Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jim Wald @citizenwald.bsky.social · 16h

Thanks!

Today's cultural and ethical norms demand the basic info, but I find it good (though time-consuming) to add more, which also avoids producing a string of posts.

In fact, it drives me up the wall when accounts w tens or hundreds of thousands of followers just post undocumented pics and shit

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Stephen Chambers @stevejchambers.bsky.social · 1d

First stop of the day. I do like this memorial and would love to assemble something similar in my garden. Anyone have a spare 6pdr or drop cannister? #Arnhem

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Jim Wald @citizenwald.bsky.social · 16h

By chance, I was yesterday reading the original 1960 edition of Maj. Gen. Stanisław Sosaboski's memoir, Freely I Served, about his career in the Polish army, experiences during #WWII, and of course, Arnhem.

Stephen Chambers @stevejchambers.bsky.social · 1d

First stop of the day. I do like this memorial and would love to assemble something similar in my garden. Anyone have a spare 6pdr or drop cannister? #Arnhem

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Jim Wald @citizenwald.bsky.social · 17h

In other news, I am pleased to say that, at our #bibliography + #beer gathering this evening, my co-conspirator (co-chair of the seminar in #book #history) was wearing a t-shirt with this great design.

Added to my wish list √

(bonus: 1 of 2 Classicists was able to join us)

black t-shirt (his was maroon) with an image of a little girl whose clothing bears the acronym SPQR, holding an umbrella and strewing salt as the walks

beneath

CARTHAGO DELENDA EST

The reference is of course to the habit of Cato the Elder, who ended every speech with a call for the destruction of Carthage

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthago_delenda_est

For non-Americans: the girl refers to the packing of Morton Salt, which shows a little girl with an umbrella strewing salt, and the motto, "When it rains, it pours," i.e. Morton salt will not cake in humid weather

https://www.mortonsalt.com/heritage-era/her-debut/

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Jim Wald @citizenwald.bsky.social · 17h

A relaxing end of the work day at Treehouse Brewery, Deerfield MA
(For pioneering the "hazy" New England IPA, they deserve eternal damnation but their other #beer redeems them)

Work + pleasure, actually: plans for bibliographic & bibliophilic projects in western Massachusetts

inside the taproom in former industrial (publishing) building

multistory atrium with balconies, plants, living walls, trees with lights; strands of lights overhead

a variety of tables for customers, bar at left rear, pizza counter off to right

lively atmosphere, family-friendly

an array of small round metal garden tables outside on the patio just outside the outer wall of the Taproom at right

large tree at left, strings of lights running from front to back

evening beginning to fall, the sky has turned a darker blue

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Jim Wald @citizenwald.bsky.social · 22h

Last night:

First, faculty gathering hosted by new head of Institute for #Holocaust, #Genocide, & Memory Studies @UMassAmherst @umassamherst.bsky.social

Then on to #Yiddish #Book Center for
Mikołaj Grynberg: #Jewish #Poland Today on Page and Screen

www.yiddishbookcente...

three men on light wood stage in armchairs (windows in the background), engaged in conversation

author Mikołaj Grynberg at center, wears a cap
translator Sean Gasper Bye sits at left

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Jim Wald @citizenwald.bsky.social · 22h

We have already seen dog and frog together, so now I offer you another charming local scene:

Cattle and birds together, or, as I prefer to call it:

Birds may safely graze.

All peacefully go about their common business of finding sustenance

If they can get along, why can't we?

roadside farm scene in Hadley, Massachusetts

a flock of birds recently flew overhead (sometimes these mass movements remind me of the Hitchcock film), but only a few alighted on the telephone wires.

Instead, most landed on this corner of farmland, picking their food out of the grass and/or soil as cows carefully graze among them

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American Association of Wine Economists AAWE @wineecon.bsky.social · 2d

"No more than a liter of wine a day" - In the early 1950s, when French wine consumption was 140+ liters/capita, France launched the campaign "Santé Sobriété" to limit alcohol consumption. In 1954, Philippe Foré became the chief designer. #WineHistory`

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Working Class History @workingclasshistory.com · 1d

#OtD 10 or 19 Oct 1609 pioneering English revolutionary Gerrard Winstanley was born. He was a farmworker and the primary theoretician of the Diggers, or True Levellers, during the English Civil War who took over enclosed lands and farmed them stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8239...

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Jim Wald @citizenwald.bsky.social · 3d

Faculty meeting in fact went v. well: we on Executive Committee run a tight ship, admins were concise and cogent. The way to do it.

