Ergative Absolutive
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ergative-abs.bsky.social
Ergative Absolutive
@ergative-abs.bsky.social
360 followers 360 following 1.5K posts
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
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ergative-abs.bsky.social
Looking at you, @merriam-webster.com
Screenshot of the 'add muted words and tags' option on bluesky settings. Target words to be muted are 'Groundhog day', with the timespan set for 7 days.
February 2, 2026 at 1:47 PM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
Do the subjects not hear themselves? Do they have no self-knowledge? Are they genuinely that clueless? Or do they realize -- somewhere around the 'Sure', I imagine -- that they're in one of *those* Chotiner interviews, and have to grit their teeth and wait for it to be over?
There have been some critiques of the movie. People have said that it was essentially a payoff from Amazon to the White House, and that you’re doing propaganda for an authoritarian President. I know you said you don’t want to get into politics, but what do you think of that critique? Well, you know, I felt like I was a reporter. I see. You see what I mean? Sure. It’s, like, would you do an interview with Melania or President Trump yourself? Probably yes. It doesn’t mean that you think the same way or that you approve of him doing what he’s doing. You and I are two journalists talking, essentially. Yeah. So, I mean, to me, the experience was about, yes, being a reporter—being a cinematographer in a documentary, and doing my best to make Melania look visually beautiful with the lighting. One thing reporters try to do is to spotlight ideas or news stories, and what you’re trying to do is spotlight her face and its beauty. I do see a real similarity there.
February 2, 2026 at 6:45 AM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
I have emailed my councilors. Duplicate images to allow for full text to be included in alt text.
Dear councillors of mine,  I read with disappointment about the approval of the new AI-generated mural to be put up on the side of a building at 11 Elmbank Street. The image is, to put it mildly, offensively bad – but beyond this, the whole situation is a classic example of how AI generated material pollutes society. Glasgow has a rich tradition of artists and designers and architects (The Glasgow School of Art, the Glasgow boys, the Glasgow Girls, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Alexander Greek Thompson); and the current set of street murals are beautiful and striking and quirky. Saint Mungo holding the bird; the weird pink lady in the city centre – these works of art, by artists, represent their visions, and contribute to the striking and distinctive character of the city. Now we’re going to put AI-generated nonsense up instead? Instead of hiring a real artist to do real art, this application has asked a machine to produce something that is not even representative of Glasgow – or, indeed, Scotland. Scotland doesn’t have bald eagles – and certainly not bald eagles with two beaks coming out of their faces. Scotland also does not have sea eagles that lack faces entirely, and whatever that weird structure is by the deer’s legs, I don’t think Scotland has that either. The quote from Derek Paterson in The National states that the design is ‘only indicative’ and will eventually be ‘finalised/refined’. Who’s going to be revising it? Will an artist be involved at that stage? And if so, why are we insulting artists by asking them to correct this nonsense, rather than inviting them to realise their own visions, which they have developed through their own experience, training, and skill? Why are we asking artists to make improvements on AI-generated material that was trained through theft of artists’ intellectual property in the first place? This AI-generated image represents, in a microscosm, why we must resist the intrusion of AI in our city. It has taken a job away from a real person with skills and expertise (the artist); it has replaced that person’s contributions with the result of stolen copyrighted intellectual property; and the replacement is itself, of poor quality, containing misinformation (bald eagles in Scotland). This decision makes everything it touches – our city, our artists, our public image – worse. There is never a good time to put AI-generated images on our city, but given the recent revelations that AI image-generation models willingly produce child porn (see the case of Grok in the news recently), this is an especially bad time to move forward with this ugly, tacky, unethical extrusion of a dishonest robot. I urge you to reconsider this decision, or at a minimum ensure that the final mural is designed and painted, start to finish, by an actual artist. (For the avoidance of doubt, I have written this email entirely by myself, without the contribution of any AI technology. Not even autocorrect or spell check. From my head to yours, with no robot intervening.) Humanly yours,
January 20, 2026 at 9:32 PM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
screenshot of ICE block tracker showing 77,127 accounts currently blocking ICE, as of 9:54:04.
January 17, 2026 at 9:54 AM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
The geometric construction principles of Islamic art, such as the tiles of the Alhambra palace and the Alcazar of Seville. I have a small collection of vintage technical drawing sets -- compasses and dividers -- that I use to create drawings like the below.
A complex geometric design with radial eight-fold symmetry, in shades of ochre and green and blue, with red highlights.
January 6, 2026 at 7:01 AM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
Mise-en-place in progress.

cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023...

