Melody Joy Kramer
@mkramer.bsky.social
engagement + crowdsourcing products, ProPublica; librarian, journalist, hyperlocal information ecosystems, public(s) and participation, digital archives, dogs, civic joy, mom, mummer, board games, philly, carrboro north carolina
🌈 melodykramer.github.io
🌈 melodykramer.github.io
Pinned
Intro: Hello! I’m a librarian and journalist who has also spent time with demographers, Wikipedia, and 18F. I care about hyperlocal information ecosystems, new models of information sharing, the South, digital archiving practices, hound dogs, and walking in the woods without headphones.
listening to my children teach my parents how to use keyboard shortcuts to print word search puzzles more efficiently from the internet.
November 25, 2025 at 11:10 PM
listening to my children teach my parents how to use keyboard shortcuts to print word search puzzles more efficiently from the internet.
the daily tar heel is doing excellent work on this story.
Great work by student journalists 👇👇
dailytarheel.com/article/inve...
dailytarheel.com/article/inve...
'Dictatorial powers': SCiLL dean ignored vote of the School's advisory board
New evidence obtained by The Daily Tar Heel gives weight to claims made by professors who resigned from the School of Civic Life and Leadership.
dailytarheel.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:05 PM
the daily tar heel is doing excellent work on this story.
Reposted by Melody Joy Kramer
NEW: A @propublica.org & @frontlinepbs.bsky.social analysis found dozens of cases in recent months which officers deployed "less lethal" weapons in ways that flout the government’s own rules — like aiming at someone’s head, spine or groin and deploying chemical agents near children.
Trump’s Immigration Forces Deploy “Less Lethal” Weapons in Dangerous Ways, Skirting Rules and Maiming Protesters
Civil rights and weapons experts cite the consequences of federal agents’ use of crowd control weapons: religious leaders shot with pepper balls and noxious chemicals. A nurse nearly blinded by tear g...
www.propublica.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:45 PM
NEW: A @propublica.org & @frontlinepbs.bsky.social analysis found dozens of cases in recent months which officers deployed "less lethal" weapons in ways that flout the government’s own rules — like aiming at someone’s head, spine or groin and deploying chemical agents near children.
nice to see everyone at @nprfreshair.bsky.social this morning, and also take a tour of the mint - which I hadn’t done in about 35 years. also: half sour pickles were obtained, mini golf was played. a good morning with my goofball.
November 25, 2025 at 6:08 PM
nice to see everyone at @nprfreshair.bsky.social this morning, and also take a tour of the mint - which I hadn’t done in about 35 years. also: half sour pickles were obtained, mini golf was played. a good morning with my goofball.
taking my 8-year-old to visit reading terminal market, my former public radio show, independence hall, the mint, and a philadelphia-themed mini golf course weirdly next to all of these things tomorrow.
November 25, 2025 at 12:30 AM
taking my 8-year-old to visit reading terminal market, my former public radio show, independence hall, the mint, and a philadelphia-themed mini golf course weirdly next to all of these things tomorrow.
Reposted by Melody Joy Kramer
BREAKING: Trump is again separating kids from families
The govt isn't releasing info, but we found ICE has sent record # of kids to shelters.
One family went to govt office , only to have parents detained while the children—aged 5, 11 and 1--went to shelters
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
The govt isn't releasing info, but we found ICE has sent record # of kids to shelters.
One family went to govt office , only to have parents detained while the children—aged 5, 11 and 1--went to shelters
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
ICE Sent 600 Immigrant Kids to Detention in Federal Shelters This Year. It’s a New Record.
Under a zero tolerance policy, the first Trump administration separated immigrant children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. New data suggests separations are happening all over the count...
www.propublica.org
November 24, 2025 at 6:10 PM
BREAKING: Trump is again separating kids from families
The govt isn't releasing info, but we found ICE has sent record # of kids to shelters.
One family went to govt office , only to have parents detained while the children—aged 5, 11 and 1--went to shelters
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
The govt isn't releasing info, but we found ICE has sent record # of kids to shelters.
One family went to govt office , only to have parents detained while the children—aged 5, 11 and 1--went to shelters
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
working remotely from my parents house, which is filled with pictures of their grandchildren, and disney snow globes.
November 24, 2025 at 1:16 PM
working remotely from my parents house, which is filled with pictures of their grandchildren, and disney snow globes.
my mom, trying to ingratiate herself with her six grandchildren: “i’m 6 7.”
(she is 67.)
