Dr. Holly Walters
@manigarm.bsky.social
Anthropologist 👣 • Ethnographer of Shaligrams 🐚 and Robot Religion 🤖 • Novelist of "The Way By" 🦄 • TTRPG Storyteller ✨ • (Genderqueer 🤷♀️ She/They)
Pinned
Dr. Holly Walters
@manigarm.bsky.social
· Oct 20
Well hello everyone! Welcome to Bluesky!
I'm an anthropologist (PhD).
My ethnographic research is on Hindu/Buddhist pilgrimage and sacred fossils (called Shaligrams) in the Himalayas of Nepal.
My new project focuses on robot religion in South Asia.
I also wrote "The Way By."
I'm an anthropologist (PhD).
My ethnographic research is on Hindu/Buddhist pilgrimage and sacred fossils (called Shaligrams) in the Himalayas of Nepal.
My new project focuses on robot religion in South Asia.
I also wrote "The Way By."
Healy is already setting herself up to fall. We've seen what's coming and there is a lot of organizing on the ground in Boston as we speak. Politicians won't save us. We protect us.
www.nbcboston.com/news/local/m...
www.nbcboston.com/news/local/m...
February 9, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Healy is already setting herself up to fall. We've seen what's coming and there is a lot of organizing on the ground in Boston as we speak. Politicians won't save us. We protect us.
www.nbcboston.com/news/local/m...
www.nbcboston.com/news/local/m...
*Takes in a slow, deep, breath and repeats, once more* Until there are actual, physical, consequences, nothing will change.
Crockett: "The US is falling apart, partially bc he's allowing for killings in the street, but also bc we have a 34 count convicted felon being shielded from any type of accountability as it relates to a child sex trafficking ring. I don't understand why we're pretending any of this is normal."
February 9, 2026 at 4:38 PM
*Takes in a slow, deep, breath and repeats, once more* Until there are actual, physical, consequences, nothing will change.
And yet, my students remain incredulous when I explain to them that there was quite a time in American history where Italians (and the Irish!) weren't White.
Italians, your white card has been revoked. Stefani Germanotta is a perfidious latin
February 9, 2026 at 2:45 PM
And yet, my students remain incredulous when I explain to them that there was quite a time in American history where Italians (and the Irish!) weren't White.
Reposted by Dr. Holly Walters
So many things could be improved with a consulting historian
Bad Bunny has a consulting historian. news.wisc.edu/pop-star-bad...
Pop star Bad Bunny needed a Puerto Rican history scholar. UW–Madison had just the one.
Bad Bunny collaborated with UW–Madison history professor Jorell Meléndez-Badillo on Puerto Rican narratives that accompany the new album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.”
news.wisc.edu
February 9, 2026 at 12:28 PM
So many things could be improved with a consulting historian
Reposted by Dr. Holly Walters
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
February 8, 2026 at 10:23 PM
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
Reposted by Dr. Holly Walters
This is really the critical point: Firefox is packing its browser with AI slop functions by default; relying on a user actively choosing to turn it off.
That isn't neutral - that is a political and ideological statement that they want more reliance on these tools
That isn't neutral - that is a political and ideological statement that they want more reliance on these tools
February 8, 2026 at 11:49 AM
This is really the critical point: Firefox is packing its browser with AI slop functions by default; relying on a user actively choosing to turn it off.
That isn't neutral - that is a political and ideological statement that they want more reliance on these tools
That isn't neutral - that is a political and ideological statement that they want more reliance on these tools
"Corporate Social Responsibility."
It's the idea that corporations will act altruistically in regards to the societies around them.
Which they will not. And never have.
It's the idea that corporations will act altruistically in regards to the societies around them.
Which they will not. And never have.
BASH: Can you give me one specific example of a solution the president has put forward that is lowering healthcare costs, beyond prescription drugs?
DR OZ: There's something called a CSR
DR OZ: There's something called a CSR
February 8, 2026 at 2:31 PM
"Corporate Social Responsibility."
It's the idea that corporations will act altruistically in regards to the societies around them.
Which they will not. And never have.
It's the idea that corporations will act altruistically in regards to the societies around them.
Which they will not. And never have.
Perfect is the enemy of done.
perfect is the enemy of good enough
February 7, 2026 at 11:53 PM
Perfect is the enemy of done.
So, apropos of nothing, I just recently saw the movie "She Will" and, uh, I have to say, I never knew a movie could speak to me on so, so many levels. Alice Krige is a gem.
Cancer, aging, history of SA as a girl, haunted Scotland, misogyny, dark forest, ghosts, and bog witch revenge!
Cancer, aging, history of SA as a girl, haunted Scotland, misogyny, dark forest, ghosts, and bog witch revenge!
