Lydia E. Ferguson
@docfergus.bsky.social
Educator in AmLit & Culture working w/ archives, ephemera, and material & ICH preservation. Intersectional Feminism, CRT, Disability Rights—in other words, I’m a hoot at parties.
Reposted by Lydia E. Ferguson
SOME OTHER BEACH BOY: hey brian why dont we sing "its my favorite time of year," a normal thing to say that has the same rhyme and meter basically
BRIAN WILSON:
BRIAN WILSON:
December 22, 2024 at 3:18 AM
SOME OTHER BEACH BOY: hey brian why dont we sing "its my favorite time of year," a normal thing to say that has the same rhyme and meter basically
BRIAN WILSON:
BRIAN WILSON:
This
I think this is a really important point. When folks say "no AI" they often don’t mean "I can conceive of no possible use for AI"—they mean "the use cases I’ve been shown do not begin to justify the harms"—that’s not something you respond to by offering another narrow use case
So when I say there is *zero* utility for LLMs, I don't mean there are zero use cases. I mean there are zero use cases that even begin to make up for the damage that's being done.
December 23, 2025 at 6:52 AM
This
Bahahahaha!
Neither is herpes, but I’ll keep doing my work without either.
AI is not going to go away
December 22, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Bahahahaha!
Reposted by Lydia E. Ferguson
Absolutely right.
AI might be able to summarize (poorly) what we currently know, but a major goal of historical research is to find the hidden surprises out there.
Let me illustrate …
AI might be able to summarize (poorly) what we currently know, but a major goal of historical research is to find the hidden surprises out there.
Let me illustrate …
Not a historian but like to research. The AI might summarize what I'm looking for, but it doesn't find what I'm *not* looking for. The book on the shelf next to the one I wanted. The insight in chapter 6 based on the quote I needed from chapter 4.
December 21, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Absolutely right.
AI might be able to summarize (poorly) what we currently know, but a major goal of historical research is to find the hidden surprises out there.
Let me illustrate …
AI might be able to summarize (poorly) what we currently know, but a major goal of historical research is to find the hidden surprises out there.
Let me illustrate …
Times are dark, so here’s a thread of #eccentricsantas I’ve thrifted and placed in the guest room where my nephew’s staying when he comes for Xmas.
1) Eyeliner Santa
1) Eyeliner Santa
December 16, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Times are dark, so here’s a thread of #eccentricsantas I’ve thrifted and placed in the guest room where my nephew’s staying when he comes for Xmas.
1) Eyeliner Santa
1) Eyeliner Santa
New (vintage) decoration for the holidays. My daughter has aptly named it, “demon ball.”
#vintage #kitsch #christmas
#vintage #kitsch #christmas
December 16, 2025 at 10:34 PM
New (vintage) decoration for the holidays. My daughter has aptly named it, “demon ball.”
#vintage #kitsch #christmas
#vintage #kitsch #christmas
Reposted by Lydia E. Ferguson
The cultural impact of Rob Reiner cannot be understated. Legend isn't big enough a word. It goes to 11. You can't handle the truth. As you wish. I'll have what she's having. I'm your number one fan. You guys wanna see a dead body? The very idea of a bucket list. The West Wing.
All from his movies.
All from his movies.
December 15, 2025 at 3:51 AM
The cultural impact of Rob Reiner cannot be understated. Legend isn't big enough a word. It goes to 11. You can't handle the truth. As you wish. I'll have what she's having. I'm your number one fan. You guys wanna see a dead body? The very idea of a bucket list. The West Wing.
All from his movies.
All from his movies.
Reposted by Lydia E. Ferguson
They used to "laugh and call him names." Now they're all dead
December 14, 2025 at 1:55 PM
They used to "laugh and call him names." Now they're all dead
Be still my 1980-baby heart!
December 14, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Be still my 1980-baby heart!
Nods in nerdom 💯
I’ve been thinking about the design of the visitors’ center in this movie for six months. SIX. WHOLE. MONTHS.
So I finally wrote about it.
www.laseneschale.com/on-frankenst...
So I finally wrote about it.
www.laseneschale.com/on-frankenst...
December 9, 2025 at 5:53 AM
Nods in nerdom 💯
Controversial opinion: waiting for students to complete course evals is super boring.
December 4, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Controversial opinion: waiting for students to complete course evals is super boring.
Reposted by Lydia E. Ferguson
"Feminist Futurities: 50 More Years of Feminist Scholarship and Activism in the South"
This is your friendly reminder that submissions for WGS South 2026 are due Dec. 1st! Check out our caucus cfps on our website! wgssouth.org/2026conference
#AcademicSky #edusky #gradstudents #highered #wgs
This is your friendly reminder that submissions for WGS South 2026 are due Dec. 1st! Check out our caucus cfps on our website! wgssouth.org/2026conference
#AcademicSky #edusky #gradstudents #highered #wgs
November 26, 2025 at 7:37 PM
"Feminist Futurities: 50 More Years of Feminist Scholarship and Activism in the South"
This is your friendly reminder that submissions for WGS South 2026 are due Dec. 1st! Check out our caucus cfps on our website! wgssouth.org/2026conference
#AcademicSky #edusky #gradstudents #highered #wgs
This is your friendly reminder that submissions for WGS South 2026 are due Dec. 1st! Check out our caucus cfps on our website! wgssouth.org/2026conference
#AcademicSky #edusky #gradstudents #highered #wgs
Listening to The Beatles well after midnight, unreasonably upset that I can’t remember what my first Trapper Keeper looked like. #nerd #materialculture #80sbaby
November 26, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Listening to The Beatles well after midnight, unreasonably upset that I can’t remember what my first Trapper Keeper looked like. #nerd #materialculture #80sbaby
And you may ask yourself, can I get by with only five strands of lights? And you may ask you select, is it worth running to the store? But you don’t, so you tell yourself—this is not my beautiful house, and this is not my beautiful tree—my God, how did I get here?
