Independent Scholar, Researcher & Policy Advisor. Australasian, he/him. https://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3mt6jozn33s2vThe French Revolution, 1789-1794, taking care to set up minor characters like Julien Raymond and Louis-Felicite Sonthonax who'll kick off the Haiti spinoff. Draw from A Place of Greater Safety, and really link into having new lead characters every season, only some of whom die horribly. [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 Aug 2026 06:10 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt6jozn33s2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3mru2cdxpls2bLearning to walk, and/or still breastfeeding. Surely even for this site this question skews old? [contains quote post or other embedded content]30 Jul 2026 08:43 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mru2cdxpls2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3mqjfpi6qzk2oNot enough non-Kiwis are aware of Sam Neill's first role as a leading man in 1977's Sleeping Dogs, a landmark in NZ cinema. What if a US-backed dictator took power in New Zealand during the Cold War? Neill plays an ordinary man caught up in the emerging insurgency, and he's already soemthing else.13 Jul 2026 09:43 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqjfpi6qzk2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3mqdupvid222pThis has something of the bleakness of something like 'The Screwfly Solution,' but there's a terrible humanism underneath as well. It's a tremendous work of fiction, and it has made me pour a whiskey and stare at the wall. [contains quote post or other embedded content]11 Jul 2026 04:55 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqdupvid222phttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3moh3bf7mo22dNational: I grew up on a farm in Canterbury Labour: Norman Kirk rang my grandfather on the night he won the election to thank granddad for his crucial support. Greens: I come from a multicultural, multiracial family. ACT: I trained at Hayek's school. NZ First: I have drunk at the Green Parrot. [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Jun 2026 00:40 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3moh3bf7mo22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3mnh2v5fzd22rMy supervisor Antony Best used to drum into me that whether you were looking at interwar Japanese fascists, British imperial legates, Stalinist diplomats, or anyone else: Before trying to 'explain' their agenda it was almost always worth considering that maybe they just believed what they said. [contains quote post or other embedded content]04 Jun 2026 07:08 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnh2v5fzd22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3mnbp3zigi22jI'm alone in an Otago cabin on a writing project, and I occasionally burst into song. I knew I had a bad voice - my sister's the one who's the professional star of musical theatre - but I didn't know I had "border collie comes bursting through the house in a panic to check if I'm okay bad voice"02 Jun 2026 03:54 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnbp3zigi22jhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3mkfadbqb2c2jMany political partisans, in practice, believe in their party structures more than they do in any abstract set of philosophical principles, and that this is correlated neither with the left/right axis nor educational attainment. [contains quote post or other embedded content]26 Apr 2026 09:25 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkfadbqb2c2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3mfjlyjyzxs2qDoc is quite right. It’s particularly ridiculous because British/Imperial racism has been intertwined with the American variety and vocabulary for centuries. It’s not just about TV or social media- the Australian public had sadly strong opinions about American race relations in the 19th century! [contains quote post or other embedded content]23 Feb 2026 11:58 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfjlyjyzxs2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3mehiieodxc2kAs a young man, I found myself at a reception at New Zealand House in London. While returning with a round of drinks, I tripped over myself (I wasn't even drunk, just very clumsy) and proceeded to pour half a pint down the back of someone who turned out to be Prime Minister Bill English. [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Feb 2026 22:25 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mehiieodxc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3mdecbst6222aYoung people today no longer read Redwall, proving that the modern generation doesn't love small animals or vegetarianism. [contains quote post or other embedded content]26 Jan 2026 22:30 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdecbst6222ahttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3mbuc2bbypc2sI was privileged to work at NZ’s Royal Commission into Abuse in Care, and it meant dealing with many, many horrific files. We had training and mandatory therapy. It still messes you up. Do not traumatise yourself out of a misguided sense of political obligation. [contains quote post or other embedded content]07 Jan 2026 20:18 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbuc2bbypc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3mbjawrzrt22lThis is a modern Jameson Raid. Its short term success will not change the day that it has revealed the inherent lawlessness of its perpetrators. It is an action of imperial weakness, not strength.03 Jan 2026 10:59 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbjawrzrt22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3m7eeqhyl722l-- I tell the tale that I heard told. Mithridates, he died old. [contains quote post or other embedded content]07 Dec 2025 01:34 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7eeqhyl722lhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3m6sprkc6s22rThis unrelated thread gets to the heart of why Stoppard's plays are so delightful; they are clever and humanist and densely intellectual, but they can also be joyful and funny and farcical and strange. 