illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 1hA counter-factual here is that Batman and Superman and now closer to the creation of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes than they are to the present day. In some respects these IP are contemporary to each other. 000
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 29/09/2026I wrote a Substack article about my theory that the First World War killed off a disproportionate number of people from Scots-speaking regions and so had a greater effect on the Scots language than is often thought. chrisgilmour.substack.com/p/ww1-war-de...chrisgilmour.substack.comWW1 War deaths in Scots speaking townsIn which I go on a full on rabbit-hole quest and find a under-recognised cause of the decline of the Scots language 100
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 29/09/2026To be fair, in Scotland today we do have the Scots Language Publication Grants. Nothing to stop an imaginative publisher using the grants to deliver books to libraries on horseback. 111
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialDr. Nick Posegay @nposegay.northsky.social · 28/09/2026I also saved some of the google maps images from before they did this update: bsky.app/profile/npos... 0154
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialAndy 🏴 @a-ghalldachd.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Frankly obscene that the response to this from the US (and fuckin Tony Blair) has been to just talk about real estate development. The Hague for the lot of them 031
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 28/09/2026I'm pretty sure there is a paradox here. I'm not a government. But I know that at some point in the future I'm going to have an electric car. Not right now, because I can't afford it. And even if I could afford it, I would probably wait few years for the price to come down. 100
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialDavid Bent @davidbent.bsky.social · 28/09/2026"As an...economic historian...I know that “anything that can be mass-produced will fall in price dramatically when it is mass produced”....And yet I forgot it." @timleunig.bsky.social on battery prices & path to Net Zero. So. Many. People. Make. This. Mistake. timleunig.substack.com/p/i-was-wrongtimleunig.substack.comI was wrongAnd what I learned from it. 22312
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialEmily Gorcenski @emily.gorcen.ski · 28/09/2026Here’s the most incredible story you’ll read today. A small plane with four people aboard crashes in a field. Another pilot witnesses it. That pilot happens to be flying a bunch of skydivers. They offer to jump to assist, are given permission. The skydivers happen to be EMTs. Everyone survives.wisn.comSkydivers alert emergency crews, assist after plane crashes near East Troy airportFour people were aboard the single-engine plane when it went down in a cornfield near Carvers School Road in East Troy at about 1:30 p.m. 122101782624
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialMJ Hibbett @mjhibbett.bsky.social · 28/09/2026All of Simon's substacks are GRATE but this one is especially so - idiocy! excitement! too many Stellas! It's got the lot! 173
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialRose Schmits @roseschmits.bsky.social · 24/07/2026Damn turns out just saying “we’re not involved in this war” doesn’t matter when the other party sees u helping wage war on them 538351
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 28/09/2026I've written quite a hefty Substack article about my theory that the First World War did more damage to the Scots language than anything else. But I'm scared to publish it, because hundreds of thousands of people dying is a sensitive subject. 020
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Aw man, I'm trying to find a comic strip I saw on the socials, maybe a month agao or two months ago. It was a colourful four-panel job about people making a club for people "like them" and then they let other people join, and eventually they got crowded out by the new people and have to leave. 100
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialDouglas @dmgregory.ca · 25/05/2025SMBC just did a great comic about this: www.smbc-comics.com/comic/gently Didn't expect an AI company to straight-up advertise with the pitch "get in loser, we're building the torment nexus" 😬 052
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 26/09/2026I feel i should mention that i spend a small but non-trivial amount of my day, every day, washing silicon drinking straws. 100
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Ooft! I got twelve of the buggers. Would you believe most were just lucky guesses? 010
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Is this an opportunity for Scottish society (or merely St Andrews) to re-adjust and take concrete steps? 100
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialillandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Thats a nice encapsulation of the concerns that people have when Scots teaching materials don't match the specific local accent of the region being taught. 131
