Abbie W.
@librarianmouse.bsky.social
Librarian by training. Early Modernist by experience. KCL DSD PhD candidate (nuclear info knowledge networks). Techie by osmosis. Historian, foodie & baseball fan always. Team #HistSci Purveyor of my own opinions. She/her/hey you.
Pinned
Abbie W.
@librarianmouse.bsky.social
· Nov 27
Woah, hey, more new people. *waves* Bio pretty much tells you what you need to know. Posts go in fits and starts. Expect an eclectic mix of book history/archives/spec coll librarianship, politics, fandom, baseball, and food. I know where the block button is and I'm not afraid to use it.
Reposted by Abbie W.
A story Stoppard told several times, in several places:
November 29, 2025 at 6:10 PM
A story Stoppard told several times, in several places:
Reposted by Abbie W.
New Yule Goat design! 🎄🐐
November 17, 2025 at 10:24 PM
New Yule Goat design! 🎄🐐
Reposted by Abbie W.
Friends, do not argue about politics today. But if you must, argue with the in-laws about test yield thresholds and the relative merits of a "zero yield" criterion. Not college football or Congress.
Lessons From Los Alamos
America has the most to lose from restarting nuclear testing.
www.foreignaffairs.com
November 27, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Friends, do not argue about politics today. But if you must, argue with the in-laws about test yield thresholds and the relative merits of a "zero yield" criterion. Not college football or Congress.
Reposted by Abbie W.
One thing i appreciate as a glasses wearer is you can go in to most opticians and say "i lost a bridge pad"
INSTANTLY a tiny old guy will Tom Bombadil himself out of a door you didn't even know was there.
He will have a box. And a tiny screwdriver.
And ten minutes later your glasses are fixed.
INSTANTLY a tiny old guy will Tom Bombadil himself out of a door you didn't even know was there.
He will have a box. And a tiny screwdriver.
And ten minutes later your glasses are fixed.
November 26, 2025 at 1:24 PM
One thing i appreciate as a glasses wearer is you can go in to most opticians and say "i lost a bridge pad"
INSTANTLY a tiny old guy will Tom Bombadil himself out of a door you didn't even know was there.
He will have a box. And a tiny screwdriver.
And ten minutes later your glasses are fixed.
INSTANTLY a tiny old guy will Tom Bombadil himself out of a door you didn't even know was there.
He will have a box. And a tiny screwdriver.
And ten minutes later your glasses are fixed.
Reposted by Abbie W.
BREAKING: This is huge news, the EU's equivalent of the 🇺🇸Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
www.reuters.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:10 AM
BREAKING: This is huge news, the EU's equivalent of the 🇺🇸Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
Reposted by Abbie W.
One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.
November 24, 2025 at 6:19 PM
One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.
Reposted by Abbie W.
"What are you working on?"
I put the soldering iron on its stand and inspected my work.
"A time travel receiver. I figured out the machine can't travel in time itself."
"Do you have a transmitter too?"
I plugged the power in. "Not yet."
A newspaper appeared in the machine.
"I will, next year."
I put the soldering iron on its stand and inspected my work.
"A time travel receiver. I figured out the machine can't travel in time itself."
"Do you have a transmitter too?"
I plugged the power in. "Not yet."
A newspaper appeared in the machine.
"I will, next year."
November 23, 2025 at 4:10 PM
"What are you working on?"
I put the soldering iron on its stand and inspected my work.
"A time travel receiver. I figured out the machine can't travel in time itself."
"Do you have a transmitter too?"
I plugged the power in. "Not yet."
A newspaper appeared in the machine.
"I will, next year."
I put the soldering iron on its stand and inspected my work.
"A time travel receiver. I figured out the machine can't travel in time itself."
"Do you have a transmitter too?"
I plugged the power in. "Not yet."
A newspaper appeared in the machine.
"I will, next year."
This this this! OMG for the love of everything, THIS. This is also why it's so important to get practitioners into archives, special collections, and museums as well. The embodied experience of -doing- informs your understanding of historical texts in a way that is irreplaceable.
Seth Rockman: 'Experiential research as a method for IDing questions you didn’t know to ask, rather than providing answers you wouldn’t have had...an experiential research method lets us envision more things we want to know about the past' (experiential=do something the way it was done in the past)
November 22, 2025 at 4:26 PM
This this this! OMG for the love of everything, THIS. This is also why it's so important to get practitioners into archives, special collections, and museums as well. The embodied experience of -doing- informs your understanding of historical texts in a way that is irreplaceable.
