Ergative Absolutive
@ergative-abs.bsky.social
SFF booknerd; calligrapher; Islamic geometric art doer; figure skating appreciater; coffee-drinking, granola-baking, tofu-eating wokeratum; psycholinguist by vocation, fretful porpentine by aspiration.
Contributer at Nerds of A Feather
Contributer at Nerds of A Feather
The brilliant innovation of podcasts was that they FREED us from the tedium of talking head television shows. We could DO OTHER THINGS while listening to the people talking. Exercise. chores. Art. Commuting.
Returning to video is like reintroducing measles to the public health podcast landscape.
Returning to video is like reintroducing measles to the public health podcast landscape.
‘Painful to hear!’ How podcasts’ rush to video is turning them into dreadful listens
‘Painful to hear!’ How podcasts’ rush to video is turning them into dreadful listens
From Joe Marler’s visual-only stunts to the incomprehensible shuffling sounds Steven Bartlett recently subjected headphone users to, dodgy audio experiences are on the rise
www.theguardian.com
December 27, 2025 at 8:53 PM
The brilliant innovation of podcasts was that they FREED us from the tedium of talking head television shows. We could DO OTHER THINGS while listening to the people talking. Exercise. chores. Art. Commuting.
Returning to video is like reintroducing measles to the public health podcast landscape.
Returning to video is like reintroducing measles to the public health podcast landscape.
Reposted by Ergative Absolutive
Let’s take a moment to appreciate how Wikipedia still hasn’t been enshittified.
December 27, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Let’s take a moment to appreciate how Wikipedia still hasn’t been enshittified.
Can confirm, this book was fantastic.
@vajra.me 's multi award-winning THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS is part of Amazon UK's 12 days of Kindle deal!
UK readers, prepare to have your minds blown...
"an outstanding, genre-shattering work" - @theguardian.com
Grab it now before the deal ends on 5th January 2026!
UK readers, prepare to have your minds blown...
"an outstanding, genre-shattering work" - @theguardian.com
Grab it now before the deal ends on 5th January 2026!
December 25, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Can confirm, this book was fantastic.
Reposted by Ergative Absolutive
my favorite pieces from 2025
December 17, 2025 at 10:49 PM
my favorite pieces from 2025
holy fuck we HAD this book, Man After Man, in my house when I was little. IMMEDIATE gut memory of how deeply weird those illustrations were, seeing them repurposed here.
From my house to yours, wishing you a very merry Christmas and a jolly holiday season this year 🎄🎁🎅🤶
December 24, 2025 at 6:35 PM
holy fuck we HAD this book, Man After Man, in my house when I was little. IMMEDIATE gut memory of how deeply weird those illustrations were, seeing them repurposed here.
I just want everyone to know that there was a four-month old border terrier named Silas in the park this morning and he was wiggly and cuddly and I love him.
December 24, 2025 at 1:46 PM
I just want everyone to know that there was a four-month old border terrier named Silas in the park this morning and he was wiggly and cuddly and I love him.
Click through for some great examples of (apparent) nominative determinism.
I have a long-running list of surprising eponyms, and in this dark time I wish to share my amusement with you.
To clarify, an eponym is something named for a person. “Newton’s Laws” are called that for Isaac Newton. A surprising eponym is just that.
So, let’s begin.
Eponyms/0
To clarify, an eponym is something named for a person. “Newton’s Laws” are called that for Isaac Newton. A surprising eponym is just that.
So, let’s begin.
Eponyms/0
December 23, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Click through for some great examples of (apparent) nominative determinism.
Reposted by Ergative Absolutive
I am back on my bullshit again.
Had we but falcons enough, and time,
This widening gyre would be no crime.
Yet the blood-dimmed tide shall flow,
Vaster than empires, far less slow.
And if the center cannot hold—
Well then, lady, let’s be bold!
This widening gyre would be no crime.
Yet the blood-dimmed tide shall flow,
Vaster than empires, far less slow.
And if the center cannot hold—
Well then, lady, let’s be bold!
December 23, 2025 at 3:08 PM
I am back on my bullshit again.
Hey, guyse, The Antidote by Karen Russell is a really, really good book! There's a core supernatural component that will scratch your fantasy itches, but it's incorporated really well into a thematic meditation on the role of memory in culture and individual lives to serve as litfic too.
December 23, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Hey, guyse, The Antidote by Karen Russell is a really, really good book! There's a core supernatural component that will scratch your fantasy itches, but it's incorporated really well into a thematic meditation on the role of memory in culture and individual lives to serve as litfic too.
Raaah! Behold me, big strong and handy! I have installed a paper towel holder underneath a cabinet, using sheer muscle power alone! No electric drill for me! Just a screwdriver and my arms! (and shoulders, it seems, ow).
