McKinley Valentine
@mckinleaf.bsky.social
Writer/Researcher 🔶 ABC's Hard Quiz 🔶 The Whippet, a newsletter of science, history, language & weirdness: https://thewhippet.org 🔶 she/her
court reporters stop pretending to be psychic!!
you can't lift your chin "defiantly", it's just looking up, and "closing your eyes during a long meeting" means fucking nothing.
you might as well report on her skullshape, it's egregious to do this shit (esp during the actual trial, which they did)
you can't lift your chin "defiantly", it's just looking up, and "closing your eyes during a long meeting" means fucking nothing.
you might as well report on her skullshape, it's egregious to do this shit (esp during the actual trial, which they did)
September 8, 2025 at 8:05 AM
court reporters stop pretending to be psychic!!
you can't lift your chin "defiantly", it's just looking up, and "closing your eyes during a long meeting" means fucking nothing.
you might as well report on her skullshape, it's egregious to do this shit (esp during the actual trial, which they did)
you can't lift your chin "defiantly", it's just looking up, and "closing your eyes during a long meeting" means fucking nothing.
you might as well report on her skullshape, it's egregious to do this shit (esp during the actual trial, which they did)
ChatGPT was it a good idea to indiscriminately scrape training data from forums?
August 8, 2025 at 12:34 PM
ChatGPT was it a good idea to indiscriminately scrape training data from forums?
The caption 👌
[via The Met Museum open access image library]
[via The Met Museum open access image library]
July 3, 2025 at 7:12 AM
The caption 👌
[via The Met Museum open access image library]
[via The Met Museum open access image library]
Sort of expanding while remaining the same size
December 17, 2024 at 5:48 AM
Sort of expanding while remaining the same size
So sick of mainstream media; I get all my news from the Australia Post parcel tracker app
December 12, 2024 at 2:34 AM
So sick of mainstream media; I get all my news from the Australia Post parcel tracker app
December 6, 2024 at 4:13 AM
You're probably thinking of GK Chesterton. As far as I can tell, he was serious though, he thought tradition was important
December 3, 2024 at 9:21 PM
You're probably thinking of GK Chesterton. As far as I can tell, he was serious though, he thought tradition was important
It's from the Xanth books, I'm pretty sure! Xanth was a fantasy land in the shape of Florida, where everyone had magical Talents, and they called our world Mundania and non-magical people Mundanes.
First one published 1977
First one published 1977
December 3, 2024 at 10:04 AM
It's from the Xanth books, I'm pretty sure! Xanth was a fantasy land in the shape of Florida, where everyone had magical Talents, and they called our world Mundania and non-magical people Mundanes.
First one published 1977
First one published 1977
Introduce yourself with 4 records
November 21, 2024 at 7:26 AM
Introduce yourself with 4 records
It's the front cover! But zoomed out
November 21, 2024 at 7:06 AM
It's the front cover! But zoomed out
Do you have carpets? This (Context: they are more like robot brooms than robot vacuums, they are all pretty good at hardwood floors and all pretty useless at carpets)
Eg this is the highest rated one Choice and it is still shit at carpets. This cheap one is hardly any worse at hardwood floors
Eg this is the highest rated one Choice and it is still shit at carpets. This cheap one is hardly any worse at hardwood floors
November 19, 2024 at 2:34 AM
Do you have carpets? This (Context: they are more like robot brooms than robot vacuums, they are all pretty good at hardwood floors and all pretty useless at carpets)
Eg this is the highest rated one Choice and it is still shit at carpets. This cheap one is hardly any worse at hardwood floors
Eg this is the highest rated one Choice and it is still shit at carpets. This cheap one is hardly any worse at hardwood floors
I went to a bronze-making workshop on the weekend! I made this guy out of wax and he's going to get cast in bronze.
From a bunch of different creation stories: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_...
'My name is Heart Girt By a Serpent' // Kardia Periezosmenei Ophin #occultsky
From a bunch of different creation stories: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_...
'My name is Heart Girt By a Serpent' // Kardia Periezosmenei Ophin #occultsky
November 17, 2024 at 10:55 PM
I went to a bronze-making workshop on the weekend! I made this guy out of wax and he's going to get cast in bronze.
From a bunch of different creation stories: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_...
'My name is Heart Girt By a Serpent' // Kardia Periezosmenei Ophin #occultsky
From a bunch of different creation stories: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_...
'My name is Heart Girt By a Serpent' // Kardia Periezosmenei Ophin #occultsky
Tony Abbott! He was the Prime Minister at the time! And the onion still had the skin on!
Truly, an amazing moment.
Truly, an amazing moment.
November 17, 2024 at 9:46 AM
Tony Abbott! He was the Prime Minister at the time! And the onion still had the skin on!
