The Magdalen Writing
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nebroadwe.bsky.social
The Magdalen Writing
@nebroadwe.bsky.social
I have a doctorate in English literature and work in a library, which probably explains everything you are about to read. Proud member of Vatican II's Lost Generation.
Pinned
My father passed away earlier this month, so I've been able to do very little about the current big issues in the US. But here's a signal boost for an org I support that does good work, the Pennsylvania Immigrant Coalition.
Home | PICC
www.paimmigrant.org
The USCCB electing Coakley president and Flores vice-president clearly harks back to the early days of the American Republic in light of the upcoming anniversary. /s www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/267735/...
BREAKING: U.S. bishops elect Archbishop Paul S. Coakley as president
Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City was elected to serve as the next president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
www.catholicnewsagency.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:02 PM
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"In 1862...Susie married...a black officer in the 33rd United States Colored Infantry Regiment, and began serving as a nurse and laundress... Off hours she taught the soldiers reading and writing and...“...learned to handle a musket very well...and could shoot straight and often hit the target.”
Susie King Taylor
Born into slavery in Georgia in 1848, Susie King Taylor (born Susan Baker) lived on a plantation for the first seven years of her life. In 1855, Susie was...
www.battlefields.org
November 11, 2025 at 3:38 PM
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Every billionaire is a policy failure.
November 11, 2025 at 3:53 PM
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Apple appears to have reinvented the 17th-century pocket. www.vam.ac.uk/articles/wom...
November 11, 2025 at 4:23 PM
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This is some fascinating book history! childrenslitpilgrim.substack.com/p/teacher-mo... 📚 📜

the illustrations and the words seemed to vary across editions, so the author "did what any reasonable person would do: I requested every edition I could find through interlibrary loan to see for myself" 💕
Teacher, Mother, Monkey?
The Changing Last Page of "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"
childrenslitpilgrim.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:03 PM
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*new* roman cursive? in *this* indiction?
November 11, 2025 at 2:35 PM
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One of the funner moments from my South Africa trip occurred when these two little borbs decided to chase each other on the edge a lagoon.

(They're Black Crakes, btw.)
November 11, 2025 at 2:12 PM
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there's a moment in PARADISE LOST where Satan arrives in Eden and realizes Hell isn't a place; it's a thing he carries within him and it'll follow him wherever he goes. and i think about that when i see these awful rich men whose monstrous wealth has enriched them not at all
“whatever club he’s invited to join has been devalued by the invitation”
November 11, 2025 at 6:31 AM
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I FOUND THE CONFERENCE LLAMA
November 11, 2025 at 1:31 AM
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November 10, 2025 at 8:06 PM
I don’t understand the Grinch-esque Walmart commercials currently running in my market. Are they parody? Did the Geisel estate actually license them? WHY?
November 10, 2025 at 11:58 AM
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Wedding feasts can be long & boring, especially if you’re only 12. Luckily Empress Matilda brought a book, Women Who Ruled the World. It gave her some great ideas when she claimed the English crown in 1135. Sadly, Stephen, who usurped her throne, hadn’t read the book himself #womenwhoruledtheworld
November 7, 2025 at 4:59 PM
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So I feel like the obvious GOP strategic choice now is, "outrage wave is real, so find a way to fold on the shutdown and give back those ACA subsidies to blunt the wave."

And what they'll actually do is send ICE to invade NYC and N.Va, which will backfire spectacularly.
November 5, 2025 at 2:51 AM
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The world may be quite turbulent at the moment, but we can all take at least some solace in the fact that bookstores exist.
November 5, 2025 at 7:27 PM
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Took the cats out for a walk with my brother and accidentally created a 90s Britpop album cover
November 5, 2025 at 11:56 AM
<wipes sweat from forehead>
BREAKING: Pennsylvania voters approve to retain three state Supreme Court justices, NBC News projects, preserving Democrats’ 5-2 majority on the state’s high court.
Pennsylvania voters retain three state Supreme Court justices, preserving Democrats' 5-2 majority
NBC News projects the incumbents survived an up-or-down vote to keep their seats on the battleground state’s high court.
nbcnews.to
November 5, 2025 at 2:24 AM
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I gotta give it up to the writers tho. If NYC elects a Muslim mayor on the day Dick Cheney died, that is one hell of a slow played story arc. Every time you want to fire 2025's writers room they give you a little narrative resolution as a treat.
November 4, 2025 at 5:15 PM
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No one did resting emperor face quite like Caracalla (photo is my own from the Baths of Diocletian).
November 3, 2025 at 10:15 PM
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Good morning and Hello America!

Its election day again, did you cast your ballot? If you haven't yet then its now or never! Be heard and get your butt to your local polling place. Local elections often get over looked and matter the most as they'll have the most meaningful impact on you!
November 4, 2025 at 10:01 AM
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OTD 1429 Joan of Arc successfully took the town of St Pierre-le-Moutier after a short siege. Once Joan pushed the English out of the Loire and got Chas crowned king (VII)in July, she was becoming a hindrance to the court's effort to forge peace with Burgundy. It was her final victory.
November 4, 2025 at 11:13 AM
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You don't get this level of excitement in my local Tesco.
Shoppers at the Branson Walmart were stunned after a black bear wandered inside, picked up a can of bear spray, and accidentally sprayed it down an aisle before walking back out through the front doors. Several people were treated for coughing and irritation, and the bear was safely guided away.
November 4, 2025 at 11:19 AM
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A jar of apricots in 1758, to round off Jean-Siméon Chardin's birthday.
November 3, 2025 at 12:43 AM
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Artemisia Gentileschi, Self Portrait as St. Catherine of Alexandria, c. 1615 (Private Collection)
November 3, 2025 at 1:08 AM
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Kid misheard the announcer in the Bengals/Bears game to say “the Bagels are on the march” and candidly that’s a great start to a short story
November 2, 2025 at 9:59 PM