iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

What is "larping?" and how did a term associated with DND geeks end up going mainstream on insta? Happy to get to be a part of a writeup in @nytimes.com this week! www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/s...

nytimes.com

How LARPing, a Gaming Term, Became a Word for Posers (Gift Article)

Live-action role playing was associated with games like Dungeons & Dragons. Now, it’s a way to call someone out for being inauthentic.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 29/09/2026

Most days, woking at my alma mater feels nothing like going here. Other days, I find myself eating chicken broccoli bake for lunch in South Quad. #umich #umichdining #tastesthesame

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 29/09/2026

Last week I had to give a short intro on "What is Sociolinguistics" for our first-year Ph.D. proseminar. I whipped up a sheet in 20 mins of key concepts and their prime citations. I've missed several (20 mins!) so now I'm crowdsourcing. What needs added/siwtched? docs.google.com/document/d/1...

docs.google.com

Key Concepts in Sociolinguistics

Some key concepts in sociolinguistics Face the positive social value a person effectively claims for himself by the line others assume he has taken Goffman, E. (2002). The presentation of self in e...

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 23/09/2026

I don’t know who needs this but BLUE: 4 letters. Even. If your section is even, wear blue. MAIZE: 5 letters. Odd. If your section is odd, wear maize. @umichfball.bsky.social

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 22/09/2026

Unpopular Michigan hot take from an Ohio defector: Fifth Third Bank is HUGE and just because you haven’t heard of it doesn’t mean it isn’t.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 17/09/2026

Perusall annotation: "Lexicon would be an awesome Transformer name for a Transformer that begins as a Lexus." 💀

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 16/09/2026

I am the proud owner of a new iPhone 17 Pro and I would just like to observe that Steve Jobs absolutely would not have put up with this “cameras jutting out of the back of the phone” nonsense.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 15/09/2026

Last name Freely or Everywhere.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 10/09/2026

My sports colleague logs on to our research meeting today. "Hey, Jessi. You got a second?" "We got lots! We're just giving them out up here!!!"

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 09/09/2026

Oh good they did a study. 🙃

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 09/09/2026

A linguist would like to enter the chat but all the other social sciences have convinced themselves that just knowing language is the same as knowing linguistics....

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 09/09/2026

If my contribution to the field of linguistics is the idea that the vocal tract is a "meat clarinet" I will be very fulfilled.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 08/09/2026

appendixicse this appendixize this appendicise this ... append this

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 07/09/2026

Past me wrote some reading questions in Perusall off the top of her head. Today me wrote some reading questions in Canvas for the same assignment. They are basically the same questions. Happy to discover that Me is a good, consistent teacher at all times.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 03/09/2026

Michigan gave “pouring rights” to Coke after surveying the campus. And now we do not sell Vernors. This is a hate crime.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 30/08/2026

Gold star of the day awarded to the journal Gender and Language whose PDF downloads are already named author-year-title-title-title-subtitle-subtitle.pdf. Thank you!

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 28/08/2026

Students: Yes, read your syllabi and know that this information is in them. Parents: Absolutely do not do this. This is unhinged. Also the use of GPT for this purpose is WILD. No, GPT is not likely to summarize my syllabi in a way that will tell you, or your student, what I expect. I tell them.

A Facebook post from a college parents group which reads:

To all the parents sending their kids off to college for freshman ear: one thing I did was research my son's professors and classes through ChatGPT, look at past syllabi, and learn ho each professor runs their classroom, what they expect, and what's important to them. I made him packets so he can review everything before classes start.

This isn't about doing the work for him--it's about teaching him how to prepare. Next year and every year after, he should know that the week before college starts, he needs to research his professors, read his syllabi, know where his classes are, and understand what's expected of him.

He has four years to finish that bachelor's degree. I'm not paying for two extra years! I'd rather help pay for his college experience now so he can graduate with as little debt as possible, start his own business, buy investment properties and build wealth.

And please save the "they're adults, let them figure it out" comments. You parent yours, and I'm going to parent mine. This is parenting beyond the nest.

#BlackMomFromTheHood

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 28/08/2026

This is my favorite linguistics fact. They are all basically named “SHIT that’s a LOT of water!”

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 26/08/2026

Admire English grammar in this sentence I just sent to tech support: "No, tell the person who told you that that that is not a thing." Relative clauses, relative pronoun and demonstrative pronouns. Check that ish out.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 26/08/2026

The most recent John Irving novel begins by detailing how the next person to be talked about has a great grandfather who landed at Plymouth despite the fact that the rest of the story takes place in the 1920s, and if I didn’t know it was Irving, I would’ve thought that opening was an Irving parody.

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Reposted by Jessi Grieser

William Shakespeare @shakespeare.lol · 25/08/2026

[Exit Queen.]

