iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

It's been a while since I posted, so I finished some of these books some time ago. I enjoyed all of these and learned some more about Japanese food in the process #booksky💙📚

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

"For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried..." in the Declaration of Independence hits differently after you learn that at the time the local courts in America had the presumption of innocence but the courts in Britain did not.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

After doing my Italian lesson in Duo and learning the word "dopodomani" I am more convinced than ever that English needs to either bring back "overmorrow" or come up with an even better word for "the day after tomorrow."

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

There's a whole set of people on the other site who don't seem to understand how it's possible to love the country and yet not be interested in attending garish golden spectacles that will inevitably devolve into celebrations of Dear Leader.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

I'm in love with this series, and when I found out I could get several more as eBooks from the library, I quickly checked them out. I just finished "Before We Say Goodbye," and it had a memorable quote about how we sometimes say more with our eyes than with our lips. #booksky 📚💙

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Recently finished "The Personal Librarian" by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. This was a fictionalized biography of Belle Da Costa Greene, the librarian who oversaw J.P. Morgan's book and art collections, and it was very interesting to learn about her life. #booksky 📚💙

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

I've also been making my way through some Marie Benedict, and I finished "Lady Clementine" last week. I'm currently working on "The Personal Librarian" in addition to my other books. #booksky 📚💙

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Recently finished "The Wedding People" and "The Academy," and enjoyed both. I'm looking forward to reading "The Thoroughbreds" when it comes out. #booksky 📚💙

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

So this sentence showed up on Duo: "You know I don't have that information." Like, are they just expecting me to get into arguments in Spanish that often?

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Just did something I never thought I'd ever do - mixed Spanish and Ukrainian in a simple sentence. I expected to occasionally mix Spanish and Italian because they are so similar, but I thought Ukrainian was different enough for this not to happen.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

It is never too late to learn a foreign language if you want to. The infamous "window" is actually for your first language; if you don't acquire any language (including sign language) during this time, you won't be able to fully acquire one afterwards.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

I usually don't post from the other site here, but this is one of the best examples I've ever seen of why parallelism matters in English. A better parallel construction would be "...the Spanish eat rabanadas on Easter and the Portuguese eat them on Christmas."

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Gluten-free Ukrainian Easter bread! This is my first time trying it and I'm not Ukrainian, but I have Ukrainian friends.

Two cylindrical Ukrainian Easter bread loaves topped with white icing and decorated with sprinkles. In the middle are the letters "XB," which stand for "Christ is risen."

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Just finished "An Ocean Apart." A solid and entertaining read, but a little outdated, given that it was published in 1988. #booksky📚💙

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Recently completed "Chasing New Horizons." I was hoping that the book would be mostly about what the probe found, but it was much more about the project itself, including politics and funding. It was well-written, though. #booksky 📚💙

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Today in 1867, the US purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire. There were so few republics back then that a Russian diarist writing about the subsequent transfer referred to the belongings of "the American Crown."

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Just now thinking of the Carnian Pluvial Event, and that there was something earlier in Earth's history that would have dwarfed it - the condensation of the oceans from all the water vapor in the air. Would have made the CPE look like a gentle spring shower.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Regardless of whether the British PM has been behaving "like Churchill," I think it's abundantly clear that the president hasn't been behaving like FDR. Or, for that matter, the previous Roosevelt to hold the office, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for helping to end the Russo-Japanese War.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Today in 1904, Theodore Geisel, better known to the world as Dr. Suess, was born. He wrote sixty books. And I will read them here, I will read them there, I will read them anywhere. Because I love to read, I do indeed.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Today in 1872, Yellowstone became the world's first national park.

"The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone," an oil painting by Thomas Moran currently on display at the US Capitol.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Today in history, the British gave the Zimmerman telegram to Wilson, which helped push the US into WWI. Geography meant the British had especially easy access to it. The shortest route for a transatlantic cable is between Ireland and Newfoundland, both of which were in the British Empire back then.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

"History is often a matter of what what people [think] to be true rather than what the facts [convey]." - David H. Burton, "British-American Diplomacy 1895-1917."

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

Recently started reading "From Colony to Superpower" by George Herring, and I must say that I don't think most Americans realize the amount of European meddling in US politics in the 1790s - including bribing congressmen and threatening war if Jefferson wasn't elected. #booksky

Cover of the book "From Colony to Superpower: US Foreign Relations Since 1776." The top half shows a painting of three founding fathers; the bottom half shows a photograph of Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin at Yalta.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

Sunset in Riverside, California. I took this the evening of 10/31/2020. #BlueSkyArtShow

Two rows of palm trees lining a pedestrian path on the UC Riverside campus are silhouetted against the sunset.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

Recently finished "President McKinley: Architect of the American Century." For a different perspective on McKinley's willingness to go to war with Spain, see "The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898" by Evan Thomas. #booksky

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Today in history, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in 1848, ending the Mexican-American War. Mexico ceded 55% of its territory to the US in exchange for $15 million; below is the map that was used during the negotiations.

