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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
Today's art: 'Ocean's Blood', by the lovely Thelma Mantey. Very excited about this novel!
Cover image is of an otherworldy, androgynous person with long, flowing, black hair and white, tendril-like designs all over them. The title is at the top in large, white, plain capital letters, with the author's name above that in the same font, but smaller. At the bottom, it says 'Book 1 of the Drowning'. The background is navy blue, the colour darkening as it goes lower down the cover. From the top left it looks like there are rays of white sunlight spilling downwards at a slight angle.
November 14, 2025 at 3:32 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
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
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
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
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
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: this dress, worn by Lucille Ball in 'I Love Lucy'. It's gorgeous and reminds me of my childhood, watching reruns of the show. Also, Ball was a brilliant comedienne.
On the left, a sketch of a dress work by Lucille Ball in 'I Love Lucy'. It's black sheer brocaded lace over a pale pink underdress. It's knee length, fitted at the waist, with short sleeves and a high collar. On the right is a photograph of Lucille Ball wearing the dress and standing next to Elois Jenssen, who designed the dress. They're holding a large sketch book. Elois Jenssen is smiling while looking at it, and Lucille Ball appear to be saying something.
October 21, 2025 at 12:51 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
He looks like he should be relaxing in a clear, blue pool in an inflatable ring. Just needs a tall, ice-cold drink!
Ginger tabby kitten in a fluffy, round, pink cat bed, which rests on top of a purple and white checked duvet on a bed. He’s lying mostly on his back with his belly exposed. He’s propped up at the shoulders and head, looking directly at the camera. His expression seems to be saying ‘What?’. One long leg is stretched out over the side of the ring.
October 17, 2025 at 3:05 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: This political cartoon by John Deering.
Cartoon showing the Statue of Liberty from the shoulders up, with her right hand raised high holding a torch. There are two helicopters around her, with three armed men in black / camouflage rappelling down the torch. Someone in one of the helicopters is saying 'She's armed with a TORCH! Probably Antifa...'
October 14, 2025 at 9:24 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: for Indigenous Peoples Day, untitled clay & paint sculpture (c. 2013), created by Lisa Holt (Cochiti) & Harlan Reano (Kewa, Santo Domingo). In the Indigenous Arts of North American collection at Denver Art Museum. I love how it has cute pet-bunny roundness & a wild, adventurous spirit.
A clay and black-and-white painted sculpture of a rabbit. Its ears, feet, eyes and nose are black, while its tail is white and the insides of its ears have white lines. The body and face are patterned black-and-white, with what looks to be an indigenous pattern of swirls, dots and triangles on the face and a black stripe from forehead to nose down the middle. There's a white leaf-shape on a black shoulder, and more patterning in black along the sides of the rabbit's back, picking out triangles and teardrop shapes. The rabbit is fully stretched out, its legs spread wide and it's body arched, as if doing a belly dive, belly first, into a pool. It's head is held high and looks straight ahead.
October 13, 2025 at 2:21 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: the Jelling cup, with its beautiful, intricate ribbon-like, stylised animal motifs. I'd seen images of this cup for ages. When I saw it in Copenhagen's Nationalmuseet, I was taken aback. I thought it was a normal, albeit squat, goblet-like cup. It's about the size of a thimble!
Very small, sliver goblet-like cup, called the Jelling cup. It dates from the mid-10th century and has a very short, stubby base / stem, with most of the object being taken up by the cup. It has a ribbon-like motif of animals encircling the cup, where the serpent- or dragon-like animal looks as if it's biting its own tail. The animal has a large, round, staring eye and dotted markings along its body. Small nicks can be seen on the lip of the cup.
October 11, 2025 at 1:28 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Last week he was a squirrel, this week a prawn! #Caturday
Ginger tabby in a long narrow box, curled up. He's doubled up about halfway from his front to his back, with his boys and legs stretched out quite far. This makes him look somewhat like a prawn.
October 11, 2025 at 1:07 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: in honour of Maria Corina Machado's Nobel win, this arpillera (brightly coloured patchwork picture by groups of women) 'Work, Justice & Freedom'. Here Chilean women protest w/pot lids to signify empty pots & hunger. They are the public voice demanding freedom, justice, work, & peace.
An arpillera, a patchwork artwork made predominantly by groups of women, which became popular in Chile during the Dictatorship of Pinochet (1973-1990). This particular arpillera is titled 'Work, Justice and Freedom', and it is anonymous. It's part of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Chilean Woman (MEMCh). The movement was founded in 1935 and is a global non-partisan network that amplifies the voices of women. Throughout its history, MEMCh has pushed for suffrage, equal education, and reproductive rights and has opposed fascism. MEMCh was dissolved in 1953 but reemerged thirty years later with the purpose of restoring democracy to Chile. The arpillera shows a rural scene, with mountains and a yellow sun in the distance against a brown landscape with a black road running through it. There are brightly coloured houses and trees lining the road, laong which women walk. The women carry signs reading 'justice' and 'liberation', as well as pot lids.
October 10, 2025 at 8:17 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Is this a kitten? Or a squirrel?
A curled up ginger tabby kitten enveloped by a fluffy pink cat bed, which is on a bed with a checked purple and white duvet. His large, long, bushy tail hangs over the side of the cat bed, making him look squirrel-like.
October 3, 2025 at 6:43 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Today's art: The 1912 watercolour painting 'White-Bear King Valemon', by Theodor Kittelsen. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-B...
Watercolour painting of a white (polar?) bear ambles through a thick forest. The trees are dark green (almost black) pines, with a mossy undergrowth and a heavy, grey sky. The white bear stands out in the centre of the image, in stark contrast to the forest. A young woman holding a golden wreath sits on his back. She has a small crown on her head and is wearing a long, low-cut, long-sleeved, pale red dress. Her hair is straight, blonde and reaches well beyond her waist. Her eyes are closed and she looks peaceful.
October 2, 2025 at 2:51 PM
phillyhart4.bsky.social
Hope this helps!
Two ginger tabbies, one lying across the other perpendicularly. The kitten, on the bottom, is stretching. They’re on a bed covered with a white and green blanket with a checked pattern. There are two cat toys nearby.
October 2, 2025 at 1:19 PM