Bronwyn
@bron.bsky.social
Linguist, reader, knitter, video gamer, Canadian (in no particular order). Thinks a lot about auxiliaries and pronouns, Stardew Valley, and books with magic and/or spaceships and/or kissing in them. Experimenting with context collapse. (she/her)
The deeply unfair thing about social anxiety is that sometimes avoiding things for social anxiety reasons just gets you into yet MORE anxiety-inducing situations.
February 16, 2026 at 10:24 PM
The deeply unfair thing about social anxiety is that sometimes avoiding things for social anxiety reasons just gets you into yet MORE anxiety-inducing situations.
Reposted by Bronwyn
I propose to make universal the old policy of the Blackfriars conference at the American Shakespeare Center:
If you do not end your paper on time, you will be forced to exit, pursued by a bear. Literally, a bear will come take your paper from you.
If you do not end your paper on time, you will be forced to exit, pursued by a bear. Literally, a bear will come take your paper from you.
February 16, 2026 at 1:14 AM
I propose to make universal the old policy of the Blackfriars conference at the American Shakespeare Center:
If you do not end your paper on time, you will be forced to exit, pursued by a bear. Literally, a bear will come take your paper from you.
If you do not end your paper on time, you will be forced to exit, pursued by a bear. Literally, a bear will come take your paper from you.
TIL that in Old English the goose/geese tooth/teeth foot/feet alternation for plural nouns also applied to "book", so singular boc became plural bec! I am charmed.
Bring back beek!
Bring back beek!
February 15, 2026 at 5:06 PM
TIL that in Old English the goose/geese tooth/teeth foot/feet alternation for plural nouns also applied to "book", so singular boc became plural bec! I am charmed.
Bring back beek!
Bring back beek!
Reposted by Bronwyn
…That "Generative AI" does not tell you the truth, that it doesn't give you facts, & that when its outputs conform to factual reality, it's by fucking happenstance. These systems are not all-in-1 answer production machines, they are collections of stats & regularities spat out via fucking dice rolls
How many times, in how many contexts, in how many ways am I going to have to say that this is what "AI" does— what it fundamentally *is*— before it sinks in? That all Bullshit engines do is statistically correlate training data & inputs via their weights to produce outputs you are likely to accept…
February 15, 2026 at 4:01 AM
…That "Generative AI" does not tell you the truth, that it doesn't give you facts, & that when its outputs conform to factual reality, it's by fucking happenstance. These systems are not all-in-1 answer production machines, they are collections of stats & regularities spat out via fucking dice rolls
Reposted by Bronwyn
It’s not like study after study has shown this for decades, there, Anderson
Anderson Cooper: “So it's more expensive to have a chronically homeless person living on the streets than it is to actually subsidize an apartment for them?”
Answer: “Yes, we’re paying more as taxpayers to walk past that person on the street and do nothing…” #HousingFirst
Answer: “Yes, we’re paying more as taxpayers to walk past that person on the street and do nothing…” #HousingFirst
100,000 Homes: Housing the homeless saves money?
Giving apartments to the chronically homeless can save taxpayer dollars, advocates say
www.cbsnews.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:22 PM
It’s not like study after study has shown this for decades, there, Anderson
Reposted by Bronwyn
A new university in Nunavut is set to advance Arctic education when it opens in 2030.
We tell you why Inuit teachings will be the cornerstone of its campus, tonight on APTN National News.
Watch live: youtube.com/aptnnews
We tell you why Inuit teachings will be the cornerstone of its campus, tonight on APTN National News.
Watch live: youtube.com/aptnnews
February 12, 2026 at 10:47 PM
A new university in Nunavut is set to advance Arctic education when it opens in 2030.
We tell you why Inuit teachings will be the cornerstone of its campus, tonight on APTN National News.
Watch live: youtube.com/aptnnews
We tell you why Inuit teachings will be the cornerstone of its campus, tonight on APTN National News.
Watch live: youtube.com/aptnnews
Great thread. Note that Vancouver only has like 10 blocks of urban elevated highway, and yet managed to target its historically black neighbourhood for demolition with laser precision.
Nora Rose Hendrix was a pillar of Vancouver's Hogan's Alley.
She built the community, and worked tirelessly to save it from demolition by the City of Vancouver.
Her grandson Jimi was also a pretty damn good guitar player.
This is the story of Nora Hendrix!
🧵 1/11
She built the community, and worked tirelessly to save it from demolition by the City of Vancouver.
Her grandson Jimi was also a pretty damn good guitar player.
This is the story of Nora Hendrix!
