iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

This week’s proverb is a warning to those who are reckless in the face of danger, so, if you’ve been searching for something to say to that one friend who goes to the beach in the middle of a hurricane, here you go!

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Ennius @enniusredloeb.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Noah and his family in the ark together with the animals BL Add MS 18576; Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʼ, History of the Prophets, by Ibráhím al-Naishápúri; 16th century; f.19v @britishlibrary.bsky.social

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Save Ancient Studies Alliance @saveancientstudies.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

WEEK ONE: WITCHES 🧙‍♀️ Each week during the Halloween Bash, all posts will have a new theme. Stay tuned and follow for more! #SASA #halloween #ancientstudies #classics

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𝚂𝚊𝚒𝚝 @muhammetsaydogan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

And to match the "when pigs fly" vibe, we say "balık kavağa çıkınca"(when the fish climbs the poplar tree). Funnily, we also have a saying about male animals reproducing: "öküzün altında buzağı aramak"(looking for a calf under an ox) for being unnecessarily suspicious.

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𝚂𝚊𝚒𝚝 @muhammetsaydogan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

To capture the actual meaning of the rooster's egg as something that happens rarely, we say "kırk yılda bir"(once in 40 years) in Turkish. Classical Ottoman literature even borrowed the exact Arabic phrase "beyza-i dik"(بيضة ديك) to describe unique, once-in-a-lifetime things.

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Today’s proverb describes something that has only happened once, which is funny because it sounds like it should be equivalent to “when pigs fly”, doesn’t it? Do you have a similar saying in your language? Let me know in the comments!

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Save Ancient Studies Alliance @saveancientstudies.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

📜 Want to take a deep dive into an ancient studies topic, but don't know where to start? Check out the SASA Intro Guides project to get basic overviews of general and complex topics (large and small)! ➡️ Check out our Intro Guides here: saveancientstudies.org/intro-guides

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Steffen Hope @hopesteffen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This modernised version of Mr. Jones is bloody brilliant.

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

You know what I would do if I were you? Sign up for Spoken PIE this term w/the crew. You’ll have lots of fun, be able to take the class at a discount (it’s only $129 right now !) + you’ll be able to talk to each other in PIE afterwards. Sign up link in pinned post • bio!

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Ennius @enniusredloeb.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

September 29th is the Feast of St Michael and All Angels. Here is depicted the company of angels: Seraphs, Cherubs, and Thrones. BL Royal MS 6 E IX; Convenevole da Prato, Carmina regia; c1335 CE; Italy (Tuscany); f.6r @blmedieval.bsky.social

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Did you only just see my post from yesterday? Well, don’t worry … …our course registration deadline has been extended until Tuesday, Sept. 29th! Sign up link in bio! (It’s because I’m still doing website stuff, but, hey, at least there’s an upside to my inefficiency)!

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

A former student who is now a college student majoring in Classics recently told me that she was really disappointed that most of her classmates in Classics classes were there purely to get an easy A. She wants to be challenged.

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

More info + sign up link in my pinned post + bio!

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

FAQ Thread: Who are you two? I’m Dr. Valerie and I have a Ph. D. in Classics. My husband, Dr. Thomas, has a Ph. D. in Indo-European Studies. 1/

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B.S.W. Barootes @barootes.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

And yet I was only allowed to access a 1955 B.Litt. thesis, the only lengthy study on Robert Braybrooke, in person and take notes (no photos). I had to sign a register of those who had ever accessed the thesis.

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

… time to sign up, that is! Registration closes Sunday, Sept. 27th, so don’t delay! Link in my pinned post + bio! PS: Remember, all Arabic courses + Spoken PIE are now only $129! Questions? DM me.