(she is 67.)
November 23, 2025 at 6:43 PM
my mom, trying to ingratiate herself with her six grandchildren: “i’m 6 7.”
(she is 67.)
(she is 67.)
romping around south jersey
a red flag that says wawa on it
ALT: a red flag that says wawa on it
media.tenor.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:46 PM
romping around south jersey
always somewhat weird to return to my childhood bedroom which has not changed a bit since 2002.
November 23, 2025 at 12:22 AM
always somewhat weird to return to my childhood bedroom which has not changed a bit since 2002.
November 22, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Would love to read all of the essays, oral histories, what-have-you, on Home Alone.
November 22, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Would love to read all of the essays, oral histories, what-have-you, on Home Alone.
Long road to New Jersey.
November 22, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Long road to New Jersey.
sudden death penalty kicks in women’s soccer game (unc vs texas tech) has 3/4 of us on edge. (4th is reading a book and not watching.)
November 22, 2025 at 12:56 AM
sudden death penalty kicks in women’s soccer game (unc vs texas tech) has 3/4 of us on edge. (4th is reading a book and not watching.)
Reposted by Melody Joy Kramer
The backstory of the FART license plate, for the uninitiated www.ncrabbithole.com/p/fart-nc-li...
The fight to save a license plate that says "FART"
A woman in Asheville requested new custom tags for her truck, but the state says it made a mistake and wants them back. Now, what started as a joke has turned, maybe, into a real organization.
www.ncrabbithole.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:34 PM
The backstory of the FART license plate, for the uninitiated www.ncrabbithole.com/p/fart-nc-li...
Reposted by Melody Joy Kramer
Fun fact: The Venus flytrap only grows wild in a 75-mile radius of Wilmington, NC.
November 21, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Fun fact: The Venus flytrap only grows wild in a 75-mile radius of Wilmington, NC.
Reposted by Melody Joy Kramer
everything is awful but I have one of the world’s greatest license plates ever made triangleblogblog.com/2024/09/04/e...
Exclusive: We interview the guy with the #1 Venus Flytrap License Plate - Triangle Blog Blog
A group civics blog covering town council, education, transportation, and recreation in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, NC.
triangleblogblog.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:01 PM
everything is awful but I have one of the world’s greatest license plates ever made triangleblogblog.com/2024/09/04/e...
Reposted by Melody Joy Kramer
Status update: fiber cut between data centers - trucks are rolling. Services are slow but functional, except for the Wayback Machine, which is still offline.
The Wayback Machine, openlibrary.org, and some other archive.org functions are offline because some network gear has failed.
We apologize and are working on it. More as it happens.
We apologize and are working on it. More as it happens.
November 20, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Status update: fiber cut between data centers - trucks are rolling. Services are slow but functional, except for the Wayback Machine, which is still offline.
my lights cannot turn on because they are downloading and installing an update
a pair of white circles with holes in the middle on a black background .
ALT: a pair of white circles with holes in the middle on a black background .
media.tenor.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:44 PM
my lights cannot turn on because they are downloading and installing an update
just led a small round table discussion around data retention and deletion with folks from other media organizations
a cartoon of a girl with the words delete delete written on the bottom
ALT: a cartoon of a girl with the words delete delete written on the bottom
media.tenor.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:42 PM
just led a small round table discussion around data retention and deletion with folks from other media organizations
Reposted by Melody Joy Kramer
NEW: Sean Duffy frequently calls safety his “top priority” as transportation secretary. But I spent months wading through regulatory notices and found something far different: that USDOT has been delaying, weakening and killing dozens of safety rules, many opposed by the transportation industry.🧵
November 20, 2025 at 12:36 PM
NEW: Sean Duffy frequently calls safety his “top priority” as transportation secretary. But I spent months wading through regulatory notices and found something far different: that USDOT has been delaying, weakening and killing dozens of safety rules, many opposed by the transportation industry.🧵
elementary school is having a meet the authors celebration this morning where authors are members of the third grade. very much looking forward to meeting my author!
November 20, 2025 at 12:37 PM
elementary school is having a meet the authors celebration this morning where authors are members of the third grade. very much looking forward to meeting my author!
Reposted by Melody Joy Kramer
blogbloggers are in attendance at two civic meetings tonight.
November 20, 2025 at 1:05 AM
blogbloggers are in attendance at two civic meetings tonight.
I would never leave my house again
November 20, 2025 at 12:33 AM
I would never leave my house again