ancientreader wonders why it's bad to be antifascist now
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ancientreader.bsky.social
ancientreader wonders why it's bad to be antifascist now
@ancientreader.bsky.social
380 followers 700 following 1.7K posts
queer romance, progressive politics, history, birding, sciencey stuff
oxford comma stan
terfs & fashies keep out
make fun of poor & working-class people for having bad teeth and i will block your ass
she/her
hashtagnotallboomers
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ancientreader.bsky.social
TIL that there's an entire subreddit devoted to the sale of high-quality copper

JK it's about Ea-Nasir
A cartoon captioned "Only kids born in 3700 BC can relate." Three cartoon animals speak. Animal 1: My mom wants me to be a scribe. Animal 2: My dad wants me to be a great warrior. Animal 3: I want to be a low-quality copper merchant.
November 8, 2025 at 12:52 AM
ancientreader.bsky.social
tell me you found me on the aarp mailing list without telling me --

(okay but i have a dvd player and tbh a lot of these look pretty good and this isn't amazon so ...)
Cover of a DVD catalogue called The Big Book of Movies, "presented by Critics' Choice." Illustrated with comic-book-style images of many movie stars: Humphrey Bogart, Eddie Murphy, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and so on
October 29, 2025 at 5:39 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
Anyone happen to know the thug pushing the woman to the ground? Images clipped from Instagram video of decent human beings resisting the #ICE raid in lower #Manhattan the other day.
During an ICE raid in Manhattan, a white man with close-cut dark hair, wearing a vest with "police" on it, is pushing to the ground a woman wearing a navy backpack. The woman from the previous photo is on the ground, apparently being assisted by a person wearing a kaffiyeh. The thug who pushed her down has stood up and is turning away, visible in three-quarter profile.
October 23, 2025 at 4:26 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
At today's #NoKings march in #NYC

Photo taken with permission
An elderly white man in a ball cap and shades holds a sign reading, "89 white male cisgender/ I'm here / You could be too!'
October 18, 2025 at 8:27 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
"Such behavior is disgraceful." They got that much right, but slapping my thigh here at the idea that racism and misogyny are contrary to Rethuglican values.
Statement from the board of directors of the Young Republican National Federation says "We are appalled by the vile and inexcusable language revealed in the Politico article published today. Such behavior is disgraceful, unbecoming of any Republican, and stands in direct opposition to the values our movement represents. Those involved must immediately resign from all positions within their state and local Young Republican organizations. We must hold ourselves to the highest standards of integrity, respect, and professionalism."
October 14, 2025 at 10:46 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
history embedded in language vanishes & i guess it's inevitable but i don't have to like it

gritting my teeth as a political commentator i admire reveals that she thinks "kid gloves" are gloves you use on kids

er

not quite
Photographer's caption: Baby goats at the crag (Sleeping Wall), Vang Vieng, Laos. Description: Two black kids perched on a rocky cliff. The one on the left is facing rightward and toward the viewer and has a white patch on its side. The one on the right is facing leftward, toward the viewer, and is nearly vertical, with its hindquarters up in the air.
October 14, 2025 at 2:12 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
Behold these ICE agents, seen in Lake County, IL, on Sep. 16. Note the tattoo on the underside of the left arm of the driver. Name and shame?

#ICE #ChickenshitMotherfuckers
Two white men in a vehicle. Both wear ball caps and have beige face masks and sunglasses obscuring their faces. They seem to be wearing police-type equipment but no uniforms and no visible indication of what agency they do or don't represent. The one on the left, in the driver's seat , has a tattoo on the underside of his left forearm: a five-pointed red star with a black V over it.
October 10, 2025 at 2:02 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
If any of the military brass needed confirmation that the CinC is deranged, he has helpfully provided that confirmation. Every time he opens his mouth where they can hear him, I feel a little bit safer.
"I think we should maybe start thinking about battleships by the way," he said at one point, pausing a riff about tariffs to bring up a 1950s documentary series about naval warfare. "I used to watch 'Victory at Sea.' I love 'Victory at Sea.'"
September 30, 2025 at 4:28 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
Neither MULCT nor CALUMET is acceptable. Am reminded of why I avoid this stupid puzzle for months on end.
Screenshot of the New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle. Letters are A, C, E, U, L, T, plus M in the center
September 24, 2025 at 8:52 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
A visit to the #JamaicaBayWildlifeRefuge takes me from the Broad Channel stop on the A train to a nearby bus, super convenient yes but Broad Channel is the scariest neighborhood in NYC: RWNJs all the way down.

