Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 21hThis Inktober I am practicing my gothic calligraphy and drawing the most unhinged zodiac symbols I can find in medieval manuscripts. They will get weirder from here. 151
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 23/07/2026My hottest Odyssey take is that if you want to make an epic movie set in ancient Greece about regretting your war crimes, it should be the Thebaid 111
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 17/07/2026I was going to see the Odyssey movie so that I could form my own opinions for the Discourse, but then I saw that it’s 3 hours so nevermind. 010
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiElieNYC @elienyc.bsky.social · 30/06/2026See, people always want to make this just about "sports," but the real upshot here is that, 6-3, trans women can't make a claim under the Equal Protection Clause. And if they can't do that, it's hard to see how they have constitutional rights. 3539831424
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiBethany Brookshire @beebrookshire.bsky.social · 30/06/2026This. It's just a chance to be hateful to a small group of people who want to play sports, to deny people the chance to feel part of a team. 17024
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiDorit Reiss @doritreiss.bsky.social · 20/06/2026"The Food and Drug Administration's top vaccine advisory committee voted unanimously today to recommend Moderna's mRNA influenza vaccine, mFlusiva, for adults 50 and over. This was its first time reviewing a new vaccine application since 2023." www.npr.org/2026/06/18/n...npr.orgKey FDA committee unanimously recommends its first vaccine since 2023All nine members of the committee unanimously voted to recommend Moderna's new mRNA influenza vaccine for adults 50 and over. 0299
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 12/06/2026Friendly reminder that a person’s performance in a workout says nothing about whether they are fit to serve in political office! Even if Pete were the world’s best weightlifter he would still suck as a person. 120
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 11/06/2026Skimmed a webpage or two about whipcording, made bobbins out of popsicle sticks, and after a long session of trial and error ended up with three lovely cords. 020
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 06/06/2026Some of us even remember being taught to “write for the web” circa 2000 with boldface for important text, lots of bulleted lists, etc. It was understood as best practice for (human) writers and needed to be intentionally cultivated! 021
Reposted by Beth Skwareckisamuel mehr @mehr.nz · 04/06/2026in case anybody is wondering how author advocates are handling AI in trade publishing, this is language my agency fought for and won 14016
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiBoston Tom Levenson @tomlevenson.bsky.social · 02/06/2026This. A thousand times this. Libraries do not reduce a book’s sales. They increase its readership. If you want a book your library doesn’t have, ask! If you want others to be able to get their hands on a books you already love, ask! [Speaking as a writer with a new book coming next Tuesday…] 03911
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 01/06/2026Decided I want to sew a dress and wear it to the renaissance faire this fall. Haven’t made anything for myself yet but found a cheap fleece blanket while thrifting and made a hood/cape out of it for my husband 130
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 25/05/2026My emergency hot takes - Oreos are mid. - Knitters these days are too focused on patterns. Do some math and make stuff from scratch, you cowards! - Pineapple on pizza is good but Hawaiian is a waste of ham. Try it with sausage and peppers instead. 020
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 24/05/2026Red delicious are good anywhere if you get them fresh! My grandfather planted some trees decades ago and they make good snacking apples. 010
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 22/05/2026Had a brain fart knitting, and picked up stitches on this sock’s heel flap before turning the heel. Googled whether you can do it in that order. AI overview told me I had it backwards (i know dummy, that’s why I’m asking) and results are just heel turning 101 So fuck it. We’re gonna find out! 100
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiBen Welsh @palewi.re · 16/05/2026ABC killed fivethirtyeight.com, pulling down thousands of stories and dashboards. I can bring them back, but I can offer you fivethirtyeightindex.com, my new index of everything captured by archive.org. 6384125
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiBex is WEAK on crime @bextraordinary.bsky.social · 18/05/2026Doesn't feel too out there to say that every hour of work "saved" by AI just becomes someone else's hour of work. 15788333
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 15/05/2026@iwriteok.bsky.social you are working on an Anthony Comstock episode, right? (Please??) 000
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiInternet Archive @archive.org · 15/05/2026Web history disappears when it can’t be preserved. Today, many publishers are blocking the Wayback Machine from archiving parts of the public web, putting decades of digital history at risk. Tell publishers: don’t block the #WaybackMachine. Sign the petition ➡️ www.savethearchive.com/newsleaders/savethearchive.comTell New York Times, The Atlantic, and USA Today to keep the crucial work of journalists in the Wayback Machine!The news isn’t getting preserved in the Wayback Machine anymore because major media outlets are blocking it. 112236
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 11/05/2026My kid is obsessed with the very true fact that car names get funnier if you make them start with B. Our favorites so far (you need to say them out loud): 1. Bamborghini 2. Bubaru 3. Beep 040
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 11/05/2026I knew the ratio of wages to tuition was a lot more workable in the past, but I didn’t realize just HOW drastic the change has been. You could put yourself through school on a minimum wage job in 1970 (full time in the summer, part time during the school year) with no debt. 051
Reposted by Beth Skwareckiumbran.bsky.social @umbran.bsky.social · 06/05/2026The notion that there is a separation between "canon" and "fanfic" is an artifact of the business of literature and media. It doesn't reflect how humans typically interact with stories. 031
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 06/05/2026It’s not history AND it’s not some original pure literary tradition that others later corrupted. It’s fanfic all the way down. 173
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiInternet Archive @archive.org · 04/05/2026Love the Wayback Machine? ❤️ Here’s your chance to stand up for it 📣 When news can't be archived, we all lose part of the public record 🕳️ Tell major publishers: keep journalism in the #WaybackMachine. ✍️ Sign here: www.savethearchive.com/NewsLeaders Campaign is a project of @fightforthefuture.org 5681430
