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Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely)

@autisticalchemyst.bsky.social

440 followers 440 following 670 posts

I study the anthropology of magic, objects, and people. Moomins. Writing a book about making magical objects in Roman Egypt. I also write fantasy fiction and building a model of the Moomin House. Autistic. joelyblack.substack.com.

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Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Feb 21

The Bradbury #07: Impostor Syndrome open.substack.com/pub/amnar/p/...

This week's story plays with pronouns. One non-binary magical tech-head and a trans warrior must find their way out of danger as a totalitarian colonial power descends on their home. #fiction #skywriters

The Bradbury #07: Impostor Syndrome

A student has to find a way to use her skills to escape the onslaught of a colonising army.

open.substack.com

Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Jun 25

Exciting news! I got the final list of objects and papyri documents for the @thejohnrylands.bsky.social catalogue.
It's got three magical amulets showing the full progression of change from 150BCE to 500CE Egypt. I can now write about the whole transition. #AcademicSky #ClassicsSky

Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Jun 20

This is such a crime against humanity. Like listening to stuff on the bus out loud.

Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Jun 19

So I didn’t get the fellowship I applied for.

Haven’t managed to get any job (academic and not) I’ve applied for in 18 months of applying.

Feeling kind of dreadful. Please don’t do the getting a job in academia is hard. It’s bollocks awful everywhere. #AcademicSky

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Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Jun 17

I should be working on a book proposal, a catalogue essay, and a book chapter.

My brain can't stop planning a book that's all about the Moomin House. A whole book.

Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Jun 17

I'm starting to think the spectre of Marx doesn't want me reading Specters of Marx.

Or maybe it's another ghost. This week I've got a GP appointment to look at my dodgy foot (a real medical term). @lizgloyn.bsky.social @bigfridge224.bsky.social

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Reposted by Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely)

Gautam Bhatia @gautambhatia88.bsky.social · Jun 17

We are now 50% funded!

To get us through the next 50%:

www.kickstarter.com/projects/str...

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Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Jun 10

The Butlerian Jihad should embrace this kind of disruption. Fill the internet with terrible information for the bots to scrape and feed to other bots.

Reposted by Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely)

Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.bsky.social · Jun 10

We dont often in life get to work with actual real-world heroes. That happened for us yesterday when Jenna and 300 of her brave #NIH colleagues allowed us to stand up with them against the Trump regime's war on science and health in America.

TY Jenna & all #NIHheroes

#StandUpForScience
#SaveNIH

Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · Jun 10

Today, my NIH colleagues and I did something scary but really important. We spoke up about egregious harms we are seeing happen to research participants and public health through thoughtless and politicized policies at NIH. 🧵1/3

apnews.com/article/nih-...

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Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Jun 10

If I had money I would get one of these.

The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) @themerl.bsky.social · May 14

btw if you want merch with our own very big hög on it, here you go!

merl-shop.co.uk/shop/livesto...

a t-shirt containing a picture of a big hog that reads 'moisturised in my lane flourishing'

Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Jun 10

Maybe that was why Rafe seemed to think Indi was his mum.

Apparently rats think humans and cats are just very big and very daft rats. They are insanely smart and curious but males especially are often too big for cats to consider taking on as prey.

Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Jun 10

We had a cat and four rats at one point. When she first encountered them, Rufus was still a baby. He nipped her on the nose and it definitely set the tone. Rafe meanwhile thought she was a big fluffy bed to sleep in.

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Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Jun 10

This June is very weird for weather.

Also I’m not going to make it to today’s reading group I’m afraid. Been a bit of an intense few days and Derrida is just too much!

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Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Jun 10

Yeah that's accurate!

Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Jun 10

It's warm now here. The rain was hard enough to bring down a tree last night but now it's like wandering around in a bath.

Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Jun 10

I'll say this for Derrida. He's horrible to read but the horror did compel me to go out for a run.

So there's that. #AcademicSky #Hauntology

Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Jun 10

Yesterday I submitted the edits for my first academic article to Studia Scandinavica. Moomins ahoy!

Now I have finally opened the review, edit, and notes on my proposal for @edinburghup.bsky.social's editors. With deep apologies for my procrastination.

*Bows* #AcademicSky

Reposted by Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely)

Big Issue @bigissue.com · May 28

A History of the World in Six Plagues explores the myriad ways in which people people exerted their agency during the pandemic lockdown.

How lockdowns through history have led to revolt and misinformation

www.bigissue.com

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Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · May 28

My first academic article has been accepted for publication by Studia Scandinavica.

It’s about Moominmamma’s handbag.

Revisions due in three weeks. After @theconversation.com’s event last week I guess this makes me a Moominologist now. #academicsky

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Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · May 28

Yes that is absolutely factual and how we all live.

Presumably she doesn’t get 100 emails a day about referencing from students either.

Reposted by Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely)

Dr Ellie Mackin Roberts @elliemackinroberts.net · May 5

My not-hot take on the ‘why don’t UK universities aggressively pursue American academics cut adrift’ discussion is three-fold.
One: there are a lot of brilliant un- and under-employed academics here already.
Two: have you *seen* what’s happening in HE here?
Three: immigrating isn’t that easy.

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Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · May 1

It's been a minute, but here I am writing about Moominmamma's handbag for @theconversation.com:

theconversation.com/with-moominm...

With Moominmama, Tove Jansson created a hero who wields a handbag instead of a sword

Moominmama is resourceful, and shows it is possible to survive a long and arduous journey without a weapon, instead using her bag.

theconversation.com

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Reposted by Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely)

The Roman Society @theromansoc.bsky.social · Apr 23

'Archaeologists make breakthrough as life-size sculptures discovered in Pompeii tomb'

Breakthrough as life-size sculptures discovered in Pompeii tomb

New discoveries are overturning the assumptions that used to be made about a woman’s place in society, writes Emily Hauser

www.independent.co.uk

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Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Apr 23

Crabs out here fighting the good fight.

Katy Montgomerie 🦗 @katymontgomerie.com · Apr 22

This statement about the transphobic Supreme Court ruling by the UK's Crab Museum (yes a museum about crabs) is better than 99% of the statements I've seen on the topic

www.crabmuseum.org/visit

🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀

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Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Apr 20

@moudhy.bsky.social’s Between Two Rivers has me doing one of my favourite things: hunting museum online catalogues for stuff. Usually for me it’s papyri and terracottas. Now it’s cuneiform tablets. I want to LOOK AT THEM ALL.

Isabel “Izzy” Black (Joely) @autisticalchemyst.bsky.social · Apr 19

Thank you! I shall look out for that next.