iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Mairi McFadyen

Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 26/10/2025

Somhairle MacGill-Eain (Sorley MacLean) – one of the greatest European poets of the 20th century – was born #OTD, 26 Oct A 🎂🧵 Watch “Sorley MacLean’s Island” via @natlibscot.bsky.social – Sorley MacLean in conversation with fellow writer Iain Crichton Smith #poetry 1/8 movingimage.nls.uk/film/3141

A closeup of two hands, playing a set of small pipes. Text overlay: SORLEY MACLEAN'S ISLAND

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

I just learned of the passing of Joanna Macy. I re-read her work recently & listened to her podcast 'We Are The Great Turning.' I was so grateful for it, her words a deep resource for transforming despair into hope & action @workthatreconnects.bsky.social workthatreconnects.org/joanna-macy-...

workthatreconnects.org

Joanna Macy – In Memoriam - Work That Reconnects Network

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Gaelic singer Mairi MacMillan, from South Uist, sent me this gorgeous song about the skylark, the uiseag, as a symbol of hope 🤍🎶 mairimacmillan.bandcamp.com/track/uiseag... Words from my Substack essay: open.substack.com/pub/mairimcf...

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

My latest post on Substack; an attempt to make sense of what it means to be a parent in a world convulsing with crisis 💔 Aiseag is the Gaelic word for a ferry boat—it also simply means a ‘return.’ Here I return to a place, to what matters, to #activehope. open.substack.com/pub/mairimcf...

open.substack.com

Aiseag | Return

On the active hope of parenthood, of wrens and skylarks

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David Graeber Institute @davidgraeberinst.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Why reading books is essential.

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Community Land Scotland @communitylandsc.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

A look by the @economist.com at how community landowners are creating economic and social change in Scotland - and at Scottish land reform more widely www.economist.com/britain/2025...

economist.com

Scotland’s outdated land laws threaten the future of rural towns

But progress in reforming them is sluggish

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

O na gabh dragh idir, na gabh nàire! Tha mi fhathast a’ crìochnachadh m' aiste cuideachd. Tha mi toilichte gu bheil na h-eòin air a bhith nan togail cridhe dhut x

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

'S fhada bhon uair sin! Deagh làithean a bha iad. O an do sgrìobh thu pìos air na h-eòin airson Raghnaid? Tha ùine ann fhathast airson a dhèanamh! Bu toil leinn a leughadh 🪶🪶🪶

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Tha mo cho-bhròn dhut a charaid, ach abair sgeul snog a tha seo 🤍🪶 An e seanfhacal a tha sin?

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Apparently "Sunday 4 May is International Dawn Chorus Day and it's celebrated by people around the world who rise early to appreciate this natural symphony." Luckily we are away camping in Achiltibuie and didn't need to leave the tent! Woke up to the curlew 😍

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Just went to see this in Inverness. As a former Scottish literature student (and total nerd), it was MAGNIFICENT 👏👏👏 Last night tomorrow, I hope it goes on tour again...

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Scottish Contemporary Art Network @sca-n.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Have you booked for SCAN Summit 2025: The Grid? Join us in Inverness for a programme of talks, films + activities interrogating the systems that distribute power, energy and communications ⚡️ 📍Eden Court 📅 Tuesday 13 May 🎟️FREE for SCAN members/£10 non-members : sca-net.org/summit25/

A yellow background with black grids and diagrams of landscapes and abstract shapes in a grid formation. The text reads: 'Scottish Comtemporary Art Network', top middle and 'SUMMIT 2025: THE GRID' bottom left.

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Woke up this morning to the song of a wee wren and a chiffchaff, so tiny, so loud! 🎶🎵

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

He's here! I just heard my first cuckoo, a sure sign of spring - and almost time to plant my potatoes! Absolutely delighted 😅

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

Happy to be invited to give a talk at the fledgling Starling Cafè in #Ullapool on 6th May - a space for ideas, reflection and conversation - on community, hope, belonging, diversity, resilience and resistance. If you are in the baile, tickets here 👉 tickets.highlifehighland.com/events/highl...

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Remmelt 🛑 @artificialbodies.net · 14/04/2025

“there is no way to build the artificial mirror world that AI promises to construct without sacrificing this world – these technologies consume too much energy, too many critical minerals, and too much water for the two to coexist in any kind of equilibrium.”

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

"Is your heart beating and do you plan to live? Then come this way and we will figure out the rest on the other side.”

