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martinrakow.bsky.social
Mrtnrkw
@martinrakow.bsky.social
Guess we're on this site now
Reposted by Mrtnrkw
A neat tool I just came across: Viabundus, a digital road map of northern Europe 1350-1650, that lets you calculate contemporary travel routes/times. In 1500, going Amiens → Köln by horse took almost 7 days and 13 toll payments.

#medievalsky

www.landesgeschichte.uni-goettingen.de/handelsstras...
October 24, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Reposted by Mrtnrkw
The word ‘to hear’ stems from the same root as ‘acoustic’.

They’re completely different, so how can that be?

‘To hear’ was inherited from Proto-Germanic, while ‘acoustic’ comes from Ancient Greek.

These languages have a common ancestor, but they developed very differently.

Zoom in to learn more:
October 19, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Reposted by Mrtnrkw
I believe The Mouse will find a way to stop this but it would be extremely funny if SB79, the bill allowing apartments to be built near transit stops throughout California, ends up allowing homes near Disneyland because the monorail is technically transit
October 12, 2025 at 10:06 PM
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October 7, 2025 at 1:56 PM
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Replication Crisis

xkcd.com/3117/
July 21, 2025 at 11:54 PM
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Publication day! My new article in ASCHKENAS has appeared: "The Mother Tongues of Medieval English Jews"—ever wondered if the Jews of medieval England might have spoken English? This article's for you, #medievalsky. Check it out: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
The Mother Tongues of Medieval English Jews
Scholars of Anglo-Jewish history have traditionally described medieval English Jews as French-speaking, and there is strong and varied evidence of their facility with French, as well as with Hebrew, A...
www.degruyterbrill.com
May 27, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Mrtnrkw
From Sotomayor's dissent, which she's now reading from the bench:

"The President has made a 'solemn mockery' of our Constitution. Rather than stand firm, the Court gives way. Because such complicity should know no place in our system of law, I dissent." www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
June 27, 2025 at 2:15 PM
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In her dissent from today's decision—Mahmoud v. Taylor—Justice Sotomayor says that the court's holding "threatens the very essence of public education," and that its "reverberations" will be felt "for generations." This is a very heartfelt and mournful dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
June 27, 2025 at 2:53 PM
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A Documentation of the Occitan Language of Languedoc, or "un langdoc de la langue d'oc du Languedoc"
they need to write an occitan descriptive grammar called un langdoc de la langue d'oc
June 22, 2025 at 2:49 PM
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Normal Greeks: “emergency exit procedure.”

Me, a late antique Hellenist: “liturgy of the exodus of danger.”
June 17, 2025 at 6:02 PM
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"i asked grok" "i asked chagpt" yeah well I inquired unto Urim and the Thummim and found that my own son Jonathan was he who breached the oath to refrain from food until nightfall
June 15, 2025 at 9:20 PM
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Just had a great discussion with some Stanford Law students! Now to open my phone and make sure the Supreme Court didn’t overturn a famous 90 year-old precedent on the shadow docket during the last hour.
May 22, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Reposted by Mrtnrkw
You can be evicted for: calling 911 too many times; being wrongly accused of shoplifting; having a son with a disability who needs help; being a victim of domestic violence.

This is "crime-free housing" in America.

A searing, crucial investigation by Sidnee King Pineda:
Under ‘Crime-Free Housing’ Laws, Families May Be Evicted for Minor Offenses
www.nytimes.com
May 13, 2025 at 11:54 PM
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April 22, 2025 at 4:04 PM
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Mob linguist threatening to break your legs unless you pay back your loanwords
April 15, 2025 at 11:19 PM
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them: I'm learning javascript
March 15, 2025 at 5:34 PM
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sentiment check from bloomberg opinion
March 31, 2025 at 11:20 PM
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The absences are absolutely damning.
Notably missing: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia. Kind of mindblowing to me given what the substance of this letter is: "government should not retaliate against law firms"
Dean Chemerinsky and other #lawschool deans "speak as legal educators, responsible for training the next generation of lawyers, in condemning any government efforts to punish lawyers or their firms based on the identity of their clients or for their zealous lawful and ethical advocacy."
March 27, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Reposted by Mrtnrkw
The Trump administration defied Judge Boasberg's order on the basis of its theory that courts have no authority to review or restrict the president's alleged constitutional right to deport immigrants. That theory, if accepted, would mark the end of constitutional democracy. slate.com/news-and-pol...
March 17, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Mrtnrkw
I tested it, because it seemed so craven, grotesque, and absurd, but if you put in the original URL it changes to the "DEI" version automatically.
www.defense.gov/News/Feature...
March 16, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Reposted by Mrtnrkw
The absolute devastation that @chuckschumer.com is about to inflict on D.C. by supporting the GOP’s continuing resolution is hard to overstate. Massive cuts to schools and law enforcement. Teachers laid off en masse. Basic city services may grind to a halt because we *cannot spend our own money.*
March 14, 2025 at 12:32 AM
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I'm a big fan of the Irish goodbye. Which goes without saying
March 11, 2025 at 4:58 PM
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BREAKING: Judge blocks Columbia pro-Palestinian protest organizer Mahmoud Khalil's removal from US pending further action on habeas petition. Doc: www.documentcloud.org/documents/25... Earlier: www.politico.com/news/2025/03...
March 10, 2025 at 9:04 PM
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The Uralic languages? The reconstructed ancestor of the Alic languages?
March 6, 2025 at 9:28 PM
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Pitch-perfect response to Interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin from @georgetownlaw.bsky.social Dean Bill Treanor.

It’s always a privilege and honor to be part of the GULC community (and to be Bill’s colleague), but *especially* today.
March 6, 2025 at 8:41 PM