PurpleGuava
@purpleguava.bsky.social
Liker of history, decorative arts, cooking and puzzles
The Groups function is still handy. I don’t know if any of the other social media have a similar set-up. A group I was in tried migrating to Discord but it was too much friction.
November 28, 2025 at 3:12 PM
The Groups function is still handy. I don’t know if any of the other social media have a similar set-up. A group I was in tried migrating to Discord but it was too much friction.
Progressive policies already win in conservative areas on ballot measures (abortion rights in Missouri and Ohio). So far people's investment in their right-wing political identity has kept them from voting for the people who would legislate those policies but maybe that disconnect is breaking down?
November 5, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Progressive policies already win in conservative areas on ballot measures (abortion rights in Missouri and Ohio). So far people's investment in their right-wing political identity has kept them from voting for the people who would legislate those policies but maybe that disconnect is breaking down?
Night security guard for a museum.
September 19, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Night security guard for a museum.
What do you mean by cultural footprint? I can think of a number of neighborhoods that might be part of the answer, depending on what you have in mind.
August 13, 2025 at 6:02 PM
What do you mean by cultural footprint? I can think of a number of neighborhoods that might be part of the answer, depending on what you have in mind.
Own-voices primary sources are really powerful too, especially if you pick writing by people who are new discoveries for the reader.
August 13, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Own-voices primary sources are really powerful too, especially if you pick writing by people who are new discoveries for the reader.
Very different time period and text, of course, but it really opened my eyes to the power of hearing a text.
August 8, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Very different time period and text, of course, but it really opened my eyes to the power of hearing a text.
I will be interested to hear how students respond to the audiobooks. I assigned Iola Leroy by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, in which she wrote the dialogue of some characters in dialect. Those who read it as text tended to struggle and those who used audio had no trouble navigating it.
August 8, 2025 at 3:41 PM
I will be interested to hear how students respond to the audiobooks. I assigned Iola Leroy by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, in which she wrote the dialogue of some characters in dialect. Those who read it as text tended to struggle and those who used audio had no trouble navigating it.
Kids are capable. Texas would be holding a lot more little girls’ funerals if not for the teenage camp counselors who saved their campers’ lives when every adult in the vicinity failed them. I have a hard time believing these young women and their peers need to be tracked to Chipotle.
July 31, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Kids are capable. Texas would be holding a lot more little girls’ funerals if not for the teenage camp counselors who saved their campers’ lives when every adult in the vicinity failed them. I have a hard time believing these young women and their peers need to be tracked to Chipotle.
Movies/books about the Holocaust were common when I was growing up, into the 1990s, but are getting rarer nowadays as the survivors and witnesses pass away. What you learn from popular culture isn't 100% accurate but it would have been hard NOT to know something about it back then. Now not so much.
July 10, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Movies/books about the Holocaust were common when I was growing up, into the 1990s, but are getting rarer nowadays as the survivors and witnesses pass away. What you learn from popular culture isn't 100% accurate but it would have been hard NOT to know something about it back then. Now not so much.
I would use "the 1700s"--it's easier to understand, especially for novices or those who speak English as a second language.
June 10, 2025 at 8:47 PM
I would use "the 1700s"--it's easier to understand, especially for novices or those who speak English as a second language.
My brother-in-law took me because he had the most flexible schedule. The double takes of EVERY person we met during the check-in process were something else. Apparently brothers-in-law don't show up on colonoscopy duty very often.
May 21, 2025 at 5:05 PM
My brother-in-law took me because he had the most flexible schedule. The double takes of EVERY person we met during the check-in process were something else. Apparently brothers-in-law don't show up on colonoscopy duty very often.
When I got on Bluesky I needed people to follow to fill out my feed, and I knew from your blog that you were on here and that you followed other people with interesting things to say. It's worked out great!
May 14, 2025 at 8:03 PM
When I got on Bluesky I needed people to follow to fill out my feed, and I knew from your blog that you were on here and that you followed other people with interesting things to say. It's worked out great!
Lost Ladies of Lit is terrific; the main focus is women authors who have been forgotten but they do other topics in women’s history too. Also, Our Ancestors Were Messy—Normal Gossip vibes with a Black history focus.
