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Dr. Torie Burmeister

@mercurywitch.bsky.social
964 followers 809 following 385 posts

VAP in Classical Studies at Wesleyan. PhD on witches/space in Latin lit (BU). “If I had to describe Torie’s interests in one word: Dark.” - my advisor have written here: mercurywitch.wordpress.com She/her

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Reposted by Dr. Torie Burmeister
Chris Polansky @chrispolansky.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Dogs can do public radio too
A black and white mixed breed dog at the mic in a radio studio
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Chris Polansky @chrispolansky.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
A black and white mixed breed dog lit up by the beam of a headlamp
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Matt Gabriele @profgabriele.com · 21/07/2026
just got an email from my (former) chair that the university has acted & the state has approved the formal closure of my department. this was done without any faculty input on the decision or the process, & has ended a vibrant, growing (!), humanities department that won teaching and research awards
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
hey #classicsbluesky I am in this! If you don’t have access to the volume—which includes many great pieces besides my own—consider asking your library to add Arion to its collection! It’s such a cool journal for more experimental forms of scholarship. You can also DM me for more info on my piece.
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nick @myddling.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
This framed photo just fell and the glass broke. @pftompkins.bsky.social should avoid any zoos with hippo habitats.
Frame with broken glass housing photo of a child on a hippos back (under adult supervision) with caption “Baby Body Muldoon!” and signed by Paul F. Tompkins.
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
the golden ratio really is everywhere in nature. beautiful
a scruffy black and white dog is leaning over so her head is on the couch, her eyelid pulled into a slit showing an exaggerated view of the white of her eye. her front paws are stretched out so the curve of her head to her paws makes a sort of spiral shape, like the golden ratio. her back paws are splayed akimbo.
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Sarah E. Bond @sarahebond.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
From the night of July 18 to the morning of July 19, 64 CE, Nero’s fire began in Rome. It killed and displaced thousands. I wrote about it for Forbes a few years back, along with a timeline of the events (and myths). 🔥 Fire was and continues to be a devastating event for ancient and modern cities.
forbes.com
July 18, 64: The Great Fire Of Nero And The Ancient History Of Firefighting
On the night of July 18 in the year 64 CE, a fire began within the city of Rome that would rage for over a week. The threat of fire was a regular and real one in the ancient city, but the use of fire ...
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Chad Loder @chadloder.dev · 19/07/2026
Oh my god
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Dr Vanessa @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
"don't cite what you haven't read" remains the basic entry level academic responsibility; & if your discpline "doesn't have that as a norm" then sorry, your discipline needs reforming for this new world. Citations are structural parts of trust and knowledge building, not trinkets or optional extras
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
i’m all out of bubblegum
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
fwiw i thought Nolan’s /Odyssey/ was a banger and i’m happy to talk about the stuff i had a gripe with off main but i want you to see it i think you should see it everyone go see it
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Ben Rosen @benrosen.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
odyssey this, odyssey that. some of you fellas odda see a dang therapist
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The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) @themerl.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
thanks to whoever left this awesome giant sheep outside the museum! we're sure nothing bad is going to happen
A giant sheep standing outside the entrance of The Museum of English Rural Life
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Saturn devouring his son by Peter Paul Rubens / photo of TV screen from @chrispolansky.bsky.social of world cup (ARG v. SUI) @artbutmakeitsports.bsky.social
a painting of an old man, naked but wrapped in a black robe, holding a scythe. We are to understand the he is the god saturn. he is sitting on a cloud. he is bent over a screaming baby, apparently devouring it, apparently his child.the score is ARG 1 - SUI 0. a man with grey hair leans over aggressively planting a kiss on a child’s cheek, ostensibly his son. The child is making an expression that is ambiguous, either ecstatic or horrified.
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
a black and white dog sitting on grass wears a homemade neon green birthday cone hat that says “birthday girl!”a black and white dog sits on grass in front of a burger on a plate adorned with the number two made of american cheesea black and white dog lying on the grass eating a cheeseburger that used to have a “2” made of cheese which is half visible a black and white dog wearing a homemade neon green cone style birthday hat that says “birthday girl!”. she is eating a burger
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
hey #classicsbluesky / #antiquitystudies folks, I am wondering if something like a discord (or w/e) exists for undergraduate summer opportunities AND summer/small project funding opportunities that is not institutional-specific. If there is, i want to be able to share it! If not maybe i’ll make it!
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
it’s awesome that organizations like SCS & CANE & CAMWS etc. have big lists of things for undergrads like this, but they’re hard to navigate & it is very time-consuming to sift through everything (as I have learned from experience). So if there’s a better tool out there, I want to get the word out
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
a lot of links were also broken, or led to pages that haven’t been updated, or didn’t make it clear that certain things depended on memberships etc., so even a comprehensive spreadsheet would be an amazing start
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
I found it really hard to find & compile summer opps for students, and even harder to find grants that aren’t hyper-specific and could actually float some of the programs available for students who need full funding. Not every institution can provide that! most can’t!
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
hey #classicsbluesky / #antiquitystudies folks, I am wondering if something like a discord (or w/e) exists for undergraduate summer opportunities AND summer/small project funding opportunities that is not institutional-specific. If there is, i want to be able to share it! If not maybe i’ll make it!
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Kashana @kashana.blacksky.app · 20/05/2026
Knicks turbo mode is great. They’ll be dead, and then Spike Lee coughs on them, and then Jalen Brunson starts rehanging the sun in the sky
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David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
