lemonphase.bsky.social

Newly installed at the crossing to my work, I love it. It fills me with joy and encouragement to be who I am, to feel welcome & protected. Critique of flags being tokenistic is shortsighted. A tokenistic swastica is no less hurtful than one of earnest. Visibility has power. Symbols have power.

Today is full of so much academic joy. Colleague and I have agreed to collaborate on an article together, and the content of which I could not be more thrilled or excited by. #AcademicSky #WatchThisSpace #Collaboration

I never thought it would bring me so much joy to tell students that my Alevel results were DUDE, but that now I get to teach first year students at a Russell Group university, and although they can't fathom how much they've already achieved, they will go even further if they want to. #AcademicSky

First years students this year are overwhelmingly anti-AI compared to last year, and it is filling me with such joy and hope. #AcademicSky

My Wednesday began with engaging in diplomacy with a 4yo about wearing pants on her head to school because “it keeps my hair out of my eyes”. #Wednesday #mischiefandmayhem

September garden & hedgerow palette: today's botanical dopamine for your brain. If you're feeling anxious or low, research shows that my photo will shift your brain biochemistry for the better - help you recover from stress & lift motivation & mood a little, so maybe pause for a few seconds 🌿🧠

Guilty as charged

Just finished reading Uprooted by Naomi Novik. Stunning piece of work, beautifully written, enchanting and captivating world building, and enthralling character driven plot. I want to live in this book for longer.

We're being told that if we sacrifice the rights of some people, then the rest of us get to keep our rights. We all know that's some BS.

Night night sweet dreamies Just a little reminder: you don’t have to get everything right, and you don’t have to have everything figured out. All you can ever do is the best you can with the day you’ve been given. That is enough. You are enough

Now listening to #audiobook #Uprooted by #NaomiNovik, narrated by #KatySobey. Described as, ‘An extraordinary spellbinding fantasy inspired by Slavic folklore.’ Also reading, #Albion by #ZakiaSewell: an autobiographical journey across Britain exploring folk songs, ancient legends, & Celtic rites.

Just finished reading #TheSilenceFactory by #BridgetCollins. Harrowing, beautiful, clutching, and terrifying. I couldn’t stop reading it.

“Today, some people will come to their end, but not us mummy. We are going to die in our homes, one day.” - my child, aged 4. The death obsession is hitting us hard the moment.

There is a man in our campsite snoring so loudly that I am honestly surprised his family haven’t smothered him.

DIY day. Painting walls and filling holes. Getting those beats on tidal.com/album/532469... #SophieHunter #Stereoscope

“All of the graves are already written on, but not hours.” - My child, aged 4.

After four years of our wee gorgeous goblin, a Barbie has finally weaselled its way into our house.

Penultimate session of our gothic plague house themed homebrew #DnD campaign #WhatMovesInTheDark courtesy of our DM. Thoroughly enjoying being back in the groove of our Tuesday games night post PhD life. #TTRPG #roleplay #collaborativestorytelling #storytelling #stories

This month I have had the most rewarding emails from students. Teaching can feel like an underpaid slog, but the students make it worth it. A timely reminder to myself of the excellent reasons why I love this work, and why I am so passionate about putting so much in. #AcademicSky #Academicbsky

I’ve recently started playing #HorizonZeroDawn and it is beautiful. The graphics, the story, everything. I’m in love. Unfortunately, this has resulted in poor choices on my part, such as gaming until 1am two nights in a row, when my 3yo will undoubtedly be waking me up at 6am. #onpoint #parenting

My daughter just whispered “for gods sake” under her breath in frustration with me (she got the tone and the occasion perfectly to be fair), and whilst I feel a bit bad about it, I’m mostly just relieved she didn’t say “for fucks sake”. #parenting

The Resistance of a Cow produced by Radiolab overcast.fm/+ABGanTABgz4 ⚡️🐄

the hungry observatory

I promise you none of the people who manage your local bookstores would say the same. www.nbcnews.com/business/ceo...

The message is clear: Muslims are fair game in this country.