May 12, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Lost Ladies of Lit is terrific; the main focus is women authors who have been forgotten but they do other topics in women’s history too. Also, Our Ancestors Were Messy—Normal Gossip vibes with a Black history focus.
I was wondering if Nash might actually be "Wash" as in "Wash Dec'd" (prepare the body for burial)
April 10, 2025 at 2:32 PM
I was wondering if Nash might actually be "Wash" as in "Wash Dec'd" (prepare the body for burial)
It reminds me of Vermont, where my family is from, when Sen. Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party in disgust over what the GOP was already becoming. National Republicans: we will take your seat in the next election. Vermonters: YOU CAN TRY. Result: Senator Bernie Sanders.
February 22, 2025 at 11:43 PM
It reminds me of Vermont, where my family is from, when Sen. Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party in disgust over what the GOP was already becoming. National Republicans: we will take your seat in the next election. Vermonters: YOU CAN TRY. Result: Senator Bernie Sanders.
You can also send it to their local offices, where a) it will arrive more quickly and b) it is less likely to get held up in Congressional mail processing/security screening
February 3, 2025 at 4:37 PM
You can also send it to their local offices, where a) it will arrive more quickly and b) it is less likely to get held up in Congressional mail processing/security screening
That's important work! It takes multiple encounters with new material for people to learn, especially if it involves undoing old learning, so every little bit helps.
January 23, 2025 at 7:35 PM
That's important work! It takes multiple encounters with new material for people to learn, especially if it involves undoing old learning, so every little bit helps.
Our history book group read "The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea" by Jack Davis and it went over very well. Beautifully written and a lot of interesting historical material that was new to us despite many group members having lived near the Gulf of Mexico their whole lives.
January 23, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Our history book group read "The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea" by Jack Davis and it went over very well. Beautifully written and a lot of interesting historical material that was new to us despite many group members having lived near the Gulf of Mexico their whole lives.
2/3 of our visitors choose our 60 minute option; 1/3 choose the 90 minute option.
January 9, 2025 at 3:16 AM
2/3 of our visitors choose our 60 minute option; 1/3 choose the 90 minute option.
I read it for the first time this fall. Delightful! How did I just find out about this book now?
January 9, 2025 at 3:08 AM
I read it for the first time this fall. Delightful! How did I just find out about this book now?
One of my mom’s cousins; and to this day my father talks about my grandmother’s terror every time he caught a sniffle as a small child. She was a nurse and knew exactly what polio could do.
December 13, 2024 at 6:08 PM
One of my mom’s cousins; and to this day my father talks about my grandmother’s terror every time he caught a sniffle as a small child. She was a nurse and knew exactly what polio could do.
I'm wary of AI use in college courses overall, but there might be something to this textbook aspect. I teach a class whose only practical textbook is 15 years old and out of print (and still not exactly what students need); the idea of being able to generate something tailor-made is intriguing.
December 10, 2024 at 6:18 PM
I'm wary of AI use in college courses overall, but there might be something to this textbook aspect. I teach a class whose only practical textbook is 15 years old and out of print (and still not exactly what students need); the idea of being able to generate something tailor-made is intriguing.
For Native authors of children’s books, this blog is excellent and the authors create a Best list annually. americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/p/best-books...
Best Books
Best Books by Native or Indigenous Writers
americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com
December 4, 2024 at 2:01 PM
For Native authors of children’s books, this blog is excellent and the authors create a Best list annually. americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/p/best-books...
The librarians know what’s up! The Coretta Scott King and Pura Belpré award lists focus on Black and Latine authors respectively—some are contemporary but there are a number of historical titles mixed in. For Asian authors, the APAAL awards www.apalaweb.org/awards/liter....
Literature Awards – APALA
www.apalaweb.org
December 4, 2024 at 1:59 PM
The librarians know what’s up! The Coretta Scott King and Pura Belpré award lists focus on Black and Latine authors respectively—some are contemporary but there are a number of historical titles mixed in. For Asian authors, the APAAL awards www.apalaweb.org/awards/liter....