Derrick Pitard
@synderlic.bsky.social
Medievalist who writes on Chaucer and religion in later medieval Britain; teaches Latin, Old English, and the History of English; family historian; dad; husband; once and future rower; union member. https://gladlywoldehe.net/
I’m seeing a lot more accounts on Bluesky that seem to exist only to agitate from the left. Posted by people with no bios or something generically odd. Block block block.
November 8, 2025 at 2:43 PM
I’m seeing a lot more accounts on Bluesky that seem to exist only to agitate from the left. Posted by people with no bios or something generically odd. Block block block.
There are apparently some loud noises going on outside.
November 7, 2025 at 2:51 AM
There are apparently some loud noises going on outside.
“Whether imposed by a military or not, they point out, the subsequent steps of tyrannical takeover are, if I may synthesize, predictable: demonize the helpless, criminalize all criticism, idolize the leader, then paralyze individual action through corruption.”
How to Endure Authoritarianism
A visit to a poet’s home in Kraków recalls the lessons of Eastern Europe’s dissidents.
www.newyorker.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:43 AM
“Whether imposed by a military or not, they point out, the subsequent steps of tyrannical takeover are, if I may synthesize, predictable: demonize the helpless, criminalize all criticism, idolize the leader, then paralyze individual action through corruption.”
Reposted by Derrick Pitard
"I DON'T NEED YOU TO FUCKING REWRITE WHAT I'VE JUST WRITTEN!"
October 28, 2025 at 10:46 AM
"I DON'T NEED YOU TO FUCKING REWRITE WHAT I'VE JUST WRITTEN!"
Reposted by Derrick Pitard
"The United States has revoked the visa of Nigerian author and playwright Wole Soyinka, who became the first African writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986."
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Trump administration strips Nigerian Nobel winner Wole Soyinka of US visa
The first African author to win the Nobel in literature, Soyinka has been an outspoken critic of governments worldwide.
www.aljazeera.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:16 PM
"The United States has revoked the visa of Nigerian author and playwright Wole Soyinka, who became the first African writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986."
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Reposted by Derrick Pitard
Reposted by Derrick Pitard
Hell yes, Pittsburgh. Love Yinz. No Kings.
October 18, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Hell yes, Pittsburgh. Love Yinz. No Kings.
Just about the best episode of Slow Horses ever.
October 18, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Just about the best episode of Slow Horses ever.
Let’s all be sure not to sign up for Disney right away. At least until the next Mandalorian movie.
September 23, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Let’s all be sure not to sign up for Disney right away. At least until the next Mandalorian movie.
“Do not obey in advance,” unless you hope to get your stockholders a bit more money.
September 19, 2025 at 8:36 PM
“Do not obey in advance,” unless you hope to get your stockholders a bit more money.
Reposted by Derrick Pitard
Reposted by Derrick Pitard
Lyve longe and prosper! #StarTrekDay
September 8, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Lyve longe and prosper! #StarTrekDay
Reposted by Derrick Pitard
This held me up: “it begins with an account of the plague in Florence, painting a vivid picture of its grisly symptoms and the social breakdown that followed in its wake. Boccaccio survived the plague of 1347 but Santagata, his biographer, died in the plague of 2020.”
‘Why, to avoid naming Boccaccio, did Chaucer invent a fictional Latin poet as his source for 𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘴? It seems that Boccaccio already had a reputation problem.’
Barbara Newman on Boccaccio’s dirty book: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Barbara Newman on Boccaccio’s dirty book: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Barbara Newman · Dirty Books: Boccaccio’s Reputation
From the late Middle Ages all the way to Pasolini’s 1971 film, Boccaccio has been best remembered – understandably...
www.lrb.co.uk
September 2, 2025 at 11:43 AM
This held me up: “it begins with an account of the plague in Florence, painting a vivid picture of its grisly symptoms and the social breakdown that followed in its wake. Boccaccio survived the plague of 1347 but Santagata, his biographer, died in the plague of 2020.”