I really appreciated @hampshirecolg president thanking physical plant for on their own creating autumn decorations. By chance I had just taken pics

courtyard entrance to Franklin Patterson Hall:

looking toward the base of a u-shaped modern, quasi-brutalist building
bands of bare concrete, windowed room running the length of the second floor; ground floor: entry doors visible
More red brick visible in the two side wings at right and left

large horizontal welcome banner of composite photos/images with Hampshire spelled out in rainbow colors hangs from the balcony of the second floor

some planters and plants conceal the autumn harvest decorations (see next photo for detail)

detail of the entrance decorations not visible in the previous photo:

corn shock with yellow and orange mums + pumpkin at its base

Hampshire College entrance sign:

long horizontal sign on rustic stone base:
Hampshire College in white sans-serif text

in white:
HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE
Bay Road Entrance

Hampshire in a kind of light script (think semi-opaque)

corn shock standing at left
on the stone base: a hay bale with a pumpkin on top, maroon mums
on the ground beneath: mums, 2 yellow 1 maroon

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Jim Wald @citizenwald.bsky.social · 2d

So, Hampshire College @hampshirecollege.bsky.social has a new president: Interim President Jennifer Chrisler becomes the 9th leader of the College

Jennifer Chrisler Selected to Lead Hampshire College’s Next Bold Chapter | Hampshire College

Jennifer Chrisler Selected to Lead Hampshire College’s Next Bold Chapter

An accomplished higher education administrator and leader, LGBTQIA+ advocate and non-profit executive, Chrisler’s 30+ year career has spanned the fields of private and public education, electoral politics, and national public policy advocacy. A longtime resident of western Massachusetts, Chrisler is a Smith College alumna and the mother of three sons. Chrisler assumes the presidency after serving as interim president for three months, continuing her duties without interruption.

www.hampshire.edu

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Dr Alison Ray @liber-ray.bsky.social · 2d

Hole-y Books! A fantastic @bodleian.ox.ac.uk lecture and workshop yesterday on early medieval Insular and Continental parchment by Jiří Vnouček for the ‘INSULAR: Insular manuscripts in the age of Charlemagne’ project! 📜🎉

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Richard Fallon @richardfallon.bsky.social · 2d

A literary Iguanodon at the Earth Sciences Library. Do any other libraries have dinosaurs or other antediluvian creatures carved into the furniture?

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Robin (she/he-ella/él) @merryrobin.bsky.social · 2d

Two Women with Guinea-hen, 1934 ❤️
bsky.app/profile/merr...

Robin (she/he-ella/él) @merryrobin.bsky.social · Oct 16

Margit Anna (1913–1991) was a Hungarian painter of abstract expressionism.
Her largest influences were her own identity as a woman, particularly after the loss of her husband & fellow painter Amos, victim of Holocaust.
Her art was considered subversive and barred from the art world until 1968.

A black and white photo of Margit Anna, a white woman in her 60s holding a cigarette nonchalantly, looking not into the camera but slightly to the side, maybe to the photographer. She is very stylish, wearing a striped top, and her short hair is styled in a bob with bangs. The background looks like a traditional café or building.

Margit Anna, Two Women with Guinea-hen, 1934
artwork featuring two women with serene expressions. One woman has a dotted shawl over her shoulders, and the other holds a guinea hen. She is a black fluffy bird with a pink beak. The style is painterly, with soft, gentle brushstrokes and muted colors. The figures are somewhat abstracted, and the painting evokes a calm, pastoral mood of intimacy between hen and women.

Black and white portrait of Margit Anna with her husband Imre Ámos c.1935. It looks like a professional portrait, but the couple has an interesting personality and style that make the picture look more interesting. They are young, looking off-camera with a nostalgic air. He has a shiny coat and a big patterned tie, and she has an elegant hat and dark jacketr.

"Margit Anna: Figure Shouting (1956)", the painting features a white, abstract human figure positioned against a vibrant blue sky with minimal clouds, and a solid red-orange floor, contrasting with the sky and the plain white of the figure. She appears to be in motion, with one leg lifted as if running or jumping and one arm extended upwards, while the other is near her face, like running away from something. The figure’s hair is a striking red, flowing in the wind, like it's on fire. She is screaming, and the overall vibe of the painting is of alarm or warning.

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History Daily - This Many Years Ago @thismanyyearsago.bsky.social · 2d

1257 years ago, on the 9th of October 768, Charlemagne and Carloman were crowned in separate ceremonies at different locations following the death of their father, Pepin the Short. They had separate palaces and spheres of influence yet were considered joined rulers of the Franks. #otd #history 🗃️

so-called Equestrian statuette of Charlemagne, 9th century, Louvre

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Jim Wald @citizenwald.bsky.social · 2d

To tie up this little thread about Jane Langton: Some decades ago she & other New England #authors helped a fundraiser for our #library (link alt text) by illustrating catalogue cards for their works. I bought this one, for a mystery involving music & Trinity Church, Boston
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catalogue card from Jones Library
https://www.joneslibrary.org/

at left,Langton has drawn an organ pipe, yellow outlined in black, with musical notes coming out of it

MYSTERY
Langton, Jane.
Divine inspiration : a Homer Kelly mystery / Jane Langton. == New York : Viking, 1993.
p. cm.

