iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by James Connolly

Andrew WM Smith @smidbob.bsky.social · 21h

On Monday 19 Oct, we welcome Venita Datta (Wellesley) to the @ihr.bsky.social Modern French History seminar to speak on 'French Celebrity Politics and Mass Culture at the Fin de Siècle: General Georges Boulanger'. Come along or sign up via zoom: www.history.ac.uk/news-events/... 🗃️ #skystorians

history.ac.uk

French Celebrity Politics and Mass Culture at the Fin de Siècle: General Georges Boulanger

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Just finished a two-hour seminar and realised I'd had my flies undone the whole time. I'd also forgotten my lecture notes so had to freestyle it, and accidentally earlier got pen marks on my shirt. All in all, a great first class. (More seriously, the students were great!)

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Ugh, just ordering food and noticed the text in the corner. Not sure I want this frAId rice.

A photo of mushroom fried rice, with accompanying words, from Just Eat. The photo contains a sign saying 'AI generated.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

It's the academic equivalent of a TV show with a constant "coming up..." preview, at multiple points throughout the episode.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I've probably been guilty of this in my own writing, but it's so draining when a piece of academic writing *repeatedly* tells you what it's going to do, taking ages to get to the heart of the matter... Please, just get stuck in!

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Isn't Leia technically an Estates General?

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

My five-year-old, talking about Lego sets he'd like: "That's 8+, which is only 3 birthdays away. And 10+ is only 5 birthdays away!" Trust me, I know, little guy... Damn you, passage of time!

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I'm sure this will be a great night - @drstevex.bsky.social is a fantastic MC, and I had the pleasure of performing at the last comedy event at the Brunel Museum, which was the highlight of my comedy 'career' so far.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The misspelling of De Gaulle here is a little gaulling...

A sign reading: 'Métropole européenne de Lille. Place du général de Gaul. Travaux de voirie du 7-9 au 9-10.'

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

For incoming UG students, I should add.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

My moment like that came 2 years ago, when I realised there was the same age difference between them and me as between my mum and me (I have a young mum - 20 years' difference).

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Maths? Ocarina of Times Tables. Same, and those were the days when my twin brother and I took turns so it was a joint achievement.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I probably need to get a Switch 2. Ocarina of Time was my favourite game ever until the original Deus Ex came out.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I'm often confused by remakes because they hit us in the nostalgia gland, and if done well they capture how the original felt. I can find myself wondering what's new, then go back to the original and my eyes bleed.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I'm currently reading (and censoring on the fly) The Hobbit to my five-year-old son. Since I normally speak French to him, I did ponder whether I should use the French versions of names but I just can't cope with Bilbon Sacquet.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Wonder if it was a long process of testing my fears, and focusing on living in the present. Not sure if this is useful - don't think "be even more anxious but in a specific way" is healthy advice! Could be better than the "just don't worry about it/so much" advice I get a lot, though...

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I had a panic disorder linked to generalised anxiety. Whilst the anxiety remains, the panic disorder stopped. CBT & meditation helped a bit, but ultimately Covid hit & I ended up being *extremely* anxious about that for at least 4 years - felt like redirecting the anxiety confused my body and mind.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

What about the Prince Imperial, AKA Napoleon IV, who is also buried there? He died fighting the Anglo-Zulu War, which seems right up Reform's street. Also, I once visited their tombs and it was *weird*: a caricature of a monk explaining the "brave" death of the Prince Imperial was a low point.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Preparing for the culture wars young.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

My son, just recently turned 5 and after his first day in Year 1: "Today we learnt left and right. Now I can go to universary and be a teacher."

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

So exhausting that I can't spell 'exhausting', it seems!

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Son has just started Year 1, so we survived the first ever summer holiday - with me doing most of the childcare by myself and getting barely any work done. It was exhaustin but now he's back at school, I'm missing him!

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Definitely true of occupied France in WWI: Germans explicitly rejected invocations of the Hague Convention with statements such as "We'll let jurists decide later what is legal, but in the meantime we will act this way, make certain demands of you and you WILL comply or face punishment."

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I'm honoured! Is it the 1916 Hôtel de Ville fire and destruction of archival documents?