Truly, an amazing moment.
Truly, an amazing moment.
Good piece from Ken White on the appointments (context: he's not saying "relax, it'll be fine", he's saying "the world will probably get much worse for a generation or more, but here's some cold comfort")
www.popehat.com/p/refuge-in-...
www.popehat.com/p/refuge-in-...
November 14, 2024 at 7:21 AM
Good piece from Ken White on the appointments (context: he's not saying "relax, it'll be fine", he's saying "the world will probably get much worse for a generation or more, but here's some cold comfort")
www.popehat.com/p/refuge-in-...
www.popehat.com/p/refuge-in-...
broken country obviously, but fucking kudos to the people waiting in line for 6+ hours to vote
November 6, 2024 at 1:42 AM
broken country obviously, but fucking kudos to the people waiting in line for 6+ hours to vote
This is a review of The Heptameron, a grimoire published in the 1400s.
The Heptameron's author was killed by the Inquisition on charges of heresy and atheism, so I guess the amount of Christianity in the text is an "agree to disagree" situation
#occultsky
The Heptameron's author was killed by the Inquisition on charges of heresy and atheism, so I guess the amount of Christianity in the text is an "agree to disagree" situation
#occultsky
![Amazon review, 2 stars: Though the methodology, when taken at face value, is fairly sound and, generally, informative, [highlight] I find it highly exhausting and, frankly, annoying that Christianity finds it necessary to implant itself and hijack a philosophy and mysticism that is not Christian whatsoever. I blame Jung, [end highlight] and I am not appreciative of it in the slightest bit. For those seeking an authentic truth and teaching in either alchemy or sages' mysticism - this is not it.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:7hzps55o3whekowcc24ctppl/bafkreiedbhnoyycq5xarfndu2qo72mqt4glawnrbtoj6l54pofpn4oyhli@jpeg)
November 2, 2024 at 11:24 AM
This is a review of The Heptameron, a grimoire published in the 1400s.
The Heptameron's author was killed by the Inquisition on charges of heresy and atheism, so I guess the amount of Christianity in the text is an "agree to disagree" situation
#occultsky
The Heptameron's author was killed by the Inquisition on charges of heresy and atheism, so I guess the amount of Christianity in the text is an "agree to disagree" situation
#occultsky
From a book on death anxiety, which the author thinks contemporary psychology tends to downplay as underlying cause for other psych issues.
I'm not cool about death now, but there were some helpful ideas in there
I'm not cool about death now, but there were some helpful ideas in there
October 22, 2024 at 3:27 AM
From a book on death anxiety, which the author thinks contemporary psychology tends to downplay as underlying cause for other psych issues.
I'm not cool about death now, but there were some helpful ideas in there
I'm not cool about death now, but there were some helpful ideas in there
From Per Amica Silentia Lunae ("through the friendly silences of the moon")
www.gutenberg.org/files/33338/...
www.gutenberg.org/files/33338/...
September 30, 2024 at 7:06 AM
From Per Amica Silentia Lunae ("through the friendly silences of the moon")
www.gutenberg.org/files/33338/...
www.gutenberg.org/files/33338/...
Every day I wake up, look at my open tabs, and try and figure out what the hell I was on about yesterday
September 26, 2024 at 11:16 PM
Every day I wake up, look at my open tabs, and try and figure out what the hell I was on about yesterday
THEY CAN'T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS
September 26, 2024 at 5:16 AM
THEY CAN'T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS
I feel pleased about this. It's a blatant promotional thing, and it has worked on me 👍
September 17, 2024 at 1:13 AM
I feel pleased about this. It's a blatant promotional thing, and it has worked on me 👍
Without downloading any new pics, where are you at mentally
August 23, 2024 at 10:59 AM
Without downloading any new pics, where are you at mentally
"clue" originally meant "a ball of string" (spelt clew)
since Theseus used a ball of string to find his way out of the Minotaur's labyrinth, "clue/clew" became a metaphor for "thing that helps you solve a puzzle" or "thing that points you in the right direction"
since Theseus used a ball of string to find his way out of the Minotaur's labyrinth, "clue/clew" became a metaphor for "thing that helps you solve a puzzle" or "thing that points you in the right direction"
August 22, 2024 at 9:34 AM
"clue" originally meant "a ball of string" (spelt clew)
since Theseus used a ball of string to find his way out of the Minotaur's labyrinth, "clue/clew" became a metaphor for "thing that helps you solve a puzzle" or "thing that points you in the right direction"
since Theseus used a ball of string to find his way out of the Minotaur's labyrinth, "clue/clew" became a metaphor for "thing that helps you solve a puzzle" or "thing that points you in the right direction"