🧵 1/11
February 12, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Great thread. Note that Vancouver only has like 10 blocks of urban elevated highway, and yet managed to target its historically black neighbourhood for demolition with laser precision.
Reposted by Bronwyn
well i for one couldn’t be more excited for the possibilities of AI. finally a technology that answers the age old question ‘what if clippy was wormtongue’
February 12, 2026 at 1:10 PM
well i for one couldn’t be more excited for the possibilities of AI. finally a technology that answers the age old question ‘what if clippy was wormtongue’
Reposted by Bronwyn
This is an outstanding resource and very clear rundown on a) why Substack is bad because people apparently still need to be spoonfed in 2026 and b) the MYRIAD options to use instead
That's 100% why I created leavesubstack.com -- got tired of re-hashing the points; wanted to make a simple 1-pager.
You Should Probably Leave Substack
You should probably leave Substack. Here’s why and how.
leavesubstack.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:52 AM
This is an outstanding resource and very clear rundown on a) why Substack is bad because people apparently still need to be spoonfed in 2026 and b) the MYRIAD options to use instead
Reposted by Bronwyn
An Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) card game created by an Indigenous designer right here in #Winnipeg.
Currently $4,110 pledged of $7,000 goal.
Currently $4,110 pledged of $7,000 goal.
Ataage Agindaasonan - An Ojibwe/Anishinaabemowin card game
A fun way to learn a language with access to audio translations and pronunciation breakdowns. Immerse yourself with the game phrases!
www.kickstarter.com
February 10, 2026 at 9:15 PM
An Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) card game created by an Indigenous designer right here in #Winnipeg.
Currently $4,110 pledged of $7,000 goal.
Currently $4,110 pledged of $7,000 goal.
Reposted by Bronwyn
Ring is first and foremost a scheme to charge Amazon customers to deter crime that costs Amazon (not the customers themselves) billions annually in refunds, returns, double shipping, and customer service overhead.
February 12, 2026 at 12:41 AM
Ring is first and foremost a scheme to charge Amazon customers to deter crime that costs Amazon (not the customers themselves) billions annually in refunds, returns, double shipping, and customer service overhead.
Reposted by Bronwyn
I watched the whole thing because it's astonishing
February 12, 2026 at 1:36 AM
I watched the whole thing because it's astonishing
After six+ months I have finally accepted that I am not cut out for a two phone lifestyle. Just totally incapable of keeping both charged and functioning.
February 11, 2026 at 3:06 PM
After six+ months I have finally accepted that I am not cut out for a two phone lifestyle. Just totally incapable of keeping both charged and functioning.
Reposted by Bronwyn
To all the non-academics who don't understand the point of academic freedom and don't care to learn about it, let me give you a factor you might care about:
Tenure is the biggest reason you get my services at a steep discount over my private sector value.
Tenure is the biggest reason you get my services at a steep discount over my private sector value.
No Tenure for Oklahoma.
Instead, faculty will be on "renewable contracts “tied to teaching effectiveness, student completion, job placement, and economic alignment.”
#academicsky
Instead, faculty will be on "renewable contracts “tied to teaching effectiveness, student completion, job placement, and economic alignment.”
#academicsky
Tenure Will Be Eliminated at Most of Oklahoma’s Public Colleges, Governor Says
Gov. J. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, directed the state’s two-dozen regional universities and community colleges to phase out the practice. Existing faculty members will be grandfathered in.
www.chronicle.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:16 AM
To all the non-academics who don't understand the point of academic freedom and don't care to learn about it, let me give you a factor you might care about:
Tenure is the biggest reason you get my services at a steep discount over my private sector value.
Tenure is the biggest reason you get my services at a steep discount over my private sector value.
Reposted by Bronwyn
I think the names given to this approach to syntax peaked circa 1975 with “Revised Extended Standard Theory”.
February 3, 2026 at 9:10 PM
I think the names given to this approach to syntax peaked circa 1975 with “Revised Extended Standard Theory”.
Reposted by Bronwyn
I guess the old standby "transformational syntax" is still there, isn't it? Are there any transformational theories other than GB/Minimalism?
February 3, 2026 at 7:59 PM
I guess the old standby "transformational syntax" is still there, isn't it? Are there any transformational theories other than GB/Minimalism?
Okay friends, my desire to find an alternative but equally informative label for "Chomskyan syntax" has reached criticality.
February 3, 2026 at 7:03 PM
Okay friends, my desire to find an alternative but equally informative label for "Chomskyan syntax" has reached criticality.
Reposted by Bronwyn
This is one of my favorite optical illusions, because even when you know specifically HOW IT WORKS, it's still hard to make your brain believe it.
