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phillyhart4.bsky.social
Philly 🇵🇸 🍎
@phillyhart4.bsky.social
2.3K followers 6.7K following 1.2K posts
Researching Educational Isolation to understand impact on schools. Education, social justice, disability, ME/CFS, neurodiversity, LGBTQ, books, medieval history, all things Nordic. She/her. Views mine.

[banner photo: candle burnt down, looks like a crown]
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phillyhart4.bsky.social
Philly 🇵🇸 🍎 @phillyhart4.bsky.social · Oct 24
A short animated overview of the concept of Educational Isolation and how it affects schools: youtu.be/1N-9DUA2BO4. #EduSky
What is Educational Isolation?
YouTube video by Plymouth Marjon University
youtu.be
phillyhart4.bsky.social
People need to be aware of Farage's own words about Kent's council and Reforms failure there AND remember when the election comes.
adambienkov.bsky.social Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 1d
Nigel Farage said their flagship council in Kent would be a "shop window" for how they would run the country.

Just months after taking over they're now set to slash multiple council committees as they struggle to fill posts after sacking nine of their own councillors
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/12/r...
Reform Council in Chaos as It Prepares to Slash Scrutiny Committees Following Wave of Councillor Suspensions
EXCLUSIVE: Reform's flagship Kent administration is planning to shut down multiple council committees as it struggles to fill posts after suspending nine of its own councillors
bylinetimes.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:18 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: 'Parable of the Sower', by Octavia Butler. Still so relevant.
Cover of Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Bulter. The cover is dark teal with bold, writing in gold capital letters. The image in the middle of the cover is of a Black woman wearing a scoop-neck black top. Her arms are bent at the elbow, and she's holding her open hands by the sides of her chest, palms facing forward and two smallest fingers somewhat curled in, almost in a gesture reminiscent of prayer or blessing in medieval iconography. There's a small ball floating in front of her chest just below her collarbone, and the ball looks like a very small Earth. Behind her can be seen a sky with stars and perhaps a moon, with what looks like fire on the horizon.
November 12, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Reposted by Philly 🇵🇸 🍎
helenczerski.bsky.social
This a big deal: "China’s carbon dioxide emissions have been flat or falling for 18 months"