The Times published 3 smear articles about Misan Harriman ... in one day. Don't let rightwing newspapers get away with spreading false, hateful narratives. Stand with Misan 👇 https://goodlawproject.org/petition/misan-harriman-handraiser/

Waiting in minor injuries for an X-ray on my elbow from where I shattered it on a doorframe three weeks ago. Did not think anything of it (other than the expletives and tears at the time) but it would seem my bones went snap, crackle, pop… #Tuesday

NEW Fears over the spread of Palantir’s influence after ‘Big Brother’ Met police project extended The staff surveillance pilot was due to expire in April, but the Nerve has established that it was in fact extended to today, May 15. There is no indication what happens next… Link ⤵️

Although the Renters’ Rights Act is a move in the right direction, without serious action to address unaffordability of rents it’s not enough. I know people are still going to be forced out of their homes by uncontrolled price hikes. This has to stop. We need rent controls now.

Having finished marking, I now have 2wks to blitz my corrections before more marking lands. Shovelling snow while it’s still snowing! Waking up this morning to #TheSoloRoleplayersPodcast ep.11 looking at #IronswornStarforged overcast.fm/+ABKbvWFCL1o #AcademicSky #AcademicChatter #TTRPG #SoloTTRPG

Today I received what will inevitably be the first of many rejected applications for a research post. Ouch. I was so enthusiastic about the project and genuinely so proud of my application. Nonetheless, it is what it is, and other platitudes. Tonight there will be vino, and tomorrow is a new day.

Started playing Cartograph today. Excellent vibes. Highly recommend for solo play or cosy multiplay. I'm playing with a friend during WFH breaks. Very easy pick up & play, well suited to learn-as-you-go which suits us both! the-ravensridge-press.itch.io/cartograph-a... #CartographAtlasEdition

Resubmerging myself in the world of solo TTRPG's and mini indie games. I played this through half way(ish) on my lunch break and it is gorgeous. Harrowing and a bit scary. Hoping to revist and finish another day anamerzlaya.itch.io/ignore-the-b... #IgnoreTheBlackbird #AnaMerz

We're hiring! The Aristotelian Society is recruiting a new Managing Editor. This is a demanding part-time role suitable for a current graduate student to undertake alongside their studies. Deadline: Monday 18th May 2026. Read more here: mailchi.mp/9ec3fa312725...

Just seen #JessicaFostecew at the #CityVarietiesMusicHall in Leeds. Laughed so much and so hard. Highly recommend catching her tour #IconicBreath if you can!

Recently finished #Expectations by Anna Hope. The book follows three hetero, middle class, white cis women in their 30s in London, and how they navigate the expectations around work, life, and motherhood. Now reading Angela Carter’s collection of fairy tales, and it is a beaut. #folklore #fairytales

Brilliant podcast from #Rigour&Flow once again, this time on adult friendship. Just finished listening to part 1 and now tuning in for part 2 overcast.fm/+ABOaTGxPYcM

overcast.fm/+AAahhlOy5Ko

Today’s poem is called ‘How Hard It Is to Be the Moon’.

Currently reading a plethora of books: #Expectations by Anna Hope, Angela Carters Book of Fairy Tales, #TheDevils by Joe Abercrombie, amongst a few others that I’ve nearly finished. Also podcast land is rich rn: #Ologies with Alie Ward, #Rigour&Flow with Aiwan & Tamanda, and BBC’s You’re Dead to Me.

These past few months have been a blur. Leading & lecturing two modules, & running seminars for another. Passed my viva. Bought a house & renovated it brutally in a short but intense stint of four weekends. Now living in our own first home. Walls need painting, but there is so much heart. Exhausted.

Finished reading #Furies yesterday. A collection of short stories from a range of authors, reflecting on and inspired by the words branded on women/other over the centuries. Reshaping, retelling, and reclaiming these narratives. The book is a journey and I loved following the tumultuous curves 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Film club night, Sew Torn, ⭐️⭐️⭐️. Divided the room intensely with scores ranging from ⭐️⭐️ to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Nice indie film, low cerebral energy, fun metaphors, thematic, excellent acting, and good pace.

“Palantir is working on a tool for ICE that populates a map with potential deportation targets, brings up a dossier on each person, and provides a ‘confidence score’ on the person’s current address” https://www.404media.co/elite-the-palantir-app-ice-uses-to-find-neighborhoods-to-raid/

"They drag people out of their houses at any hour of the day and night…families are torn apart. Men, women, & children separated…children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared.” - Anne Frank, 1942

Israeli genocide has dropped right off the legacy media's radar. Not one of the campaigners and groups we work with, however, has shown the same level of forgetfulness

First day back at work and I am starting with an IT course on #NVivo. Already it is so obvious to me how wildly easier my research and data management throughout my PhD would have been with this piece of software.