Alison
@alisonburnis.bsky.social
Occasional writer, intermittent artist. Red lipstick enthusiast. Likes cake. Current academic librarian, former hospital librarian. Atlantic Canada. She/her/elle.
Pinned
Alison
@alisonburnis.bsky.social
· Sep 10
Hello! It’s time to update my introduction post (at least, in my mind).
I’m Alison. I’m a writer, artist, reader, and now a knitter. I’m also the cataloguing and metadata librarian at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
This is my cat, Mallow. She’s the best cat.
I’m Alison. I’m a writer, artist, reader, and now a knitter. I’m also the cataloguing and metadata librarian at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
This is my cat, Mallow. She’s the best cat.
Reposted by Alison
I love Fall. The crisp air, the radiant colors, the bleak realization that everything dies
September 25, 2023 at 5:27 PM
I love Fall. The crisp air, the radiant colors, the bleak realization that everything dies
And a more traditional note: today, I think of my paternal grandfather, who left the steel plant as a boy to fight in WWII, came home, and never talked about it again. He died in 1997, and I hope he found peace.
Sure hope the institutions posting lots of “never again” today think about what that actually means. And maybe re-examine their actions regarding very current and present wars and genocides.
November 11, 2025 at 2:12 PM
And a more traditional note: today, I think of my paternal grandfather, who left the steel plant as a boy to fight in WWII, came home, and never talked about it again. He died in 1997, and I hope he found peace.
Sure hope the institutions posting lots of “never again” today think about what that actually means. And maybe re-examine their actions regarding very current and present wars and genocides.
November 11, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Sure hope the institutions posting lots of “never again” today think about what that actually means. And maybe re-examine their actions regarding very current and present wars and genocides.
Reposted by Alison
3 years ago Elon enabled the funniest day in Twitter history.
November 10, 2025 at 8:05 PM
3 years ago Elon enabled the funniest day in Twitter history.
Absolutely wild behaviour: people coming into my posts that ARE NOT ABOUT THAT and start talking about immigration when we live in a settler-colonial state? Like how do you think most of us got here? Do you think I'm going to be like "yeah immigration is bad" even though it's how I got my life?
November 10, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Absolutely wild behaviour: people coming into my posts that ARE NOT ABOUT THAT and start talking about immigration when we live in a settler-colonial state? Like how do you think most of us got here? Do you think I'm going to be like "yeah immigration is bad" even though it's how I got my life?
Reposted by Alison
ummm
I missed that line in Flanders Fields
I missed that line in Flanders Fields
November 10, 2025 at 3:45 PM
ummm
I missed that line in Flanders Fields
I missed that line in Flanders Fields
we did it, Joe...oh wait, this is bad, actually.
I would hope that those who caused these system failures are ashamed but I doubt it. I hate this!
www.cbc.ca/news/health/...
I would hope that those who caused these system failures are ashamed but I doubt it. I hate this!
www.cbc.ca/news/health/...
Canada loses measles elimination status | CBC
www.cbc.ca
November 10, 2025 at 3:16 PM
we did it, Joe...oh wait, this is bad, actually.
I would hope that those who caused these system failures are ashamed but I doubt it. I hate this!
www.cbc.ca/news/health/...
I would hope that those who caused these system failures are ashamed but I doubt it. I hate this!
www.cbc.ca/news/health/...
Reposted by Alison
Happy There Is A Circulatory System Walking Through The Kitchen Day to all who celebrate.
November 10, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Happy There Is A Circulatory System Walking Through The Kitchen Day to all who celebrate.
Congratulations to me, a person who remembered to pull out the waterproof backpack cover BEFORE I walk to the bus stop and get my bag soaked and the cover useless at that point.
November 10, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Congratulations to me, a person who remembered to pull out the waterproof backpack cover BEFORE I walk to the bus stop and get my bag soaked and the cover useless at that point.
Reposted by Alison
This isn't just on antivaxxer politicians, it's on every politician who isn't stridently, publicly provaccine.
Every one who lets kids be in school without being vaccinated.
Every one who lets health care workers be unvaccinated.
Every one who treats public health as an afterthought.
Every one who lets kids be in school without being vaccinated.
Every one who lets health care workers be unvaccinated.
Every one who treats public health as an afterthought.
Canada expected to lose long-standing measles-elimination status tomorrow https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-canada-measles-elimination-status-public-health-vaccines/
𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 ⇢ CanadaHealthwatch.ca 🍁
𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 ⇢ CanadaHealthwatch.ca 🍁
November 10, 2025 at 4:42 AM
This isn't just on antivaxxer politicians, it's on every politician who isn't stridently, publicly provaccine.
Every one who lets kids be in school without being vaccinated.
Every one who lets health care workers be unvaccinated.
Every one who treats public health as an afterthought.
Every one who lets kids be in school without being vaccinated.
Every one who lets health care workers be unvaccinated.
Every one who treats public health as an afterthought.
