iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Susan Theobald @sortalazysusan.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

It's funny how you can always tell when a book description is AI generated because it will say something like 'this book would be an excellent addition to any collection', which is of course a complete misunderstanding of book collecting

000

Susan Theobald @sortalazysusan.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Paddington Bear, who as we know is the psychopomp of all British national treasures, is very very veeeerry tentatively taking Ozzy Osbourne by the hand 😬

153

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Dinah Rose KC @dinahrose.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Ozzy relaxing this evening

Small grey cat sitting on a footstool with his paws elegantly crossed.

5679637

Susan Theobald @sortalazysusan.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Today in incomprehensible brain farts, I asked the bus driver for a first edition instead of a single ticket, so of course I can never catch the bus again.

020

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Difficult to conceive of a more ill-judged decision then the one the Home Office took here. It is an affront to free speech of a kind which is really indistinguishable from what you'd see in a police state.

992254671

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Fiona Campbell-Howes @fortrenn.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

I mean, I also experience this quite regularly (with early medieval history, not quantum physics), but for me it comes from doing actual research in actual sources and having real thoughts with my own human brain. Travis Kalanick should try it sometime.

A quote from a Gizmodo article about ex-Uber CEO Travis Kalanick thinking he can make scientific breakthroughs using ChatGPT or (god help us) Grok. Kalanick is quoted as saying: 'I’ll go down this thread with [Chat]GPT or Grok and I’ll start to get to the edge of what’s known in quantum physics and then I’m doing the equivalent of vibe coding, except it’s vibe physics. And we’re approaching what’s known. And I’m trying to poke and see if there’s breakthroughs to be had. And I’ve gotten pretty damn close to some interesting breakthroughs just doing that.'

083

Reposted by Susan Theobald

the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

framing this any other way than "deranged old man sues everybody who he regards as being to mean to him" is journalistic malpractice

10677112

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Blackwell's Rare Books @blackwellrare.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

Sometimes you just want to make absolutely sure nobody misses your favourite aspect of a book... From the first edition of Gerard's Herbal, 1597 blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/pro...

A photo of a large book in a glass case, open on a page with woodcut illustrations of plants - and a slightly smudged but still discernible inky pawprint, likely that of a cat. A note has been jauntily affixed to the clear plastic tape holding open the book, on which 'Pawprint!' has been written in green ink with an arrow pointing to the offending print.

091

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Emily @sadcypress.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

I used to do Bastille Day parties every year, thanks to an abiding love of stories set in the French Revolution. This photo is from 2006, when we used a kitchen torch to light the candles on the cake so we could sing “Happy Bastille Day to France.”

Photo of a round cake in a dark room. The cake has a ring of candles around its perimeter, and around a French flag painted with icing on its surface. A kitchen torch is the only source of light, as it starts to ignite the slew of candles.

151

Susan Theobald @sortalazysusan.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

love when an auction says 'taken out' instead of 'lot withdrawn', implying this footstool was fucking assassinated

000

Susan Theobald @sortalazysusan.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

Excited to announce my new venture as insect uber. Chauffeured my first satisfied customer from Jesus College to Lincoln College Library, where I assume he had some books to check out

030

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Dr Liam Sims @liamsims.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

DR LIGHTFOOTSOOO OOWORKESOO VOL. 1 OOOOO Spotted this week @queenslibcam.bsky.social

411821

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Phillip Ayoub @payoub.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

Absolutely incredible turnout for Budapest Pride! So proud of all the organizers, including some old friends, who estimate hundreds of thousands— major embarrassment to Orban

508386998085

Reposted by Susan Theobald

BOO! k HistoriAAAH 🎃 @book-historia.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

I’m going to the Chateau de Chantilly Très Riches Heures exhibition after @imc-leeds.bsky.social , so I thought I would treat myself to some illuminated manuscript inspired nails ✨

Allie’s hands, with deep blue nails bordered by chrome gold

9923

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Cats of Yore @catsofyore.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

Lorraine and Puff. 💕 Photo from my collection, no date or other info.

Black and white photo of a light skinned little girl in winter clothing and little button up leather boots standing outside on a sidewalk. Her clothing is very early 20th century. She is smiling at the camera and holding a short haired light colored cat, possibly an orange tabby. Cursive writing at the bottom Reads “Lorraine and puff”.

