iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

In the spirit of arbitrarily renaming other people’s stuff, might I suggest that Canada recognize Louisiana as—

Monogram showing an outline of the state of Louisiana in the centre and its new name, L’Acadie du sud, around it

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

In the remarkable upside down of academic administrators, this is apparently worth an email—

The weekly digest of memos from the Provost of the University of Toronto announcing that there were “no items for the Provost’s Weekly Digest.”

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

This morning’s project: making sobolo. It involves turn these ingredients into this drink. The aidan fruit is particularly intriguing (seen lying on its side between the ginger and the pineapple). Also a glimpse at a couple of intermediate steps—the whole mass blended and at a boil.

Ingredients for Sobolo, a drink popular in West Africa and the Caribbean: pineapple, ginger root, hibiscus flowers, aidan fruit, grains of paradise, and uda seeds (aka grains of selim)

Picture and description of the drink sobolo.

The blended ingredients in a pot. Waiting to come to a boil.

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

My first, slightly underwhelming, peppers. Too small for the squirrels!

Two, very small red bell peppers, with a ruler for scale. The peppers are 1” and 1 1/2” in diameter.

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

It’s 35C out—perfect day to be making pickles! But the dill heads were ready, and there were pickling cucumbers in the market

Jars of dill pickles to be in a boiling-water bath

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

A cake to celebrate the first local raspberries of the summer: Alison Roman’s Raspberry ricotta cake. I added some extra blackberries.

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Testing my new oven with a tart— rhubarb with a pistachio frangipane (from Meera Sodha in the Guardian)

A rhubarb pistachio tart, two slices down

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Reposted by Tom Keirstead

Danica Savonick @danicasavonick.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

SUNY Chancellor John B. King @sunychancellor.bsky.social announces SUNY's "absolute & unwavering commitment" to DEI: "Some are cowering & backing away. We cannot and will not. We will not retreat, we will not back down... DEI is in our DNA." Super grateful & proud to teach @ SUNY!

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Post the best picture(s) of your cat you’ve ever taken (if you want)

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Today’s culinary adventure: Helen Goh’s Breton butter cake with marmalade (from the Guardian). “It tastes good” was the verdict.

A Breton butter cake with a slice removed.

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Mr Bean Figures It Out. (Could be the title of a mystery. A very simple one.) Thanks to River, his cat sitter.

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

From the Japanese bakery that opened just around the corner in Somerville: curry pan, kinpira oyaki, and two anpan cubes.

A curry pan, kinpira oyaki, and two anpan cubes

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

The promised Plum pudding. With a hard sauce (it was supposed to be a sherry sauce, but I only had sherry brandy. I figure that thats close enough). I made another that I’ll keep (and feed with brandy) to have at Christmas

A plum pudding on a yellow plate with a teaspoon on the side

A serving of plum pudding, with hard sauce

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

My vegetarian suet arrived today. Time to think about plum pudding!

Cover of the cookbook, Pride and Pudding

A package of Atora vegetable suet set on a cookbook opened to the recipe for plum pudding

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

The bulb planter with Tilley hat. R.I.P Alex Tilley, inventor of the goofiest hat in the world.

Man wearing a blue Tilly hat holding a bulb planter.

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

A film crew has taken over a block of College St nearby and lined it with vintage cars. They’ve even erected a couple of phone booths. Any Torontonians around who know what’s going on?

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

A film crew has taken over a block nearby and lined it with vintage cars. They’ve even erected a couple of phone booths. Any Torontonians around who know what’s going on?

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

It’s getting to be that season! Full moon and spider, Toronto, Ontario.

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

Good morning from Toronto. The days are getting shorter, but for now at least they’re starting off well

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

The race for cat mayor of the Somerville (MA) bike path is heating up. There are even some non-cat interlopers

A row of posters for candidates for the cat mayor of the Somerville Community path

Poster for Ernie (Feel the Ern), candidate for mayor of the Somerville Community Path

Poster for Midnight, candidate for mayor of the Somerville Community Path

Poster for Mela, candidate for mayor of the Somerville Community Path

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

A galette to make the most of this summer’s excellent peaches!

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

Can this be comfortable? I suppose that’s a silly question for a cat. (An early or very late) Happy Caturday!

Mr Bean, a medium haired grey cat draped over his cardboard scratching pad. Head on the floor.

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Celebrating the season! A redcurrant and raspberry fool, with fruit from the local farmers market.

Redcurrant and raspberry fool in a blue bowl

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

And here’s the finished product—just in time for the cocktail hour

Two mason jars with homemade Canada Day Gin. The label shows a Tom Thomson-esque pine on a rocky shoreline.

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

A gin for Canada Day! With spruce tips, Labrador tea, as well as the usual ingredients. Should have had a Saskatoon berry, too, but I had to settle for a Canadian cranberry instead. Of course this meant that I spent most of the afternoon gin drip from the still. It is as exciting as it sounds.

Ingredients to make a Canada Day gin: spruce tips, Labrador tea, birch bark, juniper berries and coriander seeds

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Devastating news and a complete betrayal of the idea that IU was a place where students could learn about the world. Bloomington took area studies seriously long before most other US universities, and it still boasts that it teaches more languages than any university in the US.