ISBN 0-670-84709-7
1. Kelly, Homer (Fictitious characterg)-Fiction. 2. Lawyers-- & Massachusetts--Fiction.
3. Detective and mystery stories.
I. Title. Vol ¥ & - Il _)M""L e

93-1693
AACR2 CIP
Library of Congress
005784 36-450-04 53Z57T ME BAKER & TAYLOR 3306

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Jim Wald @citizenwald.bsky.social · 2d

Oh, and the famous Emily Dickinson white dress?

The one in the Dickinson Museum is a perfect reproduction, but the original is in the collections of the Amherst History Museum: when it was donated in the 1930s, there was no Dickinson Museum (links to history in alt text)
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sketch of the simple, white long-sleeved dress, by Langton

the Dickinson bedroom after the latest restoration, viewed from the foot of the bed looking right/west

bright rose trellis wallpaper recreated from fragments, green full-length curtains at windows, red and beige carpet runner on top of the floor mats
cast-iron-stove fitted into old fireplace
table, chair, and lamp

the famous white dress (in reproduction) stands near a window

the white dress on a supporting form in a plexiglass case

this is an older photo showing it against the red-brown wall of the hallway of the 1750-era Strong House (headquarters of the Historical Society and Museum).

For the time being it is on display at the light and spacious History Center nearby

https://amhersthistory.org/

On the dress and its history
Emily Dickinson’s White Dress – Emily Dickinson Museum

https://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/emily-dickinson/biography/special-topics/1336-2/

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Jim Wald @citizenwald.bsky.social · 2d

Emily Dickinson's bedroom was the best-preserved room in the house, as depicted in Langton's novel. But professional research & methods have now restored both it & the entire house, vibrant and colorful

The Restoration of the Emily Dickinson Museum
www.youtube.com/watc...
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Langton sketch:

Empire sleigh bed on rush mats
lamp on end table at left
curtained window, fancy chair at right
a piece of art on bare wall

the restored parlor includes vibrant wall-to-wall custom-created carpet in black and bright yellows and pinks, patterned green-and-beige wallpaper, blue curtains

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Jim Wald @citizenwald.bsky.social · 2d

Langton's book still depicts a row of tall hemlocks along the street: they gave the place a creepy gothic vibe corresponding to the stereotype of a bizarre spinster poet. Again, some locals screamed at restoration of the original look: 5-foot hedge + fence allowing visibility
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diagram of museum landscape with suggested actions

black-and-white photos of the classical Homestead and Italianate Evergreens buildings from the late 19th century : two houses on low hill, separated from the street by a low wooden fence and a hemlock hedge barely higher than the fence

The Homestead today: light-yellow brick building easily visible on its hill behind low fence and hedge

the spindly, out-of-control hemlocks 2009-9: they have grown into awkward trees with bare trunks and foliage only at top

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Jim Wald @citizenwald.bsky.social · 2d

The major change is a shift to professional museum management, but that entails changes to the site:
In past decades, the house was painted red or the brick was left bare. Today it is a yellow from the period of significance, c. 1830-1880 (some locals were of course outraged)
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Langton sketch of the Homestead:
two-story 1813 brick building, central hallway, fireplaces at the two sides, cupola, small balcony, small portico

in front are spindly tall hemlock trees (see also next post)

color postcard of the Homestead, sometime between c. 1950-1975 (a date range taken from a postcard by the same photographer in a museum collection)

(for basic building description, see previous photo)

the walls are of bare red brick
black shutters

Here, the hemlocks are still a massive though overly tall hedge, suggesting the early end of the 1950-1975 window

the Homestead after the restoration of the color scheme from Dickinson's day: light yellow walls, green shutters

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Jim Wald @citizenwald.bsky.social · 2d

Back to Jane Langton.

The Dickinson Homestead has changed radically and for the better since 1984. Today it's a modern professional museum open to the public. Back then, it was Amherst College faculty housing, accessible only on a very limited basis

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Schmidt Ocean Institute @schmidtocean.bsky.social · 3d

In celebration of World Octopus Day, we wanted to revisit one of our favorite cephalopod sightings, the glass octopus — Vitreledonella richardi filmed during a month-long #PhoenixIslandsCoral expedition in 2021.

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Liam Hogan @liamhogan.id.au · 2d

Tired: Australia paying the Americans vast sums for submarines we’re never going to get

Wired: in the Solomons, you get free drug submarines from the sea

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

'Made in Colombia' narco sub found floating in Solomon Islands

Cousins Reubenson and Martin Fugui found a 'Made in Colombia' narco sub in Solomon Islands over the weekend — the third such vessel found in the country's waters over the past year.

www.abc.net.au

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Historical Marker Ahead @historicalmarker.bsky.social · 2d

Part of my childhood was in the Muskegon area, and the Hackley name was everywhere. Charles Hackley had a lumber mill and kept Muskegon going after all the wood was cut down. My mom had breast cancer surgery at Hackley Hospital. It no longer exists. My mom does. www.mlive.com/news/muskego...

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