China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for past 18 months, analysis finds
World’s biggest polluter on track to hit peak emissions target early but miss goal for cutting carbon intensity
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:20 AM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
As an author who understands who the Luddites were, this book looks promising.
cgsunit.bsky.social Lauren Woolsey @cgsunit.bsky.social · 2d
This is only page 3 and I'm so invested in learning more from this author. Luddite as an insult certainly gets thrown around a lot these days, and I'm happy to have their concise clarification on what side of history that movement was on at the very start of the book.
Text from the book on page 3 reads "[...] other humans. No, this book is not a Luddite treatise--if, by Luddite, you mean a consumate techno-pessimist that believes all technological advancement is an anathema to human flourishing. But if by Luddite you mean a conscientious objection to top-down dictatorial automation of human thought and skill as a capitalist ploy for the devaluation of labor, and therefore the devaluation of laborers and human life in general... Then, yes. This is a Luddite treatise. This book disambiguates the purposes of AI and its conscquences for humanity (and the environment) through descriptions of how AI projects produce, harm, and even kill disabled people. Through these stories, this book also provides a guide to the various and confusing meanings, methods, and impacts of "AI" in terms that are clear and relevant to everyday [...]"
November 11, 2025 at 12:27 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: the horror novel 'Hazelthorn', by CG Drews. This sounds like such a good read!
Cover of 'Hazelthorn', by CG Drews. The image is of a person, maybe a man from the chest up. His head looking up sharply, lips slightly parted, hair falling back away from his face. There are thorny vines covering his eyes, with blood dripping down his face. The vines wind around his face and head, and one is around his neck, a thorn piercing the side of it. He's wearing an olive green woollen jumper that blends in with the vines around him. There are a few small, pale flowers among the thorns, and the background is the colour of papyrus. The title Hazelthorn is written in a Gothic-like, white font at the bottom, with the authors name is smaller lettering below.
November 11, 2025 at 1:06 AM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: 'Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Recipes, Letters and Remembrances', by Kwame Alexander. I have high hopes for this look at navigating relationships through the author's personal experiences.
Cover of 'Why Fathers Cry at Night', by Kwame Alexander. The background is black. The title is in bold, purple capital letters at the top and the name in similar white ones at the bottom. The letters in 'CRY' are thicker than all the others. The sub-title, 'A Memoir in Love Poems, Letters, Recipes, and Remembrances', is in much smaller, yellow capital letters below on the left of the title. The books is by a New York Tomes bestselling author.
November 9, 2025 at 6:22 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
For #Caturday (just), Indy's chilling in the hallway, without a care in the world.
A pale ginger tabby kitten lying on his side on the top carpeted step of three in a hallway. The front half of his body is off the top step and above the one below; it's not lying on its side but upright, so that he's twisted 90 degrees in the middle. His front paws are stretched outward and down, resting on the next step. He's looking directly in the camera with a slightly quizzical expression, as if to say, 'What? Isn't this normal?'.
November 8, 2025 at 11:06 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: the middle-grade novel 'Ghost Boys', by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Jerome, a young Black boy from Chicago, is shot & killed by a police officer who thinks Jerome's toy gun is real. It includes the character of Emmett Till as a ghost, & deals with themes of racism & socio-economic injustice.
Cover of 'Ghost Boys'. The background is red and shows a young Black boy's face from the bridge of his nose up. He has short hair and is looking upwards. Above his head are silhouettes of streetlights and traffic lights which seem to branch into the space above the street. The title and author's name (Jewell Parker Rhodes) are written in white, the title across the middle of the book in large, mostly capital letters, the name at the top in smaller letters. At the very top, Angie Thomas, the author of 'The Hate You Give', is quoted, saying 'A must read'.
November 8, 2025 at 4:05 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: The sci-fi comic 'Monarch', by Rodney Barnes and drawn by Alex Lins, about orphaned city children who find a foster family and have to fight to save it.
Cover of 'Monarch', which is written in bold, capital deep sky blue letters down the left side of the cover. The colour from top to bottom goes from the same vivid blue, getting paler as it moves toward the middle, to primary red at the bottom, which is lighter red in the middle. There are three names above the title, all in small, thin, white, capital letters: Rodney Barnes, Alex Lins (artist) and Luis NCT. The image shows three Black children, perhaps pre-teen or young teens, in an urban area standing in front of an old, brick building with a large broken window. The ground is littered with paper, broken wooden planks and sticks. There's a chain fence in the foreground. The children are dressed casually - jeans, t-shirt, sweatshirt, trainers, sandals. One has a backpack on, wears glasses and holds a metal pipe or bar, wielding it in self-defence. Another has a large, full, cross shoulder bag. Her long hair is pushed back off her face and held in place by a hairband. The third is a step behind the other two. They are all looking at someone straight ahead with surprise and perhaps fear.
November 7, 2025 at 1:59 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: 'The Poet X', by Elizabeth Acevedo. I remember hearing about this book some time ago, and I'm looking forward to reading it.
Cover of the book 'The Poet X', which is written in a bold white font that looks handwritten in the middle of the cover on the left side. The title is in the hair of the beautiful Black woman on the cover. Her hair spreads out from her head in a dark mass, and around the edges it looks like splotches of black paint. This makes it look like an afro. The top of the cover is a a very pale grey colour, and down the right side of the cover, the book is pale pink, light orange, yellow, white and a little bit of dark pink / almost red. The woman's neck has some of these colours on it, and her face has writing across it, which seems to be wafting rightwards across the mixture of colours. There's a bird's head, perhaps a mockingbird, that can be seen in the colours, and 'A NOVEL BY ELIZABETH ACEVEDO' is written in black, bold font. Across the top of the cover towards the left side there's a quote by Laurie Halse Anderson, author of 'Speak' and 'Chains': A story that will slam the power of poetry and love back into your heart.
November 7, 2025 at 1:22 AM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: 'Gabi, a Girl in Pieces', by Isabel Quintero.
Cover of 'Gabi, a Girl in Pieces', by Isabel Quintero. The image is one of different parts of a young woman's body, seemingly taken from different women and making up an approximation of a girl. Some of them are living: a dark eyebrow, small section of hair and dark eye in brown skin looking upwards; a wide, red-lipped smile; an arm with a white bracelet and simple ring; a full chest and shoulders wearing a red, shoulderless top; the upper thighs of a pair of legs. But there are also others: a skeletal torso against a red background; another arm but skeletal and against a red background; a large heart outside the torso, with an arrow in it. All of this is against a greenish-yellow, patterned background. There are 3 red books behind the girl's arm with the jewellery, a red and white bag of chips next to her eye and mouth, and a brown item at the bottom below the skeletal arm. A yellow piece of paper looks as if it hangs from the ribcage, reading: 'Gabi [next line] A Gordita (this is crossed out) [next line] A Fatgirl (this is also crossed out) [next line] A Girl in Pieces'. [next line] Below a dashed line is the author's name.
November 5, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by Philly 🇵🇸 🍎
georgemonbiot.bsky.social
It's brilliant and exciting to see Zohran Mamdani elected.
More leaders like him please, and fewer like Cuomo, Schumer and the rest of the oligarch-pleasing, hope-destroying, election-losing, right-centrist political class.
November 5, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Reposted by Philly 🇵🇸 🍎
zackpolanski.bsky.social
Zohran's campaign was his determination to make New York a city everyone can afford to live in. Huge congratulations!

