Christian Balanes
@ceebarnacles.bsky.social
By the sea or by the books.
Reposted by Christian Balanes
Nobody with a brain and a conscience should be using Musk’s X.
January 9, 2026 at 10:23 AM
Nobody with a brain and a conscience should be using Musk’s X.
Reposted by Christian Balanes
Walking to the library, to find an actual book, to find out things there was literally no other way to find out.
Without revealing your actual age,what's something you remember that if you told a younger person they wouldn't understand?
January 9, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Walking to the library, to find an actual book, to find out things there was literally no other way to find out.
Good people everywhere. 🧡Community with refugees.
‘It takes a town to raise a family’: the community sponsors supporting refugees in the UK
‘It takes a town to raise a family’: the community sponsors supporting refugees in the UK
Groups are coming together across the country to help refugee families settle and integrate into local life
www.theguardian.com
January 7, 2026 at 6:42 AM
Good people everywhere. 🧡Community with refugees.
Reposted by Christian Balanes
The extremely easy capture of tech leaders, platforms, and initiatives by fascists interested in shutting knowledge production down should force us to rethink digitization as a sufficient or secure strategy for maintaining access to knowledge.
This story reminds us that:
a) Not everything has been digitized
b) Not everything digitized is accessible to the public
Also: What's happening at NASA is part of a broader trend of library closures in government & industry. (Even university libraries are moving away from physical books & journals)
a) Not everything has been digitized
b) Not everything digitized is accessible to the public
Also: What's happening at NASA is part of a broader trend of library closures in government & industry. (Even university libraries are moving away from physical books & journals)
They're going to *throw out* one-of-a-kind NASA archives?!
Not even a year since the Inauguration & we're already at the 2nd-time-as-farce version of the burning of the Library of Alexandria.
Not even a year since the Inauguration & we're already at the 2nd-time-as-farce version of the burning of the Library of Alexandria.
January 6, 2026 at 9:06 PM
The extremely easy capture of tech leaders, platforms, and initiatives by fascists interested in shutting knowledge production down should force us to rethink digitization as a sufficient or secure strategy for maintaining access to knowledge.
Butthole Surfers are in #strangerthings !!!
🖤🕺
🖤🕺
January 4, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Butthole Surfers are in #strangerthings !!!
🖤🕺
🖤🕺
Reposted by Christian Balanes
For those keeping track at home, so far in 2026—in just 85 hours—members of the Trump administration have threatened to invade or annex or otherwise attack the following countries:
🇨🇺 Cuba
🇨🇴 Colombia
🇬🇱 Greenland
🇮🇷 Iran
🇨🇦 Canada
This derangement puts Kim Jong-un to shame.
🇨🇺 Cuba
🇨🇴 Colombia
🇬🇱 Greenland
🇮🇷 Iran
🇨🇦 Canada
This derangement puts Kim Jong-un to shame.
January 4, 2026 at 5:44 PM
For those keeping track at home, so far in 2026—in just 85 hours—members of the Trump administration have threatened to invade or annex or otherwise attack the following countries:
🇨🇺 Cuba
🇨🇴 Colombia
🇬🇱 Greenland
🇮🇷 Iran
🇨🇦 Canada
This derangement puts Kim Jong-un to shame.
🇨🇺 Cuba
🇨🇴 Colombia
🇬🇱 Greenland
🇮🇷 Iran
🇨🇦 Canada
This derangement puts Kim Jong-un to shame.
New Year’s Resolution. Aim true.
#againstallwars #againstallgovernments #againstalloppression #aimtrue
(Photograph of a poster pasted on a wall somewhere in Australia - is all I know)
#againstallwars #againstallgovernments #againstalloppression #aimtrue
(Photograph of a poster pasted on a wall somewhere in Australia - is all I know)
January 4, 2026 at 5:43 PM
New Year’s Resolution. Aim true.
#againstallwars #againstallgovernments #againstalloppression #aimtrue
(Photograph of a poster pasted on a wall somewhere in Australia - is all I know)
#againstallwars #againstallgovernments #againstalloppression #aimtrue
(Photograph of a poster pasted on a wall somewhere in Australia - is all I know)
Love Holbrook Jackson’s miscellanies on the love of books and the fear of books. The should be more widely read.
This quote is typical of his meditations. I think of my books part of my ‘cultural footprint’, but a ‘portrait’ is attractive and more romantic.
This quote is typical of his meditations. I think of my books part of my ‘cultural footprint’, but a ‘portrait’ is attractive and more romantic.