December 23, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Raaah! Behold me, big strong and handy! I have installed a paper towel holder underneath a cabinet, using sheer muscle power alone! No electric drill for me! Just a screwdriver and my arms! (and shoulders, it seems, ow).
Reposted by Ergative Absolutive
No yeah basically exactly this
I feel like Tamara Pierce is a sleeper agent activation phrase for a certain type of person in our microgeneration and the advanced level wake word is Steerswoman. I don’t know if that makes sense lol.
December 23, 2025 at 4:34 AM
No yeah basically exactly this
YES EXACTLY!
The use cases I can imagine include things like those super-accurate weather forecasts that use bespoke models trained by scientists on weather data, or (maybe) medical imagining models trained on medical data (although I'm still concerned by the de-skilling study re: radiologists).
The use cases I can imagine include things like those super-accurate weather forecasts that use bespoke models trained by scientists on weather data, or (maybe) medical imagining models trained on medical data (although I'm still concerned by the de-skilling study re: radiologists).
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 7:22 AM
YES EXACTLY!
The use cases I can imagine include things like those super-accurate weather forecasts that use bespoke models trained by scientists on weather data, or (maybe) medical imagining models trained on medical data (although I'm still concerned by the de-skilling study re: radiologists).
The use cases I can imagine include things like those super-accurate weather forecasts that use bespoke models trained by scientists on weather data, or (maybe) medical imagining models trained on medical data (although I'm still concerned by the de-skilling study re: radiologists).
I'm a member of the general SFF-reading public, and there was a box for me to tick in this survey! And boy, howdy, have I ticked it!
SFWA members and general SFF community:
In this press release, our Board of Directors apologizes for recent events.
Feedback from writers is strongly welcomed in the survey.
SFWA Members: Write to [email protected] to support our Emerging Tech Committee.
www.sfwa.org/2025/12/22/p...
In this press release, our Board of Directors apologizes for recent events.
Feedback from writers is strongly welcomed in the survey.
SFWA Members: Write to [email protected] to support our Emerging Tech Committee.
www.sfwa.org/2025/12/22/p...
December 23, 2025 at 6:56 AM
I'm a member of the general SFF-reading public, and there was a box for me to tick in this survey! And boy, howdy, have I ticked it!
I fully do not understand how gift aid works. I drop off a book at oxfam, and if I tick a box they get more money?
Like, sure, great. Fine. Happy to help.
But HOW?
(Yes, yes, something something taxes something something. I still don't get it.)
Like, sure, great. Fine. Happy to help.
But HOW?
(Yes, yes, something something taxes something something. I still don't get it.)
December 22, 2025 at 6:10 PM
I fully do not understand how gift aid works. I drop off a book at oxfam, and if I tick a box they get more money?
Like, sure, great. Fine. Happy to help.
But HOW?
(Yes, yes, something something taxes something something. I still don't get it.)
Like, sure, great. Fine. Happy to help.
But HOW?
(Yes, yes, something something taxes something something. I still don't get it.)
Not crazy-crazy, but I worked as a page at my uni library's special collections, and a lot of my job was retrieving boxes of documents and photocopying them for researchers.
One set of documents was labeled in huge letters DO NOT PHOTOCOPY! NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED (or some equivalent wording).
One set of documents was labeled in huge letters DO NOT PHOTOCOPY! NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED (or some equivalent wording).
I think we need a mega thread of everyone's craziest archive stories.
December 22, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Not crazy-crazy, but I worked as a page at my uni library's special collections, and a lot of my job was retrieving boxes of documents and photocopying them for researchers.
One set of documents was labeled in huge letters DO NOT PHOTOCOPY! NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED (or some equivalent wording).
One set of documents was labeled in huge letters DO NOT PHOTOCOPY! NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED (or some equivalent wording).
Reposted by Ergative Absolutive
There is no thaw without the freeze.
The ferryman will have his fees,
So light your lamps and keep them bright
Against the cold and longest night.
For this we know: the fire burns.
The winter dies. The sun returns.
And all if we stand, and if we fight,
We can survive the longest night.
The ferryman will have his fees,
So light your lamps and keep them bright
Against the cold and longest night.
For this we know: the fire burns.
The winter dies. The sun returns.
And all if we stand, and if we fight,
We can survive the longest night.
December 22, 2025 at 12:42 AM
There is no thaw without the freeze.
The ferryman will have his fees,
So light your lamps and keep them bright
Against the cold and longest night.
For this we know: the fire burns.
The winter dies. The sun returns.
And all if we stand, and if we fight,
We can survive the longest night.