Reposted by Abbie W.
“History is all written down. It’s just a transcript. Don’t even talk about it” is a fundamental misunderstanding of history and historians
November 18, 2025 at 1:11 PM
“History is all written down. It’s just a transcript. Don’t even talk about it” is a fundamental misunderstanding of history and historians
Reposted by Abbie W.
40 years ago today the world was introduced to a small boy and his best friend. Happy birthday Calvin & Hobbes.
November 18, 2025 at 6:37 AM
40 years ago today the world was introduced to a small boy and his best friend. Happy birthday Calvin & Hobbes.
Reposted by Abbie W.
"Researchers have captured video footage of wild wolves in British Columbia pulling crab traps out of the sea by their lines to eat the bait inside"
ca.news.yahoo.com/b-c-wolves-l...
ca.news.yahoo.com/b-c-wolves-l...
B.C. wolves use line to pull up crab traps in first possible tool use by species
Researchers have captured video footage of wild wolves in British Columbia pulling crab traps out of the sea by their lines to eat the bait inside, in the first evidence of possible tool use by the an...
ca.news.yahoo.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:28 PM
"Researchers have captured video footage of wild wolves in British Columbia pulling crab traps out of the sea by their lines to eat the bait inside"
ca.news.yahoo.com/b-c-wolves-l...
ca.news.yahoo.com/b-c-wolves-l...
Reposted by Abbie W.
With just one race left to call (ballots are still being cured), of 222 races up on 11/4, @runforsomething.net had 142 winners, 10 candidates moving to run offs, and 42 (!!!) red to blue flips.
November 17, 2025 at 8:11 PM
With just one race left to call (ballots are still being cured), of 222 races up on 11/4, @runforsomething.net had 142 winners, 10 candidates moving to run offs, and 42 (!!!) red to blue flips.
Reposted by Abbie W.
I’ll put it more simply: my first (and best) aerobatic flight instructor looked me in the eye before our first lesson and said: “remember, airplanes really like the ground. They really really like the ground.”
Aviation is inherently dangerous: a million pounds of metal and fuel magically flying at 500mph. The engineering and systems we have developed are just amazing and have given everyone the idea that it’s all cheap and safe. It ain’t. It’s expensive and it requires constant vigilance and organization.
'That just gave me chills': CNN anchor spooked by Kentucky governor's report on UPS crash
November 9, 2025 at 6:32 AM
I’ll put it more simply: my first (and best) aerobatic flight instructor looked me in the eye before our first lesson and said: “remember, airplanes really like the ground. They really really like the ground.”
So the morals of this story are 1) save your historical documents locally and 2) give thanks to the @nsarchive.bsky.social ! *grumbles and wanders off to download those docs*
Nothing to see here (literally!). Just the US State Department secretly deleting 15 pages of declassified official documents published in 2021 in the Foreign Relations of the United States series about a 1983 NATO nuclear weapons exercise that unexpectedly increased the risk of a nuclear war.
Analysis | State Department deleted records about risk of inadvertent nuclear war
Key historical records about the incident during the Reagan administration, known as the Able Archer 83 War Scare, were removed without explanation.
wapo.st
November 13, 2025 at 5:59 PM
So the morals of this story are 1) save your historical documents locally and 2) give thanks to the @nsarchive.bsky.social ! *grumbles and wanders off to download those docs*
Reposted by Abbie W.
Nothing to see here (literally!). Just the US State Department secretly deleting 15 pages of declassified official documents published in 2021 in the Foreign Relations of the United States series about a 1983 NATO nuclear weapons exercise that unexpectedly increased the risk of a nuclear war.
Analysis | State Department deleted records about risk of inadvertent nuclear war
Key historical records about the incident during the Reagan administration, known as the Able Archer 83 War Scare, were removed without explanation.
wapo.st
November 13, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Nothing to see here (literally!). Just the US State Department secretly deleting 15 pages of declassified official documents published in 2021 in the Foreign Relations of the United States series about a 1983 NATO nuclear weapons exercise that unexpectedly increased the risk of a nuclear war.
Reposted by Abbie W.
Pair of charmingly grumpy owls out on skates for winter fun. Have even brought along a snack! By Adriaen van de Venne, who died (alas!) on this day 1662.
November 12, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Pair of charmingly grumpy owls out on skates for winter fun. Have even brought along a snack! By Adriaen van de Venne, who died (alas!) on this day 1662.
Reposted by Abbie W.
The forging of galaxies is very serious business.
