Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · 1h

lunchtime view

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · 1d

I feel like I rushed and made some poor scheduling decisions...

1

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · 1d

I vote Roger Stevens, of course; but any of these except Bridgewater Place and the Magistrates' Court would be good imho.

Leeds Civic Trust @leedscivictrust.bsky.social · 1d

📣VOTE FOR LEEDS' BEST BUILDING OF THE LAST 60 YEARS📣

We asked the public to nominate their favourite Leeds building of last 60 years for the People's Choice Award at the 2025 @leedsarcawards.bsky.social . Vote for your favourite from the top 10.

🔗 zurl.co/Uy2y4

1 2

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · 1d

Plus an interesting retrospective strand called "We Gotta Get Outta This Place": L'Atalante, The Green Ray, Holiday, Roman Holiday, Summer With Monika, Touki Bouki, Vagabond, Wanda

1 1

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · 1d

The #LIFF2025 guide is up: www.leedsfilm.com/cms_files/Me...
Blue Moon, Bugonia, The Choral, Die My Love, Is This Thing On?, It Was Just an Accident, Nouvelle Vague, Peter Hujar's Day, Resurrection, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sirāt, The Testament of Ann Lee, The Voice of Hind Rajab, ...

www.leedsfilm.com

1 1

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · 1d

Hello, #LIFF2025!

Programme for Leeds International Film Festival 2025.

4

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · 2d

"As Kanye West, an economist of sorts, put it: 'I’m tryin’ to right my wrongs/But it’s funny them same wrongs helped me write this song.'" www.economist.com/britain/2025...

Meet the real opposition

From ambulance chaser to ministerial Range Rover chaser

www.economist.com

1 2

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · 4d

(Incidentally, I did point out that I shouldn’t really have written “MSE error”, since that’s like saying “PIN number” or “ATM machine”.)

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · 5d

Is it OK to point at stuff in lectures using your feet?

Me in a lecture pointing at something with my foot

2 4

Reposted by Matthew Aldridge

Anthony Zacharzewski @anthonyzach.be · 6d

Sic transit gardia mundi www.bbc.com/news/article...

Cambridge kebab shop beloved by students shuts after 76 years

A takeaway, loved by Stephen Fry and Michael Portillo, closes for good, says the college landlord.

www.bbc.com

3 5 13

Reposted by Matthew Aldridge

Martin Robbins @mjrobbins.com · 7d

It’s also beyond insane that the Independent are quoting ChatGPT slop from a completely random blog that went viral, including factual errors about her life, and pretending that Routledge wrote it.

Joe Noonan @joenoonan.bsky.social · 8d

Dame Patricia Routledge’s poignant last message on ageing and finding herself

‘Let these years ahead be your treasure years,’ said actor in a moving reflection on her life

www.independent.co.uk

2 19 61

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · 10d

Strong agree. Getting towards the end of marking a pile of MSc dissertations this summer, I found one with grammar errors, unpolished presentation, quite a bit of “I’m not sure what the causes of this are”; and, while the work was highly imperfect, it was such a relief, a cool glass of water.

Emily Pawley @emilypawley.bsky.social · 10d

In food history, we notice how super-refined foods--gelatin, vienna sausage, white bread--lose class and become horrifying once they become industrialized. Suddenly, fingermarks in bread dough demonstrate skill, not clumsiness.

Post-chatGPT, I'm feeling this about writing. Smoothness feels gross.

3

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · 10d

Not that it helps, but that looks like “nickel sulphide inclusion”. (I’ve had the same recently, and sympathise with the annoyance/inconvenience it will be for you.) www.cantifix.co.uk/blog/nickel-...

