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JCS

@theotherprofessor.bsky.social
1.1K followers 288 following 1K posts

English professor at Illinois State University focusing on Victorian Studies, Children's & Young Adult Literature, Visual Culture, Comics & graphic novels, Literary Fairy Tales, and Lewis Carroll. ghostofthetalkingcricket.squarespac…

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Miaganga @miaganga.bsky.social · 22h
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Julia Is Waving, Not Drowning @booktweeting.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
@jewishcurrents.bsky.social I would send you all a muffin basket if I could, just for the gift of this beautifully researched and argued piece that also made me cackle with glee #BookSky 💙📚 jewishcurrents.org/what-pen-ame...
jewishcurrents.org
What PEN America Got Wrong About Antisemitism in Publishing
Misleading anecdotes, flawed data, and oversimplified analyses are at the heart of a narrative of Jewish exclusion promoted by the free expression…
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Mark Hamill @markhamillofficial.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
That expression you have while witnessing spectacular incompetence.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"Super Intelligence."
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 30/09/2026
Meta is using its A.I. data centers to exploit a lucrative tax break intended to support research and experimentation, according to an exclusive report by The New York Times. The company’s own accountants recognize that the strategy is on shaky legal ground. nyti.ms/3VlavDw
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Brant Reeves @bireeves95.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Pathetic…..
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Derf Backderf @derfbackderf.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The current huge story about the gang rape at Cornell University, a crime originally brushed off and covered up by the administration, is SOLELY the product of the student paper, the Cornell Daily Sun, which doggedly pursued the story. Not the NYT or CNN. An independent student paper. #Cornell
cornellsun.com
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR | Cornell Won’t Listen, We Will
The Sun's Editor-in-Chief Sophia Dasser '28 calls on the Cornell community to share its reactions to the Chi Phi lawsuit and the University's response, on the record, for a permanent public archive.
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Chicago Tribune @chicagotribune.com · 30/09/2026
Column: Back home in Chicago, singer John Prine gets the celebration we’ve been waiting for
chicagotribune.com
Column: Back home in Chicago, singer John Prine gets the celebration we’ve been waiting for
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Sheila Liming @seeshespeak.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Congratulations to CMU for taking dirty hedge fund money from a guy who believes neither in education nor in free speech! We always knew you had it in you!
Text of article from The Financial Times with the following material highlighted, “. In January, he called Harvard students “whiny snowflakes” and halted his donations to the school, which have topped $500 million. On Monday, he said the protests were the result of a “failed education system,” adding that the situation at Harvard looked better than at Columbia, where police raids last month cleared out protesters and their encampment.
When asked by the Financial Times what Harvard should do next, Griffin replied, “Harvard should put front and center [that it] stands for meritocracy in America and will educate the next generation of leaders in American business, government, healthcare, and the philanthropic community. Harvard will embrace our Western values that have built one of the greatest nations in the world, foster those values with students, and ask them to manifest these values throughout the rest of their life.”
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Israeli Settlers Stop Soldiers From Returning Palestinians to Their Home www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/w...
nytimes.com
Israeli Settlers Stop Soldiers From Returning Palestinians to Their Home
The Supreme Court had ordered the military to ensure a West Bank family that fled violence could go back. But settlers blocked the effort, with the authorities accused of not doing enough to confront ...
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
U. of Michigan Halts New Grading Plan After Backlash From Critics www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/u...
nytimes.com
University of Michigan Halts New Grading Plan After Backlash From Critics
The program was intended to address what the university called a “mental health crisis.” But the plan was met with criticism that it was coddling students.
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Democrats in Congress Embrace a More Punitive Posture Toward Israel www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/u...
nytimes.com
Democrats in Congress Embrace a More Punitive Posture Toward Israel
Nearly every Democratic senator voted to advance a measure calling for a human rights report on Israel’s conduct in the West Bank, as some in the party propose punishing settlement activity with sanct...
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
As Jack Smith Testifies, a Senator’s Accusation of Perjury Falls Apart www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/u...
nytimes.com
Jack Smith Defends Trump Charges as Senator’s Perjury Claim Falls Apart
A Republican eager to prove the former special counsel was dishonest appeared to instead demonstrate his own confusion over basic facts.
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Dartmouth Provost Santiago Schnell and other administrators are using A.I. Students call it hypocrisy. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/u...
nytimes.com
Dartmouth Provost Is the Latest College Professor Examined for A.I. Use
Dartmouth said it would investigate its provost over A.I. accusations. Similar controversies on other campuses have prompted frustration among students.
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Cornell Sexual Assault Investigation to Be Reopened www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/n...
nytimes.com
Cornell Sexual Assault Investigation to Be Reopened
After outrage over allegations in a lawsuit, the Tompkins County district attorney will revisit the decision not to pursue criminal charges against seven fraternity members.