November 13, 2025 at 12:47 AM
The forging of galaxies is very serious business.
Reposted by Abbie W.
For anyone who is like “the creature is also named Frankenstein”; Mary Shelley went to see a play version of Frankenstein and was tickled that they listed the creature as “———“ in the dramatis personae:
“this nameless mode of naming the unnameable is rather good”
www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3...
“this nameless mode of naming the unnameable is rather good”
www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3...
November 12, 2025 at 9:56 AM
For anyone who is like “the creature is also named Frankenstein”; Mary Shelley went to see a play version of Frankenstein and was tickled that they listed the creature as “———“ in the dramatis personae:
“this nameless mode of naming the unnameable is rather good”
www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3...
“this nameless mode of naming the unnameable is rather good”
www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3...
Reposted by Abbie W.
Excuse me, @theguardian.com, I'd like to report an error in your headline; this should read "James D Watson, who co-discovered Rosalind Franklin's notebook showing her discovery of DNA's twisted-ladder structure, dies aged 97"
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
James D Watson, who co-discovered DNA’s twisted-ladder structure, dies aged 97
Nobel prize winner shaped medicine, crimefighting and genealogy, but later years marred by racist remarks
www.theguardian.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Excuse me, @theguardian.com, I'd like to report an error in your headline; this should read "James D Watson, who co-discovered Rosalind Franklin's notebook showing her discovery of DNA's twisted-ladder structure, dies aged 97"
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Abbie W.
Over 20,000 item descriptions have been added to REQ 2 (Court of Requests proceedings) since March 2024. An absolute treasure trove for Tudor historians. discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/r/C...
Browse records of other archives | The National Archives
The official archive of the UK government. Our vision is to lead and transform information management, guarantee the survival of today's information for tomorrow and bring history to life for everyone...
discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk
November 7, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Over 20,000 item descriptions have been added to REQ 2 (Court of Requests proceedings) since March 2024. An absolute treasure trove for Tudor historians. discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/r/C...
Reposted by Abbie W.
Today, a friend involved in the Esna restoration project has shared with me his latest stunning photos of the restored ceiling and columns of the Temple of Khnum in Esna, Upper #Egypt. During a multi-year restoration project, the dirt and soot that had obscured the ...🧵1/3
📷 D. v. Recklinghausen
🏺
📷 D. v. Recklinghausen
🏺
November 7, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Today, a friend involved in the Esna restoration project has shared with me his latest stunning photos of the restored ceiling and columns of the Temple of Khnum in Esna, Upper #Egypt. During a multi-year restoration project, the dirt and soot that had obscured the ...🧵1/3
📷 D. v. Recklinghausen
🏺
📷 D. v. Recklinghausen
🏺
Reposted by Abbie W.
Wondering why no one likes your posts anymore, even among your friends? It's because @jay.bsky.team and team have decided to hide a huge amount of content from all of our feeds by default.
Here's how to turn it off.
First go to the hamburger menu in the upper left corner
Here's how to turn it off.
First go to the hamburger menu in the upper left corner
November 6, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Wondering why no one likes your posts anymore, even among your friends? It's because @jay.bsky.team and team have decided to hide a huge amount of content from all of our feeds by default.
Here's how to turn it off.
First go to the hamburger menu in the upper left corner
Here's how to turn it off.
First go to the hamburger menu in the upper left corner
Reposted by Abbie W.
So this reminds me of one of my favourite WTF moments in heritage bureaucracy, which was the 2018 archaeological excavations just outside the chapel of St Peter at the Tower of London. nobody could decide who, apart from the king, could legally sign off on the project
…so there isn’t some department that is empowered to deal with this stuff that can just override the inevitable objections, I guess? rough, if so
November 5, 2025 at 8:15 PM
So this reminds me of one of my favourite WTF moments in heritage bureaucracy, which was the 2018 archaeological excavations just outside the chapel of St Peter at the Tower of London. nobody could decide who, apart from the king, could legally sign off on the project
Reposted by Abbie W.
The first photo of my new book, courtesy of my editor... "The Most Awful Responsibility: Truman and the Secret Struggle for Control of the Atomic Age" comes out in early December! Feel free to pre-order it today! www.harpercollins.com/products/the...
November 6, 2025 at 10:41 AM
The first photo of my new book, courtesy of my editor... "The Most Awful Responsibility: Truman and the Secret Struggle for Control of the Atomic Age" comes out in early December! Feel free to pre-order it today! www.harpercollins.com/products/the...