Alex MacFarlane
@aghowes.bsky.social
1.5K followers 280 following 1.5K posts
Peripatetic postdoctoral scholar, researching the medieval Armenian Alexander Romance and 19th-century Caucasus cosmopolitanism. Films, trains, British. They/them.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
aghowes.bsky.social
god willing it's buy one get one free
aghowes.bsky.social
Actually made progress on an increasingly overdue article today! Maybe it is possible to do things!
Reposted by Alex MacFarlane
caioalmendra.bsky.social
Fun fact: Maria Colina Machado SUPPORTS Donald Trump sinking fishing boats off their coast.
logicallyjc.bsky.social
I like how they gave the Nobel Prize to someone fighting for democracy in Venezuela, instead of someone sinking fishing boats off their coast.
aghowes.bsky.social
I love to see an academic book with an actually nice cover
Reposted by Alex MacFarlane
elleisanisland.bsky.social
this cat looks like one of the Old Master painters who's just slept with three servants, argued viciously with his annoying patron about the inferior ham he receives, and then painted his masterpiece out of spite
Collection of paints, brushes and pots on an old table. In the corner a large very fluffy cat sprawls in decadence
Reposted by Alex MacFarlane
nikitagill.bsky.social
I am saying once again that the Conservative attack on the Arts is because they are incredibly envious of artists who they perceive as a group that has “too much” cultural power, a type of influence Conservatives crave but will never have because they’re anti-intellectuals with no imagination.
Reposted by Alex MacFarlane
garethwatkins.bsky.social
Imagine this happening in the UK and not having to sigh 'what do their parents do?' every time you hear about a new band. Wouldn't it be great to hear music from somebody who isn't directly related to the Lord Admiral Wythenshawe Bloodfeast MP, the Butcher of Bangalore?
aghowes.bsky.social
Or, benefits number go down. I'll be off benefits as soon as someone hires me! I'm lucky not to have mental health barriers to getting hired and I'm still struggling, so I feel that 'overdiagnosis' is, in many ways, not the reason a lot of Brits are unemployed right now.
aghowes.bsky.social
A lot of people do want to work and will be happier doing so (hi! it's me!) if they're doing something fulfilling or are earning enough to live otherwise fulfilling lives, but there's caring about that from a place of human compassion and then there's the government's number-go-up approach.
aghowes.bsky.social
There's a dearth of mental health support in this country and if Streeting could be trusted to improve it, I would support that, with the obvious caveats that ME/CFS is not a mental health condition and not everyone's ultimate goal is going to be getting back into work.
aghowes.bsky.social
The combination of wanting to kick people off sickness benefits claimed on the basis of mental health conditions (with the assertion they should get support for their conditions instead) AND wanting to investigate 'overdiagnosis' of mental health conditions is really chilling.
aghowes.bsky.social
I used to listen to a podcast that put out a bonus episode during a fundraiser, specifically for backers, of all the "umm" and "uh"s etc etc that they'd edited out of normal episodes
aghowes.bsky.social
my movie 3 of this month and what a great time
aghowes.bsky.social
truly no one could have foreseen this
aghowes.bsky.social
oh my god. I'm so glad you tried this for the community, but also, oh my god.
aghowes.bsky.social
"Truth is intersubjective, meaning that we need other people—their testimony, their experiences, their rationality—to be well informed. And chatbots are not people. They don’t have experience. They are not witness. They are fancy wordplay."
milesklee.bsky.social
This is the biggest, toughest article I’ve done about so-called “AI psychosis.” It’s the story of a man who committed a horrific crime in his youth but served his time and against all odds found love and a new life—one that completely unraveled after he started talking to Google’s Gemini chatbot.
He Grew Obsessed With an AI Chatbot. Then He Vanished in the Ozarks
Jon Ganz committed a terrible crime in his youth, but he survived prison, fell in love, and started over. His new life unraveled in a way nobody could have predicted.
www.rollingstone.com
Reposted by Alex MacFarlane
ultrabrilliant.xyz
The Japanese Mario 64 official strategy guide is an incredible thing. "Can we make little hand-made dioramas of all the levels?" "Sure, why the hell not."
A model of the first level from Mario 64. A model of a snowy level from Mario 64.
aghowes.bsky.social
Team Cherry please patch out the bugs that throw bells at me, I find them very unkind.
Reposted by Alex MacFarlane
cineblah.bsky.social
They want you to think the struggles are separate, indeed in opposition to one another, rather than an interconnected battle against hate and nihilism.
aghowes.bsky.social
one day I will get that High Halls enemy rush, one day
Reposted by Alex MacFarlane
miavee.bsky.social
TERFs are trying to bully a beloved London public swimming space into throwing out their longstanding traditions/policies in order to force trans people out of using the space.

Please consider voicing your support for inclusivity here hampstead-heath-bathing-ponds.commonplace.is/en-GB/propos...
Public Consultation on Hampstead Heath Bathing Ponds | Commonplace
hampstead-heath-bathing-ponds.commonplace.is