documents show the U.S. military is planning to sever all ties with the organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts n.pr/3M48mr2
U.S. ready to cut support to Scouts, accusing them of attacking 'boy-friendly spaces'
Documents show the U.S. Military is planning to sever all ties with the organization formally known as the Boy Scouts
n.pr
November 25, 2025 at 7:46 PM
It's interesting that Scouting America is "no longer a meritocracy" because they don't exclude girls and trans kids. It's very interesting that this is his definition of meritocracy.
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
Well this 2,600-year-old clay letter was a journey.
It comes from the archive of a goldsmith named Nabû-zeru-iddin in the heart of ancient Assyria. We’ve got someone left on read, a lawsuit, a mean step-mom, and people who get drunk and steal silver.
It comes from the archive of a goldsmith named Nabû-zeru-iddin in the heart of ancient Assyria. We’ve got someone left on read, a lawsuit, a mean step-mom, and people who get drunk and steal silver.
November 21, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Well this 2,600-year-old clay letter was a journey.
It comes from the archive of a goldsmith named Nabû-zeru-iddin in the heart of ancient Assyria. We’ve got someone left on read, a lawsuit, a mean step-mom, and people who get drunk and steal silver.
It comes from the archive of a goldsmith named Nabû-zeru-iddin in the heart of ancient Assyria. We’ve got someone left on read, a lawsuit, a mean step-mom, and people who get drunk and steal silver.
the bluesky icon being embossed now doesn't bother me, it's the flat blue they used that bothers me....give me back my cute gradient wtf
November 24, 2025 at 9:10 PM
the bluesky icon being embossed now doesn't bother me, it's the flat blue they used that bothers me....give me back my cute gradient wtf
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
Properly designed bike infrastructure doubles as an emergency access lane, allowing first responders to bypass gridlocked car traffic.
This completely nullifies the argument that bike lanes are a safety risk for response times. But it only works if you build them wide enough to be functional.
This completely nullifies the argument that bike lanes are a safety risk for response times. But it only works if you build them wide enough to be functional.
Nouvelle vidéo de véhicules d'urgences sur les pistes cyclables, avec que des véhicules en mouvement (la précédente version en montrait en stationnement)
November 21, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Properly designed bike infrastructure doubles as an emergency access lane, allowing first responders to bypass gridlocked car traffic.
This completely nullifies the argument that bike lanes are a safety risk for response times. But it only works if you build them wide enough to be functional.
This completely nullifies the argument that bike lanes are a safety risk for response times. But it only works if you build them wide enough to be functional.
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
#Booksky Local library fan? You can request our books at your local library, including the forthcoming real soon now THE COMPLETE ASTREIANT and the just released RUNNING DRY! Print on Ingram, ebooks and audio on Libby - www.overdrive.com/search?q=qos...
November 21, 2025 at 8:50 PM
#Booksky Local library fan? You can request our books at your local library, including the forthcoming real soon now THE COMPLETE ASTREIANT and the just released RUNNING DRY! Print on Ingram, ebooks and audio on Libby - www.overdrive.com/search?q=qos...
the loud ass raucous "HA" i just let out at work 😹
November 21, 2025 at 8:46 PM
the loud ass raucous "HA" i just let out at work 😹
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
6. Bare-throated Tiger Heron
November 16, 2025 at 6:22 PM
6. Bare-throated Tiger Heron
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
100. Resplendant Quetzal
This one is a female, hence the lack if the iconic red chest and long tail.
This one is a female, hence the lack if the iconic red chest and long tail.
November 21, 2025 at 11:22 AM
100. Resplendant Quetzal
This one is a female, hence the lack if the iconic red chest and long tail.
This one is a female, hence the lack if the iconic red chest and long tail.
TW: NYT lol
But the caption saying "to challenge scientific orthodoxy" betrays a deep lack of understanding of how science works or even what science is... /scientists/ challenge science at all times, that's how the whole thing works. That's how modern science and the scientific method works...
But the caption saying "to challenge scientific orthodoxy" betrays a deep lack of understanding of how science works or even what science is... /scientists/ challenge science at all times, that's how the whole thing works. That's how modern science and the scientific method works...
Breaking News: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he personally instructed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism. The move underscores his determination to challenge scientific orthodoxy — in this case, that vaccines save lives — and bend the health department to his will.
RFK Jr. Says He Instructed CDC to Change Vaccines and Autism Language on Website
In an interview, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited gaps in vaccine safety research. His critics say he is ignoring a larger point: Vaccines save lives.
nyti.ms
November 21, 2025 at 8:21 PM
TW: NYT lol
But the caption saying "to challenge scientific orthodoxy" betrays a deep lack of understanding of how science works or even what science is... /scientists/ challenge science at all times, that's how the whole thing works. That's how modern science and the scientific method works...
But the caption saying "to challenge scientific orthodoxy" betrays a deep lack of understanding of how science works or even what science is... /scientists/ challenge science at all times, that's how the whole thing works. That's how modern science and the scientific method works...
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
Have you ever seen the granulate shellback crab? Unlike hermit crabs—which hide inside their chosen shells—this unusual-looking crustacean uses its posterior legs to hold a shell onto its back, protecting it from foes.
Photo: Austin Smith, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist
Photo: Austin Smith, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist
November 20, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Have you ever seen the granulate shellback crab? Unlike hermit crabs—which hide inside their chosen shells—this unusual-looking crustacean uses its posterior legs to hold a shell onto its back, protecting it from foes.
Photo: Austin Smith, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist
Photo: Austin Smith, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist
Reposted by Ash on a Star✨️
Ghost flowers (Monotropa uniflora) rise from the forest floor like pale seahorses. They lack leaves, roots and chlorophyll because rather than manufacturing food from sunlight, they steal it from an underground fungus.
July 6, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Ghost flowers (Monotropa uniflora) rise from the forest floor like pale seahorses. They lack leaves, roots and chlorophyll because rather than manufacturing food from sunlight, they steal it from an underground fungus.