Dr. Blair Stein
@blairstein.bsky.social
1.8K followers 650 following 330 posts
Historian of technologies, environments, and modernities. Book: “North Stars in Modern Skies” under contract with MQUP. Canadian living in western MI. Cool dog aunt to Slugger.
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blairstein.bsky.social
I also made Shrek hats for my sister, BIL, and niece. I hope they wear them in the family Christmas card.

The world is pretty grim right now. Wear the Shrek hat, eat the waffles, etc.
A crochet beanie with Shrek ears
blairstein.bsky.social
We did two activities—decorating gingerbread men (“not my gumdrop buttons!”) and Pass the Parcel. We didn’t know Pass the Parcel was a British Commonwealth game and all my sister’s friends only knew it from a Bluey episode.
My niece, whose face is blocked by a green heart to protect her privacy, is decorating cookies. There’s bowls of different candies all around. The largest pass the parcel box that has the line from Shrek “You’re so wrapped up in layers, onion boy” on it.
blairstein.bsky.social
Here’s some of the food I made, or at least the signs for the food. Also, I decorated half the cake. The nice people at Costco did the lettering and flowers.
A bunch of banners naming the dishes I made. All of them are references to the first Shrek movie: “Ogres have layers” dip, “Not my gumdrop buttons!” cookies, “Bachelorette Number Three” piña coladas, and “In the morning I’m making waffles” chicken and waffles. A sheet cake that says “Happy Birthday Brooke!” in green frosting. One side is decorated professionally with blue and red flowers. The other side is a swamp, with brown M&Ms and cookie crumbs. There are figures of Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey on the cake.
blairstein.bsky.social
There were also intangibles—I made the playlist, put together the e-vites, etc.

I made some signs, which I mailed to my sister in advance.
A banner hanging over the bathroom door. It says “Wipe Your…” A selfie of me in the bathroom. On the mirror is a banner that says “…face.” The other banner is in the background. A hand painted banner that says “Brooke 2” in the Shrek font, like the poster for the movie Shrek 2.
blairstein.bsky.social
My niece turned 2 this weekend. Her favorite thing in the world is Shrek, and so I threw her a Shrek-themed party (mostly for all the millennial parents).

I love making things for people. Here’s what I made. First, this banner for them to hang on the front door. It’s tapestry crochet!
A crochet banner with a picture of Shrek that says “Beware Ogre,” just like in the movie
blairstein.bsky.social
on second thought, that’s kind of what it is.

We used to have a McCormicks (or whatever) thing of cinnamon sugar that would only come out for KD. These days I’ll sprinkle a little on a spoonful or two, just for the perversion, but that’s it.
blairstein.bsky.social
I have two, both childhood foods of my dad:

Montreal bagel, margarine, and a slab of halva, as a sandwich (vaguely understandable, since halva is basically sesame-based fudge)

Kraft Dinner with cinnamon sugar on it (absolutely baffling, do not know the origins of this, eat for nostalgia only)
faineg.bsky.social
What foods do you love that you fully acknowledge make you a pervert for loving them?
blairstein.bsky.social
Go to the doctor.

Go to the mountains. Look to the children. Drink from the fountains.
essencesimmone.blacksky.app
Those who are 35+, what advice do you have for people just entering their 30s?
blairstein.bsky.social
Oh my god Chuck’s facial expression, like “ok FINE if we MUST we can snuggle.”
blairstein.bsky.social
My brain truly did a spit-take, like “BOTH dogS!?” dogs PLURAL?

The foster pup looks and seems like a delight.
blairstein.bsky.social
this is the not the point but when I saw “both dogs” in this post I thought “APARNA is there some important news I missed?!??!?” and scrolled back on your TL until I met Sugar. Most important news indeed.
blairstein.bsky.social
“Canada has never had a president,” I tell a group of students learning about the many ways that federal governments have intervened in telecommunications and transportation infrastructure

“HOLY SHIT, NEVER?!” gasps one of my beloved first-year engineers who basically never says anything
blairstein.bsky.social
…brought to you by the fact that I’ve been using the original cast recording as my housecleaning soundtrack for about 20 years.
blairstein.bsky.social
THIS is the high quality content I signed up for on Bluesky dot or

(meant with absolutely zero sarcasm from this reformed former musical theater kid)
blairstein.bsky.social
Come to think of it, it’s not made clear if Collins has tenure 😆
blairstein.bsky.social
We all know that being an adult is realizing that Benny isn’t the villain in RENT. Those guys should have paid their rent or whatever.

Being an *academic* is realizing that Tom Collins was expelled from a job at MIT for being an anarchist and immediately got another one at NYU somehow.
blairstein.bsky.social
there could not be a better metaphor
emilypawley.bsky.social
In food history, we notice how super-refined foods--gelatin, vienna sausage, white bread--lose class and become horrifying once they become industrialized. Suddenly, fingermarks in bread dough demonstrate skill, not clumsiness.

Post-chatGPT, I'm feeling this about writing. Smoothness feels gross.
blairstein.bsky.social
My aviation history course next winter is about to be LIT
paleofuture.bsky.social
Trump says he’s ordering the release of all government records on Amelia Earhart.
Trump: I have been asked by many people about the life and times of Amelia Earhart, such an interesting story, and would I consider declassifying and releasing everything about her, in particular, her last, fatal flight! She was an Aviation Pioneer, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and achieved many other Aviation "firsts." She disappeared in the South Pacific while trying to become the first woman to fly around the World.
Amelia made it almost three quarters around the World before she suddenly, and without notice, vanished, never to be seen again. Her disappearance, almost 90 years ago, has captivated millions. I am ordering my Administration to declassify and release all Government Records related to Amelia Earhart, her final trip, and everything else about her.
Thank you for your attention to this matter!
DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA
360 ReTruths 1.25k Likes
9/26/25, 1:42 PM
blairstein.bsky.social
i cannot emphasize enough how ABOUT SANDWICHES this was
blairstein.bsky.social
it’s the 1958 airline sandwich wars for me
blairstein.bsky.social
unreleased production still from the second Wicked movie
robinbougie.bsky.social
Someone was trying to take a portrait of their two fave Chickens, and this happened.
blairstein.bsky.social
Literally did mine yesterday afternoon for the same reason of early Oct travel and am currently lying immobile on my bed because everything hurts.

(But it’s worth it!!)
blairstein.bsky.social
every Tamora Pierce book series
swordsjew.bsky.social
i think every girl should be issued an obedient murder of crows upon reaching the age of 12
blairstein.bsky.social
love to announce that I’m obese at a Walgreens so they’ll give me a covid shot

(yes yes I know “obese” isn’t a bad word and BMI is bunk I’m an Aubrey Gordon fan etc. it’s just hard to unlearn three decades of diet culture while in line at this walgreens)
Reposted by Dr. Blair Stein
blairstein.bsky.social
My parents got their windows replaced yesterday and my mom kept sending me pictures of Slugger desperately trying to take his usual midmorning sunbeam naps while it was happening.
The living room is a mess. There’s a repair guy on a ladder fixing a window, and drop-cloths and mats on the floor. That hasn’t stopped Slugger, a black and white miniature poodle, from snoozing in a sunbeam between the ladder and a pile of scrap wood. Forced to move from his original spot, Slugger has found a new sunbeam nestled between a chair covered in a drop-cloth and the repair guy’s toolkit. He doesn’t look too happy about it. A wide shot of the living room, stuff is still everywhere, mats on the floor, furniture pushed to the side. The repair guy is working on the outside of the windows now, so Slugger got to return to the original sunbeam. His fluffy head is poking out from a drop-cloth crumpled up on the floor.