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Thats a nice encapsulation of the concerns that people have when Scots teaching materials don't match the specific local accent of the region being taught. 131
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialPeadar Morgan @peadarmorgan.bsky.social · 24/09/2026"Current minority-language promotion often ignores the need for focusing on the full scope of demolinguistic realities. For example, the common overemphasis on teaching minority languages in isolation from the real-world risks ignoring the importance of community transmission." 053
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialAlex Hanna @alexhanna.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Yes, because it helps you avoid being a mark and to place accountability in people making these tools. Hope that helps. 1220245
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Hmm www.thenational.scot/community/su...thenational.scotInside the St Andrews social hierarchy where Scots can end up at the bottomFORMER scholarship student Sophie Rose Jenkins’s LinkedIn account of being excluded from tutorials because peers said they “couldn’t… 010
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialEmma Yeomans @yeomans.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Hampshire police say man was arrested on suspicion of destroying ships or endangering their safety under the Aviation & Maritime Security Act 1990, criminal damage, criminal damage with intent to endanger life, & conduct endangering ships, structures or individuals under Merchant Shipping Act 1995 26698189
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialLibraries South Lanarkshire @librariessl.bsky.social · 23/09/2026The Bookbug Hero Award in association with Walker Books is now in its 7th year and celebrates the fantastic work of those who use Bookbug to change the lives of the children, families and communities they work with. Find out more at www.scottishbooktrust.com/bookbug-hero... 062
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 23/09/2026I have written a new Substack article. Its about compiling a list of the top ten thousand Word Families in modern Scots writing. There are samples examples of words fromt he top 1,000, top 2,000 and top 10,000 chrisgilmour.substack.com/p/central-sc...chrisgilmour.substack.comCentral Scots Word FamiliesIn which I compile some word family usage data that might be of use to linguists 100
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialshaun @shaunvids.bsky.social · 23/09/2026it is incredibly fucked up that the UK government and police consider it a much worse crime to wear a t-shirt or wave a placard with 'palestine action' on it than to block ports and attack lifeboats 172587444
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 22/09/2026The eligibility criteria for the Booker prize are quite clear. www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s...theguardian.comPrevious winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart shortlisted for Booker prizeThe two authors are in the running for the £50,000 award alongside a Pulitzer winner, a science fiction legend, a comic writer and a debut novelist 110
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialCara 🏳️🌈 @caragaffney.com · 22/09/2026The cuts to Scottish Literature UG courses at Edinburgh University make me furious in a way that it's really hard to put words to, especially now, when I'm trying to learn more Scots (and feeling like an imposter in ways that are too complicated for this format). www.thenational.scot/news/2656876...thenational.scotUniversity of Edinburgh axe to Scots course 'only upholds English language dominance'THE University of Edinburgh's announcement that it plans to cut seven programmes in the Celtic and Scottish Studies department has been slammed… 2196
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialMatthew Noe @noethematt.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Today in destruction of books www.bbc.com/news/article...bbc.comRussian strikes destroy 12 million books in Ukraine ahead of new school yearUkraine says Russia is deliberately attacking its culture, after strikes on publishers and churches. 1128
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Its unclear how America is able to control Russia attacking Ukrainian infrastructure. Are they American drones? What is sovereignty? 010
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 22/09/2026I posted this over on Reddit, and there has been a lively discussion. www.reddit.com/r/Scotland/c...reddit.comFrom the Scotland community on Reddit: Why I quit St Andrews University because of anti-Scottish classismExplore this post and more from the Scotland community 100
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 21/09/2026This is the sort of news story that supports my thesis that the Scottish education system progressively filters out Scots-speakers and people who might be suspected of being Scots speakers. 130
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialLaura Webster @lauraewebster.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Our story looks further into accusations of anti-Scottish classism among staff and the institution itself. It comes after similar reports from Edinburgh recently and appears to be a growing problem. 1151
