Karis Lou Sirak
@karislousirak.bsky.social
PhD Researcher, amateur photographer, freelance researcher, writer, and ethnographic researcher. Public art, reading, birds, wildlife, the coast, Lego, SciFi TV, folklore (Peg Power 💚), doodler.📍NE Eng, UK.
https://linktr.ee/karislousirak
https://linktr.ee/karislousirak
Stottie fungi (barm, bap, bun, bread) growing alongside a regular route.
November 16, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Stottie fungi (barm, bap, bun, bread) growing alongside a regular route.
Was in an online meeting with terrible sound and no video, thought someone said "I've got two cats today" but they said caps, as in jobs. I would've preferred to be meeting with the cats.
November 12, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Was in an online meeting with terrible sound and no video, thought someone said "I've got two cats today" but they said caps, as in jobs. I would've preferred to be meeting with the cats.
A conversation with teenagers about social media, the fundamental difference is that they see it as entertainment, not as a means to make connections. That's what it's become, a media source, whereas us oldies are still chasing the social bit. This was a revelation to me, and feel slightly unburned.
October 28, 2025 at 10:00 AM
A conversation with teenagers about social media, the fundamental difference is that they see it as entertainment, not as a means to make connections. That's what it's become, a media source, whereas us oldies are still chasing the social bit. This was a revelation to me, and feel slightly unburned.
Day 3 of sitting in very uncomfortable chairs listening to people talk about interesting things. Hoping that today is a revelation...
October 18, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Day 3 of sitting in very uncomfortable chairs listening to people talk about interesting things. Hoping that today is a revelation...
This week I've mostly been collecting material for my game "Corporate or Cult?" and let me tell you it's a difficulty hard rating.
October 16, 2025 at 8:20 AM
This week I've mostly been collecting material for my game "Corporate or Cult?" and let me tell you it's a difficulty hard rating.
Reposted by Karis Lou Sirak
Calling English a 'rip-off degree' is one of the most blatant exhibitions of personal barbarism I've ever seen. You've demonstrated nothing but the poverty of your own mind.
October 8, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Calling English a 'rip-off degree' is one of the most blatant exhibitions of personal barbarism I've ever seen. You've demonstrated nothing but the poverty of your own mind.
But, libraries aren't very well protected either...
October 6, 2025 at 7:45 AM
But, libraries aren't very well protected either...
It was a two walks kind of day yesterday. Today is a yoga kind of day. Distraction is the name of the game right now. It'll all be okay🤞
September 17, 2025 at 7:13 AM
It was a two walks kind of day yesterday. Today is a yoga kind of day. Distraction is the name of the game right now. It'll all be okay🤞
Been for a walk, now making a proper meal from scratch, these are things I heartily recommend doing right now because while the world is going into darkness and there's not a thing you can do about it, you can distract yourself and take moments of joy from the small things.
September 13, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Been for a walk, now making a proper meal from scratch, these are things I heartily recommend doing right now because while the world is going into darkness and there's not a thing you can do about it, you can distract yourself and take moments of joy from the small things.
Well this book hits hard. Tired of reading the same spooky tropes and guessing what was going to happen, I picked up Lafcadio Hearn's Some Japanese Ghosts from the Amnesty Book shop in Newcastle. Needless to say, it's anything but predictable 👻 #ReadingGhostStories 📚
September 12, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Well this book hits hard. Tired of reading the same spooky tropes and guessing what was going to happen, I picked up Lafcadio Hearn's Some Japanese Ghosts from the Amnesty Book shop in Newcastle. Needless to say, it's anything but predictable 👻 #ReadingGhostStories 📚
This reminds me of when someone painted a large phallus on the school field in white paint, and the caretaker just cut out the paint from the grass, so you could still see the shape for ages. Not sure whether both examples are covert support.
They erased the new Banksy mural in London. But the stain remains.
September 10, 2025 at 1:57 PM
This reminds me of when someone painted a large phallus on the school field in white paint, and the caretaker just cut out the paint from the grass, so you could still see the shape for ages. Not sure whether both examples are covert support.
Mini week motivation fellow PhDers
As a PhD-holder myself, I feel obligated to make it abundantly clear that people with PhDs are not necessarily smart. They're experts in a small niche of their incredibly niche field, sure, but sometimes that is all. A PhD is a test of resilience and stubbornness, not cleverness.