November 24, 2025 at 1:41 AM
And you may ask yourself, can I get by with only five strands of lights? And you may ask you select, is it worth running to the store? But you don’t, so you tell yourself—this is not my beautiful house, and this is not my beautiful tree—my God, how did I get here?
You know it’s getting close to the end of the semester when I start playing music videos while students work, bemoaning, “I should’ve been a dancer!”
#academicsky #edusky #teaching #break
#academicsky #edusky #teaching #break
November 20, 2025 at 9:37 PM
You know it’s getting close to the end of the semester when I start playing music videos while students work, bemoaning, “I should’ve been a dancer!”
#academicsky #edusky #teaching #break
#academicsky #edusky #teaching #break
Reposted by Lydia E. Ferguson
Students, hark! This cfp is for you!
"Reclaiming Our Future: A Call for Papers from Young Leaders, Writers, and Activists"
Join us at Wake Forest University in March!
wgssouth.org/2026conference
#academicsky #studentleadership #wgs #highered #southernstudies #activism #intersectionality #hope
"Reclaiming Our Future: A Call for Papers from Young Leaders, Writers, and Activists"
Join us at Wake Forest University in March!
wgssouth.org/2026conference
#academicsky #studentleadership #wgs #highered #southernstudies #activism #intersectionality #hope
November 19, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Students, hark! This cfp is for you!
"Reclaiming Our Future: A Call for Papers from Young Leaders, Writers, and Activists"
Join us at Wake Forest University in March!
wgssouth.org/2026conference
#academicsky #studentleadership #wgs #highered #southernstudies #activism #intersectionality #hope
"Reclaiming Our Future: A Call for Papers from Young Leaders, Writers, and Activists"
Join us at Wake Forest University in March!
wgssouth.org/2026conference
#academicsky #studentleadership #wgs #highered #southernstudies #activism #intersectionality #hope
This student research paper on DVDs is really making me miss them. Streaming is an expensive pain in the ass. #materialculture #visualculture
November 17, 2025 at 9:22 PM
This student research paper on DVDs is really making me miss them. Streaming is an expensive pain in the ass. #materialculture #visualculture
My 5 yr-old will always love me, “even if I die or go to jail.” So I’ve got that going for me.
November 15, 2025 at 8:47 PM
My 5 yr-old will always love me, “even if I die or go to jail.” So I’ve got that going for me.
Reposted by Lydia E. Ferguson
Let's talk about books and the public trust.
📚🧵
Something that is easy to forget, in these days of barcode-scanning / auto-adjust pricing on third-party platforms for pennies plus shipping:
Booksellers are not merely people who sell some popular books in a competitive market.
📚🧵
Something that is easy to forget, in these days of barcode-scanning / auto-adjust pricing on third-party platforms for pennies plus shipping:
Booksellers are not merely people who sell some popular books in a competitive market.
November 12, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Let's talk about books and the public trust.
📚🧵
Something that is easy to forget, in these days of barcode-scanning / auto-adjust pricing on third-party platforms for pennies plus shipping:
Booksellers are not merely people who sell some popular books in a competitive market.
📚🧵
Something that is easy to forget, in these days of barcode-scanning / auto-adjust pricing on third-party platforms for pennies plus shipping:
Booksellers are not merely people who sell some popular books in a competitive market.
“No revisions required” —hell yeah
November 12, 2025 at 7:29 PM
“No revisions required” —hell yeah
Reposted by Lydia E. Ferguson
The beautiful chaos of a used bookstore is unmatched.
November 9, 2025 at 1:44 AM
The beautiful chaos of a used bookstore is unmatched.
The world is a mess, so here’s a pit baby emerging from under the covers.
November 10, 2025 at 3:54 PM
The world is a mess, so here’s a pit baby emerging from under the covers.
Reposted by Lydia E. Ferguson
CFP: The daily attacks on disabled lives we experience/witness are exhausting, yet we trudge on, collectively, dreaming and actively creating different futures for ourselves and for those we love.
Submissions Due Dec. 1st, 2025.
wgssouth.org/2026conference
#disability #accessibility #academicsky
Submissions Due Dec. 1st, 2025.
wgssouth.org/2026conference
#disability #accessibility #academicsky
November 9, 2025 at 5:58 PM
CFP: The daily attacks on disabled lives we experience/witness are exhausting, yet we trudge on, collectively, dreaming and actively creating different futures for ourselves and for those we love.
Submissions Due Dec. 1st, 2025.
wgssouth.org/2026conference
#disability #accessibility #academicsky
Submissions Due Dec. 1st, 2025.
wgssouth.org/2026conference
#disability #accessibility #academicsky
Reposted by Lydia E. Ferguson
There’s a young southern woman on tt doing an experiment: calling churches & asking if they can help her get baby formula, saying she can’t afford it. Of the 30+ she’s called, nearly every church has said no. The ones who said yes were:
Black Baptist Churches
A Mosque
A small Appalachian church
Black Baptist Churches
A Mosque
A small Appalachian church
November 8, 2025 at 11:07 AM
There’s a young southern woman on tt doing an experiment: calling churches & asking if they can help her get baby formula, saying she can’t afford it. Of the 30+ she’s called, nearly every church has said no. The ones who said yes were:
Black Baptist Churches
A Mosque
A small Appalachian church
Black Baptist Churches
A Mosque
A small Appalachian church
Reposted by Lydia E. Ferguson
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:55 AM
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.