🕸️Meg Conley
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pocketobservatory.org
🕸️Meg Conley
@pocketobservatory.org
3.3K followers 930 following 1.7K posts
✍️I write Pocket Observatory and create Pocket Observation, an attention reclamation project.
🗞️My work also appears in places like Harper’s Bazaar, The Guardian, Slate, BBC and NPR.

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You can also listen to the piece right on my site! And yes, it's about a post mastectomy crash out? But there are also some funny parts! www.pocketobservatory.org/its-babys-fi...
Screenshot of my newsletter site, which is linked!
November 5, 2025 at 10:17 PM
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This piece about my breast cancer diagnosis was published this morning right before I went in for a bilateral mastectomy.

Sharing it now from my post-op bed. (Everything hurts. I’ve decided to treat the pain as proof of life.)

www.pocketobservatory.org/i-have-breas...
So Come On, I Can Take it, Give Me Everything You've Got This morning, I go in for a bilateral mastectomy. A doctor will remove all my breast tissue. She will cut away both my nipples and lymph nodes connected to my left breast. Another doctor will line my breast skin with a matrix woven of cadaver skin, she will sew in tissue expanders. I think of them working over me, cutting and stitching, and I thank god for women’s work. Six weeks later, I’ll start an AC-T chemotherapy regimen, a dose of chemotherapy every two weeks for twenty weeks.
October 29, 2025 at 11:54 PM
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Pepe meme / Accused Charlie Kirk shooter dressed as Pepe meme
Pepe the frog, depressed, in adidas suit. A far-right meme Facebook post by mom of accused Charlie Kirk shooter. Contains photo of shooter dressed as a Pepe meme for Halloween. Caption reads, “…since these weirdos ditched me! Tyler is some guy from a meme, Austin is the crazy end of the world homeless guy, and Logan is a fancy skeleton. #mykidsareweird #happyhalloween #boymom”
September 12, 2025 at 3:44 PM
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“You know, they’ll do anything they can to find something. If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say this was a crime. See? So now I can’t claim 100 percent but we are.” 19thnews.org/2025/09/trum... via @19thnews.org
President Donald Trump on Monday downplayed the severity of domestic violence crimes, saying that were it not for “things that take place in the home they call crime,” the administration’s deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., would have resulted in a bigger statistical reduction in crime. “They said, ‘Crime’s down 87 percent.’ I said, no, no, no — it’s more than 87 percent, virtually nothing. And much lesser things, things that take place in the home they call crime. You know, they’ll do anything they can to find something. If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say this was a crime. See? So now I can’t claim 100 percent but we are. We are a safe city,” Trump said.
September 8, 2025 at 6:16 PM
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Hey @radiofreetom.bsky.social 👋
I agree “Patriarchy” is a construct we should totally toss! But it’s slightly older than you seem to think! And it’s currently the organizing principle of the GOP. Let’s destroy patriarchy so that we can like totally stop talking about it! You’re right, it’s yucky!
patriarchy(n.) 1560s, "ecclesiastical province under a patriarch; church government by patriarchs," from Latinized form of Greek patriarkhia, from patriarkhēs "male chief or head of a family" (see patriarch). Meaning "system of society or government by fathers or elder males of the community" is recorded from 1630s.
August 24, 2025 at 3:41 PM
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Husband just gave me a Switch 2 for our 19th anniversary and gosh damn. Despite all my misgivings about the value of being known by ~anyone…I gotta admit, it’s nice to be known by ~someone. 🎶 Gaming consoles are a girl’s best friend 🎶
Marilyn Monroe performing “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.” She’s wearing a luscious magenta dress and lots of diamonds. She’s surrounded by leering men on a red stage.
July 25, 2025 at 1:14 AM
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Trump reposting “Fordow is gone” feels like the run up to this moment in Independence Day. Total destruction declared before the dust clears. And then, “The target remains. I repeat. The target remains.” (Except in this version, the US is the horde of parasites AND the bomb droppers. Not good!)
A scene from the movie Independence Day. The US nuked the invading aliens, declared the bombing a success, then realized it hadn’t touched the spaceship.
June 22, 2025 at 12:56 AM
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Why did I only get two?!?
1.5 chivichangas from SonoraTown on a green plate with sliced radishes and a grilled green onion
June 9, 2025 at 1:43 AM
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Waiting for her surgery in 2018.
18 month old baby in a hospital gown plays with toys in a doctor’s office
June 5, 2025 at 1:26 PM
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I’m obsessed with American butter wrappers! Standard size is 8 tablespoons. Such helpful little bits of wax paper with their little measurements. Impeccable unfussy design. I keep meaning to get a painting of them. Something like this www.etsy.com/listing/1573...
A painting of a butter stick showing measure labels.
May 24, 2025 at 11:19 AM
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Digital ephemera created with 1888 trade card from the “Birds of America” series, a quote from a 16th century emblem, "'In simulchram Spei" (The picture of Hope), and a hand drawn font from Beth Mathews. Get the free download and read my latest Pocket Note. www.pocketobservatory.org/hope-is-not-...
digital ephemera was created with a trade card from the “Birds of America” series (N4), issued in 1888, a quote from a 16th century emblem, "In simulchram Spei" (The picture of hope), and a hand drawn font from Beth Mathews. It features a card with a picture of a crow on a tree. And a vintage label that says, "A Crow, The faithful prophet. When it cannot say, 'all's well,' It says, 'All shall be well."
May 17, 2025 at 6:13 PM
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Please tell me you get the "not a classic anecdote" reference! That line from Notting Hill echoes in my head every time I tell a story like this. By the end, I always hear Hugh Grant's voice in my head, "It's not a classic anecdote, is it?" www.instagram.com/reel/DJrfw3J...
May 15, 2025 at 4:23 PM
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Such a breach of fair dealing from Newton and then Roose! Anne Leckie was right AND she wasn’t talking to Newton. He decided to post ~about her with a screenshot. ~He was wrong. His replies are full of people - who use AI - explaining why he’s wrong. And yet!