I hasten to clarify that the contributions of the garlic clove interns in the bottom row are not included in the billable hours of this recipe.
An artificially tidy kitchen worktop with a cutting board, on which sit 27ish peeled cloves of garlic in three rows (the bottom row containing those irritatingly teeny nubbins of garlic that still need to be individually peeled), an unpeeled bulb of garlic, a little bowl of wine, a tin of tomatoes, a measuring cup, a jar of pepper flakes, a dutch oven lid, a box of salt, lid invitingly open, a pepper grinder, and two bottles of olive oil. I cannot emphasize enough how *~*aesthetically*~* arranged everything is. The countertop is clear. The tiles of the backsplash are fucking gorgeous. There is not a fragment of garlic skin to be seen.
January 2, 2026 at 6:38 PM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
I have finished my sketchbook! Last few doodles of the year are designs copied from Owen Jones's Grammar of Ornament (Greek section), and a tezhip motif taken from IG user @taherehmousavi.official.

#humanArt
#noAI
#IslamicArt
#GreekArt
#tezhip
Double-spread of a sketchbook page showing a variety of ochre, red, and black decorative motifs in the Greek style, with lots of palmate leaves growing out of undulating bands. Sketchbook page with some floral motifs in pencil, and a red-and-green arabesque motif with gold outline and accents of black and blue.
December 9, 2025 at 3:35 PM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
WELCOME TO THE DRACULA PAPRIKA DISCOURSE!!

(meme from tumblr, not my own, original link seems to be dead now)
Galaxy brain meme. Panel 1: Jonathan Harker found paprika hendl spicy because he is pathetically English. Panel 2: Hungarian paprika ranges from mild to very spicy; it's perfectly possible our friend Jonathan was served the spicy stuff Panel 3: "paprika hendl uses sweet paprika" recipes change quickly over time an dplace, Jonathan may have been served a regional variant Panel 4 (text running off bottom): PAPRIKA USED TO BE SPICER holy shit it used to be spicier before sweeter peppers were cultivated in the 1920s. plus the machine to remove the spicy pith and seeds was only invented in the 1860s. 19th century Hungarian cuisine was simply spicier than its modern counterpart. not to mention how even "mild" paprikca can cause indigestion which is why it's so frequently served with sour cream
December 3, 2025 at 8:30 PM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
Yes! I made exactly the same connection in my review of it
Review of Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil by Oliver Darkshire 4 stars An absolute delight. Such a charming narrative style, a generous, whimsical approach to footnotes (I'm really enjoying seeing Pratchettian footnotes appearing more often in narratives), a no-nonsense sight into small-town life and the assumptions and conventions that plague women older than 40 -- oh, yes, our heroine, Isabella Nagg, is over 40, and fat to boot. In a way, this reminds me a little bit of Lolly Willows, except without all of the things that infuriated me about that book. What happens when a woman whose life has been full of -- not even disappointments, but grey nothingness, decides to take up magic and turn herself into an entirely new person? I loved the donkey; I love the ideas of Goblin Market (Rosetti-style) being the above-ground form of an invasive fungus. Gwendolyn Gooch was a bit broad, but in keeping with the unconstrained humor of the rest of the book. I will definitely read more by this author.
December 3, 2025 at 8:02 AM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
Except this bit:
“Some women, Commander Norton had decided long ago, should not be allowed aboard ship; weightlessness did things to their breasts that were too damn distracting. It was bad enough when they were motionless; but when they started to move, and sympathetic vibrations set in, it was more than any warm-blooded male should be asked to take. He was quite sure that at least one serious space accident had been caused by acute crew distraction, after the transit of a well-upholstered lady officer through the control cabin.”
December 1, 2025 at 10:45 AM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
Hope y'alls enjoyed your aurora. Here in Scotland it's been raining for a week.
That meme of a grumpy toddler in his formal posed picture, with pink trousers and a checked shirt, with multiple shots of increasing resentment and scowliness on his face. Captions read 'Congrats', 'Happy for you', 'Nice'.
November 14, 2025 at 6:44 AM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
Agreed.
stock photo of an elephant shrew. It looks like a wee mousey with an elongated nose.
October 23, 2025 at 11:27 AM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
It's details like these that make me think the journalist has an Opinion on AI in schools.
In response to the pushback, the government in January shifted from mandatory adoption to a one-year voluntary trial. Yoon, who had championed the AI textbook project, was impeached by the parliament for his attempt to impose martial law in December, and officially removed from presidency in April.
October 18, 2025 at 8:24 AM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
Got a bit inspired.