Reposted by Derrick Pitard
Just about ten years now in the making: The IE-CoR database paper has finally been published.
C. Anderson, M. Scarborough, [ ... 96 further authors ... ], R. Gray & P. Heggarty. 2025. The Indo-European Cognate Relationships Dataset. Scientific Data 12:1541.
C. Anderson, M. Scarborough, [ ... 96 further authors ... ], R. Gray & P. Heggarty. 2025. The Indo-European Cognate Relationships Dataset. Scientific Data 12:1541.
The Indo-European Cognate Relationships dataset - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - The Indo-European Cognate Relationships dataset
www.nature.com
September 2, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Just about ten years now in the making: The IE-CoR database paper has finally been published.
C. Anderson, M. Scarborough, [ ... 96 further authors ... ], R. Gray & P. Heggarty. 2025. The Indo-European Cognate Relationships Dataset. Scientific Data 12:1541.
C. Anderson, M. Scarborough, [ ... 96 further authors ... ], R. Gray & P. Heggarty. 2025. The Indo-European Cognate Relationships Dataset. Scientific Data 12:1541.
Oh my goodness. Spelling Bee has an S in it today.
September 2, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Oh my goodness. Spelling Bee has an S in it today.
Unionize. You cannot do this alone.
September 1, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Unionize. You cannot do this alone.
Reposted by Derrick Pitard
Christ Church, Canterbury, glory.
August 13, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Christ Church, Canterbury, glory.
Colbert is one of the reasons I’m able to get through this. It’s healthy to see someone who’s actually a decent person in the media. Shame on you CBS. #Colbert.
July 18, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Colbert is one of the reasons I’m able to get through this. It’s healthy to see someone who’s actually a decent person in the media. Shame on you CBS. #Colbert.
I want to put this seed of a point out there. It’s not manufacturing that made America great in the 20th century. Manufacturing jobs are hard on the body, hard on the soul, and often dangerous. What made those jobs great was unions.
July 13, 2025 at 4:37 PM
I want to put this seed of a point out there. It’s not manufacturing that made America great in the 20th century. Manufacturing jobs are hard on the body, hard on the soul, and often dangerous. What made those jobs great was unions.
Reposted by Derrick Pitard
“With the critical demand for nurses, SRU is leading the way for future nurses to earn their bachelor’s degree with the highest quality education in the shortest amount of time and with the lowest possible costs.” —Associate Professor Michele Crytzer, Slippery Rock University
SRU adds new 1+2+1 nursing pathway to help address RN shortage – SRU News
Pennsylvania is facing a critical shortage of nurses, with recent reported vacancy rates of 30% for registered nurses…
news.sru.edu
June 22, 2025 at 2:37 PM
“With the critical demand for nurses, SRU is leading the way for future nurses to earn their bachelor’s degree with the highest quality education in the shortest amount of time and with the lowest possible costs.” —Associate Professor Michele Crytzer, Slippery Rock University
Reposted by Derrick Pitard
#Bird of the Day: Bald Eagle (BAEA)
BOTD is typically apolitical, but today I choose our national bird, the beautiful Bald Eagle. I’m feeling patriotic as I take to the streets to protest what's happening in this country that I love. I’m lucky to see BAEA quite often around my town, & on a long
BOTD is typically apolitical, but today I choose our national bird, the beautiful Bald Eagle. I’m feeling patriotic as I take to the streets to protest what's happening in this country that I love. I’m lucky to see BAEA quite often around my town, & on a long
June 14, 2025 at 2:40 PM
#Bird of the Day: Bald Eagle (BAEA)
BOTD is typically apolitical, but today I choose our national bird, the beautiful Bald Eagle. I’m feeling patriotic as I take to the streets to protest what's happening in this country that I love. I’m lucky to see BAEA quite often around my town, & on a long
BOTD is typically apolitical, but today I choose our national bird, the beautiful Bald Eagle. I’m feeling patriotic as I take to the streets to protest what's happening in this country that I love. I’m lucky to see BAEA quite often around my town, & on a long