1395159

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Alex von Tunzelmann @alexvont.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

I’m not bothered by who plays Bond, but I don’t want Tom Holland to waste his prime years on such a dull role unless they make it a musical and let him dance. Then I’m in

6252849

Susan Theobald @sortalazysusan.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

Good morning to the huge fluffy black cat I just watched make an unstoppable terminator-style beeline through Radcliffe Square in order to sniff the voluminous red dress of a couple having a photoshoot in the gate of All Souls

020

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 05/06/2025

I started writing something important to me tonight. Not really sure what it is, but I’ll share the end of it. Watching the tech industry do what it’s doing sickens me, and I want people to know why.

Nowhere along the line did anyone actually see an opportunity to sell people something they wanted or needed - Large Language Models were able to generate a lot of text or generate pictures, and that barely approximated a thing that society wanted or needed other than it was something that people used to be willing to pay more for and businesses had been vaguely interested in doing these things cheaper, usually by offshoring or underpaying contractors. The fact that three years later we still have trouble describing why these things exist is enough of a sign that the tech industry has no real interest in building artificial intelligence at all - because AI is, at least based on the time before ChatGPT, meant to be about doing stuff for us, which Large Language Models are pretty fucking poor at, because the idea of getting something “done for you” is that you’re outsourcing both the production and the quality control.

In any case, it’s enough to make anyone feel crazy. Over the last decade we’ve watched - and while I’m talking about the tech industry, I think we can all say it’s been everywhere else too - the things we love get distanced from us so that somebody else can get unbelievably rich, the things we used to do easily made more difficult, confusing and/or expensive, and the ways we used to connect with people become increasingly abstracted and exploitative.

I don’t know what to tell you about these people other than the fact that you should know that they are responsible for the world around you feeling like it’s in fucking ruins. I cannot give you a plan for the future, I cannot tell you what will fix things, but however things get fixed start with people knowing who these people are and what they have done.

The reason I am so hard on my peers in the media is that it has never been more urgent that we hold these people accountable. Their ability to act both unburdened by regulation and true criticism has emboldened them to cause harm to billions of peop…

241155227

Susan Theobald @sortalazysusan.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

One of the most important skills of bookdealing is, of course, a high score in tetris

000

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Midge @midge.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

When the IT guy takes over my computer remotely

Picture of a translucent hooded, caped, skeleton wrapped around an alarmed looking man seeming to move him involuntarily

219223772621

Susan Theobald @sortalazysusan.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

This was a bit of a rush job, but it was v fun to do. Might have another crack at it one day, or something similiar... The Hobbit illumination with Smaug as a weird mediaeval dragon?

A gouache painting of Alice and the White Rabbit, in a mock mediaeval illumination style

183

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Leo Cadogan @leocadogan.com · 15/05/2025

The Harvard Law Library Magna Carta find sounds amazing. If you were at the 1945 sale, you could have followed your purchase of the M.C. manuscript with - next lot - an Italian C15 Boccaccio’De Claris Mulieribus’ (On Famous Women) MS (£10 to Maggs Bros). Different times!

Screenshot from The Independent website - showing lot 636, Magna Carta (annotated as £42 to Sweet and Maxwell) followed by lot 637, unbound Boccaccio manuscript.

3113

Susan Theobald @sortalazysusan.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

Yes, I just tried to use my stapler as the computer mouse, but in my defence...

A photo of a rounded black computer mouse and a rounded black stapler side by side on a desk, both comfortably hand-sized

100

Susan Theobald @sortalazysusan.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Elisabeth: Samuel Pepys is not having a moment. Me: is that your professional assessment? Elisabeth: it is Me: we're not going to have a Hot Pepys Summer :(

000

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Katy Montgomerie 🦗 @katymontgomerie.com · 10/05/2025

The Cass Review gets peer reviewed and absolutely shredded Cass is the Wakefield of our time. A scandal in broad daylight

3740921535

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Alison Atkin @alisonatkin.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

The current UK government wants to 'turbocharge' AI with new purpose-built data centres in this country (there are already 153 data centres here). Meanwhile United Utilities just asked us to start considering our water usage because reservoirs are more than 20% lower than this time last year.

