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Reposted by James Elder

Standplaats Kraków @standplaatskrk.pl · 5d

A woodcut style ink drawing of a Tardigrade: "Just because I can survive harsh conditions doesn't mean I should have to."

(If anyone knows the artist, I'd love to make (a version) of this available for sale and can only find tumblr replies via tineye.)

James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 16h

Good shout.

Olivia Rodrigo introduced Robert Smith (who was joining her for duets during her Glastonbury set) as “perhaps the best songwriter to come out of England” and a case can certainly be made for that.

Reposted by James Elder

Alexandra Meakin @ameakin.bsky.social · 17h

Yep, but it's a brilliant way to show how the building was absolutely not designed as a legislature! And @satisfactory20.bsky.social's insights are always worth sharing 🙌

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 17h

Mari explained that in the mid 19th century it was assumed that members and peers didn’t need offices - when not in the chamber, they would likely be working/meeting/networking/relaxing in their Club.

I think @seththevoz.bsky.social has written on that.

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 17h

Makes me wonder: has there been a good film or TV drama about Reconstruction.

There's so much good material there - and I do recommend the PBS/Henry Louis Gates documentary series 'Reconstruction: America After the Civil War' (especially as a useful counterpart to Ken Burns' The Civil War).

James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 17h

I recently read 'Race and Reunion' by David Blight, about how the US remembered the Civil War and slavery in the 50 years after.

The main theme is that white America largely excised slavery from memory.

The book concludes with the release of 'Birth of a Nation' (based on the book The Klansman).

DiscussingFilm @discussingfilm.net · 1d

Ubisoft canceled an ‘ASSASSINS CREED’ game set in the post-Civil War era

• Featured a Black Assassin who was formerly a slave

• Players would fight the emerging KKK

• Leadership canceled it after concerns with U.S. political climate & Yasuke backlash

(Source: www.gamefile.news/p/scoop-ubis...)

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 17h

@ameakin.bsky.social I expect you knew this!

James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 17h

TIL from a talk at @gladlib.bsky.social by @satisfactory20.bsky.social that almost all MPs' and Peers' offices in the Palace of Westminster weren't designed as such by Charles Barry.

They were originally living quarters for the large residential staff of maids, cooks etc.

Only converted later.

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 17h

TIL from a talk at @gladlib.bsky.social by @satisfactory20.bsky.social that almost all MPs' and Peers' offices in the Palace of Westminster weren't designed as such by Charles Barry.

They were originally living quarters for the large residential staff of maids, cooks etc.

Only converted later.

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 1d

Archives folk: is anyone involved in this Wikidata project? It certainly seems like a good idea.

Wikidata:WikiProject Archival Description - Wikidata

www.wikidata.org

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 1d

Maybe, but I think there is also the factor that universities take their duty of care more seriously.

Maybe that only matters in halls of residence and Oxbridge colleges, but I have noticed the difference going back to College dinners.

Drinking games etc have gone completely.

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 1d

It is going to be fascinating to see if the Gen Z relationship with alcohol (which aligns more with my own) sticks around as a cohort effect - and indeed if there’s a reversion to mean in the next generation.

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 1d

“Does Magna Carta mean nothing to you?
Did she die in vain?”

Tony Hancock in the “Twelve Angry Men” episode of “Hancock’s Half Hour”.

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 1d

Hot takes from 1973:

Faust IV is a good album.

James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 1d

Yes! This is one reason it has caught my attention again lately.

James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 1d

My not very original contribution to the latest degrees discourse.

Heritage is estimated to have contributed £44.9 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK economy in 2022.

The UK will continue to need qualified professionals to work in that sector for the foreseeable future.

The Economic Value of the Heritage Sector | Heritage Counts | Historic England

England's heritage is an important source of economic prosperity and growth.

historicengland.org.uk

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 1d

Question:

Why does the Guardian get multiple people to review the same thing? Most recently I have seen two lengthy reviews of the new Aimee Lou Wood romcom Film Club (which looks good to be fair); one by Rachel Aroesti and one by Lucy Mangan.

Wouldn’t it be better to cover more ground?

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 1d

A PMQs exchange which for some reason has always stuck in my memory was Thatcher in about 1989/90 (in my memory it's on camera which narrows the date) calling Labour 'crypto-Communist'.

Kinnock, understandably, responded by calling the Conservatives 'crypto-Fascist'.

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 2d

Carried out my first successful Wikidata query.

Let joy be unconfined.

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 2d

I’ve always thought that Rhianna treads a thoughtful, careful line in regard to her father’s legacy and reputation.

Rhianna Pratchett @rhi.bsky.social · 2d

Dad’s books are full of empathy, common sense, and a healthy suspicion of the powerful. But at its heart his work is also about how systems keep people poor while pretending it’s their own fault. So I hope Kemi’s taking notes as well as reading the jokes.

Paul Haine @paulhaine.bsky.social · 3d

Kemi Badenoch claiming Terry Pratchett as her favourite author is wild

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 2d

Weirdly, as a Brit, I have actually heard the term.

But only because, as an archivist for a telecomms company, I have over the years done some reading about US broadcasting history.

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 2d

Learned that in this video, which I have been watching this afternoon:

commons.wikimedia.org

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 2d

Incidentally, today I learned that there is an Esperanto Wikipedia.

Because of course there is.

eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikiped...

Vikipedio

https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikipedio:Ĉefpaĝo

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 2d

Where are the Conservative and Labour parliamentary parties on PR at the moment I wonder?

I'm trying to think how individual incentives now line up given how unpredictable it all is.

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 2d

It is fascinating - and poorly appreciated, I think - that so much of the modern world relies on open-source, volunteer-led, communal projects from Wikipedia to Linux.

That's something that rarely breaks the surface in general news coverage.

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James Elder @jameselder.bsky.social · 3d

Back to work (not actually work).

View of a wooden desk with bronze lamp, laptop, water bottle etc.

Beyond it can be seen a library reading room with large windows.

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