'R&G are Dead', 'Real Inspector Hound,' 'Travesties' are all great art that leaves you delighted. [contains quote post or other embedded content]30 Nov 2025 01:03 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6sprkc6s22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3m35ekcdfmc2uPeople get really, performatively weird about the difficulty of Ulysses. It's not that inaccessible, particularly if you listen to it; it demands attention and mental effort, but it's not some literary shibboleth or an emperor with no clothes. [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Oct 2025 09:01 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3m35ekcdfmc2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3m23xlxwm6s2uAmerican sports, or Yugoslavia in 1942, who can say. [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Oct 2025 02:11 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3m23xlxwm6s2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3lxrtuks3rs2yMy undergrad lecturer, the late and much lamented Chris Jones once succinctly taught a lesson through three 16thC portraits: which of these three men is most confident in his power? It’s remarkable that Charles looks more like a merchant or lawyer than the most powerful man in the Atlantic world. [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Sep 2025 14:47 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxrtuks3rs2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3lxr2nerp622pStephen is quite wrong about the Craig era being a total disaster, but quite right that people sleep on the Tosca scene in QoS: it's a perfectly absurd Bond set piece, overdramatic, mildly comic, and the right amount of camp. Pity about the rest of the film mind. [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 Sep 2025 07:16 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxr2nerp622phttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3lxmababkws2rRemember when Scorsese - quite rightly - pointed out that Marvel movies were the simply rollercoasters and was decried on twitter? A varied media diet matters, which means you can enjoy the trite or trashy or childish. In fact, some children's art is profound. But you need the other stuff! [contains quote post or other embedded content]30 Aug 2025 09:13 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxmababkws2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3lxf4c5yrc22vSensible historical critique this, and I don't understand the medievalists quibbling. As a late Victorian historian, I can confirm that medieval people wore dirt and all early modern people wore silly wigs and ruffs. I hope this helps clear up the distinction for any lay people. [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Aug 2025 13:14 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxf4c5yrc22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3lwoj7r5ftc2qA good essay on a series I have a lot of residual fondness for. A lot of ink has been spilled on 'YA fiction' that's actually written for and read by adults; the Wheel of Time is a great example of 'adult' literature whose ideal audience is a bookish eleven year old. [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Aug 2025 13:34 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwoj7r5ftc2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3lwkxvsyb2s2fI think the CANZUK delusion is more widespread than people think. Story time: At the graduation drinks for my masters, I spoke to a fellow student who was very excited about the job he was going to at an exciting new campaign: Brexit. [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Aug 2025 03:46 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwkxvsyb2s2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3lvx6g2yhsc2nEvelyn Waugh and Graham Greene, for starters. [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Aug 2025 06:49 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvx6g2yhsc2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3lvx5ivfdvc22The bizarre thing about Starfield is that it has one (1) really good idea, a genuinely innovative advance in not just the studio's formula but the entire genre of the western RPG... and it's locked behind completing the main quest, which the studio's players never, ever, do. [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Aug 2025 06:33 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvx5ivfdvc22https://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3lvhluvx2hk2dI'm recovering from surgery so I can't join the #marchforhumanity in Sydney today. I'm so glad to see so many people rallying against starvation and ethnic cleansing. Solidarity!03 Aug 2025 02:07 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvhluvx2hk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3luycovshjc2jFrustratingly, most of the Tom Lehrer clips on youtube cut out his extremely witty intros. This man was a comedy titan; my family loved him since the 60s. My extremely Catholic grandfather loved the Vatican Rag; my mum hummed 'The Masochism Tango.' But as a history nerd, this was my favourite: https://youtu.be/oRLON3ddZIw?si=MaeBtIykeTj8Yk0v28 Jul 2025 00:13 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3luycovshjc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3luuay77jjs2wI'm sorry, but for a list of Australian Songs, the top 100 is picking the wrong Crowded House numbers. 'Four Seasons in One Day' is one of the great songs about Melbourne, and is the band's great Australian song. 'Don't Dream it Over' is a New Zealand song, that's settled fact. #hottest10026 Jul 2025 09:32 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3luuay77jjs2whttps://bsky.app/profile/liamconnell.bsky.social/post/3luaizjeo5s2fYep. The other point, is that just like today, people in the past could say the same word and mean different things. And those people might not realise that the people they were talking to meant different things! (traumatised phd flashbacks.) There's no shortcut or ai summary to historical truth. [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Jul 2025 13:03 +0000at://did:plc:5eevoh6bn6rxgomyns5ryjt4/app.bsky.feed.post/3luaizjeo5s2f