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Every once in a while, I come across a site that channels the spirit of the Old Internet — this is my current favorite: laurelpoetry.com A million lines of poetry + the ability to search them. Completely free + without ads! Share+ bookmark! Thanks @contubernales.bsky.social for creating this. 🙏

laurelpoetry.com

Laurel · A million lines of verse, free to read and study

More than four hundred books of poetry, going back to Homer, every poem set out the way a good edition sets one: the rhymes lettered, the stresses marked, the hard words explained. With the editors’ n...

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Steffen Hope @hopesteffen.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Earlier this evening, a friend & I went on an excursion to photograph a stretch of the old road that was built in the 1860s, which was replaced by the road in the picture in the 1930s. So much of the modern history of my village is the history of infrastructure.

In the foreground, a tarmac road is bending slightly from the right-hand corner towards the centre of the photo. Along the road, a series of stones are standing, functioning as a kind of safety rail. On the left-hand side of the road, a slope in autumnal colours disappears into the darkness of a pine forest. On the right-hand side of the road, fir-trees and yellow and orange ferns inhabit the sloping side of a crag. In the centre of the picture is a car. In the background, grey mountains preside over the landscape against the golden grey of an oncoming twilight.

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This week’s proverb was requested by increpare over on The Other Site, who has been reading Freytag too! What does it mean? Well, Freytag says it alludes to the swift agreement of brothers in matters of love. Have you been following along as well + want to read Freytag on your own? 1/

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Two more excellent reasons to learn Russian:

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Markˣ @shjsat.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Spanish wotd holgazán ‘deadbeat, lazybones’ From Arabic كَسلان ‘lazy’

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

If you’ve been studying Ancient Greek on your own for a while and you’d appreciate this accountability of a group class, we’re offering a grammar class as well as a reading class this fall. Learn more + sign up at the link in my pinned post/bio!

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Ennius @enniusredloeb.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Here's a variety of techniques on display: BnF Latin 16745; Bible; 12th c; f.178v @gallicabnf.bsky.social BnF MS Latin 10; 12th c; France; f.260r @gallicabnf.bsky.social Dijon, Bibliothèque municipale, MS 2; 12th c; France; f.370r BnF MS Latin 94; 10th c;f.31r @gallicabnf.bsky.social

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Can’t read the news in Arabic but want to? If you take Beginners Arabic this fall, you can take Lower Intermediate Arabic this spring and Media Arabic this summer. And, yes, previous students have done exactly that! Sign up link in pinned post + bio. Questions? DM me!

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Anne Louise Avery @annelouiseavery.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

🍂 Today on my patreon, Number Twenty-one of Old Fox's Grand List of Thirty Things to Do in September: Baking an Equinoxial Pie! Join for this and thousands of other stories and recipes! Help a starving writer and feed your soul! www.patreon.com/annelouiseav...

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Thanks to everyone who came to our Spoken PIE talk! It’s always great to meet people who are interested in learning about our little project — especially because my profs in grad school seemed convinced that PIE studies didn’t have a future. They couldn’t have been more wrong.

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

You know my humans’ talk on Spoken Proto Indo-European is tomorrow (Sun., Sept. 20th) at 3 PM EDT, right? It’s their favorite topic, so I’m sure it’ll be interesting. Plus, I might even make an appearance … ! DM for the Zoom link

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Anne Louise Avery @annelouiseavery.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

For sale! Hundreds of postcards newly posted on my Etsy shop, including rare early 1900s scenes of Egypt and India. Link here: sourisdesmoissons.etsy.com

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Our Fall Term schedule is now set —check out the graphics for details (class times, cost, etc.)! Sign up for classes here: forms.gle/gS6N985kTnnD... Questions? DM me!

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Steffen Hope @hopesteffen.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

there's some weird things going on in the sea - David Mitchell, The Unbelievable Truth S33E06 [Valenciennes - BM - ms. 0320, f.120v]

Illumination from a late-thirteenth-century manuscript containing De Natura Rerum by Thomas de Cantimpré, showing the "zytirone", a fish with a knight's helmet on its head and carrying a shield.