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Can email you a video of the whole routine if you're interested...

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Had that in my routine too: "That's why they're called the Flemish!£

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Proofreading my forthcoming article, and still disproportionately pleased that I managed to sneak a rubbish joke into footnote 95 (a joke that I once used on stage in a stand-up routine about this very article).

Main text reads: 'The image of spitting Frenchmen—this was gendered—appears often in Liller. A May 1916 cartoon joked that a Frenchman spits to “wash away the Germans.” More realistic drawings of locals show men or boys spitting, and in an April 1917 article about a Lille barbershop, the “dirty” barber displayed poor hygiene: blowing his nose in his hands, wiping them on his trousers, sneezing, “Or he must spit. The French must always spit.”'

Footnote 95 reads: 'W., “Der Liller Guckkastenmann.” If true, these may have been the spitting image of genuine inhabitants of Lille.'

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

You're welcome! And yep, the other chapters are great reads - the whole topic is fascinating (especially the evolving language and approach: adoptions, twinning, sister cities...).

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

My chapter was translated as: '»Alliierte« über den Krieg hinaus: Britische Zeitungen und »Patenschaften« mit französischen Städten nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg.' Happy to share it, or the original English, if anyone's interested!

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

#academicsky let's celebrate the edited book chapter. What's an edited book chapter that you're particularly proud of, or you think deserves more readers? #celebratebookchapter Proud of my chapter on British 'adoptions' of French communes/towns, 1918-39 in: www.wallstein-verlag.de/978383533211...

wallstein-verlag.de

Städtepartnerschaften in Europa im 20. Jahrhundert

So begann eine der ersten Städtepartnerschaften: Im Dezember 1918 schickte die Stadt Manchester der Gemeinde Lille einen Weihnachtsbaum. Städtepartnerschaften ermöglichen als »alternative Szene« der ...

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

The latest one was: "I didn't have enough pieces to build a track, but - goodness! - I found a way!"

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

"Do you have an air conditioner at home?" "No, only 'air shampoo."

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Thought you might appreciate that one the most!

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

I am aware of the problems with Blyton's worldview, but The Magic Faraway Tree was my wife's favourite book at our son's age, so that's why he reads/listens to it.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

My nearly five-year-old son has become so obsessed with The Magic Faraway Tree audiobooks that he's talking like a posh child from 1939. E.g. - "I'm longing to do X" - "I expect I'll like X" - "I dare say I'll enjoy X" - "Yes, indeed, I would like my bagel toasted." - "That's a fine drawing!"

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Had a horrible start to the morning with a nuclear meltdown from my four-year-old, but I've just come out of the shower to find him in the front room, listening to an audiobook on his Yoto whilst reading another book out loud to himself. Maybe we haven't completely screwed up parenting.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

I have to live with the niggling parallel universe idea that my brother could have lived his life. And that Tom Holland went to the same school I also went to; until him, the most notable alumni was Paul Merton.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

My younger brother used to sit next to him in lots of classes in high school. Imagine how said brother feels.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Just watched a video (a French news report from 1975) from INA.fr on YouTube, and to my disgust found that YouTube had automatically turned on an AI-assisted English dub.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Yesterday: 25 women plus me. Not even any grandads!

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

My son's observation about gendered holiday childcare in the form of a question: "Were you the only Daddy at Clip 'n' climb [today], Daddy? You were the only Daddy at Bopping Tots [yesterday], too."

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Today my son finishes his first year at primary school. He's not even 5 yet, and is now on his fifth Prime Minister. Fully expect to be on Prime Minister number 18 when he finishes school for good.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

My record of performing stand-up at least once a month since January will now be broken, as I was due to perform tomorrow but the England match has meant my 'bringer' (a friend who watches, usually compulsory) has pulled out, and none of the other friends I've tried can make it. A shame.

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Indeed. Often it's very much a case of "Yes, the voices in my head are very much aware of this and often stop me sleeping because of it, thanks!"

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James Connolly @drjamesconnolly.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

I agree, but I guess I still reel from some legitimate criticisms of my work as focusing more on the French perspective!

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