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 04/05/2026Hated this yarn, made up the pattern as I went along, regretted every decision I made when working on it, can’t even see the cool raised texture in most lighting. Kid loves em though. #knitsky 0121
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiPeggy Flanagan @peggyflanagan.bsky.social · 30/04/2026I think letting SNAP recipients have hot rotisserie chicken is good, actually. 1852659437
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiTransplant Rockstar @transplantrockstar.bsky.social · 23/04/2026Our school was a coed independent school with an amazing swim program. In the early years, the 7-8th grade team was coed too, since there were few girls’ teams in the area. Many all-boys schools refused to swim us… and one didnt recognize a pool record one of our girls swam in their pool… 152
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 23/04/2026There are many reasons why women’s divisions/teams were created, but this is absolutely one of the reasons. Heck it’s 2026 and an org I’m part of has a group of men trying to walk back our combined men’s/women’s rankings. One of them is a guy who is mad about losing to me, personally. 191
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiMoira Donegan @moiradonegan.bsky.social · 21/04/2026I wrote about the Olympics’ ban on trans women competing, and the stakes of the new women’s sex-testing regime for female athletes, trans and cis alike. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...theguardian.comThe Olympics’ trans policy polices womanhood | Moira DoneganSports bans have humiliated trans women and girls across America. Now, the Olympics joins in 1722772
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiAlan Henry @halophoenix.bsky.social · 21/04/2026putting my old bargaining hat on to say that if you're in a unionized newsroom, this absolutely does NOT fall under status quo and should be prone to bargaining. if you're a freelance journalist, make sure your contract reserves the right to pull your byline. They'll fight, but you have the right. 06120
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiMicah @rincewind.run · 21/04/2026surely no army in military history has ever been laid low by disease, a famously uncommon problem among people living in enforced close quarters 654867830
Reposted by Beth Skwareckipublic health guy @publichealthguy1.bsky.social · 21/04/2026George Washington wrote this letter to Lt. Col. David Grier on March 12, 1777. In it, Washington instructs Grier to send new soldiers to Philadelphia so they could be inoculated for smallpox... just before this letter was written, Washington created a mandated system of inoculating his soldiers." 7362121
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiJacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 21/04/2026Is someone going to tell him that the flu killed more US troops in WWI than any battle did (and that war had chemical weapons so horrific that they were banned afterwards)? 621036274
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 19/04/2026While we’re on the subject of phenomenal issues of old recordings: First read this 12yo Reddit comment/essay on how we ended up with a recording of one of the last castrato singers: www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori... Then…reddit.comcaffarelli's comment on "Tuesday Trivia | And We’re Rolling: Primary Source Audio and Video"Explore this conversation and more from the AskHistorians community 100
Reposted by Beth Skwareckirahaeli @rahaeli.bsky.social · 18/04/2026Holy SHIT someone found the test pressing of Robert Johnson's Cross Road Blues and it is clear as a PIN www.openculture.com/2026/04/reco...openculture.comA Newly Discovered Recording Lets You Hear Delta Blues Legend Robert Johnson in Stunning ClarityGreat swathes of rock music since the nineteen-sixties would never have existed, we're sometimes told, were it not for the recordings of Robert Johnson. Certainly the likes of Keith Richards, Eric Cla... 2241691304
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 18/04/2026The DVD my husband bought for $5, 15 years ago (when I made fun of him for it) is still ours and requires no subscription fee. 0103
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiVictoria Strauss @victoriastrauss.com · 18/04/2026New on the Anthropic settlement from the @authorsguild.org : over 91% (!!) of eligible books were claimed as of the claims deadline (I would not have predicted such a high number!) Looks like the payout will be close to the $3000 originally estimated authorsguild.org/news/anthrop...authorsguild.orgAnthropic Settlement Update: 91.3 Percent of Books Claimed in Settlement - The Authors GuildYesterday, class counsel in the Bartz v. Anthropic lawsuit filed papers apprising the court that 440,490 of the 482,460 eligible works had been claimed—a remarkable 91.3 percent rate (the typical clas... 6339162
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 18/04/2026Not only do I know what TADC is, I have tickets. I have caught the brainrot from my children. As we were buying the tickets i was joking around and suggested there might be something between Pomni and Jax and my daughter yelled “Funnybunny! It’s a ship! Look it up!!” 020
Beth Skwarecki @bethskw.bsky.social · 16/04/2026Therazinosaurus didn’t even make the list?!?! (And if we’re accepting non dinosaurs where is Dimetrodon?) 010
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiPittsburgh's Public Source @publicsource.org · 14/04/2026The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, previously slated to close on May 3, has been acquired by Baltimore-based Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism and will continue operations. They are investing $30 million over five years. The sale will involve staff cuts. buff.ly/qY3Kuo6 0132
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiSciAm Union @sciamunion.bsky.social · 13/04/2026Hello, Bluesky! We, the staff of Scientific American, are pleased to announce we have formed a union with @wgaeast.bsky.social. Just as mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell, we are the powerhouse of the publication, and we’re excited to have a new way to contribute to its success. 291527312
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiSchooley @schooley.bsky.social · 13/04/2026"He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send him Matthew 5:9. That's the Chicago Pope way." 643337561
Reposted by Beth SkwareckiJohn Scalzi @scalzi.com · 11/04/2026I missed this from @phineas.bsky.social when it originally came out but it sure feels relevant at the moment. Also, you can buy this as a print from the artist here: www.inprnt.com/gallery/phin... 3248151939