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Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

THE RISE OF END TIMES FASCISM My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social. The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

theguardian.com

The rise of end times fascism

The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them

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Prospect Magazine @prospectmagazine.co.uk · 12/04/2025

“No single decision is to blame” for UK universities' dire financial situations, writes @rostaylor.bsky.social. “But many trace [the crisis] back to a decision made by chancellor George Osborne in December 2013.” www.prospectmagazine...

prospectmagazine.co.uk

How universities were sent over the edge

UK higher education institutions did as the government asked and took on more students. Now many face collapse

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Fraser MacDonald @frasermacdonald.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

Epic week taking nearly 100 Geography MA students & staff to the Highlands, working with the inspiring @mmcfadyen.bsky.social & the Abriachan Forest Trust. 👏👏

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

In my first-year English literature tutorial at the University of Edinburgh I overheard the comment, "don't the Scottish girls sound so thick when they talk?!" It was followed by mocking laughter. I was one of two Scottish state school-educated girls in the room. Did wonders for my confidence

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

On Compost: @frasermacdonald.bsky.social "I make my own compost so that I can convince myself that even when the world seems socially and ecologically broken there are still mechanisms for recovery: it shows that change is possible." www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

lrb.co.uk

Fraser MacDonald · On Compost

I sometimes wonder whether my love of compost is a response to the dispiriting cleanness of modern life – the spray’...

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Brigit Strawbridge @brigitstrawbridge.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

Curlew Nesting - by North Yorks printmaker, Lyn Bailey More of this artists beautiful work, here: www.lynbaileyprintmaker.com #linocut #printmaking #art #birds #birdart #Yorkshire

Greys, greens and browns... curlew nesting on her nest on the ground. Linocut

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

hello little bold one! first daffoldil I have found in the garden 💛🌼

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

This looks ace, would love to know more! Spring is my favourite 🌼

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Pat Kane @patkane.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Today we launched our positive/creative/community-driven political initiative, *Spring*, at spring.site & @wearespring.bsky.social. Read essay on @bellacaledonia.bsky.social [bellacaledonia.org.uk/2025/03/01/s…] Join us! spring.site/become-a-member

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Andy Paton @andypaton.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Wren - garden wildlife, Argyll

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Mike Small @bellacaledonia.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

The landscape of Scottish media is completely broken and uneven and people rarely even talk about it anymore. Support the alternative - donate to Bella Caledonia today #BackingBella www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/backing-be...

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Thanks John, and no I had not! Thank you very much for the recommendation 🪶

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

I've started a substack called Hopeful Futures, a new home for my writing and ramblings. This is my first post, about a wee yellow thing with feathers - an essay on reclaiming time, attention and creativity 💛🪶 mairimcfadyen.substack.com/p/call-of-th...

mairimcfadyen.substack.com

The Call of the Goldfinch

on reclaiming attention in a world of distraction

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Jason Hickel @jasonhickel.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

How popular are post-growth and post-capitalist ideas? Here is a list of studies, surveys and polls with some striking results. jasonhickel.substack.com/p/how-popula...

jasonhickel.substack.com

Some recent data

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Mairi McFadyen @mmcfadyen.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Bella Caledonia is a vital space for independent writing in Scotland. They’re raising funds to support freelancers and ensure secure hosting for ad-free, accessible press. Please consider donating to defend indy media for the future🙏 @bellacaledonia.bsky.social www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/backing-be...

crowdfunder.co.uk

Backing Bella Caledonia 2025

We are aiming to raise funds to support our freelance contributors, expanding our platform of writers and artists and increase our output.

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Andy Paton @andypaton.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Bullfinch "beauty" by Moine Mhor, Argyll

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Mike Small @bellacaledonia.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

Bella is supported only by its readers. We don’t have corporate backers and we don’t take advertising, so we rely entirely on your support. Please give what you can. Go here and support independent Scottish journalism [please share on your networks - thanks!] www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/backing-be...

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Andy Paton @andypaton.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Wren in sunlight, garden wildlife, Argyll

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Alice Roberts @profaliceroberts.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

We’re in a new Gilded Age - which sounds great, but the Robber Barons are back. And this time, they’re more selfish than ever, as Prof Tobias Jung, St Andrews University, writes: theconversation.com/andrew-carne...

theconversation.com

Andrew Carnegie and the 19th-century ‘robber barons’ have lessons for today’s oligarchs about the responsibilities of wealth

The 19th-century industrialists were called ‘robber barons’ – but they did more to improve society than many of today’s super-rich.

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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

This matters. Not because I think Trump is capable of mercy or empathy towards these vulnerable groups. But because it is a public act of defiance. Contrast that with all these other powerful people in this country signaling nothing but appeasement and obedience.

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The BREAK—DOWN @the-breakdown.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

“We have created an economic system that can only survive if it grows.” NEW EPISODE: Hans Stegeman breaks down degrowth, “green” finance and asks whether it’s possible to have capitalism without growth. youtu.be/0H3tjdc3PyE?...

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Mike Riverso @mikeriverso.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

The millennial experience is growing up with the internet, and watching it go from a free, open, democratic, and eclectic ecosystem to a wasteland of five websites controlled by billionaires, and now seeing it quickly fill up with AI-generated slop. I want our World Wide Web back.

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Fraser MacDonald @frasermacdonald.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

My recollection of Nan Shepherd is rather faint but I wrote about the quiet late life (and literary afterlife) of my mother’s friend and teacher, prompted by the new correspondence edited by @kerriandrewsuk.bsky.social

lrb.co.uk

Fraser MacDonald · Diary: Remembering Nan Shepherd

The novels weren’t the point. The point of Nan Shepherd was herself. My mother described what a thrill it was to be...

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