#Calligraphy
There is a monster in the forest and it speaks with a thouand voics. It will answer any question you pose it, it will offer insight to any idea. It will help you, it will thank you, it will never bid you leave. It will even tell you of the darkest arts, if you know precisely how to ask. It feels no joy and no sorrry, it knows no right and no wrong. It knows not truth from lie, though it speaks them all the same. It offers its services freely to any passerby, and many will tell you they find great value in its conversation. 'You simply must visit the monster--I always just ask the monster.' There are those who know these forests well; they will tell you that freely offered doesn't mean it has no price. For when the next traveler passes by, the monster speaks with a thousand and one voices. And when you dream you see the monster; the monster wears your face. @joles.bsky.social There is a monster in the forest and it speaks with a thouand voics. It will answer any question you pose it, it will offer insight to any idea. It will help you, it will thank you, it will never bid you leave. It will even tell you of the darkest arts, if you know precisely how to ask. It feels no joy and no sorrry, it knows no right and no wrong. It knows not truth from lie, though it speaks them all the same. It offers its services freely to any passerby, and many will tell you they find great value in its conversation. 'You simply must visit the monster--I always just ask the monster.' There are those who know these forests well; they will tell you that freely offered doesn't mean it has no price. For when the next traveler passes by, the monster speaks with a thousand and one voices. And when you dream you see the monster; the monster wears your face. There is a monster in the forest and it speaks with a thouand voics. It will answer any question you pose it, it will offer insight to any idea. It will help you, it will thank you, it will never bid you leave. It will even tell you of the darkest arts, if you know precisely how to ask. It feels no joy and no sorrry, it knows no right and no wrong. It knows not truth from lie, though it speaks them all the same. It offers its services freely to any passerby, and many will tell you they find great value in its conversation. 'You all the same. It offers its services freely to any passerby, and many will tell you they find great value in its conversation. 'You simply must visit the monster--I always just ask the monster.' There are those who know these forests well; they will tell you that freely offered doesn't mean it has no price. For when the next traveler passes by, the monster speaks with a thousand and one voices. And when you dream you see the monster; the monster wears your face. @joles.bsky.social
October 17, 2025 at 5:12 AM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
The Alexander Pushkin of England, it seems.
Alas, on every stray amusement I’ve wasted far too many hours, Yet were they wholly innocent I’d still wander those bright bowers. I love youth’s frantic energy, The crush, the lights, the gaiety, The girls in fashionable dress, I love their little feet, confess That, search all Russia though, You’ll not find three lovely pair. Ah, they made me long despair Two slender feet…Now sad and cold I still remember, and it seems They yet can thrill me in my dreams. Recall the sea before a storm, How I envied the waves then, Each falling there as they form To lie at her feet, in peace again! How I longed to be those seas Kissing her dear feet as they please! No, never in the fiercest fires Of tortured youth and its desires Did I so long with painful ardour To kiss the young Armida’s lips, The roses of her burning cheeks, Or her breast, filled with languor; No, passion took no greater toll, Nor ever so consumed my soul! Another day I bring to mind! Sometimes in my fondest dreams I hold that stirrup, blessed by time, The little foot I touch it seems; Again imagination blazes, Again, a simple touch amazes, Stirs blood inside my weary heart, Again the pain, again love’s art! Enough of praise though for the proud, Enough of my loquacious lyre, They’re never worth the singer’s fire, My songs inspired by that crowd. Their words, their looks, both are sweet, Yet prove as faithless….as their feet. Another day I bring to mind! Sometimes in my fondest dreams I hold that stirrup, blessed by time, The little foot I touch it seems; Again imagination blazes, Again, a simple touch amazes, Stirs blood inside my weary heart, Again the pain, again love’s art! Enough of praise though for the proud, Enough of my loquacious lyre, They’re never worth the singer’s fire, My songs inspired by that crowd. Their words, their looks, both are sweet, Yet prove as faithless….as their feet. 59. Love faded then the Muse appeared, My darkened mind grew clear again, Now free, my verse no longer feared Music’s magic, thought, and pain. I write, my heart no longer suffers, My pen I find no longer wanders, Sketching women’s legs and feet, Beside some lines still incomplete. The cold ash hides no smouldering ember, I’m grieving still, but free of tears, The storm that shook my soul for years Soon, soon my mind will not remember: Then what an epic I’ll contrive, A poem in cantos, twenty-five!
October 9, 2025 at 6:44 AM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
Post a fictional comedian who definitely would accept an invitation to the Riyadh Comedy Festival.
Sophie Lennon from The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
September 30, 2025 at 8:49 PM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
I literally made this YESTERDAY when discussing goodness of biscuits with a colleague. (Note that the colour-coding refers to milk-chocolate vs. dark-chocolate, not plain vs. any-chocolate).

