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Reposted by Rod Van Meter

Tobias Wilson-Bates @phdhurtbrain.bsky.social · 16h

New live action Disney films where they put back all the stuff Disney pruned out of the original folk tales. Cinderella’s dad demands that she marry him, the Beast takes off his skin at night, Mowgli brutally arranges the death of Shere Khan, a passing king knocks up Sleeping Beauty.

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 8h

Don't sleep on Ella.

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 8h

Congratulations to her, and to you!

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 10h

WE WIN!!! 4.5 hours to play 11 innings. Sorry, @paulblustein.bsky.social.

Now I can make dinner...

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Patrick @atomicpopwi.bsky.social · 20h

Firing people for 24 hours is just another 4D chess maneuver, right?

Geoff Brumfiel @gbrumfiel.bsky.social · 21h

BREAKING: CDC is apparently reversing many of its layoffs. Letters seen by NPR indicate that many employees working with infectious diseases have had their RIFs revoked.

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USA TODAY @usatoday.com · 1d

The Education Department laid off nearly everyone at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

Education Department wipes out special ed office in shutdown layoffs, union says

The Education Department laid off nearly everyone at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

bit.ly

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Dr. SkySkull @drskyskull.bsky.social · 22h

This sounds pretty illegal, but who knows if that matters

Sam Halpert @samhalpert.bsky.social · 23h

www.politico.com/live-updates...

The Office of Management and Budget sent a notification to Congress about their intent to use research and development funds to pay members of the military, two sources with direct knowledge tell NBC News.
A spokesperson for the OMB confirmed to NBC
News that it plans to use the research and development funds and that there are two years' worth of funds available within the Department of Defense.

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Robert “The Bobby Yaga” McNees @mcnees.bsky.social · 22h

“Why is the night sky dark, if we live in an infinite universe?”

Kepler, Halley, and Cheseaux all pondered this apparent paradox, but the question is commonly attributed to Heinrich Olbers, who was born #OTD in 1758. 🧪 🔭

Images: hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Astro/..., Wellcome Collection

A diagram shows arrows radiating from a central point, indicating directions, with lots of white disks (stars) surrounding the central point.

An etching of Hans Olbers. He wears a heavy coat, vest, and high collared white shirt. His wispy hair is receding.

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 1d

Becoming a BayStars fan since moving to Kanagawa, I now know a little of what it was like being a Clippers fan in the 80s and 90s. But the 'Stars managed to pull off a championship last year...while I was in Dublin! And this year I'll be in Montreal.

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 1d

P.S. love Morticia and that GIF!

Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 1d

Doh, and yes, I forgot the alt text but I don't want to redo the whole thread. It's the cover of King Dollar: the Past and Future of the World's Dominant Currency.

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 1d

bsky.app/profile/rdvq...

For one.
Silmarillion for another.
Gonna pick up Heather Cox Richardson's Democracy Awakening and Mary Robinette Kowal's latest Lady Astronaut soon! Can't wait, but wanted to finish a couple of others first.

Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 1d

Finally finished @paulblustein.bsky.social's latest book, and it's a doozy!

Paul writes clearly and authoritatively, not to mention entertainingly. I've read most of his books, and I always learn so much about how the world works. I wish I could carry in my head a fraction of what Paul does.

Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 1d

As with all of Paul's books, highly recommended.

Disclosure: Paul is a good friend, so my opinion is biased. Nevertheless, I'm right!

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 1d

In particular, if you're curious how modern financial sanctions work (and why they don't have unlimited power), you'll love this.

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 1d

I love how Paul takes current events and ties them to history. In this one, the stories about the earliest clearing houses in New York and how money was handled in Saudi Arabia in the 1970s both stick with me.

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 1d

This one is, as you might guess, about how money flows internationally and why so much of it is done in dollars. A dizzying array of acronyms and obscure but critical organizations people this book. Who knew money was so complicated?

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 1d

Finally finished @paulblustein.bsky.social's latest book, and it's a doozy!

Paul writes clearly and authoritatively, not to mention entertainingly. I've read most of his books, and I always learn so much about how the world works. I wish I could carry in my head a fraction of what Paul does.