A Spanish-language map showing the borders of Mexico shortly before the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

While reviewing my past reading, I came across a quote I had jotted down describing America as a nation "...always deliriously teetering on the brink of self-awareness. Or self-annihilation," and thought it was interesting enough to share here. It's from "American Eve" by Paula Uruburu. #booksky

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

NATO has done far more for the US than this lunatic ever has or ever will. So has Denmark. This shouldn't be allowed to go any further.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Recently began "President McKinley: Architect of the American Century" by Robert W. Merry. #booksky

The cover of "President McKinley: Architect of the American Century." It shows McKinley's face.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Recently finished "Our Man in Charleston," which shed more light on Anglo-American relations during the US Civil War, and I would recommend it. If you're interested in this topic, I would also recommend "A World on Fire" by Amanda Foreman and "The Cousins' Wars" by Kevin Phillips. #booksky

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Today I learned that English not only says that "flammable" and "inflammable" are synonyms but also that "candescent" and "incandescent" are synonyms. I wonder if there are any more of these pairs.

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Reposted by Jennifer Parker

Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

We already have complete access to Greenland, including unfettered freedom of navigation into the Arctic. We have a military base. We have early warning radar systems in place that will integrate with the “dome.” And we have allies to help defend it. We don’t need Greenland.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Recently finished "A Magnificent Obsession" and found it very interesting. I'm currently working on "Our Man in Charleston: Britain's Secret Agent in the Civil War South" by Christopher Dickey. #booksky

Cover of the book "Our Man in Charleston" which shows the Confederate flag on one side and the British Union Jack on the other.

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Reposted by Jennifer Parker

Christina🌊🌊 @sassycc.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

JUST IN: The heads of the central banks in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, the Eurozone, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom have issued a rare statement of support for the Federal Reserve and Chair Jerome Powell!

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Just finished my second book of the year. So far, I have completed "The Making of Biblical Womanhood" by Beth Allison Barr and "Vicksburg" by Donold L. Miller. The next book I have planned is "A Magnificent Obsession" by Helen Rappaport. 📚💙 #booksky

The cover of the book "A Magnificent Obsession: Victoria, Albert, and the Death that Changed the British Monarchy." The cover is purple and has a picture of a castle and a brooch on it.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

Marmalade enjoys going out on his harness, unlike my previous cat.

An orange cat in a red harness is sitting on a low outdoor slate wall.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

It's true that the US has been interested in purchasing Greenland at least since the 1860s, when Secretary of State Seward - the same one who negotiated the Alaska purchase - wanted to buy Greenland and Iceland from Denmark. The US also expressed interest several times during the 20th century. (1/3)

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

We are coming up on the 109th anniversary of the ratification of the treaty to purchase the Danish West Indies. Seems like a good time to point out that one of the conditions of that agreement was the US making a declaration that it had no claims on Greenland. (1/3)

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

What's especially damning about the US stat is that around 75% of this number started out with health insurance and then ran into things like restrictions linked to pre-existing conditions and lifetime payment caps.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Starting off my 2026 reading by continuing with a book I started late last year, "Vicksburg: Grant's Campaign that Broke the Confederacy." 📚💙 #booksky

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

I traditionally read "Ring Out, Wild Bells" every New Year. It seems especially resonant now.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Happy New Year! My resolutions include getting to B1 in Spanish, A2 in Italian, and reading at least 25 books.

A silver tray with a cluster of grapes as well as twelve individual grapes and a bottle of champagne.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

The last book I finished during 2025 was an interesting discussion of how Christmas was celebrated during 1942 📚💙 or #booksky

Cover of a book titled "Darkest Christmas."

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

There is a long tradition of vagueness in recipes and even published cookbooks. This 1772 cookbook included instructions for boiling pigeons and what to serve them with. It mentions a "proper quantity" of bacon. In another place, it says to cook a sauce until it is "of a good thickness."

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

Recently finished two books: "The Horse, the Wheel, and Language," which started out interesting but then became a slog through every bit of relevant archaeology, and "Servants of the Damned," which I think should be required reading for law students. Working on "Darkest Christmas" now 📚💙 #booksky

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

I traditionally host a special dinner the day after Christmas. Every year, I make a Bavarian feast: smoked trout dip, sauerbraten, potato pancakes, red cabbage, and either Black Forest Cake or (as shown here) Bavarian cream cake.

A homemade Bavarian cream cake topped with a white Christmas tree.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

Concluding an abbreviated Operation Christmas Candy with penuche, magic bars, and my signature candied peanuts.

A foil-lined pan of scored penuche, a kind of blonde fudge.

A mass of candied peanuts cooling on waxed paper.

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Jennifer Parker @jlp2008.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Back when battleships were considered capital ships, Congress mandated that they be named for states. When submarines effectively joined that category, they also started being named for states. I prefer that tradition.

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