Ariel Bolton
@arielwroteit.bsky.social
Archivist, writer of fantasy and SF, recovering medieval historian. She/her.
I think this book is marvellous and strange. I loved the unique prose. The chipmunk is a harsher critic, however. She says it doesn't taste nearly as good as peanuts.
October 19, 2025 at 9:31 PM
I think this book is marvellous and strange. I loved the unique prose. The chipmunk is a harsher critic, however. She says it doesn't taste nearly as good as peanuts.
Reminder to self:
Just write the thing.
Fuck the haters and that doubt inside you.
You will regret never even trying.
Fuck the haters and that doubt inside you.
You will regret never even trying.
December 29, 2024 at 1:53 AM
Reminder to self:
Hooray! I found my way back into this account. Hello again, Bluesky!
December 27, 2024 at 3:17 AM
Hooray! I found my way back into this account. Hello again, Bluesky!
At least they got the grammar right?
Some vandal spray-painted "Romani Ite Domum" on a section of Roman wall in Cologne, Germany!
June 24, 2024 at 1:19 AM
At least they got the grammar right?
“See here: a woman from Haarlem named Kennau, devout as a man, defeated many Spanish tyrants.”
“Age: 46, in the year 1573.”
I wish I knew more about this painting. What is the orb-shaped object on her belt?
“Age: 46, in the year 1573.”
I wish I knew more about this painting. What is the orb-shaped object on her belt?
June 22, 2024 at 1:02 AM
“See here: a woman from Haarlem named Kennau, devout as a man, defeated many Spanish tyrants.”
“Age: 46, in the year 1573.”
I wish I knew more about this painting. What is the orb-shaped object on her belt?
“Age: 46, in the year 1573.”
I wish I knew more about this painting. What is the orb-shaped object on her belt?
June 5, 2024 at 3:46 AM
Reposted by Ariel Bolton
SNL actually did a skit about hate-post dunks, with Tom Hanks ... back in 1990, before the internet was even a thing.
Saying "look at this stupidity" is just like passing a bottle of rotten milk saying "you try it, you try it."
I don't want to try it! It's rotten milk!
Saying "look at this stupidity" is just like passing a bottle of rotten milk saying "you try it, you try it."
I don't want to try it! It's rotten milk!
May 28, 2024 at 8:44 PM
SNL actually did a skit about hate-post dunks, with Tom Hanks ... back in 1990, before the internet was even a thing.
Saying "look at this stupidity" is just like passing a bottle of rotten milk saying "you try it, you try it."
I don't want to try it! It's rotten milk!
Saying "look at this stupidity" is just like passing a bottle of rotten milk saying "you try it, you try it."
I don't want to try it! It's rotten milk!
In the desert there is no sign that says, Thou shalt not ask Google for nutritional advice.
May 26, 2024 at 12:12 AM
In the desert there is no sign that says, Thou shalt not ask Google for nutritional advice.
Reposted by Ariel Bolton
Raffaele Contigiani's Hotel du Lac (1973) in Tunis. It was George Lucas's inspiration for the Sandcrawler in Star Wars.
May 20, 2024 at 10:00 PM
Raffaele Contigiani's Hotel du Lac (1973) in Tunis. It was George Lucas's inspiration for the Sandcrawler in Star Wars.
TIL some SF history I didn’t know before. Editor and author Donald Wollheim was into cross dressing and belonged to Casa Susanna, the earliest known US crossdressing/trans network. readfoyer.com/article/bets...
Betsy Wollheim on Casa Susanna and her father
She recalls her discovery of her father’s crossdressing and his involvement with Casa Susanna
readfoyer.com
May 16, 2024 at 10:52 PM
TIL some SF history I didn’t know before. Editor and author Donald Wollheim was into cross dressing and belonged to Casa Susanna, the earliest known US crossdressing/trans network. readfoyer.com/article/bets...