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Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 1d

youtu.be/r6mdOY1vYbs?...

What a trio.

Jeff Beck Live 2022 🡆 You Know You Know ⬘ Bass/Anika Nilles Drum Solo 🡄 Sept 25 ⬘ The Woodlands, TX

YouTube video by DeadMike.com

youtu.be

Rod Van Meter @rdvquantum.bsky.social · 1d

@paulblustein.bsky.social gotta say, I like today's result, though I'm sorry it will cause gloom on your home front.

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womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 1d

US activist Angela Davis and novelist Toni Morrison walking together in 1974, by photographer Jill Krementz #womensart #BlackHistoryMonth US

Monochrome photograph of two Black women walking down a street towards the viewer, the subject to the right looks at the other as if in conversation, while the other looks down as if listening

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Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 1d

I know Susan Stryker wrote like the trans essay on Frankenstein thirty years ago but it's ringing so real in 2025

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Pauline Barmby @pbarmby.bsky.social · 1d

Also includes some Canadian universities, where the process is somewhat different (students are accepted by individual supervisors, not as members of a class) - I’m happy to answer questions about grad school in Canada.

Sarah Tuttle @niais.bsky.social · 2d

Are you someone who is interested in astronomy graduate school? This is a list of many/most departments and their expectations for admissions this year. Please feel free to spread it far and wide. If you are doing admissions and you'd like to update your entry, reach out as per the form!

US Astronomy Graduate Admissions, AY 2025-2026

docs.google.com

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Josh Moody @byjoshmoody.bsky.social · 2d

MIT rejects "compact" proposed by the Trump administration.
MIT prez wrote: it "would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution" and "is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone."
orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart

orgchart.mit.edu

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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 2d

MIT President Sally Kornbluth just issued a statement to the campus community saying NO to Trump’s authoritarian compact

“And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.”

Dear Madam Secretary,
I write in response to your letter of October 1, inviting MIT to review a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." I acknowledge the vital importance of these matters.
I appreciated the chance to meet with you earlier this year to discuss the priorities we share for American higher education.
As we discussed, the Institute's mission of service to the nation directs us to advance knowledge, educate students and bring knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges. We do that in line with a clear set of values, with excellence above all. Some practical examples:
• MIT prides itself on rewarding merit.
Students, faculty and staff succeed here based on the strength of their talent, ideas and hard work. For instance, the Institute
was the first to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement after the pandemic. And MIT has never had legacy preferences in admissions.

• MIT opens its doors to the most talented students regardless of their family's finances. Admissions are need-blind. Incoming undergraduates whose families earn less than $200,000 a year pay no tuition. Nearly 88% of our last graduating class left MIT with no debt for their education. We make a wealth of free courses and low-cost certificates available
to any American with an internet
connection. Of the undergraduate degrees we award, 94% are in STEM fields. And in service to the nation, we cap enrollment of international undergraduates at roughly
10%.
• We value free expression, as clearly described in the MIT Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom. We must hear facts and opinions we don't like - and engage respectfully with those with whom we disagree.

These values and other MIT practices meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent. We freely choose these values because they're right, and we live by them because they support our mission - work of immense value to the prosperity, competitiveness, health and security of the United States. And of course, MIT abides by the law.
The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution. And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific
funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
In our view, America's leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that tree marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences.
Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.

As you know, MIT's record of service to the nation is long and enduring. Eight decades ago, MIT leaders helped invent a scientific partnership between America's research universities and the
U.S. government that has delivered extraordinary benefits for the American people.
We continue to believe in the power of this partnership to serve the nation.
Sincerely,
Sally Kornbluth
CC
Ms. May Mailman
Mr. Vincent Haley

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Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 2d

I swear, I feel like I’m living in some surrealist novel, am I going to wake up one day and discover I have turned into a giant insect

🎃 a frightful hoxgoblin 🎃 @kellenhoxworth.bsky.social · 2d

Higher Ed in 2025 is opening your mailbox to see that your institution has sent you:

1. A Center for Teaching and Learning call to integrate AI into your classroom; and

2. An Office of Academic Integrity email encouraging you to crack down on students who use AI to cheat.

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