September 10, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Mini week motivation fellow PhDers
Brightened up my day this
September 10, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Brightened up my day this
My nearest conker tree has had its lowest branches all lopped off before the conkers had a chance to drop. The kids won't be able to reach them easily now. *Shakes head in a melancholic fashion*
September 8, 2025 at 1:06 PM
My nearest conker tree has had its lowest branches all lopped off before the conkers had a chance to drop. The kids won't be able to reach them easily now. *Shakes head in a melancholic fashion*
Went to a public lecture recently in an old theatre that is now a nightclub. Used to go to the nightclub years ago. It still has the same smell, the same inexplicable heat in the upper floors, the same warren-like structure which meant you lost people regularly. Still the same random eccentricness:
September 5, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Went to a public lecture recently in an old theatre that is now a nightclub. Used to go to the nightclub years ago. It still has the same smell, the same inexplicable heat in the upper floors, the same warren-like structure which meant you lost people regularly. Still the same random eccentricness:
Reposted by Karis Lou Sirak
What research! What a story! It seems the statue of the winged lion in Venice may have been a tomb guardian brought from China by Niccolò & Maffeo Polo - &, once in Venice, it was modified to resemble the Republic’s emblem – the winged lion of St Mark ...
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Venice’s Lion of St Mark’s Square was at least part made in China, study suggests
Isotope analysis finds copper ore came from Yangtze River basin while statue could be a repurposed Tang Dynasty tomb guardian
www.theguardian.com
September 4, 2025 at 7:39 AM
What research! What a story! It seems the statue of the winged lion in Venice may have been a tomb guardian brought from China by Niccolò & Maffeo Polo - &, once in Venice, it was modified to resemble the Republic’s emblem – the winged lion of St Mark ...
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Well this brightened up my day!
This book is why I am a historian (possibly). Printed in 1989, it is full of absolute bollocks. I love it
September 4, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Well this brightened up my day!
Watched Versailles, The Musketeers, and Marie Antoinette in a row. They are now the definitive versions in my mind, down to the actors who appear in various roles meaning that those characters are canonically related, and there were several men in iron masks. Historical accuracy.
September 4, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Watched Versailles, The Musketeers, and Marie Antoinette in a row. They are now the definitive versions in my mind, down to the actors who appear in various roles meaning that those characters are canonically related, and there were several men in iron masks. Historical accuracy.
Hedgehog in the garden last night, an absolute whopper I'm happy to report 🦔
August 31, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Hedgehog in the garden last night, an absolute whopper I'm happy to report 🦔
Making me think of Cris whose mother read The Communist Manifesto as a bedtime story. He always delivered lectures looking at points well above our heads. Cycled everywhere. Once gave us all a copy of Thomas Hardy's The Oxen at Christmas and read it to us with such reverence.
Concerned that we are losing the necessary ratio. 15% of teachers/faculty should be irretrievably strange eccentrics. Every learning experience should have some element where in later life you can reflect with former classmates about how bizarre at least one (1) class per year was.
August 30, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Making me think of Cris whose mother read The Communist Manifesto as a bedtime story. He always delivered lectures looking at points well above our heads. Cycled everywhere. Once gave us all a copy of Thomas Hardy's The Oxen at Christmas and read it to us with such reverence.
Lone Canada Goose wandering round a priory garden.
August 6, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Lone Canada Goose wandering round a priory garden.
A middle-aged person asked why farmers put so much time and field space into just growing hay and straw. It's harvest time near us right now, and they've lived here most of their life. The same person talks non-stop about investing in alternative currencies. I think I'd like to be alone for a while.
a green john deere combine harvester is working in a field of wheat
ALT: a green john deere combine harvester is working in a field of wheat
media.tenor.com
August 5, 2025 at 2:19 PM
A middle-aged person asked why farmers put so much time and field space into just growing hay and straw. It's harvest time near us right now, and they've lived here most of their life. The same person talks non-stop about investing in alternative currencies. I think I'd like to be alone for a while.
What's the most niche Angel of the North merch or ephemera money can buy? This is a window crystal. #AngelOfTheNorth
August 5, 2025 at 9:16 AM
What's the most niche Angel of the North merch or ephemera money can buy? This is a window crystal. #AngelOfTheNorth
Submitted the PhD thesis, went for a walk in the sea, saw a lovely poppy patch (pictured). Little breather before we start preparing for the Viva (start the PGR Summer School tomorrow). #PhDLife #PhDMilestone
June 29, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Submitted the PhD thesis, went for a walk in the sea, saw a lovely poppy patch (pictured). Little breather before we start preparing for the Viva (start the PGR Summer School tomorrow). #PhDLife #PhDMilestone