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Netanyahu Visits Emirati Leader After Reports on Warning About Hamas Attack www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/w...
nytimes.com
Netanyahu Visits Emirati Leader After Reports on Warning About Hamas Attack
Official statements said bilateral relations were discussed. But the question of who bears responsibility for failing to prevent the Oct. 7 attack is a major election issue in Israel.
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 29/09/2026
The ICE agent who shot Araujo in a Houston is named GREGORY FEATHERS. Make sure everyone knows.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I know Rahm Emanuel. I worked with him for years in the Clinton administration, and then when he was Obama’s chief of staff. Rahm Emanuel represents everything that’s been wrong about the Democratic Party for the last 30+ years. Be warned. robertreich.substack.com/p/the-rahm…
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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 28/09/2026
This wonderful book of Tolkien scholarship (available for free as PDF) is now available. I was honoured to be invited to write the foreword. www.livrosabertos.abcd.usp.br/portaldelivr...
livrosabertos.abcd.usp.br
Down from the door where it began: 70 years of the Lord of the Rings | Portal de Livros Abertos da USP
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
A Trump 2024 Campaign Ad Returns, Now Brought to You by the Government www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/u...
nytimes.com
Trump’s 2024 ‘Final Battle’ Ad Returns, Funded by Public Money
The ad, which ethics experts said could violate federal law, shows Mr. Trump vowing to “expel the warmongers” from the government and fight the “deep state,” even as he wages a war with Iran.
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Israel Keeps Expanding Into Gaza Despite Cease-Fire, Satellite Images Show www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Israel Keeps Expanding Into Gaza Despite Cease-Fire, Satellite Images Show
The Israeli military has built new outposts and slowly encroached beyond the withdrawal line in Gaza. These are signs its troops may be preparing to stay for the time being.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
It's already estimated that the richest 1% alone evade $163 billion in taxes every year. But Trump gutted the IRS — including the unit tasked with auditing billionaires. The agency's audit revenue fell 35%. Now, Trump's IRS is not publishing data on unpaid taxes. See the problem?
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
He Scammed the Book Business for Years. Is He Back? www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/b...
nytimes.com
Filippo Bernardini Scammed the Book Business for Years. Is He Back?
The man who admitted to stealing hundreds of manuscripts swore he’d never do it again. New online skulduggery resembles his old tricks, and then some.
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Sonja Drimmer @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I’ve been writing and speaking on this topic for years, and I’m glad that news media are finally drawing attention to it. www.salon.com/2026/07/28/t...
It may be tempting to see value in projects such as the Schmidt Foundation — that’s Eric Schmidt of Google — funding a fellowship in AI at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or the Musk Foundation’s support of the Scroll Prize to use AI in reconstructing ancient texts in the burnt scrolls of Herculaneum. But these projects are simply two among countless others that have been seeding AI into museums and historical research for well over a decade. Even more egregious is the case of AI companies buying  and destroying rare books en masse in the process of scanning them for data. In the context of the dire austerity we are witnessing, the juggernaut of tech money seems impossible to resist.
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The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 26/09/2026
Joseph Szabo’s pictures capture American adolescents’ spontaneous presence and loose-limbed, insouciant grace. www.newyorker.com/culture/phot...
newyorker.com
The Teen Portraits That Captivated Sofia Coppola
Joseph Szabo’s pictures capture American adolescents’ spontaneous presence and loose-limbed, insouciant grace.
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Netanyahu Is Said to Have Been Warned About Hamas Attack Before Oct. 7 www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/w...
nytimes.com
Netanyahu Said to Have Been Warned by Emirati Leader About Hamas Attack Before Oct. 7
The warning from the leader of the United Arab Emirates, which lacked specific details about the nature of an attack, never reached the chiefs of Israel’s security establishment, Israeli officials sai...
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Nathan K. Hensley @nathankhensley.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
the postwar university for all its problems worked according to a pretty complex balance of cultural and economic capital with other kinds thrown in, but it looks like we can simplify our Bourdieu for the phase of neoliberal higher ed we’re in now, where the only thing that matters, ever, is money
Diagram of Bourdieu’s four fold grid of forms of capital — Economic, Cultural, Social, and Symbolic, showing all of them crossed out except for Economic, which is now the only form recognized by the neoliberal university
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 25/09/2026
Mother nature doesn't like Ed Sheeran either. www.nbcboston.com/news/local/e...
nbcboston.com
Ed Sheeran's Gillette Stadium tour stops cancelled due to nor'easter
Ed Sheeran was scheduled to play two shows at Gillette Stadium following a tumultuous stretch for the Loop Tour.
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Bradley P. Moss @bradmossesq.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Possibly the best example of American democracy and governance in the era of Trump.
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." - F. Scott Fitzgerald "The Great Gatsby" (1925). Fitzgerald was born on 24 September 1896.