Reposted by Ariel Bolton
I think I'm not the only person who missed the arrival of reply-gating, so minor PSA, when you compose a post here, you can hit the little speech-bubbles icon next to the Post button to open settings for who can reply to your post. 💫
May 10, 2024 at 5:07 PM
I think I'm not the only person who missed the arrival of reply-gating, so minor PSA, when you compose a post here, you can hit the little speech-bubbles icon next to the Post button to open settings for who can reply to your post. 💫
Reposted by Ariel Bolton
A collage of Adhucs from a court record in 1250 Norfolk
"Adhuc" means "Still" and appears at the top of some membranes. The heading tells readers the proceedings are a continuation from the same district listed on the previous membrane. For instance, a dragon breathes fire on "Still from Grimshoe"
"Adhuc" means "Still" and appears at the top of some membranes. The heading tells readers the proceedings are a continuation from the same district listed on the previous membrane. For instance, a dragon breathes fire on "Still from Grimshoe"
May 8, 2024 at 5:24 PM
A collage of Adhucs from a court record in 1250 Norfolk
"Adhuc" means "Still" and appears at the top of some membranes. The heading tells readers the proceedings are a continuation from the same district listed on the previous membrane. For instance, a dragon breathes fire on "Still from Grimshoe"
"Adhuc" means "Still" and appears at the top of some membranes. The heading tells readers the proceedings are a continuation from the same district listed on the previous membrane. For instance, a dragon breathes fire on "Still from Grimshoe"
Reposted by Ariel Bolton
I’m listening to WKCR as student journalists at Columbia are calmly describing the situation. They are amazing and also it is *such a balm* to simply hear neutral calm descriptions. www.radio.net/s/wkcr
WKCR 89.9 FM Radio – Listen Live & Stream Online
Listen to WKCR 89.9 FM internet radio online. Access the free radio live stream and discover more online radio and radio fm stations at a glance.
www.radio.net
May 1, 2024 at 12:17 AM
I’m listening to WKCR as student journalists at Columbia are calmly describing the situation. They are amazing and also it is *such a balm* to simply hear neutral calm descriptions. www.radio.net/s/wkcr
It’s an eight century-old tradition, as these historians explain.
New from me & @lollardfish.bsky.social on faculty & students standing together against the real “outside agitators” — politicians who care so little about free speech and education
On CNN - read now
www.cnn.com/2024/04/30/o...
On CNN - read now
www.cnn.com/2024/04/30/o...
Opinion: Student protests are what created the university as we know it | CNN
Seeing current campus protests unfold is a reminder that solidarity between protesting students and their teachers in medieval Europe was the origin of the modern-day university, write historians Davi...
www.cnn.com
May 1, 2024 at 12:11 AM
It’s an eight century-old tradition, as these historians explain.
New research on conspiracy beliefs. Turns out the folks most likely to hold them are people with low education—and white guys with grad degrees. It’s not how about how smart you are, it’s how insecure you are about it. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
The Status Foundations of Conspiracy Beliefs - Saverio Roscigno, 2024
Prior survey research has mostly centered on the psychological dispositions and political leanings associated with conspiracy beliefs rather than underlying and...
journals.sagepub.com
April 28, 2024 at 4:52 PM
New research on conspiracy beliefs. Turns out the folks most likely to hold them are people with low education—and white guys with grad degrees. It’s not how about how smart you are, it’s how insecure you are about it. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
“One by one, all of the cultural organizations in the city appeared to be crumbling and the story always seemed to be the same—executives with disproportionately high salaries corporatizing what had once been valuable art havens into unmanageable business ventures.”
“All of the cultural organizations in the city appeared to be crumbling and the story always seemed to be the same.” Soraya Roberts on what’s behind the trouble at Hot Docs, TIFF, the AGO and more. thelocal.to/hot-docs-can...
Toronto’s Arts Institutions Are Crumbling and it’s Always the Same Story | The Local
The trouble at Hot Docs, TIFF, Artscape and the AGO are part of a larger failure in a country that doesn’t take art seriously.
thelocal.to
April 27, 2024 at 4:00 PM
“One by one, all of the cultural organizations in the city appeared to be crumbling and the story always seemed to be the same—executives with disproportionately high salaries corporatizing what had once been valuable art havens into unmanageable business ventures.”
Reposted by Ariel Bolton
‘“Why are you crying, habibi?’”Mansoor Adayfi asked the elephant. He had got into the habit of talking to animals at Guantánamo Bay.’
@artcrimeprof.bsky.social writes from an exhibition of Guantanamo detainees’ art in Brussels:
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2024/ap...
@artcrimeprof.bsky.social writes from an exhibition of Guantanamo detainees’ art in Brussels:
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2024/ap...
Erin L. Thompson | In Brussels
‘Why are you crying, habibi?’ Mansoor Adayfi asked the elephant. He had got into the habit of talking to animals at...
www.lrb.co.uk
April 26, 2024 at 9:26 PM
‘“Why are you crying, habibi?’”Mansoor Adayfi asked the elephant. He had got into the habit of talking to animals at Guantánamo Bay.’
