The world is a bad place right now, and a lot of that has to do with bombing civilians. And it's impossible for me to look at the news from Gaza, or from Ukraine, and not think of my own current book project on the bombing of British civilians in the First World War. But I don't know whether what's happening now makes my history more necessary, or more inadequate. It hardly seems comparable. I just don't know how to think about it.
So instead, I made some AI art.
There's very little linking these three books, except perhaps that they all reflect, in very different ways, the long drawdown of British power.
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The above facsimile letter was published in the Ramsgate Thanet Advertiser on 29 April 1916. It reads:
April 7th. The writer of the first 'German messages' has been absent from Ramsgate some time now, so the 'Alien’s post-card' is by another hand. If I did not fear prosecution for "failing to register an alien," I could give the police his address to find him, as he is due to return this Wedy. here. The enclosed I found in his overcoat pocket the night before the raid (after he left here on 18th ult.)
Veritas.
To the Editor.((Thanet Advertiser (Ramsgate), 29 April 1916, 5.))
The enclosure referred to was a second letter, 'another foreign missive, addressed to “Herr Chaney, Burgomeister von Ramsgate.” It states that the Zeppelins have a nightly victory and contains some abusive epithets'.((Ibid., 22 April 1916, 2.))
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There's something for everyone here, from low-tech flying replicas to hi-tech death from the skies!
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I currently have a part-time contract at the University of Melbourne in a non-academic, communications role. I feel that my work is valued and that I am supported by my unit and my managers. Nevertheless, I'm on strike. Why?
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On 14 October, Australians will be voting in a referendum on the following question:
A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
Do you approve this proposed alteration?
The proposed alteration is:
Chapter IX Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
129 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice
In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia:
- there shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice;
- the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples;
- the Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures.
I'll be voting yes. Here's why.
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Today we're looking at the three Ps: (defence) policy, prisoners (of war), and (MM.) Pilâtre (and d'Arlandes, the first aeronauts, along with early ballooning more generally). Okay, so I need to work on my intros…
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UPDATED 18 NOVEMBER 2024
With Twitter X circling ever closer to the plughole, it's time to have a microblogging alternative. In fact, I already set one up at Mastodon back in November, and spent a bit of time making it comfortable. But the social media landscape has fragmented since then and everyone is fleeing in all directions. There's no longer any one place to go. And so, being as extremely online and extremely indecisive as I am (and also because my day job is in communications), I've settled on… pretty much all of them! So here's where you can find me, in descending order of likelihood:
I'm also on the following, but really just very barely:
Due to Twitter/X's API changes, my Trove bots now only run on Mastodon and Bluesky:
And my AI art accounts are also only on Mastodon and Bluesky now:
For the benefit of wanderers, I'll keep this post pinned updated on Airminded (which is older than Twitter, and now looks likely to outlast it, too).
See you out there... somewhere!
Image source: Midjourney.