bsky.app/profile/pock...
A screenshot of the thread linked in this post
May 3, 2025 at 4:51 AM
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Me, to the lemon balm smothering my little garden
An image of the demi Lovato "Get a job" "Stay away from her" meme. here is an explanation of the meme courtesy of Know Your Meme, "On or around April 8th, 2016, Demi Lovato posted and deleted a series of comments on one of Instagram user StalkerSarah's posts. StalkerSarah is known for posting photos with celebrities and has posted photos with Lovato several times. It is unclear which post Lovato commented on, although it may have been a photo of StalkerSarah with Lovato's sister, Madison de La Garza, who Sarah was reportedly seen with around the time. The most notable comments left on the post read, "GET A JOB" and "STAY AWAY FROM HER"
May 1, 2025 at 6:35 PM
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some toggle headings in my notes on Veblen lol. I always go through and clean up my toggle titles after I've finished my notes. but also??? maybe these will do this time
Image of three toggle headings. One reads "I HATE YOU VEBLEN." Another reads, "EAT GLASS VEBLEN. Much of the "waste" you decry also gives us TIME. TIME TO BE WITH THOSE WE LOVE. TIME TO CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER." And the third reads, "VEBLEN YOU FASCIST. This is how the wealthy STILL judge consumer choices made by people with lower-incomes. My god."
April 28, 2025 at 5:22 PM
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You better believe I ~immediately~ sent my brother-in-laws a screenshot of @sethpartnow.bsky.social sharing my work. They think I am very cool now. It only took 18 years.
A screenshot of Seth Partnow’s Bluesky account reposting the essay this post is quoting (phew!)
April 26, 2025 at 1:18 AM
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Kent Monkman's 'History is Painted by the Victors' is at the Denver Art Museum through August 17, 2025. It's included in general admission - which is very reasonable - and kids 18 and under are always free.

