Author | Lightnews

Kay Beecraft

@kaybeecraft.bsky.social

1.5K followers 410 following 1.2K posts

Writer of historical romance & fantasy. Current: edits of Guenevere & Arthur retelling. Also: medieval illuminations, historical costumer, Romano-Briton archeology, fashion and textile history. 🍉😷

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Reposted by Kay Beecraft

Durotriges Dig @durotrigesdig.bsky.social · 11d

Folklore has linked Cadbury Castle #Somerset to King Arthur for centuries

The ostensibly sober #OrdnanceSurvey once got in on this with an overtly definitive identification of the hillfort as 'Camelot'

So it must be true

(Please note, other Camelots are available)

#HillfortsWednesday

Inked line drawing of an Iron Age hillfort with contours, haschures and Gothic text

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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 12d

Omfg 😭💀

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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 14d

I know amongst the chaos of *gestures broadly* this may get lost. But, my heart is beyond shattered. Saleh was a vibrant, unyielding flame. Just yesterday I was liking his posts about the ceasefire and watching him play with his cat. May his joyful spirit continue to embolden us all.

Wear The Peace @wearthepeace.bsky.social · 14d

The beloved Saleh Al-Jafarawi has been murdered. We are absolutely devastated. For 2 years he reported on the genocide of his people, just for him to be murdered during the ‘ceasefire’

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Reposted by Kay Beecraft

MsBatsngoths 🦇🎃👻 @msbtterswrth.altgov.info · 15d

Hot off the presses! If you need a bigger size to print your stickers let me know!

The Portland frog as a founding father, surround by the words "give me ribberty or give me death"

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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 19d

Yes! I was watching her rise and had to turn my eyes away because it started to feel like looking at the sun. 😅

Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 25d

😭😭😭

Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 25d

Desperately need this album!!

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Reposted by Kay Beecraft

Mayor of Halloween Town @joshuajfriedman.com · 25d

One of my favorite anecdotes from THE PREHISTORY OF THE FAR SIDE: "That doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know."

A few days after this cartoon was published, my syndicate received a very indignant letter from someone representing the Jane Goodall Institute.
Not only did my syndicate and I both get read the Riot Act, there was a vague implication that litigation over this cartoon might be around the corner.
I was horrified. Not so much from a fear of being sued (I just couldn't see how this cartoon could be construed as anything but silly, but because of my deep respect for Jane Goodall and her well-known contributions to pri-matology. The last thing in the world I would have intentionally done was offend Dr. Goodall in any way.
Before I had a chance to write my apology, another complication arose.
The National Geographic Society contacted my syndicate and expressed a

desire to reprint the cartoon in a special centennial issue of their magazine. My editor, aware of what had just occurred, declined, explaining why.
Apparently, whoever it was that sent the inquiry from National Geographic was shocked. They told my editor that "that doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know." They did some checking themselves, and an interesting fact was eventually discovered: Jane Goodall loved the cartoon. Furthermore, she was totally unaware that any of this "stuff" was going on. Some phone calls were made, and the cartoon was not only reprinted in the centennial issue of National Geographic, but was also used by her Institute on a T-shirt for fund-raising purposes.
I've since had an opportunity to visit Dr. Goodall at her research facility in Gombe. It's a wonderful place (sort of like right out of National Geographic).
"To refer to Dr. Goodall as a tramp is inexcusable even by a self-described 'loony' as Larson. The cartoon was incredibly offensive and in such poor taste that readers might well question the editorial judgment of running such an atrocity in a newspaper that reputes to be supplying news to persons with a better than average intelligence. The cartoon and its message were absolutely stupid." —Excerpt from the above-mentioned letter that started the ruckus

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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 25d

Mohamad grows the prettiest plants. 🖤

Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 29d

A most magical time of year: ghost season in York! ✨

(Also, a slight cheating nod to #RomanSiteSaturday with a quick peek of the Eboracum fortress walls. 👀)

A ghostly wire figure depicting a woman in a dress playing a violin standing in the lush garden of the Yorkshire Museum with a bit of stone wall peeking out from the trees behind her.