The ferryman will have his fees,
So light your lamps and keep them bright
Against the cold and longest night.
For this we know: the fire burns.
The winter dies. The sun returns.
And all if we stand, and if we fight,
We can survive the longest night.
Reposted by Ergative Absolutive
The wheel turns; the summer ends.
The light departs, the cold descends,
And we are left to hold the light
Against the cold and longest night.
The wind that howls around the door,
The tracks of snow upon the floor.
Reach for your loves and hold them tight
Against the cold and longest night.
The light departs, the cold descends,
And we are left to hold the light
Against the cold and longest night.
The wind that howls around the door,
The tracks of snow upon the floor.
Reach for your loves and hold them tight
Against the cold and longest night.
December 22, 2025 at 12:41 AM
The wheel turns; the summer ends.
The light departs, the cold descends,
And we are left to hold the light
Against the cold and longest night.
The wind that howls around the door,
The tracks of snow upon the floor.
Reach for your loves and hold them tight
Against the cold and longest night.
The light departs, the cold descends,
And we are left to hold the light
Against the cold and longest night.
The wind that howls around the door,
The tracks of snow upon the floor.
Reach for your loves and hold them tight
Against the cold and longest night.
These sentiments hit harder now that I live so much further north than before.
The shorteste daye
The longest nighte
Welcome, sun
Welcome, lighte
The longest nighte
Welcome, sun
Welcome, lighte
December 21, 2025 at 10:26 AM
These sentiments hit harder now that I live so much further north than before.
TIL that teddy bear raccoon dogs exist, and they are called tanuki.
December 21, 2025 at 8:25 AM
TIL that teddy bear raccoon dogs exist, and they are called tanuki.
@tomgauld.bsky.social lookit lookit you've made a meme!
slow day in the office so figured we'd start some beef with museums
December 19, 2025 at 12:56 PM
@tomgauld.bsky.social lookit lookit you've made a meme!
Reposted by Ergative Absolutive
People in and near Glasgow, I’m thrilled to participate in this panel on Scottish Speculative Fiction next month at Waterstones Glasgow Argyle Street!
Tickets available via link:
www.waterstones.com/events/an-ev...
Tickets available via link:
www.waterstones.com/events/an-ev...
December 17, 2025 at 11:35 PM
People in and near Glasgow, I’m thrilled to participate in this panel on Scottish Speculative Fiction next month at Waterstones Glasgow Argyle Street!
Tickets available via link:
www.waterstones.com/events/an-ev...
Tickets available via link:
www.waterstones.com/events/an-ev...
Bin men are taking out the blue bins right now, even as I type. Take a breath and savour the moment. This is the last we'll see them until February.
#WhenIsBins
#WhenIsBins
December 18, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Bin men are taking out the blue bins right now, even as I type. Take a breath and savour the moment. This is the last we'll see them until February.
#WhenIsBins
#WhenIsBins
Reposted by Ergative Absolutive
Definitely don't paste song lyrics or the script from To Wong Foo or anything.
Ken Paxton has launched a snitch line to gather reports of supposed violations of Texas' transphobic bathroom policing law. Please do not abuse this snitch line. Please do not fill it with faff and nonsense. Please do not attach huge, unwieldy and irrelevant documentation to any reports.
Texas Women’s Privacy Act Complaint Form (SB 8) | Office of the Attorney General
The Texas Women’s Privacy Act requires a political subdivision or state agency, including public schools, open enrollment charter schools, and state institutions of higher education, to designate each...
www.texasattorneygeneral.gov
December 17, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Definitely don't paste song lyrics or the script from To Wong Foo or anything.
For calligraphy: I was 13 and bored and my mother, in her maternal brilliance, picked up a calligraphy kit and started playing with it in front of m. Like a toddler, I decided I wanted to do what mommy was doing, and I've been doing it ever since.
With all this awful news going on i wanna ask this question once again to fellow artists and general creatives. What got YOU into art? what sparked that motivation to start writing? what made you wanna pick up a camera and start taking pics? Like share with us your reasons.
December 17, 2025 at 6:42 AM
For calligraphy: I was 13 and bored and my mother, in her maternal brilliance, picked up a calligraphy kit and started playing with it in front of m. Like a toddler, I decided I wanted to do what mommy was doing, and I've been doing it ever since.
Reposted by Ergative Absolutive
Before the European Enlightenment, cultures across the world engaged scientifically with the natural history, and showcased it visually with their own unique visual language and perception of the living world. I do not understand the current aversion to different "styles" in scientific visual art.
December 16, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Before the European Enlightenment, cultures across the world engaged scientifically with the natural history, and showcased it visually with their own unique visual language and perception of the living world. I do not understand the current aversion to different "styles" in scientific visual art.