Jonathan Dean
@hergrim.bsky.social
2K followers 230 following 1.9K posts
Delivery driver and r/AskHistorians mod. Dabbler in medieval history, fantasy nerd, Australian. He/Him; She/Her 🏳️‍🌈
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hergrim.bsky.social
Hello to all my new followers. I'm u/Hergrim over on AskHistorians, and here I'm mostly intermittently active and post about medieval warfare, various random thoughts about medieval warfare, occasionally the intersection of history and fantasy and whatever else takes my fancy.
Reposted by Jonathan Dean
bretdevereaux.bsky.social
Worth a friendly reminder that the next set of nation-wide No Kings protests are set for October 18th.

There's probably one in your area.

I am not generally a crowds or protests sort of person, but there's one in my town and I'll be at it on the 18th.

www.nokings.org
No Kings
As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power ...
www.nokings.org
Reposted by Jonathan Dean
junoryleejournalism.com
David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)
SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.
Reposted by Jonathan Dean
evilhat.bsky.social
Historian @shannonappelcline.bsky.social spent nearly a decade researching the history behind each and every release TSR put out for OD&D, AD&D 1e, and Basic D&D.
How many products does Designers & Dragons: Origins cover?
Answer: this many.
Follow the project here:
www.backerkit.com/call_to_acti...
A tiled mosaic of over 320 products released by TSR for OD&D, AD&D 1e, and Basic D&D. From the first copy of Chainmail to the digital release of Orc's Head.
hergrim.bsky.social
I've been saying "appa-latchia", so I'll try and remember that it's all apples and no chia.
hergrim.bsky.social
Rop covers Cunaxa in detail for the second chapter of his book, "Greek Military Service in the Ancient Near East, 401–330 BCE". It's quite an interesting read! The idea itself goes back to the early 1990s and is still a matter of (minor) contention.
hergrim.bsky.social
I had to double check, but while Xenophon mentions the Greeks charging the Persians again, the Persians "fled" again.

I think Jeffrey Rop has made the best case for a Persian feigned retreat, and he's right that it's a little suspicious no spears were dropped by the Persian infantry.
Reposted by Jonathan Dean
delafina777.bsky.social
Okay, with 187 samples in (still looking for more!) let's talk about results so far!
delafina777.bsky.social
Hey all, I'm trying to get a baseline for how good people are at detecting whether fiction is AI-generated or human-written (most of the research on this is for nonfiction and my hypothesis is we're better with fiction).

If you have time, give it a try?

jlp-experiment.github.io/ai-detection...
AI vs Human Fiction Detection Test
jlp-experiment.github.io
hergrim.bsky.social
Her first appearance is legendary: tapas.io/episode/3348....

Just look at those guns: tapas.io/episode/3348...
Reposted by Jonathan Dean
hergrim.bsky.social
How's it meant to be pronounced?
hergrim.bsky.social
Yeah, banning 4chan outright seems like the best bet. Just get them to admit they aren't going to adhere to the rules and say "whoops, sorry, can't let you remain accessible from Australia, byyyyyeeeeee".
Reposted by Jonathan Dean
apexmag.bsky.social
WE'RE 30% FUNDED!! 🎉🎉🎉 Apex will be open to nonfiction pitches FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! ✨

Want to unlock the next chapter of Apex? Please consider backing our Kickstarter and help us keep publishing the strange, surreal, shocking, beautiful stories you love!
Apex Magazine 2026
An award-winning digital literary magazine of science fiction, dark fantasy, and horror.
www.kickstarter.com
Reposted by Jonathan Dean
askhistorians.bsky.social
Its #AMA time! #Skystorians can stop by AskHistorians to chat with Dr. Casey Schmitt! You have the chance to ask any & all questions about maritime violence in English and French colonization of the Caribbean.
www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
I'm Dr. Casey Schmitt and I teach early American history at Cornell University. My new book, The Predatory Sea: Human Trafficking and Captivity in the Seventeenth-Century Caribbean, tells the story of...
www.reddit.com
hergrim.bsky.social
My experience of melatonin is sleeping like the dead until 2am, then being completely wide awake and wired until *just* before I have to go to work, so I hope it works better for you!
Reposted by Jonathan Dean
paracactus.bsky.social
Behold! The first discussion thread for #TheMagnusArchivesReadalong is up! Come join us 👁️👁️
From the Fantasy community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the Fantasy community
www.reddit.com
Reposted by Jonathan Dean
adamchapman.bsky.social
This is, make no mistake, a very big deal (and about time too!).
eicathomefinn.bsky.social
'A nationwide survey commissioned by Henry VIII on the property and wealth of 16th century England and Wales is to be made publicly accessible for the first time.

The survey, known as the Valor Ecclesiasticus, set out to discover the financial state of the Church'.
National project launched to rediscover Henry VIII’s long-forgotten ‘Tudor Domesday Book’
A nationwide survey commissioned by Henry VIII on the property and wealth of 16th century England and Wales is to be made publicly accessible for the first time. The survey, known as the Valor Ecclesi...
news.exeter.ac.uk
Reposted by Jonathan Dean
brainfrog.bsky.social
Apologies, somehow the original was deleted. I'm undergoing my 3rd urgent, non-elective revision spinal fusion this Oct to replace & extend my hardware. I'd appreciate any help in achieving this goal to ensure I have the resources necessary to recover safely & fully.
www.gofundme.com/f/leeanns-3r...
Donate to Lee-Ann's 3rd Spine Surgery Survival Fund, organized by Lee-Ann SB
Hey folks, my name is Lee-Ann. I'm a thirtysomething living in Ontario, Canada… Lee-Ann SB needs your support for Lee-Ann's 3rd Spine Surgery Survival Fund
www.gofundme.com
hergrim.bsky.social
My kingdom for a historical fiction author who writes Cunaxa as Xenophon did or played with the feigned retreat idea.
hergrim.bsky.social
Xenophon: So, uh, yeah, we charged the Persian line, chased light infantry for a mile and a half, didn't catch them and got our employer killed.

Every historical fiction (and at least one fantasy) author: *description of Greeks slaughtering tens of thousands of Persian soldiers*
hergrim.bsky.social
Yikes!

Hopefully it's not as bad as first impressions.
Reposted by Jonathan Dean
depleti.bsky.social
Hey I actually posted something like a comic page on Patreon (okay it's a cover but still).

#tmk
Chapter 24 Cover | Sarah Schanze
Get more from Sarah Schanze on Patreon
www.patreon.com