Nickel Sulphide Inclusion: A Guide to Glazing’s Trojan Horse

Nickel sulphide inclusion can make or break your design project. What is it? Can it be prevented? This comprehensive guide provides answers.

www.cantifix.co.uk

1

Reposted by Matthew Aldridge

Moose Allain @mooseallain.bsky.social · 13d

“My wife went to Riyadh to see an edgy comedian”
“Jimmy Carr?”
“No, she went of her own accord”

42 230 1.3K

Reposted by Matthew Aldridge

James Ball @jamesrball.com · 13d

Two MRPs in two days! With the next election years away! In a volatile multi-party system that’s not settled yet and has no precedents! There isn’t even a news shortage! We are terminally electionbrained! There may be no cure!

James Ball @jamesrball.com · Dec 28

There are very few decent reasons for running an MRP 4+ years out from the next likely general election, but one of them is “well, it’ll help fill a newspaper between Christmas and NYE”. It’s filler! I wouldn’t read much into it beyond that.

24 34 200

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · 16d

“Nicks Davies” – like attorneys general.

2

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · 16d

Too many Nicks!

“At 5.30 the next day Jamie arrived at my flat with his editorial colleague Nick Davies. (Mental health warning: there are two Nick Davies in this story. This one worked for Canongate; the second is a well-known reporter for the Guardian.)”
From https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v36/n05/andrew-o-hagan/ghosting

1 1

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · 17d

I was just last week trying to explain to my Slovenian colleague the status of Dickie Bird as Yorkshire icon. ("So he was a cricketeer?" "Well, not really; mostly an umpire." "And his real first name was Richard?" "No, it was Harold.") www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/s...

Legendary cricket umpire Dickie Bird dies aged 92

The former Test umpire Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird has died, with Yorkshire saying his life was ‘defined by an unwavering dedication to cricket’

www.theguardian.com

4

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · 17d

(epigraph to Crudo by Olivia Laing)

"The cheap 12 inch sq. marble tiles behind speaker at UN always bothered me. I will replace with beautiful large marble slabs if they ask me."

1

Reposted by Matthew Aldridge

depths of wikipedia @depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social · 18d

imagine if a family of beavers randomly showed up right now and finished whatever thing you've been putting off

In early 2025, beaver activity in the Brdy Protected Landscape Area, Czech Republic, contributed to the restoration of a wetland ecosystem. A family of beavers constructed a series of dams that coincidentally accomplished environmental goals of the Czech government, which had delayed its proposed project since 2018 for bureaucratic and financial reasons. The beaver-built dams saved the Czech government approximately US$1.2 million,

75 1.8K 6.3K

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · Sep 10

"a Hermite polynomial" or "an Hermite polynomial"? (When I say it in my head, I say "HURR-mite", but I suppose I ought to be thinking "air-meet"...)

Reposted by Matthew Aldridge

Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · Sep 3

“Unwittingly” may be the best use of an adverb in history

Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · Sep 3

thanks to @dorianlynskey.bsky.social for introducing me to this movie poster, featuring a tagline that made me hyperventilate with laughter

4 7 81

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · Sep 3

I found interesting this interview with Jamelle Bouie on how the far-right loves AI images/videos; fascist kitsch; “first time as tragedy, second time as farce, third time as slop”; etc. pod.link/1496246490/e...

pod.link

Matthew Aldridge @mpaldridge.bsky.social · Sep 3

This is interesting on why Ne Zha 2 was popular with Chinese audiences but has bombed elsewhere. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | Why the world’s biggest movie bombed in America

The same epic storytelling conventions that delight moviegoers in China often turn off critics abroad.

www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Matthew Aldridge

Terence Tao @teorth.bsky.social · Sep 2

A first proof-of-concept outcome for the erdosproblems.com - OEIS linkage project: with a useful assist from AI, the OEIS was used to locate a proof in the literature for an Erdos problem that was previously marked as "open". mathstodon.xyz/deck/@tao/11...

Terence Tao (@[email protected])

Here is a first proof-of-concept demonstration of an actual outcome for the erdosproblems/OEIS linkage project. There are a number of Erdos problems relating to irrationality of specific series. I ask...

mathstodon.xyz

3 9 71