His success will resonate throughout the world. A story where no one is left behind.

It's time to write that story across England & Wales too.
Zohran smiling on the street
November 5, 2025 at 7:03 AM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Indy is still living up to his name!
Pale ginger kitten squeezed into the small space between the thin wooden shelf below the mirrored bathroom wall cabinet and the cabinet itself. His big, fluffy, stripey tail is quite spectacular, making us wonder if he's part red panda, lemur or raccoon.
November 4, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Reposted by Philly 🇵🇸 🍎
zackpolanski.bsky.social
"What binds Polanski and Mamdani is not only their left-wing credentials, but their rejection of political cynicism."

Let's go! 🎉

www.europinion.uk/post/how-zac...
How Zack Polanksi And Zohran Mamdani Transformed What It Means To Be A Left-Wing Politician
Newly elected leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanksi, has taken British politics by storm. The self-proclaimed ‘eco-populist’ has resurrected the Green Party’s reputation amongst voters and driven t...
www.europinion.uk
November 4, 2025 at 6:40 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: the YA novel 'Cemetery Boys', by Aiden Thomas.
Cover of 'Cemetery Boys' by Aiden Thomas. The background is deep red, with a pale yellow moon at the top and an androgynous dead person in it. The person is missing some skin on their head and their skull can be seen in places, and their chest and hands are skeletal. They're wearing a dark robe-like garment with a hood and floral 'crown', and their arms are outstretched by their side. The main image on the cover is two young, good-looking men with dark hair cut short, dark eyes and strong features. The one in front is wearing a light-coloured collared shirt, jeans and an earring, and he's holding a cream-coloured, carnation-like flower. He's looking up and seems angry or very focused. The man behind him has his back to the man in front and is looking at him over his shoulder. He's wearing a dark garment, perhaps armour, with a full, white, shawl-like collar. His expression is wary, maybe suspicious. They are standing among what might be gravestones.There are 4 lit church candles amongst the gravestones and petals from a flower seem to be falling around them.
November 4, 2025 at 3:25 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: 'Last Night at the Telegraph Club', by Malinda Lo. This one is on my wish list for my birthday!
Cover of the book 'Last Night at the Telegraph Club', by Malinda Lo. It shows an urban street with lots of neon signs, and a couple in the foreground on the right standing under a streetlight. The design, cars and clothes look similar to those of the 1950s. The various signs on buildings are in English and in a far east Asian font. The street has buildings of 3-5 stories, some with far east Asian decorations in the architecture, especially near the top. In the background are much taller buildings, and the sky above them fades from brownish-orange to a dark pink to deep purple with stars in it.
November 3, 2025 at 2:01 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: 'Model Home', by Rivers Solomon. Looking forward to reading this.
Cover of 'Model Home' by Rivers Solomon. Green cover with bold, thick, capital font for the title in black at the top, with the author's name in green at the bottom against a black background that represents a hill. On the hill stands a black, 3-storey house with white shutters and windows. The top floor has 3 dormer windows, and there's a chimney on the left side. There's also a giant spider on top of the roof. One window on the middle floor is yellow, presumably the light is on? There are two quotes about the book, one on either side of the house: 'Intense, original and wonderfully unpredictable' (Victor Lavelle) and 'A disturbing, brilliantly twisty psychological horror exploring family dynamics, memory, gender identity and sexuality' (The Guardian).
November 2, 2025 at 3:01 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
For November, I'll be using my art posts to boost writers, especially early career, disabled, Black, indigenous, queer & others who are marginalised. Today it's 'All Boys Aren't Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto', by George M. Johnson.
Cover of 'All Boys Aren't Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto', written by George M/ Johnson. Image is a young, short-haired, good-looking Black man with a long neck, long narrow face and high cheekbones, and wearing a headdress of pink-tinged yellow roses, a couple of calla lilies and what looks like orange and purple maple leaves. There are two multi-coloured butterflies on the roses. The man has his head turned to one side but is looking at the viewer out of the side of his dark eyes. The background of the book is the light blue, white and pink of the trans flag, and the book is noted as a New York Times bestseller.
November 1, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Reposted by Philly 🇵🇸 🍎
autisticbooks.bsky.social
Books about autism or with Autistic main characters, written by Autistic authors — published October 2025!