14938

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Joel Morris @gralefrit.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

Fucking hell. I know nobody’s in greasy overalls for you to fetishise, Labour, but this is still an industry full of working people on marginal incomes that you are voluntarily destroying, you dumb tech-fetishising goons. You just sold us for corporate strip-mining. Up the workers.

241322482

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Bodleian Libraries @bodleian.ox.ac.uk · 09/05/2025

Cat in the Old Schools Quad! Cat in the Old Schools Quad! Maybe he's been mewsing on philosophy in the Divinity School? Or reading Pawlatonic ideals in the Old Bod? Because he's a catademic? Better puns gratefully recieved.

58713

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Hector Diaz @iamhectordiaz.com · 08/05/2025

A Chicago Pope implies the existence of an MLA Pope and APA Pope

37285908054

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Blackwell's Rare Books @blackwellrare.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

This event @blackwelloxford.bsky.social is free to attend, and our manager Sian plans to bring something nice upstairs to the third floor to show off to attendees

0176

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Bernard Quaritch Ltd @quaritch1847.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

This illegally issued cedola, or receipt of a betting slip, for the papal #conclave of 21-24 April 1585, was undersigned by the Medici ambassador to Rome (👀), who wagered 100 gold scudi on the victory of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. (+ a blank version for all your #papalelection betting needs ...)

23717

Reposted by Susan Theobald

the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

I’m at the conclave. I’m at the CVS. I’m at the combination conclave and CVS

531537127

Susan Theobald @sortalazysusan.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Proud and excited to announce my discovery of the worst sensation in the world: static shock directly on a papercut

010

Susan Theobald @sortalazysusan.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

Not that it helps anyone now or does anything to lessen the untold damage this transphobic ruling will surely cause, but in 10, 20 years people will look back on this with the same disgust that people now view Section 28

020

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Sadiah Qureshi 🦈 @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

Whether these campaigners want to admit or not, they are absolutely perpetuating the kind of biological tyranny generations of racists and sexists have used to oppress others to uphold fundamentally grotesque forms of social control. Now it is up to the courts to reject this oppression.

113236

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Blackwell's Rare Books @blackwellrare.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

It is a truth universally acknowledge that any Victorian illustration of sperm whales will be in want of some distressed whalers flying through the air, no matter how relevant it may or may not be to the work... this from an 1855 work on perfumery.

An engraved vignette of a sperm whale erupting from the ocean, knocking a destroyed rowing boat into the air, with debris and whales flying around it. In the background, two more whales are visible, one spouting water, as well as two rowing boats and two distant ships.

251

Susan Theobald @sortalazysusan.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

As far as simple pleasures in life go, nothing beats when the bus driver commends your running for the bus technique

120

Susan Theobald @sortalazysusan.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Received one of the greatest compliments of my life today (dog owner told me I should get a dog because I'm 'very good with them')

110

Susan Theobald @sortalazysusan.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Semi-regular reminder that one of the best views in town is from the top floor of @blackwelloxford.bsky.social when the sun is setting (currently slightly marred by scaffolding but only slightly)

041

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Blackwell's Rare Books @blackwellrare.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

We love a good scrap book, pressed flowers, and watercolours of irritable dogs, and lucky for us this album contains all of the above! Compiled by Mrs Charlotte Sutton over a couple of years starting in 1864, it's a charming glimpse into Victorian provincial life blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/pro...

A page of watercolours, sketches and plant specimens: samples of leaves and pressed snowdrops. The watercolours include two landscape scenes of Scotland and a small dog, and the sketch is of a trotting horse.

A page of pressed flowers and leaves, attractively arranged, including a sample of seaweed from Whitby - and a child's charming watercolour of a Whitby scene.

0124

Susan Theobald @sortalazysusan.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Nothing beats the joy of finding a paw print in a book

010

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Blackwell's Rare Books @blackwellrare.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

Overheard in the bookshop: "How are you?" "Well, I'm still a librarian, but otherwise I'm okay."

0152

Reposted by Susan Theobald

Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

“This is bad, full stop. It creates a class of person who are forever excluded from civic life no matter how long they live here. It’s also a clear breach of the refugee convention.” Damn straigt, @colinyeo.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

theguardian.com

UK to refuse citizenship to refugees who have ‘made a dangerous journey’

Home Office accused of shutting out refugees, as new guidance says those applicants will ‘normally be refused’

751804573