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 21/09/2026This thing is fascinating. A ship full of explosives that sank in the Thames eight years ago. It might blow up, it might not. When it does blow up, it will cause a spectacular amount of damage. 110
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialBen Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Just gonna light this bag of dogshit on fire and walk away from the doorstep, but the people in media I hear saying AI has made them "more productive" appear to be producing less than ever, and worse things than ever. I wonder if they can even tell. 1265185656
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialHillary Monahan @hillarymonahan.bsky.social · 20/09/2026And for clarity, this is SO UNSURPRISING. Kraft is a less interesting Batman villain. theintercept.com/2026/09/18/r...theintercept.comRobert Kraft Claims His Donations Help Palestinians. Turns Out He’s Funding Friends of the IDF.An analysis of tax forms by The Intercept show Kraft’s charity and LLC have donated to Friends of the IDF and AIPAC’s super PAC. 412629
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialLingthusiasm @lingthusiasm.com · 18/09/2026You can read the transcript for 'How (not) to kill a language - Interview with Sophia Smith Galer' here:lingthusiasm.comTranscript Episode 120: How (not) to kill a language - Interview with Sophia Smith GalerThis is a transcript for Lingthusiasm episode ‘How (not) to kill a language - Interview with Sophia Smith Galer’. It’s been lightly edited for readability. Listen to the episode here or wherever you g... 086
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialJim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 18/09/2026my brilliant colleague @robertshrimsley.bsky.social on the threat from Elon Musk’s X platform www.ft.com/content/f270... 6428071164
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Hmm. The British Council is like a government charity that promotes the English language round the world (and in the UK). Its in their charter to promote English. But not to promote Welsh, or Scottish Gaelic or Scots. Is there an equivalent organisation to promote the Scots language? 100
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Its an interesting point about standardised Scots being a threat to dialectical variation. Possibly the sort of thing a university PhD student could get research funding for. I don't think it is a threat. 110
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialPavel Iosad @anghyflawn.net · 17/09/2026Among the degrees that have been cut at Edinburgh are Persian Studies (and Persian and Middle Eastern Studies), and Africa and International Development. If only there was any need for specialists in any of these areas in the current state of affairs. 35627
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialAlbert Kirk Jr @albertkirkjr.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Here an auld poyum o mines A writ a puckle year syne. A votit Aye on 18 Sept 2014, A'd vote Aye the day, an A'll vote Aye at the neist yin. Tap O The "Tae Dae" List by Albert Kirk Jr 161
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialAileen McHarg @aileenmcharg.bsky.social · 18/09/2026The sort of thing that ought to be of concern to the Scottish Government. 02511
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialJamie Smart @jamiesmart.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Ok here’s the deal. A brilliant production company have made a documentary about OINK!, the much loved uk children’s comic from the 80s. They’ve interviewed so many of the talents involved (and also I’m in there as a fanboy), but they need a bit more funding 🐽🐽🐽 www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/jWrOL2wncrowdfunder.co.ukOink: Piggs, Puns & Plops - Short DocumentaryRaising finishing and screening funds for a short documentary that looks at the origins, influence & legacy of a revered cult British comic. 12921
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Good old Manchester. www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater...manchestereveningnews.co.ukThe incredible Manchester moment that led to countless lives being savedManchester's part in the RNLI which is 200 years old this year 001
illandancient.bsky.social @illandancient.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Its hard to decide which RNLI t-shirt is best. This one has a great image on it, an RNLI lifeboat in rough seas. shop.rnli.org/products/rnl...shop.rnli.orgRNLI In All Weathers Unisex T-shirt, CharcoalBe part of the RNLI’s one crew of lifesavers with this trendy T-shirt, made of soft and breathable cotton. 110
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.social+972 Magazine @972mag.com · 17/09/2026In the span of a week, Israeli bulldozers demolished Al-Taban and northern Fakhit, two neighboring Palestinian communities in Masafer Yatta. When residents helped each other stay on the land, soldiers came to make arrests. By Basel Adra & Oren Ziv www.972mag.com/al-taban-fak... 05145
Reposted by illandancient.bsky.socialRuth Watson @ruthwatson.eurosky.social · 17/09/2026Israel is an apartheid state. 0165