iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

You know when you read a book and can’t stop thinking about it, even after a lot of time has elapsed? Like, for whatever reason, it just has an extra helping of staying power? For me rn, that book is Strange Animals by @jarodkanderson.bsky.social. Read it in July and it’s still regularly on my mind.

Image of the book cover for Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson, which has the title and author in white script with illustrated moths around them and a background image of a celestial-esque creature behind a mountainscape with a pine tree in the center.

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Yesterday I had to save Púca from picking a fight with a wasp. Today I had to stop him from chewing on a power cord. He has zero regrets.

A gray cat with a little white patch on his neck standing with his two front paws on a wood floor and his back paws on a cat scratcher lounger, staring defiantly at the camera.

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

general public and especially at parents, was published in 1988. The letter has been republished several times throughout the years during outbreaks. The text of the letter can be read in the screenshots below.

My eldest daughter caught measles when she was seven years old. As the illness took its usual course I can remember reading to her often in bed and not feeling particularly alarmed about it. Then one morning, when she was well on the road to recovery, I was sitting on her bed showing her how to fashion little animals out of coloured pipe cleaners, and when it came to her turn to make one herself, I noticed that her fingers and her mind were not working together and she couldn't do anything.

"Are you feeling all right?" I asked her. "I feel all sleepy," she said.

In an hour, she was unconscious. In 12 hours she was dead.

The measles had turned into a terrible thing called measles encephalitis and there was nothing the doctors could do to save her. That was 24 years ago in 1962, but even now, if a child with measles happens to develop the same deadly reaction from measles as Olivia did, there would still be nothing the doctors could do to help her.

On the other hand, there is today something that parents can do to make sure that this sort of tragedy does not happen to a child of theirs. They can insist that their child is immunised against measles. I was unable to do that for Olivia in 1962 because in those days a reliable measles vaccine had not been discovered. Today a good and safe vaccine is available to every family and all you have to do is to ask your doctor to administer it.

It is not yet generally accepted that measles can be a dangerous illness.
Believe me, it is. In my opinion, parents who now refuse to have their children immunised are putting the lives of those children at risk.
In America, where measles immunisation is compulsory, measles, like smallpox, has been virtually wiped out.

Here in Britain, because so many parents refuse, either out of obstinacy or ignorance or fear, to allow their children to be immunised, we still have a hundred thousand cases of measles every year.

Out of those, more than 10,000 will suffer side effects of one kind or another.

At least 10,000 will develop ear or chest infections. About 20 will die.

LET THAT SINK IN.

Every year around 20 children will die in Britain from measles.

So what about the risks that your children will run from being immunised?

They are almost non-existent. Listen to this. In a district of around 300,000 people, there will be only one child every 250 years who will develop serious side effects from measles immunisation! That is about a million-to-one chance. I should think there would be more chance of your child choking to death on a chocolate bar than of becoming seriously ill from a measles immunisation.

So what on earth are you worrying about?

It really is almost a crime to allow your child to go unimmunised.

The ideal time to have it done is 13 months, but it is never too late. All school children who have not yet had a measles immunisation should beg their parents to arrange for them to have one as soon as possible.

Incidentally, I dedicated two of my books to Olivia, the first was "James and the Giant Peach." That was when she was still alive. The second was "The BFG," dedicated to her memory after she had died from measles. You will see her name at the beginning of each of these books. And I know how happy she would be if only she could know that her death had helped to save a good deal of illness and death among other children.

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

On this day in 1916, British children's author Roald Dahl was born. He is remembered for writing classics like Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and The BFG. Due to a profound personal loss, he was also an advocate for the measles vaccine.

Black and white photo of children's author Roald Dahl, wearing a suit and tie.

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

"[Diego Rivera] is saying in a very direct way that he considers the modern scientific discoveries that create vaccines to be on par with a Biblical miracle," said Benjamin Colman, curator of American art at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

The painting "DETROIT INDUSTRY, VACCINATION," painted by artist Diego Rivera in 1932-1933, located at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The mural depicts a scene modeled after Renaissance-era nativity paintings, showing scientists in the background, and a nurse and doctor holding up a baby in the center and giving him a smallpox vaccine. In the foreground there is a horse, multiple sheep, and a cow, reminiscent of the animals present in the manger at the birth of Christ.

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Though he be but little, he is chaos incarnate.

An 8-month-old gray kitten peeking out from under white bedsheets with two of his paws outstretched.

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Have you seen the Haunting of Bly Manor?

Scene from The Haunting of Bly Manor, in which a grown Flora says, "You said it was a ghost story. It isn't. It's a love story," to which Jamie ("the Storyteller") replies, "Same thing, really."

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

For Valentine’s, I got my spouse scotch finished in amontillado casks and didn’t even lure him to any catacombs to give it to him. Though to be fair, our area is sadly lacking in catacombs.

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

A #Caturday play-by-play of Puca and his yellow ball.

A photo of a gray kitten laying on his back on a striped bedspread, stretched out and reaching toward a small fuzzy yellow ball with his front right paw.

A photo of a gray kitten laying on his back and side on a striped bedspread, stretched out and reaching toward a small fuzzy yellow ball with his both paws.

A photo of a gray kitten laying on his back on a striped bedspread, reaching toward a small fuzzy yellow ball with both paws.