Andromeda Remembers Holbrook Jackson, British journalist, writer, and publisher, on his birthday.
andromeda-books.com
andromeda-mixed-media.shop
"Your library is your portrait."
andromeda-books.com
andromeda-mixed-media.shop
"Your library is your portrait."
January 4, 2026 at 3:52 PM
Love Holbrook Jackson’s miscellanies on the love of books and the fear of books. The should be more widely read.
This quote is typical of his meditations. I think of my books part of my ‘cultural footprint’, but a ‘portrait’ is attractive and more romantic.
This quote is typical of his meditations. I think of my books part of my ‘cultural footprint’, but a ‘portrait’ is attractive and more romantic.
Reposted by Christian Balanes
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says the US crossed an 'unacceptable line' following attacks on Venezuela and the capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro.
January 4, 2026 at 9:32 AM
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says the US crossed an 'unacceptable line' following attacks on Venezuela and the capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro.
Reposted by Christian Balanes
I mean his naked imperialism would have made the Victorians cringe with shame.
January 3, 2026 at 4:48 PM
I mean his naked imperialism would have made the Victorians cringe with shame.
Happy New War.
Who’d have guessed?
Who’d have guessed?
January 3, 2026 at 7:44 AM
Happy New War.
Who’d have guessed?
Who’d have guessed?
Reposted by Christian Balanes
Every single one of these rich fucks could have just fucked off to their private lairs and lived the rest of their lives in complete luxury. Instead, they have chosen to tear it all down - not because they weren't making enough coin, but because they want you to suffer.
www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...
www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...
Threat of California Billionaire Tax Draws Criticism From Ultrawealthy
Hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman is among the billionaires who have taken issue with the proposal’s idea of taxing the wealthy’s assets.
www.wsj.com
January 2, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Every single one of these rich fucks could have just fucked off to their private lairs and lived the rest of their lives in complete luxury. Instead, they have chosen to tear it all down - not because they weren't making enough coin, but because they want you to suffer.
www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...
www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...
As a youngster growing up where the Hawkins dynasty were located, I felt a responsibility to learn about the history and implications of these ‘adventurers’. Schooling was to the beat of Drake’s drum and *entirely* elided the brutalisation, excision, enslavement and trade of African people.
Right-wing grifters: 'slavery was only a marginal part of English history, stop making such a big deal out of it!'
John Hawkins in 1565 after his first slave voyage: add an enslaved African man to my coat of arms please. Stick him at the top. Make it really big and obvious. I love slavery.
John Hawkins in 1565 after his first slave voyage: add an enslaved African man to my coat of arms please. Stick him at the top. Make it really big and obvious. I love slavery.
January 2, 2026 at 8:19 AM
As a youngster growing up where the Hawkins dynasty were located, I felt a responsibility to learn about the history and implications of these ‘adventurers’. Schooling was to the beat of Drake’s drum and *entirely* elided the brutalisation, excision, enslavement and trade of African people.
Reposted by Christian Balanes
Right-wing grifters: 'slavery was only a marginal part of English history, stop making such a big deal out of it!'
John Hawkins in 1565 after his first slave voyage: add an enslaved African man to my coat of arms please. Stick him at the top. Make it really big and obvious. I love slavery.
John Hawkins in 1565 after his first slave voyage: add an enslaved African man to my coat of arms please. Stick him at the top. Make it really big and obvious. I love slavery.
January 2, 2026 at 8:04 AM
Right-wing grifters: 'slavery was only a marginal part of English history, stop making such a big deal out of it!'
John Hawkins in 1565 after his first slave voyage: add an enslaved African man to my coat of arms please. Stick him at the top. Make it really big and obvious. I love slavery.
John Hawkins in 1565 after his first slave voyage: add an enslaved African man to my coat of arms please. Stick him at the top. Make it really big and obvious. I love slavery.
Hilary Beckles has written convincingly about reparations in ‘Britain’s Black Debt’.
Along with ‘The Big Payback’ by Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder, these explorations, explanations, these *exhortations*, are essential for anyone seeking an understanding of Britain and its global footprint.
Along with ‘The Big Payback’ by Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder, these explorations, explanations, these *exhortations*, are essential for anyone seeking an understanding of Britain and its global footprint.
December 31, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Hilary Beckles has written convincingly about reparations in ‘Britain’s Black Debt’.
Along with ‘The Big Payback’ by Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder, these explorations, explanations, these *exhortations*, are essential for anyone seeking an understanding of Britain and its global footprint.
Along with ‘The Big Payback’ by Lenny Henry and Marcus Ryder, these explorations, explanations, these *exhortations*, are essential for anyone seeking an understanding of Britain and its global footprint.
The British are so far behind the curve.