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Stanford Used A.I. to Swap Black Student for Hispanic Student in a Photo www.nytimes.com/2026/09/22/u...
nytimes.com
Stanford Used A.I. to Swap Black Student for Hispanic Student in a Photo
Universities have been accused of doctoring photos to showcase diversity in the past. In this case, a Black woman replaced a Hispanic young man, who said it was upsetting to be “erased.”
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The Democrats’ Policy on Palestine Is Detached From Reality www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Democrats’ Policy on Palestine Is Detached From Reality
The party needs more than a stance on Israel.
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
What Hegseth Is Hiding www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | What Hegseth Is Hiding
Soldiers want to tell their stories, and we need to hear them.
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Defiant Netanyahu Denounces Palestine Recognition, to a Mostly Empty U.N. Hall www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/w...
nytimes.com
Defiant Netanyahu Denounces Palestine Recognition, to a Mostly Empty U.N. Hall
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Tom Walsh @tewalsh340.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
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Michael Legel @mjlegel.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
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Captain Howdy @captainhowdy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Jim Henson was born on this day in 1936.
Edward Hopper's 'Nighthawks', but the man and woman at the counter of the diner are now Fozzie and Miss Piggy. The guy with his back to us is now Bert, but Bert is being operated by Frank Oz, who is crouched down in front of the counter. The waiter/server is now Jim Henson who is looking intently at Kermit, and Kermit, who is occupying half of Jim's right arm, is looking intently at Jim. The diner is now called "JIMMYS".
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The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 23/09/2026
In this documentary, Israeli military and intelligence sources reveal systems, policies, and practices that have resulted in high numbers of civilian deaths and widespread destruction. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
newyorker.com
“NAZA” Puts Israel Face to Face with the War in Gaza
In this documentary, Israeli military and intelligence sources reveal systems, policies, and practices that have resulted in high numbers of civilian deaths and widespread destruction.
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Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
they cobbled a committee together full of the people you are warned to avoid during campus visits and seem surprised they can't play together nicely you just know everyone rolls their eyes when these dudes start talking in the faculty meeting
littlevillagemag.com
Nearly half of the Center for Intellectual Freedom advisory council resigns; emails reveal infighting with regents - Little Village
Nearly half of the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa’s advisory council membership have resigned from their roles after issues were voiced about the Iowa Board of Regents’ dism...
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Mark Tolman (he/him) 🏳️‍🌈 🖖 @mtolman.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This is true, that's what makes it both funny and sad.
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Mark T. Sneed @marktsneed.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted.... History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.” ― George Orwell, 1984
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Kid Rock's toxic unpopularity has caused *two* music festivals to be cancelled in this year alone: Patriots Day Freedom Fest in September 2026 Rock the Country South Carolina Stop in February 2026 It couldn't happen to a more obnoxious, washed-up no-talent.
newrepublic.com
MAGA Festival With Kid Rock Canceled After No One Wanted to Go
The “Freedom Fest” is no longer happening after dismal ticket sales.
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Joseph Rezek @rezekjoe.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
We’ve got an Ivy League provost over here who can’t use his own brain to write an OpEd, he needs ChatGPT to help him with his sentences and thoughts. He needs the bot to write emails clearly. I’m so disgusted and also laughing so hard somehow
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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Much as we love bookshops, they need more than love to keep going. A bookshop can be the centre of a whole community. Bookshops support authors; organize events. A thriving bookshop teaches the next generation that literacy matters. So don't just love your bookshop: actually buy books there.
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JCS @theotherprofessor.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
In the Land of Billionaire Barbarians www.nytimes.com/2026/09/21/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | In the Land of Billionaire Barbarians
The center of the tech industry is culturally barren because wealthy executives have no interest in communities outside their fiefs.
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Nick Sousanis @nsousanis.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
so I'm giving a virtual talk on comics tomorrow morning 830am PT/1130am ET for CT State's Common Read program – & I think, it's open to the public. I meant to post earlier, but if you are so inclined, details on my site here (down below my new syllabus): spinweaveandcut.com/comics-in-ed...
spinweaveandcut.com
Comics in Education Minicomic as Syllabus!
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Kit @skeletonpup.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Btw your local hospital and mental health facility is probably in dire need of book donations. I just donated ~20 modern books to a local hospital and they were SO happy. Patients LOVE books but these libraries are often dependent on community donations and often don't have modern selections.
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Anthony Michael Kreis @anthonymkreis.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Do you remember the 21st night of September?
static.klipy.com
Earth Wind Fire - September (Live Performance)
ALT: Earth Wind Fire - September (Live Performance)
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Dear Ed. You're not the victim here. Your starting point should be realising that. www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/deva...
standard.co.uk
Devastated Ed Sheeran claims his own family ‘abandoned’ him amid Gaza row
‘I'm feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me,’ said Sheeran
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Gillian Martin @gillmartin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Laura Kuennsberg on the BBC Politics Show asked whether musicians should speak out on political subjects... Woody Guthrie, ladies & gentlemen:
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