The image below is real-world video, but you're being tricked into believing it's an elaborate miniature by the DIORAMA EFFECT.
Let's talk about it.
The image below is real-world video, but you're being tricked into believing it's an elaborate miniature by the DIORAMA EFFECT.
Let's talk about it.
February 2, 2026 at 1:57 PM
This is one of my favorite optical illusions, because even when you know specifically HOW IT WORKS, it's still hard to make your brain believe it.
The image below is real-world video, but you're being tricked into believing it's an elaborate miniature by the DIORAMA EFFECT.
Let's talk about it.
The image below is real-world video, but you're being tricked into believing it's an elaborate miniature by the DIORAMA EFFECT.
Let's talk about it.
Reposted by Bronwyn
ABOLISH LEGAL GENDER ENTIRELY
We can still have social gender but legal gender only serves to enable discrimination and should be done away with like we did away with legal race for the same reason.
We can still have social gender but legal gender only serves to enable discrimination and should be done away with like we did away with legal race for the same reason.
NO GENDER MARKERS ON GOVERNMENT ID, NOW
An extreme Kansas bill will invalidate the drivers license of every trans person in the state. It was passed alongside a particularly extreme bathroom bill, meaning that the implications of every trans Kansan losing legal ID overnight has largely been missed.
February 3, 2026 at 12:10 AM
ABOLISH LEGAL GENDER ENTIRELY
We can still have social gender but legal gender only serves to enable discrimination and should be done away with like we did away with legal race for the same reason.
We can still have social gender but legal gender only serves to enable discrimination and should be done away with like we did away with legal race for the same reason.
Reposted by Bronwyn
They were actually friends who visited each other, as far as I can tell
January 31, 2026 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by Bronwyn
I wonder how the Harper's Letter signatories are doing.
January 30, 2026 at 5:46 PM
I wonder how the Harper's Letter signatories are doing.
Reposted by Bronwyn
WisCon folks, check out this auction for MN aid. Many writing consults and critiques are available for bidding, original art, books, etc.!
www.32auctions.com/publishingfo...
They've raised 95.5% of their goal, and there's still time to bid.
They've raised 95.5% of their goal, and there's still time to bid.
Publishing for Minnesota
Silent auction 'Publishing for Minnesota' hosted online at 32auctions.
www.32auctions.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:18 AM
WisCon folks, check out this auction for MN aid. Many writing consults and critiques are available for bidding, original art, books, etc.!
I don't even live in Manitoba and I'm grateful for Wab Kinew as a politician. (Also, this is a very funny line, sounds about right.)
"Except in Manitoba the question is going to be 'do you want to stay a part of Canada?' and the two choices are going to be yeah and heck yeah."
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew weighs in on the conversations around Alberta's potential referndum on sovereignty.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew weighs in on the conversations around Alberta's potential referndum on sovereignty.
January 29, 2026 at 9:06 PM
I don't even live in Manitoba and I'm grateful for Wab Kinew as a politician. (Also, this is a very funny line, sounds about right.)
Reposted by Bronwyn
me, emotionally writing an essay on the use of force by federal agents: ok but what if i packaged this in the most insane way possible www.theverge.com/policy/86857...
Best gas masks
“How did these people go out and get gas masks?” AG Bondi asked.
www.theverge.com
January 29, 2026 at 2:25 PM
me, emotionally writing an essay on the use of force by federal agents: ok but what if i packaged this in the most insane way possible www.theverge.com/policy/86857...
Reposted by Bronwyn
“We are a Minneapolis 2nd grade Brownie Troop of 12 including trans and neurodiverse youth and 75% BIPOC kids. We want to go to summer camp and try horseback riding! During the current ICE occupation we need your support more than ever...”
And that’s how I ordered 4 boxes of thin mints.
And that’s how I ordered 4 boxes of thin mints.
A friend shared with me a girl scout cookie link from a group that's having a hard time selling in Minneapolis right now.
digitalcookie.girlscouts.org/scout/troop5...
digitalcookie.girlscouts.org/scout/troop5...
Order your Faves on my Digital Cookie Site Today
That's right! You can order your favorite Girl Scout Cookies from me online, all while helping my troop and I do great things in our community and beyond! Check it out.
digitalcookie.girlscouts.org
January 29, 2026 at 3:00 AM
“We are a Minneapolis 2nd grade Brownie Troop of 12 including trans and neurodiverse youth and 75% BIPOC kids. We want to go to summer camp and try horseback riding! During the current ICE occupation we need your support more than ever...”
And that’s how I ordered 4 boxes of thin mints.
And that’s how I ordered 4 boxes of thin mints.