February 7, 2026 at 6:41 PM
So, apropos of nothing, I just recently saw the movie "She Will" and, uh, I have to say, I never knew a movie could speak to me on so, so many levels. Alice Krige is a gem.
Cancer, aging, history of SA as a girl, haunted Scotland, misogyny, dark forest, ghosts, and bog witch revenge!
Cancer, aging, history of SA as a girl, haunted Scotland, misogyny, dark forest, ghosts, and bog witch revenge!
Reposted by Dr. Holly Walters
Note that this is local police not ICE or CPD attacking these young people. Local police are working overtime to distance themselves from ICE/CPD. Don't buy the hype.
I feel like Los Angeles is a place where people expect ICE to happen because the kidnappings have been happening to my home city for decades, so there’s less media attention to it now. and I want folks to see that in LA, Latine students are organizing major protests & the police are attacking them
LAPD Charges at Hundreds of High School Students in Peaceful Walkout Protest at MDC ~ L.A. TACO
LAPD arrested at least two teenagers protesting ICE raids in Los Angeles yesterday. They were also seen corresponding with ICE agents on Alameda Street during the demonstrations.
lataco.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Note that this is local police not ICE or CPD attacking these young people. Local police are working overtime to distance themselves from ICE/CPD. Don't buy the hype.
Not in the slightest. There's basically an entire genre of academic writing on the subject dating back decades.
Trust me, the woman of academia are not at all surprised by the number of academic men orbiting Epstein.
February 7, 2026 at 1:21 PM
Not in the slightest. There's basically an entire genre of academic writing on the subject dating back decades.
Hey, Florida. Medical textbooks have nudity in them.
In all seriousness though, this isn't about banning "ideology." It's a ban on talking about reality.
In all seriousness though, this isn't about banning "ideology." It's a ban on talking about reality.
This week at Group Threat, I spoke with @grundrza.bsky.social about Florida's censorship regime, teaching under authoritarianism, and how folks are coping (or not).
What's the Matter with Florida? An Interview with Zachary Levenson
A discussion about Florida's censorship of sociology and teaching under authoritarianism
groupthreat.com
February 7, 2026 at 1:17 PM
Hey, Florida. Medical textbooks have nudity in them.
In all seriousness though, this isn't about banning "ideology." It's a ban on talking about reality.
In all seriousness though, this isn't about banning "ideology." It's a ban on talking about reality.
While I do have an anthology of short stories coming out, most of the books I write are meant to be read slowly. To be enjoyed. Savored. Thought through. Never rushed or breezed past.
I want a world of slow reading. Piece by piece if you must. But a story takes time and stays with you forever.
I want a world of slow reading. Piece by piece if you must. But a story takes time and stays with you forever.
Learned about the depressing trend of describing books as TL;DR (Too Long, Didn't Read) at a conference last weekend.
Instead, I propose LR;WI (Long Read and Worth It). What are some long books that you read recently and enjoyed? I'll start: 🗃️
www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...
Instead, I propose LR;WI (Long Read and Worth It). What are some long books that you read recently and enjoyed? I'll start: 🗃️
www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...
The Tame and the Wild — Harvard University Press
A dramatic new interpretation of the encounter between Europe and the Americas that reveals the crucial role of animals in the shaping of the modern world.When the men and women of the island of Guana...
www.hup.harvard.edu
February 6, 2026 at 2:18 PM
While I do have an anthology of short stories coming out, most of the books I write are meant to be read slowly. To be enjoyed. Savored. Thought through. Never rushed or breezed past.
I want a world of slow reading. Piece by piece if you must. But a story takes time and stays with you forever.
I want a world of slow reading. Piece by piece if you must. But a story takes time and stays with you forever.
Reposted by Dr. Holly Walters
“A young, much-loved person, who was aware that her end could come at any moment, told me: “Life is a privilege.” At the time, I didn’t appreciate her words. But, dear reader: savour life, be happy, value what truly matters, flee from toxicity and show empathy … lots of empathy.”
If you are reading this it is because I’m dead: here’s what I want to tell you about how to live | Carlos Hernández de Miguel
If you are reading this it is because I’m dead: here’s what I want to tell you about how to live | Carlos Hernández de Miguel
Leaving this world in an age of lies and cruelty, my last message is simple: don’t give up on truth, says Spanish journalist Carlos Hernández de Miguel
www.theguardian.com
February 6, 2026 at 12:23 PM
“A young, much-loved person, who was aware that her end could come at any moment, told me: “Life is a privilege.” At the time, I didn’t appreciate her words. But, dear reader: savour life, be happy, value what truly matters, flee from toxicity and show empathy … lots of empathy.”