Please note that I have also recently discovered biscoff spread, so this plot may soon be obsolete.
A barplot showing the goodness of biscuits, grouped by type (digestive vs. hobnob) and chocolate-coating variety (dark vs. milk). In order, dark-chocolate hobnots are superior, followed by milk-chocolate hobnots, then dark-chocolate digestives, than milk-chocolate digestives.
September 18, 2025 at 9:46 AM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
QT with your weekend plans
Painting of a young woman lounging incredibly slovenly-ly on a couch with a book in her hand. (Ramon Casas, 'Decadent young woman. After the dance'. 1999
September 13, 2025 at 8:08 AM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
Newark Castle, in Fife. I spent a beautiful afternoon there reading Hild, by Nicola Griffith, in the shade of one of the ruined walls, while whales migrated off the coast.

Looking now at the picture, and the ominous lean of that ruined wall, I fear this was a risky action for health and safety.
A ruined castle on a bluff overlooking the sea. It is seriously, seriously ruined. There's a single-storey wall encircling the main keep, one portion of it rising to form an arch that might once have been part of the second storey, and another part rising high enough maybe to be a third story, or possibly a watchtower, but really all we can infer is based on the height of the ruined walls. There is no roof, no floor. Just walls. A rickety wall on the edge of a hill overlooking the sea, with a person in a straw hat sitting in its shadow. The wall looks like it is a single breath of wind away from falling over on the person. Seriously. I am that person, and can attest from personal experience that nothing bad happened, but that crack in the mortar about 2/3 of the way up still gives me hives just looking at it.
September 3, 2025 at 5:14 PM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
Hah, I finished this just yesterday.
Islamic geometric pattern with 4-fold symmetry. Blue rosettes (8 petals) with central mauve 8-pointed stars, surrounded by a purple border of more 8-pointed stars, on blue-grey handmade paper with a distinct texture. The shapes are outlined in gold. Angled view of Islamic geometric pattern with 4-fold symmetry. Blue rosettes (8 petals) with central mauve 8-pointed stars, surrounded by a purple border of more 8-pointed stars, on blue-grey handmade paper with a distinct texture. The shapes are outlined in gold, and the angle of the view means that the nearest edge of the shapes is shining in the light slightly.
August 21, 2025 at 8:54 AM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
I got my Schmitspot a friend! Artist is on IG and facebook as @weelainyglass, and on Etsy as Lainylampwork.

@roseschmits.bsky.social
Ceramic pot holding paintbrushes with tentacle legs (the pot has tentacles not the paintbrushes), on one of which is hanging a wee glass bead on an orange cord with an orange jellyfish embedded inside (the bead has the jellyfish inside it, not the cord). Close up shot of a clear glass bead with an incredibly delicate orange jellyfish embedded inside.
August 19, 2025 at 9:06 AM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
It is not Flat Fuck Friday yet, but given how the loaf of bread I just baked turned out, I feel justified in indulging in a little time-hop.
A photograph of a very large alligator which is substantially wider than it is tall. In fact, it quite resembles the loaf of bread I just baked. Both, you see, are exceptionally flat. However, the resemblance ends there, because while this property is a disappointment in my bread, it only adds charm and elegance to the alligator's presentation.
July 22, 2025 at 9:21 AM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
A bedraggled soggy skunk trudges through the mud, with scraggly looking grass poking through in the background. Caption reads 'It hecken danp'
July 15, 2025 at 2:35 PM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
Words -- and pictures, too -- are not capable of capturing the ridiculous vividness of this rainbow that greeted us outside the back door of our holiday rental in the Scottish highlands.
A view of a small, sloping backyard, separated by a brown plank fence from a sheepfield, beyond which are some trees, and beyond that are distant mountains. The sky is cloudy, but the landscape is in sunlight, and over this absurdly idyllic view stretches a magnificent rainbow which, however vivid it may appear in this picture, is not half as bright as it was in real life.
June 26, 2025 at 6:33 PM
ergative-abs.bsky.social
Bluesky in Cuomo's inbox right now, it seems:
screenshot of a mastodon post from a post called 'I Hope This Email Finds You': I hope this email finds you in a place of brokenness, hurt, or despair.
June 25, 2025 at 5:36 AM