I’ve been sick and busy and very stressed lately so the fact that I’m still in my pyjamas at nearly 1PM is a sign of that but also very, very needed.
November 9, 2025 at 4:46 PM
I’ve been sick and busy and very stressed lately so the fact that I’m still in my pyjamas at nearly 1PM is a sign of that but also very, very needed.
Reposted by Alison
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:55 AM
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
Hot take from me: I think that before a construction crew blocks the only entrance/exit to a parking garage to a building with 500 residents and at least 100 cars, they should have to give us warning.
Anyway I can’t get back in my parking garage! Thanks!
Anyway I can’t get back in my parking garage! Thanks!
November 8, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Hot take from me: I think that before a construction crew blocks the only entrance/exit to a parking garage to a building with 500 residents and at least 100 cars, they should have to give us warning.
Anyway I can’t get back in my parking garage! Thanks!
Anyway I can’t get back in my parking garage! Thanks!
Reposted by Alison
It’s how our Parliamentary system works
November 7, 2025 at 10:03 PM
It’s how our Parliamentary system works
Reposted by Alison
I remember when I was in college my mom told me about an article she'd read where a group of millionaires and a group of middle-class people were asked the same set of extremely basic questions and all the millionaires failed. stuff like "how much does a stamp cost" or "where's your nearest library"
The other weird thing about having met actual millionaires and billionaires is having wealth doesn't actually mean they are smart or have their lives together. One guy struggled to do basic things like book travel or dress up for dates. Kevin O'Leary has the charisma of a cardboard box.
November 7, 2025 at 10:51 PM
I remember when I was in college my mom told me about an article she'd read where a group of millionaires and a group of middle-class people were asked the same set of extremely basic questions and all the millionaires failed. stuff like "how much does a stamp cost" or "where's your nearest library"
We have moved to some light coughing and reduced snot volumes after chain eating cough drops in the hopes that the menthol would help, and a whole night of kitten cuddles (she never cuddles with me)!
The sheer amount of snot my body is producing today is mind-boggling.
November 7, 2025 at 4:39 PM
We have moved to some light coughing and reduced snot volumes after chain eating cough drops in the hopes that the menthol would help, and a whole night of kitten cuddles (she never cuddles with me)!
Reposted by Alison
the orcas have been too quiet as of late i hope they’re plotting something good
November 3, 2025 at 9:54 PM
the orcas have been too quiet as of late i hope they’re plotting something good
Reposted by Alison
Parks and Rec isn't a hill to die on, but one thing it gets right is this whole government thing rests on the shoulders of people you will never know, caring a lot about jobs you've never heard of, fighting challenges thrown at them from every angle just to make life a little better for everyone.
November 5, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Parks and Rec isn't a hill to die on, but one thing it gets right is this whole government thing rests on the shoulders of people you will never know, caring a lot about jobs you've never heard of, fighting challenges thrown at them from every angle just to make life a little better for everyone.
Reposted by Alison
As a millennial woman, I am excited to learn that I have ruined the workplace not once but twice.
November 6, 2025 at 8:52 PM
As a millennial woman, I am excited to learn that I have ruined the workplace not once but twice.
The sheer amount of snot my body is producing today is mind-boggling.
November 6, 2025 at 4:38 PM
The sheer amount of snot my body is producing today is mind-boggling.
Reposted by Alison
This "Labour Disruption" (we're not allowed to call it a strike, lol) is going to have serious, detrimental, long-lasting impacts on how PT faculty are perceived at this institution. We're being told, and shown, that we are literally worthless. How do you come back from that?
November 6, 2025 at 4:26 PM
This "Labour Disruption" (we're not allowed to call it a strike, lol) is going to have serious, detrimental, long-lasting impacts on how PT faculty are perceived at this institution. We're being told, and shown, that we are literally worthless. How do you come back from that?
Reposted by Alison
we're still shipping all over Canada for only $5 and we now have a tugboat to help us spread the word! how do we do it? that's really none of your business
November 5, 2025 at 7:35 PM
we're still shipping all over Canada for only $5 and we now have a tugboat to help us spread the word! how do we do it? that's really none of your business
I took a vacation day because today is my birthday and I’m lying on the couch right now! 10/10!
November 5, 2025 at 1:32 PM
I took a vacation day because today is my birthday and I’m lying on the couch right now! 10/10!
Reposted by Alison
Much more housing should be permitted in Halifax's South End specifically
Oh The Urbanity: "Show me a city with a legally protected mansion district near downtown and I'll show you a city that hasn't really taken the housing crisis seriously."
Halifax:
Halifax:
November 4, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Much more housing should be permitted in Halifax's South End specifically
Reposted by Alison
People probably wouldn't celebrate the deaths of horrible people if they had been held to account for their many many many crimes while they were alive.
November 4, 2025 at 3:07 PM
People probably wouldn't celebrate the deaths of horrible people if they had been held to account for their many many many crimes while they were alive.