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Reposted by Tom Keirstead

Rebecca Spang @rlspang.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

So, here it is. Thanks to a new state law that was NEVER DEBATED, Indiana University has committed itself to abolishing majors in African-American/African Diaspora Studies: American Studies; Art History; French; Italian; Religious Studies etc. DOZENS of majors. www.ipm.org/news-section...

ipm.org

Indiana public colleges cut almost 20% of degrees

Public Indiana colleges and universities have eliminated 19 percent of their degree programs to meet requirements added to the state’s budget, according to the Commission for Higher Education.

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

I’m sure that something like this is what Trump really wanted. Coming soon to the Kennedy center? Pyongyang, 2013.

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

From the York mystery plays being performed at the University of Toronto today (they’ll be on until midnight so there’s time to catch a play—or thirty). Gabriel telling Joseph to head to Bethlehem, and Herod ordering the slaughter of the innocents. The overly long red tie seems a nice touch.

The angel Gabriel tells Joseph to get to Bethlehem asap. From the York mystery plays 2025 at the university of Toronto

Herod, in a blue suit with an overly long red tie, orders the slaughter of the innocents. From the York mystery plays 2025 at the University of Toronto

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

A dinner for spring! An asparagus frittata with fiddleheads and rhubarb-strawberry galettes for dessert.

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

In the very very tiring month of may—Mr Bean doesn’t even notice that his head’s falling off

Very tired grey cat on cardboard scratch pads

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

How to warm up when it feels like -10 (Celsius) outside. All it takes is a glitter ball and a step stool.

A gray cat (medium hair) stares intently at a glitter ball hiding under a step stool

The same grey cat, pouncing on the glitter ball

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Celebrating Spring in Toronto! By burying the crocuses, which have just begun to blossom, in icy mush.

Celebrating spring in Toronto with a couple of centimeters of snow and ice

Celebrating Spring in Toronto with snow and ice in front of Robarts Library on the university of
Toronto campus

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

Tonight’s dinner: nabeyaki udon, to break in my new donabe

A donabe, Japanese earthenware pot. Round, with lid, rather like a Dutch oven. Grey, chrysanthemum design

Nabeyaki udon: udon noodles cooked in a clay pot. Garnished with slices of fried tofu, kamaboko, shrimp tempura, shiitake, two eggs poached in the broth, and some dandelion greens

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Reposted by Tom Keirstead

T. Seifman @toranosukev.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Glad to see this statement from @asianstudies.org. They could have simply said nothing, but they actively chose to issue this statement. Sometimes even just such a gesture of support can mean a lot. www.asianstudies.org/aas-statemen...

asianstudies.org

AAS Statement in Support of Transgender Rights - Association for Asian Studies

The Association for Asian Studies strongly condemns any act targeting transgender students, among the most vulnerable members of American society. Even as the Association holds its Annual Conference i...

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

O Canada. From yesterday’s Globe and Mail.

The Canadian men’s hockey team, celebrating the subjugation of the proposed Southern territory in the Four Nations Face-Off. The team is arranged left-to-right across the photo. Shot taken from the rear.

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

An open wardrobe door needs a cat to investigate

A grey cat standing on his toes looking into a wardrobe

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

This week’s #yokai from my class: tenjōname 天井嘗, or ceiling licker. CL began as a literary joke in one of Toriyama Sekien’s encyclopedias of yōkai (1780s)—there’s an allusion in the text to Essays in Idleness—then made its way into folklore as an explanation for the stains found on ceilings

Tenjoname, or ceiling pickerel, a yōkai responsible for the stains, mold and mildew found on ceilings

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Suited up for the first day of class in Japanese Monsters.

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Had our toshikoshi soba a few hours early. Accompanied by the beautiful oseshi bento from Toronto’s best fish store (and sushiya, imo), Affinity Fish.

Osechi bento, a traditional Japanese new year’s box of special dishes

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Working on the basics with the help of a Christmas gift from @drbibliomane.bsky.social. My first tanzhong and milk bread.

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Christmas cake! A Certosino di Bologna (recipe from Rachel Roddy I. The Guardian)

An Italian Christmas cake, Certisino di Bologna. Chocolate and honey, topped with candied fruit and almonds

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Show me a picture on your phone that has your energy that isn’t a selfie Pop

Detail of a Bosch painting. A green dragon with a knife looks down on a man in a barrel

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Seen in Somerville, MA. Looking for an uber with its nose so bright?

Santa Claus, standing, holding a lantern in one hand and the other hand apparently hailing something

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Mr Bean channeling his inner Philip Marlowe

A cat strides down a hallway. Looking very film noir

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

If you see this quote with your first ever anime: Might have been Speed Racer, on the Captain Satellite show —

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 07/11/2024

How to respond to the current situation. Should I work my way, Julia-style, through my baking books? Or is The Negroni the answer?

Four baking books. Clockwise from the top: Bake the Seasons, Snacking Cakes, Still We Rise, and Snacking Bakes

The Negroni, a book devoted to that cocktail and its variants

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 02/11/2024

The Crimson King, or how to make a Negroni really complicated. Also very tasty.

A crimson king cocktail in a Nick and Nora glass with all that’s needed to make it: Rye, Campari, punt e mes, Cherry Heering, and coffee bitters.

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Tom Keirstead @tomkeirstead.bsky.social · 23/10/2024

Fortune smiled on Mr Bean yesterday afternoon. He caught sight of his natural prey munching on its favorite quarry. (Squirrel and pizza, that is. The photo is a little fuzzy.)

Grey cat staring out a screen door at a squirrel eating a piece of pizza on the far side of the deck

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