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 22/08/2026

In my spare time, I'm a money nerd. I usually do money commentary on FB, but I have a little bigger reach to academics here, and this is academic specific. Academic fiscal years typically run July-June or July-Aug. Which means the start of the school year often has a new salary. /1

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 21/08/2026

Ann Arbor in the summer is 4 people bringing caprese salad to the potluck because everyone’s tomato and basil are out of control.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 20/08/2026

Receiving "can I come do a PhD with you" emails, I wonder if students' not realizing I know their writing is AI generated comes from a generational shift in exposure to MadLibs? "I am fascinated by your expertise in *expertises on faculty page*. I loved reading *article on Google Scholar.*"

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 20/08/2026

Student: Will you write me a rec letter? I was in your 150-student class 3 years ago in this term. Me: I was on sabbatical that term, so no you weren't. (There is a thread here about how to get rec letters but I don't have time to write it. But this way ain't it.)

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 19/08/2026

Love this description: if you think Ann Arbor is a big city, you need to go someplace else for a while. but if you’ve been in a big city and think that Ann Arbor is the perfect size, you’re probably right.

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Reposted by Jessi Grieser

Gretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcculloch.com · 17/08/2026

If you're wishing you could go back to school for linguistics, here's your annual reminder that Crash Course Linguistics @thecrashcourse.bsky.social exists! I worked on it with linguists @superlinguo.bsky.social and @jessgrieser.com, host Taylor Behnke, @complexly.org and @thoughtcafe.bsky.social!

youtube.com

What is Linguistics?: Crash Course Linguistics #1

YouTube video by CrashCourse

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 18/08/2026

I asked a program committee chair if this was true. It is. 😆 I hope the paper gets in; I would like to talk to its author about how to better operationalize the control for their dependent variables.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 17/08/2026

I would like to imagine that the LSA program committee saw this abstract and went, "Jessi Grieser specifically is going to get the world's biggest kick out of reviewing this" and sent it to me. PS your reviews for #LSA2027 are due today!!!

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 17/08/2026

Me: I'm going to be out of the office for two weeks; I'll work on getting you that hotel invoice when I return. Expense department: Gotcha. Expense department 8 days later: Since we haven't gotten your documentation, we've submitted the report without that expense. 🤦‍♀️

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 17/08/2026

I have accidentally trained Meta that I want to see all the over the top dorm room reveals because I am just agog that this happens. But I am curious--how do other students respond to this ish? 18 year old me would've had lots of opinions, none of them kind.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 13/08/2026

Musing this AM on how lots of students in my course complained about noon being a hard cutoff for their assignments (so that we could skim them by class time at three). After 3 terms of this I changed the deadline to 11:59PM the night before with a 12 hour grace period. No more complaints. 😆

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 09/08/2026

The only upside to AI in higher ed is that at least the emails I’m getting asking for overrides into my course are no longer absolutely unhinged demands from students who have no idea how to write a professional email...

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 08/08/2026

My dad eatching Chinese vegetables: D: What is this? Me: Dunno, some kind of brassica. D: What is this? Me: Dunno, some kind of brassica.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 05/08/2026

BTW in China, arrived <72 hours ago. Jumped straight to the time zone. Have slept my regular nights each night.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 05/08/2026

I sit here enjoying a double IPA at a craft beer/coffee shop in a hutong (alley) in Beijing and man… I am a gentrification scholar who sure does love gentrified shit 😆

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 30/07/2026

No. Really??? That can’t be. 👵🏾👵🏾👵🏾

A window in front of Rally House Michigan store reads “welcome class of 2030”

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 30/07/2026

I know I comment on this regularly but having one's employing college, one's alma mater college, and one's scholarly society, especially when one is on the executive committee of said society, all use the same acronym makes searching one's email just absolutely dastardly. "LSA" does nothing for me.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 29/07/2026

I need Josh and Jase in my life at all times. Send tweet.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 27/07/2026

One reason not to disdain your university’s athletics program as a faculty member is that it really helps with the end of summer blues. Yes, I am already panicking that it is the end of July. But I also just added my football tickets to my apple wallet. 🏈

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 22/07/2026

Me being geniunely confused. “I dunno. Is Demnark in the G20? Sweden, perhaps?” My friend: “I don’t think that’s what they mean by superpower.”

A Sprocle opinionation quiz question which reads “name a superpower that would help world leaders solve global issues peacefully?”

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 21/07/2026

I stole this currency folder idea from a blog once. Not only is it convenient, it makes me happy because it’s my promise to myself that I will go visit these cool places again. Just added a ZAR pocket.

A blue plastic coupon file. The tabs are labeled with the names of different international currencies.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 20/07/2026

Me to my students: No you can't turn that into Canvas at 12:05, the deadline was 12. Me to my editor: Here is this 6-page thing I promised you a year ago.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 17/07/2026

I will believe in the models talking over when a basic targeted advertising algorithm can figure out that I really was only in the market for *one* eight-seater dining table…

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 17/07/2026

Arrive in Europe for transfer. Message from home: Public health alerts—don’t breathe the air! The vegetables are also sus. 🙃 Maybe I’ll stay in the Netherlands…

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 14/07/2026

No one expects the Spanish in position!!! #fifa2026 #worldcup

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 11/07/2026

“Let me ask you a nosy-ass question” :side-eye: “No no I’m a professor. Actually for real interested.” :Face brightens: ❤️ my job sometimes.

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Jessi Grieser @jessgrieser.com · 11/07/2026

In hindsight, it was when we rejected the metric system that the rest of the world should’ve decided the US probably be the #1 superpower…

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