@artcrimeprof.bsky.social writes from an exhibition of Guantanamo detainees’ art in Brussels:
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2024/ap...
@artcrimeprof.bsky.social writes from an exhibition of Guantanamo detainees’ art in Brussels:
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2024/ap...
Reposted by Ariel Bolton
Wrote a blog lads. It's about how medieval people are less prudish than we are in a lot of ways, and how I can't post medieval images of Eve around here...
going-medieval.com/2024/04/22/o...
going-medieval.com/2024/04/22/o...
On obscenity and modernity
It will come as a surprise to exactly zero regular readers that I have been contemplating the concept of obscenity lately. What may come as a surprise to you, however, is exactly why I have been think...
going-medieval.com
April 22, 2024 at 3:57 PM
Wrote a blog lads. It's about how medieval people are less prudish than we are in a lot of ways, and how I can't post medieval images of Eve around here...
going-medieval.com/2024/04/22/o...
going-medieval.com/2024/04/22/o...
Friends, pour one out tonight for Andrew Crabtree. He was a poet, a medievalist, a terrific photographer, and a friend. I just learned that he died of cancer yesterday.
Also, never let any doctor blow off your health concerns.
strangehorizons.com/poetry/curio...
Also, never let any doctor blow off your health concerns.
strangehorizons.com/poetry/curio...
Curiosity
red rover, red rover, / we’re sending you over.
strangehorizons.com
April 1, 2024 at 10:46 PM
Friends, pour one out tonight for Andrew Crabtree. He was a poet, a medievalist, a terrific photographer, and a friend. I just learned that he died of cancer yesterday.
Also, never let any doctor blow off your health concerns.
strangehorizons.com/poetry/curio...
Also, never let any doctor blow off your health concerns.
strangehorizons.com/poetry/curio...
😬
Bird flu detected in person who had contact with infected dairy cattle in Texas.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/...
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/...
Bird flu detected in person who had contact with infected dairy cattle in Texas
This is the second case of a human sickened by this highly virulent strain of bird flu in the United States, raising questions about whether this pathogen is now more easily transmitted among mammals.
www.washingtonpost.com
April 1, 2024 at 5:31 PM
😬
Scrabbling and snarling at my back door just now. I open it to a pair of glowing eyes in the darkness of the balcony. “Shoo!” I say through the screen. “The cookies are not for you!” One must never pay protection money to the Toronto raccoons, no matter how aggressively they canvas.
March 27, 2024 at 12:44 AM
Scrabbling and snarling at my back door just now. I open it to a pair of glowing eyes in the darkness of the balcony. “Shoo!” I say through the screen. “The cookies are not for you!” One must never pay protection money to the Toronto raccoons, no matter how aggressively they canvas.
Today’s Geopolitically Impractical Place I Desperately Want to Visit: the Yupshar Gorge, Abkhazia. mirplaneta.com/en/yupshar-c...
March 24, 2024 at 10:29 PM
Today’s Geopolitically Impractical Place I Desperately Want to Visit: the Yupshar Gorge, Abkhazia. mirplaneta.com/en/yupshar-c...
Fiore dei Liberi would be the aggressive guy all up in everybody’s comments.
Matthew Paris would be spilling bitchy tea about current events.
Jean de Joinville would be on Facebook, moaning about the Kids These Days.
Marco Polo would have nice travel pics on Insta, but some of them would be AI.
Matthew Paris would be spilling bitchy tea about current events.
Jean de Joinville would be on Facebook, moaning about the Kids These Days.
Marco Polo would have nice travel pics on Insta, but some of them would be AI.
Who would’ve been the best poaster in the Middle Ages? My money is on Charlemagne.
March 4, 2024 at 1:50 AM
Fiore dei Liberi would be the aggressive guy all up in everybody’s comments.
Matthew Paris would be spilling bitchy tea about current events.
Jean de Joinville would be on Facebook, moaning about the Kids These Days.
Marco Polo would have nice travel pics on Insta, but some of them would be AI.
Matthew Paris would be spilling bitchy tea about current events.
Jean de Joinville would be on Facebook, moaning about the Kids These Days.
Marco Polo would have nice travel pics on Insta, but some of them would be AI.
Important Educational Fact.
just found out there was a medieval italian guy called bartolomeo coglioni which means "bartholomew balls" and his coat of arms was three pairs of balls and his war cry was "coglia! coglia! coglia!" which means "balls! balls! balls!"
February 24, 2024 at 8:27 PM
Important Educational Fact.