There must be atonement for the crime of enslavement for reconciliation between victimised peoples and the beneficiaries of enrichment. It is a necessary precondition for mending the mind of a common humanity.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
There must be atonement for the crime of enslavement for reconciliation between victimised peoples and the beneficiaries of enrichment. It is a necessary precondition for mending the mind of a common humanity.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
In 2025 reparations became central to UK ties with the Caribbean and Africa – so how do we move forward? | Kenneth Mohammed
This year was a pivotal one, in which the issue of restorative justice began to frame the UK’s post-imperial relationship with the global south
www.theguardian.com
December 31, 2025 at 7:47 AM
The British are so far behind the curve.
There must be atonement for the crime of enslavement for reconciliation between victimised peoples and the beneficiaries of enrichment. It is a necessary precondition for mending the mind of a common humanity.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
There must be atonement for the crime of enslavement for reconciliation between victimised peoples and the beneficiaries of enrichment. It is a necessary precondition for mending the mind of a common humanity.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Reposted by Christian Balanes
if you would like to read about early modern hammocks, it's publication day for the article the brilliant @marcynorton.bsky.social and I wrote about them! (open access)
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Towards a history of the hammock: An Indigenous technology in the Atlantic world - postmedieval
When Europeans arrived in the Western Hemisphere beginning in the fifteenth century, they learned that Indigenous groups across the Caribbean and South America valued few technologies as much as the h...
link.springer.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:58 PM
if you would like to read about early modern hammocks, it's publication day for the article the brilliant @marcynorton.bsky.social and I wrote about them! (open access)
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Back in my home port, fleetingly, so to speak. Nowhere else in the world makes me feel time, place, emotion, *so* keenly. I am very lucky to have such a solid touchstone in my life. It looks out to sea and like the world itself, I strongly believe it belongs to all of us.
#belonging #sharetheworld
#belonging #sharetheworld
December 30, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Back in my home port, fleetingly, so to speak. Nowhere else in the world makes me feel time, place, emotion, *so* keenly. I am very lucky to have such a solid touchstone in my life. It looks out to sea and like the world itself, I strongly believe it belongs to all of us.
#belonging #sharetheworld
#belonging #sharetheworld
“These people, and their bleak and ridiculous ideas, need to be defeated. The year ahead will see if we are pulled further into this vortex of absurdity, endless ‘restoration’, hyper-nostalgia and deranged Christian Populism in the desperate search for a mythical past, or attempt to step forward.”
There’s a new wave of hyper-nostalgia for a mythical ‘Britain’ that needs addressing, because it’s based on a number of false, and often rotten assumptions, as the state decomposes in itself and its adherents become hysterical in rancid bigotry.
Endless Restoration and the Soviet Clasp of Blairism
There’s a new wave of hyper-nostalgia for a mythical ‘Britain’ that needs addressing, because it’s based on a number of false, and often rotten assumptions, as the state dec…
bellacaledonia.org.uk
December 30, 2025 at 8:03 AM
“These people, and their bleak and ridiculous ideas, need to be defeated. The year ahead will see if we are pulled further into this vortex of absurdity, endless ‘restoration’, hyper-nostalgia and deranged Christian Populism in the desperate search for a mythical past, or attempt to step forward.”
Reposted by Christian Balanes
The life of Frederic Madden, in his words, 200 years after the events described. Transcribed from his journal by students @ies-sas.bsky.social. Released daily in 2026.👇
madden1826.com
madden1826.com
Madden1826
Frederic Madden's Journal, 1826
madden1826.com
December 29, 2025 at 1:29 PM
The life of Frederic Madden, in his words, 200 years after the events described. Transcribed from his journal by students @ies-sas.bsky.social. Released daily in 2026.👇
madden1826.com
madden1826.com
Reposted by Christian Balanes
The slightest hint of racial justice sends these people into a tizzy.
New archbishop urged to scrap £100m fund over slavery links www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
New archbishop urged to scrap £100m fund over slavery links www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
New archbishop urged to scrap £100m fund over slavery links
A group of MPs and peers claims the funds can only legally be spent on churches and payment of clergy wages.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 28, 2025 at 12:21 PM
The slightest hint of racial justice sends these people into a tizzy.
New archbishop urged to scrap £100m fund over slavery links www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
New archbishop urged to scrap £100m fund over slavery links www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Christian Balanes
When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.
Seems like it's worth posting this one again.
Why Do Historians Still Have To Go To Archives?
Why do historians go to archives? Hasn’t everything already been digitized?
contingentmagazine.org
December 22, 2025 at 1:40 AM
When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.
Reposted by Christian Balanes