A photo of a gray kitten laying on his left side on a striped bedspread, reaching toward a small fuzzy yellow ball with his front left paw.

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Púca, smiling in his sleep (about all the chaos he’s planning).

A photo of a 12-week-old domestic shorthair blue kitten curled up and smiling in his sleep.

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

This little guy is absolutely fascinated by ceiling fans.

A domestic shorthair gray kitten wearing a black collar with a bell on it, staring directly at the camera while laying on a striped comforter with a door in the background.

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

So. This is Púca. He likes curling up on my shoulder and purring loudly while I’m reading.

Photo of a 12-week-old domestic shorthair slate gray cat.

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

From a form letter response from Sen. Grassley: “…while I am aware Secretary Kennedy wants to make changes to vaccine recommendations, I do not think it's quite fair to call him ‘anti-vaccine’.” Gotta say, based on every single action he’s taken as HHS Secretary, I think it’s fair, Chuck.

Excerpt from form letter from U.S. Senator Charles Grassley: “That said, while I am aware Secretary Kennedy wants to make changes to vaccine recommendations, I do not think it's quite fair to call him "anti-vaccine". During his nomination process, Secretary Kennedy provided sworn testimony to the Senate Finance Committee, of which I am a senior member, about his views on vaccines. During Secretary Kennedv's testimony he said ‘News renors have claimed…’

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

The dictionary says one thing, but in my heart “potatorius” means something else.

Screenshot of the word “potatory” from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Definition reads “potatory, adjective
po•ta•to•ry, 'pōtə,tōrē
: of, relating to, or given to drinking

Word History
Etymology
Late Latin potatorius, from Latin potatus (past participle of potare to drink) + - orius -ory

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

We got a basket for storing cat toys and Sami has decided the basket is also for storing cat.

Photo of a domestic longhair black cat with yellow eyes, staring directly at the camera while sitting in a rather small beige basket that has a cat face design on the front (black eyes, nose, mouth, and whiskers). A hint of orange can be seen to the left of her neck; it is from a mostly-obscured plush pumpkin pie cat toy.

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

This is not a good way to start the weekend. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Photo of me holding my Tandem insulin pump in my left hand. The screen is lit up with the message “MALFUNCTION. The pump cannot operate. Visit [Tandem Website]” Screen also shows phone numbers to call Tandem’s hotline and the error code.

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Samhain has spent the day plotting against her greatest foe, static electricity.

A longhaired black cat sitting on top of off-white sheets and a ticking stripe bedspread. She has one paw forward, her ears are back at an angle, and her eyes look sad.

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨ bookish checkpoint ୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ ✧ last book you read: Poor Deer ✧ your current read: O Caledonia ✧ last book added to your tbr: Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart & Other Stories ✧ next anticipated read: Lincoln in the Bardo quote with yours! #booksky #books 💙📚👀

Cover image of the book ‘O Calendonia’ by Elspeth Barker. Cover shows a young white woman’s face partially obscured by a jackdaw. Image includes title, author, and the words “‘One of the best least-known novels of the twentieth century.’ - Ali Smith, author of Autumn” and “Introduction by Maggie O’Farrell, author of Hamnet.”

Cover image of the book ‘Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart & Other Stories’ by GennaRose Nethercott. Cover features a black fox in front of a tree and roots, looking toward the figure of a black goat, and an illustration of a pink flower with a skull in its center. Cover also includes the quote “‘GennaRose Nethercott is a literary trickster god.’ - New York Times bestselling author Libba Bray.”

Cover image of the book ‘Lincoln in the Bardo’ by George Saunders. Cover shows a nature scene in a jade-colored duotone effect behind the title and author, and with the additional words “New York Times bestselling author of TENTH OF DECEMBER”

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Since it appears that public health in the U.S. is going to be overseen by hacks and charlatans for the next 4 years, could we get more musicians to subtley include valuable public health information in their song lyrics?

Phone screenshot from Apple Music as the device plays the song ‘Stick Season’ by Noah Kahan, with the song name and artist listed at the top next to a thumbnail image of the album cover. Below that are the song’s lyrics, visible in white lettering over a brownish background. The lyrics that are currently playing, “Doc told me to travel, but there’s COVID on the planes” are in bold, with upcoming lyrics below in more transparent lettering:

“And I love Vermont but it’s the season of the sticks

And I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed”

Phone screenshot of a January 8, 2023 article on Forbes.com, titled “Over 96% Of Airplane Flights Had Covid-19 Coronavirus In Their Wastewater.” The screenshot also shows the author name, “Bruce Y. Lee, Senior Contributor” and a fragment of the author’s bio, reading “Bruce Y. Lee, M.D., MBA, covers health, medicine, wellness and...” Screenshot also includes the story date and a Getty image of an airplane shortly after takeoff, with a caption reading, “Wastewater samples from around 96.5% of flights tested in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from June through December 2021, contained the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (Photo by Syaiful Redzuan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)”

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

When I say I’m spending time over the weekend recharging, I may mean that more literally than you realize. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Photo of my insulin pump laying on my lap on the edge of the purple plaid shirt I’m wearing, connected to a charging cable.

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Allison Bailey @msallisonbailey.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

MANY years ago today, we shoved cake up each other’s noses/got married. We continue to communicate mainly via inside jokes that leave everyone around us thoroughly confused. #ProTip: Marry your bestie (though probably wait until you’re a bit older than we were at the time).

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