Anthony Nijssen
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anijssen.bsky.social
Anthony Nijssen
@anijssen.bsky.social
Freelance editor, data analyst, and philosopher.

I believe that there is an objective reality that can be known, a subjective reality for every individual mind, and that effective use of language can be both the bridge between any two of these.
Last night's fascinating discussion: Is law closer to religion or science in terms of its expression in human societies, especially in the modern era?
May 28, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Week 11 & 12: A double header, since I fell a week behind. I offer for your consideration two lyrics from two different songs as inspiration:
"When there's nothing left inside, there's still a reason to fight"
and
"If we're free/tell me when/We can stand with our fellow man"
#52WeeksOfInspiration
March 22, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Pro cooking tip: Do not scratch your nose shortly after chopping Thai chili peppers. This is, as they say, a bad idea. Yay for new experiences I guess?
March 22, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Week 10: Comics are a fantastic medium, great for both entertaining and for exploring issues with a depth equal to any other form of media. One of the best, in my opinion, is d20Monkey, by Brian Patterson (@d20monkey.bsky.social).

d20monkey.com/comic/welcome/

#52WeeksOfInspiration
Welcome!
Visit the post for more.
d20monkey.com
March 10, 2025 at 4:09 PM
A reminder from your friendly academic editor: We can tell when a paper is written by or with AI. Please have enough integrity as an academic to at least own up to it, even if the journal you're submitting to doesn't require such disclosure.
March 5, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Week 9: A bit delayed, but still here! Last week's inspiration for me was a paper I edited. I can't speak to specifics due to NDAs, but I just want to say that there is some fantastic science going on in the world, despite the political climate. Scientists, you are awesome!

#52WeeksOfInspiration
March 3, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Week 8: A surprisingly fantastic musical. I had the pleasure recently of watching Just For One Day, a musical about the inspiration behind and execution of Live Aid, the enormous, star-studded, multi-continent event from the 80s to raise money for the Ethiopian famine.

#52WeeksOfInspiration
February 23, 2025 at 2:58 AM
A good editor makes sure their writers' asses aren't showing; a great editor knows when to let their writer get away with showing a little cheek.
I will tie my writers' gowns to help protect their ass-ets.
#FreelanceEditing
February 20, 2025 at 5:39 AM
Week 7: Back to books! One of my favourites, which I have read just a few times over the three decades: The Lions of Al-Rassan, by Guy Gavriel Kay (@guygavrielkay.bsky.social). Reading this book always reminds me that it is possible to have faith in the goodness and humanity of others.

#books
February 16, 2025 at 4:05 AM
1) I came across this image today, and dug into it. The source of the quotation is Elie Wiesel's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech from 1986, and it remains relevant to this day. I highly recommend listening to the whole speech, which you can find at www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace....
February 11, 2025 at 9:06 PM
This is going around, and I want to say to whoever created it that this is a lovely, effective, and elegant expression of these ideas, and putting them side by side really reminds me that all these things are aligned; true belief in any one of these things supports belief in the others. I believe.
February 10, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Week 6: Inspiration from social media. As bad as things are these days, we can still find inspiration and resilience online, together. One such instance for me this past week was Ezra Klein's recent video essay, which has led me to his podcast.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8QL...

#52WeeksOfInspiration
Don't Believe Him | The Ezra Klein Show
YouTube video by The Ezra Klein Show
www.youtube.com
February 9, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Week 5: For my fellow Dungeon Masters, I have a brilliant resource in The Monsters Know What They're Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters, by Keith Amman (@themonstersknow.com).

This clever book has made me a better DM, a more thoughtful adventure writer, and even a better D&D player.
February 1, 2025 at 5:32 AM
"We live in the tension between what is and what is possible." - Robin Wall Kimmerer, in The Serviceberry

This little book is filled with gems of elegant phrasing, but this one really resonated strongly with me. Just because something is, doesn't mean that it couldn't be otherwise.

#GreatBooks
January 26, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Week 4: Podcast time! Not that this podcast needs a signal boost from me given its popularity, but I am consistently inspired, thrilled, and chilled by the skilled storytelling and wonderful turns of phrase of Old Gods of Appalachia.

#52WeeksOfInspiration
#OldGodsOfAppalachia
January 25, 2025 at 4:46 AM
Week 3: Board games are one of my biggest passions, and one of my absolute favourites of the last few years is Earth. I have played this at least 50 times over the past two years with over a dozen different people, and I have yet to get tired of it.

#52WeeksOfInspiration
#BoardGames
January 17, 2025 at 9:05 PM
A social media side note: Although I will occasionally repost something to give a signal boost, I would much rather read unique, genuine thoughts and content, and so strive to provide those myself. Anyone who follows me will not get a stream of memes or reposts, for which I make no apologies.
January 10, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Week 2: The world is full of music, and right now I'm listening to the soundtrack for Celeste, composed by Lena Raine. I finished the (main story) playthrough of this game 3 years ago, and the soundtrack still evokes the deep feelings of accomplishment I got playing that game.

#52WeeksOfInspiration
January 10, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Reposted by Anthony Nijssen
The comic that got us demonetised on Facebook back in August. (We’re no longer on Facebook).
January 8, 2025 at 9:45 AM
First run of the new year: 3 km in 20 minutes, in -8C (feels like -16C).

A slight improvement over when I started running last year at the same time (3 km in 26 minutes under similar conditions), but I was really lax through December so this is mostly just retraining.
January 6, 2025 at 10:11 PM
This applies to every form of creative freelancing; I'm often happy to take a pay cut on my normal editing rates if I'm excited by a project and know in advance that the budget is minimal.
Friendly reminder: saying 'hi this is my budget, can we work something out based on this?' is much nicer and may result getting something ,than asking for an estimate and then constantly trying to push that down.
January 6, 2025 at 2:45 PM
An epiphany in three parts.

1) Nothing I can say will likely be truly novel; but something I say may be new to someone who has never encountered that idea before, and may change them in a way they never expected.

#Originality

1/3
January 5, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Week 1: The best novel I read in 2024 is an underappreciated gem of science fiction: Spider Robinson's Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, published in 1977. I don't have the words to express just how clever and fun this book is, but I was amazed at how relevant it still is.

#52WeeksOfInspiration
January 3, 2025 at 11:46 PM
In 2025, I am going to find joy and inspiration in books, music, and movies, and share some of that joy here on BlueSky with anyone who's interested. Every Friday, I'll share something I love or have discovered, and I hope others will join me to make 2025 a better year.

#52WeeksOfInspiration
January 3, 2025 at 11:36 PM