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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · 29d

Literally. As an American living in the UK, I have to constantly show a rotation of IDs/proof of legality for ANYTHING.

Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · Sep 20

It is so incredibly evil!

Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · Sep 20

Yay!

Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · Sep 20

Going to bump this search with some #RomanSiteSaturday eye candy: the stunning stonework at Vindolanda Roman fort in Northumberland, in use from the 1st-4th c. AD. The fort is associated with Hadrian's wall and may very well have served as a an oversight hub during the wall's construction.

📸: me

Set against a moody backdrop of grey, rain-laden clouds and emerald quilted hills, the stonework remains of a Roman fort nestle into the sodden clay and grass.

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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · Sep 19

😌💅

Reposted by Kay Beecraft

Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · Sep 18

Whatever you do, please don’t stop reading.

Read for joy. Read for education. Read for resistance. Read banned books. Read books by marginalized authors. Read about experiences that differ from your own.

Just. Keep. Reading.

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Reposted by Kay Beecraft

Ordinary Notes @hystericalblkns.bsky.social · Sep 17

If you’re on academia dot edu, let me suggest that you strongly consider deleting your account.

The new TOC from academia dot edu.

By creating an Account with Academia.edu, you grant us a worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable license, permission, and consent for Academia.edu to use your Member Content and your personal information (including, but not limited to, your name, voice, signature, photograph, likeness, city, institutional affiliations, citations, mentions, publications, and areas of interest) in any manner, including for the purpose of advertising, selling, or soliciting the use or purchase of Academia.edu's Services.

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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · Sep 17

Agreed! It's pretty shortsighted on her part. And if Finland is as intense about visas as people are saying, it will be intense for pet process, too! I had months of planning to get through because USDA has regulations and then EU countries have different regs. Not a fly-by-night scenario at all!

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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · Sep 17

Having moved a dog internationally, I can confirm that it is super complex and takes a lot of planning and money. 😩

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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · Sep 16

Truly an ongoing slog being an American in the UK. 🥴

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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · Sep 15

Hey, UK #Roman and #RomanoBriton friends. Does anyone know anything about the Yorkshire jet trade during the 2nd-5th c. AD? Or know of any resources that might be worth checking? I'm struggling to find anything more beyond our amazing extent jewelry discoveries. Thank you!

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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · Aug 31

Tbh you make everything look good 😘

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Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · Aug 31

Caught @merchantshallyork.org wearing a puffball hat this afternoon.

A view from the gardens of the brick and sandstone chapel of the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, sitting against a bright blue sky with a wee puff cloud centered directly atop the roof point.

Kay Beecraft @kaybeecraft.bsky.social · Aug 29

When I say I want Yorkshire jet, this is what I mean. 😍😭

Brittunculus @brittunculus.bsky.social · Aug 29

📷 @ipswichmuseums.bsky.social ums & @colmuseums.bsky.social.

There's an interesting paper on these pendants at Research Gate:

www.researchgate.net/publication/...

(PDF) Staring at death:: the jet gorgoneia of Roman Britain

PDF | On Jul 31, 2016, Adam Parker published Staring at death:: the jet gorgoneia of Roman Britain | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

www.researchgate.net

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Reposted by Kay Beecraft

Meade Krosby @meadekrosby.bsky.social · Aug 27

Me: this is great, glad to see authors ripped off by AI getting their due.

Me after using the search tool: I am one of these ripped off authors.

Academics, it only takes a minute. Seven of my papers are in this and I had no idea.

Alex de Campi @alexdecampi.bsky.social · Aug 27

There are tons of graphic novels, academic papers, film and TV scripts, & prose novels/nonfiction on the LibGen list Anthropic used.

As settlement approaches, make it easy for the class action lawyers to contact you! Here’s how

Part 1: is your work in Libgen?

www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI

Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.

www.theatlantic.com

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