If someone put Nico in one of these boxes I might … well, I might be denied bail after. The idea makes me hurt. If you live in NY, you better call your representatives, or I don’t even know you. www.npr.org/2026/05/14/n...
npr.org
Native kids with disabilities were held in wooden boxes. Sweeping reforms are coming
State officials in New York say the Salmon River district's special education program confined young children with disabilities in wooden boxes. Parents weren't notified.
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Paul F. Tompkins @pftompkins.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
youtu.be/HKDo-aX4XuI?...
youtu.be
The American National Anthem (smoke weed everyday)
YouTube video by Baked Goods
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
if you want to write a good poem you have to make peace with the idea of writing a bad poem and you also have to accept that editing your good poem will make it a better poem and you also need to step away from the poem for a minute and then an hour and then a day and then a long long long time
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nick @myddling.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
for the love of god won’t someone help her find her toy??
Black and white mixed breed dog looking panicked as her red ball toy sits atop her scruffy lil head
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the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
you know what the real data center is. the human mind. thank you,
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nick @myddling.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
On the one hand: Really cool to have married someone who sings stuff like The Smiths when doing stuff around the house. On the other hand: Hearing your partner loudly go “I am human and I need to be loved-“ from across the house makes me wonder if we’re okay.
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
excellent night to be a knicks fan on the internet
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
please send me your recs for podcasts that are just like within the wires i need to listen to within the wires but i want it to be new within the wires that i haven’t heard yet and that does not exist
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
youtu.be/pZNU5rygxG8?...
youtu.be
"Smoking is very bad for you ok"
YouTube video by Kurt Anderson
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
please send me your recs for podcasts that are just like within the wires i need to listen to within the wires but i want it to be new within the wires that i haven’t heard yet and that does not exist
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
excited to announce that the album of the summer is MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION by ANIMAL COLLECTIVE. Congratulations, ANIMAL COLLECTIVE.
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Joseph Rezek @rezekjoe.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Good morning from Boston University. Pride flags EVERYWHERE
Pride flag in the windowPride flag in a window
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nick @myddling.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
I have been attending Solid Sound since 2013, finally getting there after it was announced in 2010 at my first @wilcohq.bsky.social show. It remains an opportunity to see favorite bands and comedians, but has become more about reaffirming the importance of community and creativity in my own life.
Closeup photo of mix cds with drawings on covers.
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
had a really lovely time assembling this mosaic for #solidsoundfest with my partner and our friends Sam, Rosemary, and @benstas.bsky.social . what @wilcohq.bsky.social does every other year is really special, and being part of a love-fueled project devoted to the fest fills me with warm joy.
a mosaic of CD sleeves individually drawn which assembled reads “SOLID SOUND” against a checkered background socked feet wearing wilco socks stand by the left side of a mosaic of CD sleeves individually drawn which assembled reads “SOLID SOUND” against a checkered backgrounda mosaic of CD sleeves individually drawn which assembled reads “SOLID SOUND” against a checkered background from an anglea mosaic of CD sleeves individually drawn which assembled reads “SOLID SOUND” against a checkered background from a low angle. the creator squats in the background evaluating their work.
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Soup is not sure she approves of the violent content of BTVS and has taken it upon herself to stop me from watching
a medium black and white mutt sits on a footstool partially blocking the tv in the background. The TV shows Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers on the left hand side of the screen.
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ceej @ceej.online · 03/03/2026
I am not looking for a politician to explain why blowing up 100 little girls is good
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Bart Harley Jarvis @williamzabka424.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Now would be a good time for anyone who wants to learn about recent Iranian history to read this. It is well worth your time and money (I am sure your local library has it if you don’t want to purchase it).
The cover of The Complete Persepolis by Marianne Satrapi.
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
🫡
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
what’s up everybody i’m just checking in to say once again that the Iliad fucking rules. great poem. alright see ya later
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
sneaking off to legion of honor but the panels this year have all been excellent
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
i’m gonna be there in san francisco for #aiascs & folks, i’d like to know: what are we eating? what joints demand a visit?
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
i’m gonna be there in san francisco for #aiascs & folks, i’d like to know: what are we eating? what joints demand a visit?
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Benjamin Dreyer @bcdreyer.social · 24/12/2025
This is an almost shockingly wise essay. I'm glad I've finally read it.
open.substack.com
There Is No Mary Problem in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
George’s vision of his wife without him is essential to the film, but critics continue to miss its true—and profound—meaning.
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
it’saBruinsFordBroncoHorsePowerPlay™️
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
i’ll say it, i’m cautiously optimistic about Nolan’s Odyssey
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Erin Grievances @erinbartram.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.
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Dr. Torie Burmeister @mercurywitch.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
i fell off on this in a big way due to finals, but i do plan to catch up when my giant pile of grading is behind me
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nick @myddling.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Listen up! Soup the Dog really wants you to stick the landing on this year and donate to your local public media station. For her, that’s: - @ctpublic.bsky.social - @wgbh.org - @nepublicmedia.bsky.social Be as generous to them as they are to us!
Black and white mixed breed dog holding wreath-shaped dog toy in mouth such that it obscures her face.
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