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I found today’s saying in the comments on proverb #112 — Freytag says it’s an expression of amazement + praise. PS: If you’ve ever wondered what a chieftain’s speech to his men would’ve sounded like in Proto Indo-European — check out my pinned post!

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

… but it’s almost too late to pre-register! Pre-registration closes tonight (Sept. 16th) at 11:59 PM Eastern! So, head over to the link in my bio to maximize the chance that the course you want to take will be offered at a time that works for you!

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Alexander Jabbari @ajab.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Never studied Syriac but if you know Arabic and Hebrew it's so transparent, like reading Italian after learning Spanish and French قم גבר, ܙܠ بشغلك And ܙܠ has cognates in both Arabic and Hebrew, though they don't work idiomatically here

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

If you’ve ever wondered what Proto Indo-European might’ve sounded like, come along to our free Spoken PIE Zoom seminar! Date: Sunday, Sept. 20th Time: 3 PM Eastern Sign up here to get the link: forms.gle/NyBadGPaykkY...

forms.gle

This is a seminar by Thomas Smitherman, Ph.D. in Comparative Indo-European Linguistics about the method, challenges, questions, and rewards of adapting Proto-Indo-European into a more accessible writt...

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Adam Bremer-McCollum @acbm.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Syriac wotd ܡܘܚܐ /muḥḥå/ 🧠 "brain, marrow" Def. by Bar Bahlul (1029) with Arb مخّ /muḫḫ/ & دماغ /dimāġ/. For ܡܘܚܐ (+ other Aram) and مخّ, note also Heb מוח /ˈmōaḥ/, as well as Akk /muḫḫu/ "skull, top" (+ adv & prep uses).

The top corner of a page from Bar Bahlul's Syriac-Arabic dictionary, with five lines of lemmas. A cartoon wolf face can be seen at the top right.

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Interested in any of our courses? Pre-registration maximizes the chances that the courses you’re considering will be offered at times that work for you. But hurry, pre-registration closes Wed., Sep. 16th! Click the link below to pre-register: forms.gle/DhjZsVh9myio...

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Save Ancient Studies Alliance @saveancientstudies.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

🎮 CALLING ALL EDUCATORS! Celebrating National Online Learning Day? Check out our FREE Archaeogaming Education Module (AEM) - All Roads Lead to Rome: Making and Maintaining the Roman Empire ➡️saveancientstudies.org/archaeogaming-modules #SaveAncientStudies #Archaeogaming #Education

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Steffen Hope @hopesteffen.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Kaupanger stave church, built in the late twelfth century.

View of a brown stave church atop a small, grass-covered hill, with a stone wall at its base, flanked by clumps of tall leaf-bearing trees. All of this is seen against a blue, cloudless sky.

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Pssst! Do you want to learn how to read Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian? Fill out our pre-registration form and choose “Modern Scandinavian Lamguages”. Here’s the link to the form: forms.gle/DhjZsVh9myio...

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

…not only that, our Spoken PIE course includes a story about a hedgehog! Find out more about this and our other courses by clicking here: forms.gle/DhjZsVh9myio... Still have questions? DM me!

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Bettina Joy de Guzman @ancientlyric.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Thank you, so much, Flint! It was great being on your livestream YouTube, immediately followed by your being on my channel! Yeeeyyy!! Til next time!!

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

On September 10, 2001 I was a nerdy high schooler whose hobby was learning Arabic. By September 12th, people were already telling me that I could (and should) turn my hobby into the beginnings of a career in “government” (a euphemism for intelligence). 1/

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Steffen Hope @hopesteffen.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

During today's research, I've learned about the fox of the feast of Saint Olaf. If the hay was not in the barn by July 29, that fox would shit on the barn floor & there would not be enough fodder for the spring.

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Benjamin Suchard @bnuyaminim.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Best wishes for Year 5787 since the breakup of Proto-Semitic to all who celebrate

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Dr. Valerie @drvalerieisin.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Twelve reasons to learn Russian:

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