www.denverartmuseum.org/en/exhibitio...
An image of the Denver Art Museum thumbnail for the History is Painted by the Victors exhibit.
April 22, 2025 at 4:20 PM
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www.pocketobservatory.org/i-went-to-an...
I know that sounds scary. But your kid will be all right. The thing is, many children do not go to an art exhibit to learn about family separation and other kinds of state violence. They learn about state violence through their own life experiences. Asking your child to look at a few paintings is not asking too much of them or yourself. Anyway, I am not here to tell you what to do one way or another. But I think you should go in. So I guess I am here to tell you what to do. The woman who took our tickets was more succinct. After her pause she just said, “...not everyone notices the sign.”
April 22, 2025 at 4:20 PM
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www.pocketobservatory.org/i-went-to-an...
Can I ask you to consider that there are other possible realities? And that art can help us consider them? And once we consider them we can construct them? Here is just one example: Kent Monkman paints historical interventions like The Deluge, a piece where children who were once swept away by church and state atrocities are now rescued. When you sit in front of The Deluge, you’re witnessing a reality framed by the protection of Indigenous children. How can your child help construct that reality if they've never considered it? How can they consider it without art like this? Of course, this is very difficult to convey to a child. I know that. A child looking at a painting like The Deluge will want to know if the children were really rescued. And you’ll have to tell them that some were rescued, but many weren’t. You’ll have to explain that people died trying to rescue the children. You’ll have to tell your child about state violence. You’ll have to tell them that state violence is still used against Indigenous people, including children. You will have to help them see things as they are now.
April 22, 2025 at 4:20 PM
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www.pocketobservatory.org/i-went-to-an...
A woman standing at the door took our tickets. She looked down at my seven-year-old daughter. And then gestured to the words written across the glass doors to the exhibit, This exhibition contains depictions of violence and nudity. Parents and guardians may want to preview. "I just wanted you to be aware there are depictions of violence and nudity. I am not at all telling you not to take her in there. I just needed to make sure you knew because …” She paused. And here I knew I could never do her job. Because every time a family with a seven-year-old came into the line, instead of pausing I’d start talking a little too quickly, ...because I don’t know what your child can handle. But also no one asked Indigenous children if they could handle being abducted from their families. And whether your child sees this artwork or not, they are living in a reality framed by the attempted genocide of Indigenous Peoples of North America. You want to keep your child from seeing representations of the violence that built their world. Why? Is the answer worthy of you, of your child?
April 22, 2025 at 4:20 PM
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Monkman depicts the abhorrent nature of state violence. Meanwhile, the United States government targets children with propaganda that glorifies state violence. I link to this recent example shared by @paleofuture.bsky.social in the note. www.pocketobservatory.org/i-went-to-an...
A Bluesky post shared by @paleofuture.bsky.social. It's a photo of Trump baring his teeth while holding a card. He's surrounded by children. The caption description reads, "U.S. President Donald Trump holds a collectors card depicting the assassination attempt during the Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on April 21, 2025 in Washington, DC."
April 22, 2025 at 4:05 PM
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It mirrors the way Nazis insisted their people - especially the women they expected to use for breeding the “Aryan race” - approached food. Lots of purity tests and pseudoscience. But when you explain the history, they usually dig in. People have forgotten the relief of being wrong!
A regency (ish) era illustration of a woman looking over her shoulder. With the words, “Have you never known the relief and joy of being wrong? I pity you.” written above her head. The words are a play on a quote from Emma, “Have you never known the pleasure and triumph of a lucky guess? I pity you.”
April 14, 2025 at 1:32 AM
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We're like 3 weeks away from living in The Night Market episode from What We Do in the Shadows. "Sadly, we have no one form of currency between us all. So we have to rely on the old ways AKA the bartering system. Lots of people usually end up dead."
A still from the Night Market episode, with Nadja shrugging her shoulders in the night market.
April 11, 2025 at 6:03 PM
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The anti-tattoo hysteria coming from State Department and SCOTUS is obviously a cover story for rank racism. But it's also an insanely implausible cover story? Every basic bitch millennial has a tattoo! Including me! (Video of the process is v soothing btw www.instagram.com/reel/Cgz4Er5...)
A engraving inspired tattoo of a bean plant on a woman's inner arm
April 11, 2025 at 12:45 AM
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Saw this little guy on a Fiordland hike. It’s toxic. And invasive in the Southern Hemisphere. But it’s also very cute. And can induce synesthesia, if it doesn’t kill you. (Or maybe ~before it kills you?) So. It’s complicated. Anyways. Look at this little guy.
Amanita muscaria mushroom, red cap with white spots, growing on forest floor in front of a log.
April 4, 2025 at 3:32 PM