🧵

#AutismBooks #AutisticAuthor #Autism #Autistic #ActuallyAutistic #BookSky
Graphic with text at the top stating Autism Books by Autistic Authors. Published October 2025. In the centre is a collage of book covers, tilted on an angle. Each book is listed in detail in the subsequent graphics and text. At the bottom is the text The Autism Books by Autistic Authors Project @AutisticBooks. In the bottom corner is a small logo with colourful books and a small plant either side.
November 1, 2025 at 9:46 AM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: This drawing of the shore of Leith is simple and yet evocative. It brings back a really lovely memory of my dad. Thanks for sharing this illustration @spyglassart.bsky.social
spyglassart.bsky.social Anna F. Walker @spyglassart.bsky.social · 20d
The shore of Leith in Edinburgh, part of my series of drawings of the city’s neighbourhoods.

#art #illustration
An illustration of the shore of Leith with some boats in the foreground.
October 31, 2025 at 11:37 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: this pen and ink drawing of 3 fish skeletons. I love how the middle fish looks angry, maybe because it's dead? And the top haughty, the bottom anxious. I also like how these remind me of drawings by 19th-century amateur scientists / biologists / palaeontologists.
October 28, 2025 at 1:01 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today’s art: ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’ by Kurt Vonnegut.
malaiseforever.bsky.social Cam @malaiseforever.bsky.social · 17d
reading slaughterhouse 5 for the first time and i was absolutely knocked senseless by this passage, which is so true and relevant that it feels like it was pulled from a history book
“America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves. To quote the American humorist Kin Hubbard, 'It ain’t no disgrace to be poor, but it might as well be.' It is in fact a crime for an American to be poor, even though America is a nation of poor. Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor but extremely wise and virtuous, and therefore more estimable than anyone with power and gold. No such tales are told by the American poor. They mock themselves and glorify their betters. The meanest eating or drinking establishment, owned by a man who is himself poor, is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question: 'if you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?' There will also be an American flag no larger than a child’s hand – glued to a lollipop stick and flying from the cash register. Americans, like human beings everywhere, believe many things that are obviously untrue. Their most destructive untruth is that it is very easy for any American to make money. They will not acknowledge how in fact hard money is to come by, and, therefore, those who have no money blame and blame and blame themselves. This inward blame has been a treasure for the rich and powerful, who have had to do less for their poor, publicly and privately, than any other ruling class since, say Napoleonic times. Many novelties have come from America. The most startling of these, a thing without precedent, is a mass of undignified poor. They do not love one another because they do not love themselves.”
October 27, 2025 at 12:03 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: reposting the British tv series 'Foyle's War', because it's just so good (and, sadly, it's relevant).
Main cast from Foyle's War, a detective show set during WWII. If you like Nazis, thugs and criminals all being arrested, and occasionally punched, this is the show for you. In the centre is DCS Foyle, played by Michael Kitchen. He' wearing a 3-piece suit in grey with a dark tie and dark fedora-like hat. Behind him on the right is DS Milner, his police sergeant, played by Anthony Howell. He's also wearing a suit with a patterned tie and a brown fedora. Behind Foyle on the left is Sam Stewart, Foyle's driver, played by Honeysuckle weeks. She's wearing a WWII MTC (Mechanised Transport Corps) uniform in dark brown, because she was assigned to work for the police due to a shortage of manpower.
October 26, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Reposted by Philly 🇵🇸 🍎
lewisbaston.bsky.social
I used to defend the BBC’s coverage until fairly recently. Election night 2024 was probably the point at which I snapped and could no longer avoid facing what it had become.
timbale.bsky.social Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 18d
Nothing on the BBC Radio news this morning. Nothing I could find on their website. This is an MP from the party whose lead in the opinion polls normally ensures them wall-to-wall coverage. She spouts racist nonsense for which even she feels obliged to apologise. What on earth are they playing at?
Reform’s Sarah Pochin forced to apologise after claiming adverts 'full of black people' drive her 'mad’ | LBC
The Runcorn and Helsby MP was responding to a viewer live on air who complained about the demographics of advertising.
www.lbc.co.uk
October 26, 2025 at 9:38 AM