Reposted by Dr. Holly Walters
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
February 5, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
Reposted by Dr. Holly Walters
Angrily playing the pianoforte while your mother tries to marry you off to a rude plantation owner who has twelve thousand a year, although it appears he is much taken with your sister who does not care for society.
What "core British values" has "the left" not defended? Can someone ask this sentient fucking saucepan what he means?
Keir Starmer attacks the racism of Reform and Matt Goodwin but then adds that "Britain has also been let down by a mindset on the left of politics that is too slow to defend core British values"
February 5, 2026 at 12:11 PM
Angrily playing the pianoforte while your mother tries to marry you off to a rude plantation owner who has twelve thousand a year, although it appears he is much taken with your sister who does not care for society.
Reposted by Dr. Holly Walters
Fwiw 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8 are already required in law or policy and are not being followed so this is already half dead on arrival.
Schumer & Jeffries lay out the Democratic demands for a DHS funding deal in a letter to the top Republican leaders
February 5, 2026 at 11:20 AM
Fwiw 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8 are already required in law or policy and are not being followed so this is already half dead on arrival.
Reposted by Dr. Holly Walters
RUN. RUN FAR AWAY FROM THIS CONTEST.
Venerable magazine Harper's Bazaar is running its short story contest again, with the winner receiving "the chance" of publication in the magazine. Just one catch: per the wording of the guidelines, _just by entering_ you transfer copyright ownership of your story to Harper's parent, Hearst. 1/3
February 4, 2026 at 11:47 PM
RUN. RUN FAR AWAY FROM THIS CONTEST.
Reposted by Dr. Holly Walters
Trump to Harvard: 2 billion $
NYT: Harvard to pay 2B$
Harvard: no
Trump: 1B
Harvard: no
NYT: Negotiations intensify
Trump: 200 million
NYT: Harvard-Trump reach deal
Harvard: no
Trump: 0$
Harvard: ok
NYT: Harvard not paying! Trump loses.
Trump: How about 1B$
Harvard: no
NYT: Negotiations resume!
NYT: Harvard to pay 2B$
Harvard: no
Trump: 1B
Harvard: no
NYT: Negotiations intensify
Trump: 200 million
NYT: Harvard-Trump reach deal
Harvard: no
Trump: 0$
Harvard: ok
NYT: Harvard not paying! Trump loses.
Trump: How about 1B$
Harvard: no
NYT: Negotiations resume!
February 3, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Trump to Harvard: 2 billion $
NYT: Harvard to pay 2B$
Harvard: no
Trump: 1B
Harvard: no
NYT: Negotiations intensify
Trump: 200 million
NYT: Harvard-Trump reach deal
Harvard: no
Trump: 0$
Harvard: ok
NYT: Harvard not paying! Trump loses.
Trump: How about 1B$
Harvard: no
NYT: Negotiations resume!
NYT: Harvard to pay 2B$
Harvard: no
Trump: 1B
Harvard: no
NYT: Negotiations intensify
Trump: 200 million
NYT: Harvard-Trump reach deal
Harvard: no
Trump: 0$
Harvard: ok
NYT: Harvard not paying! Trump loses.
Trump: How about 1B$
Harvard: no
NYT: Negotiations resume!
February 2, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Reposted by Dr. Holly Walters
sometimes it cuts through the noise and I spend a moment completely shocked by how far everyone is willing to go to protect a dead sex-trafficker's network of famous clients, and how when a man becomes a billionaire one of his first questions seems to be "how young can i fuck them"
February 2, 2026 at 5:08 PM
sometimes it cuts through the noise and I spend a moment completely shocked by how far everyone is willing to go to protect a dead sex-trafficker's network of famous clients, and how when a man becomes a billionaire one of his first questions seems to be "how young can i fuck them"
These have been dark weeks, and the ones to come may be darker still.
But the fire of the new spring has been lit.
But the fire of the new spring has been lit.
February 2, 2026 at 2:58 PM
These have been dark weeks, and the ones to come may be darker still.
But the fire of the new spring has been lit.
But the fire of the new spring has been lit.
This is about a desire for power. To not just be academics but to be celebrity academics with million dollar speaking tours and clout with Harvard's name. To be adored and lauded. They aren't actually good scholars, they don't have good ideas.
Getting to rape girls was all part of the fun.
Getting to rape girls was all part of the fun.
Academics vying for a spot in Epstein‘s world. There are so many. I feel the need to make a thread, so I don’t keep confusing them. 1/
February 1, 2026 at 11:30 PM
This is about a desire for power. To not just be academics but to be celebrity academics with million dollar speaking tours and clout with Harvard's name. To be adored and lauded. They aren't actually good scholars, they don't have good ideas.
Getting to rape girls was all part of the fun.
Getting to rape girls was all part of the fun.