However, I do not think this sign says what Mr Sliwa thinks it says.
A campaign yard sign. It reads "Fighting for Queens. Curtis Sliwa for NYC Mayor."
September 5, 2025 at 4:42 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
Sometimes a bird has to work SO HARD just to enjoy a little snack. 🥲

#BirdSky #Warblers #MigrationSeason #Green-WoodCemetery
#Brooklyn
A Black-and-White Warbler is perched on a bare branch, facing down. Dangling from the bird's beak is an insect, apparently an earwig. Blue sky behind. Oops, the earwig seems to be giving the warbler some trouble: it's now at a 90-degree angle upward from the beak. Success! At least, success for the warbler: now only a tiny bit of insect protrudes from the bird's beak.
September 1, 2025 at 3:44 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
Brilliant sunshine & not hot yesterday, so I headed for #JamaicaBayWildlifeRefuge w/camera & binoculars, hoping for early migrants. Naturally I got no good pix of either warblers or shorebirds despite seeing plenty of both. However ...!
#Birds #BirdSky #Invertebrates
Peregrine falcon perched on a bare branch, looking to the right and down. Leafy green background. I am here to tell you that Peregrine necks apparently incorporate ball bearings, because this bird's body remained still while the head disappeared around the corner to the left. Eastern Kingbird perched on a bare branch, facing rightward. Leafy branches and blue sky in the background. The Kingbird's tail feathers are looking kind of ratty from this angle, so I guess somebody molted late or else narrowly escaped a raptor. That Peregrine Falcon, for example. Common Green Darner dragonfly seen from behind and above. The spot on its head that looks like an eye is clearly visible, as is the veining on the transparent wings. I love insects but that eyespot is frankly skeevy.
August 28, 2025 at 3:28 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
without downloading anything new, where you at mentally?
A crowned, mustached man holds a human skull with the top removed. Offstage voice (in dialogue balloon): Whose skull is that? Crowned man: His name is Phillip. Offstage voice: What's in there? Crowned man: Vodka and orange juice. Offstage voice: ?!? Crowned man: It's a Phillips head screwdriver.
August 26, 2025 at 9:36 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
NOW it's woke.

h/t @jefftiedrich.bsky.social
A version of the old Cracker Barrel logo, but with "Release the Files" in the text bubble
August 22, 2025 at 3:51 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
Brachycephalic dogs often sleep in this position because it helps widen their airway and decreases their chronic respiratory distress. Despite what the well-meaning person who originally posted this believes, it's not cute. It's tragic.
#Dogs #Brachycephaly #BrachycephalicAnimals
Three images of a pug lying on her back on the floor, captioned by the original poster "I regret to inform everyone that Lily has lost her bones and is now ded."
August 1, 2025 at 2:48 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
This one too. Adolf Wissel, "Farming Family from Kalenberg," 1939. Bought by Hitler for 12K RM (per Swiss National Museum blog, "Extreme Pictures from Extreme Times"). The same nonsense, over and over.
A farm family around a table. Three young children: one in the mother's arms; a boy staring straight out at the viewer; and a girl with her hair in braids writing or drawing. Father and grandmother seem to be looking at each other. There's a vague, barely visible rural background.
July 15, 2025 at 9:03 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
Adolf Wissel, "Farming Family from Kalenberg," 1939. Bought by Hitler for 12K RM (Swiss National Museum blog, "Extreme Pictures from Extreme Times")

Nothing to see here, kids.
A farm family around a table. Three young children: one in the mother's arms; a boy staring straight out at the viewer; and a girl with her hair in braids writing or drawing. Father and grandmother seem to be looking at each other. There's a vague, barely visible rural background.
July 15, 2025 at 3:08 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
A Great Spangled Fritillary from my garden yesterday. The magenta Buddleia brings all the pollinators to the yard.

(And then clashes horribly with them.)

#butterflies #pollinators #WildlifePhotography #fritillaries
butterfly on magenta buddleia flowers, wings closed so blue-spotted orange and brown undersides are visible Butterfly on buddleia. The spread wings are edged in white, then a band of orange and black, then dark chocolate brown around the butterfly's body.
July 6, 2025 at 2:24 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
FUCK YEAH
Screenshot of New York Times map of mayoral primary results, showing Mamdani with 43.5% of the vote and Cuomo with 36.4%
June 25, 2025 at 3:26 AM
ancientreader.bsky.social
cover of abbreviated pirate edition of Chicago Manual of Style
June 20, 2025 at 5:12 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
this made me bark-laugh so loudly i startled the cat
Melania Trump in a Handmaid's Tale red costume. Captioned "Oftaco"
June 2, 2025 at 3:24 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
Eventually, having been chased from pillar to post (branch to branch to tree to tree) for some time, the hawk alit in this stream and stayed for a few minutes before taking off again for parts unknown.
Red-tailed Hawk standing in a shallow stream among rounded stones.
May 28, 2025 at 9:52 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
Redtail being dive-bombed by a Baltimore Oriole. (Not the crispest photo, owing to overcast and backlight.) The audio would be about a million American Robins yelling their heads off, + occasional distress calls by the hawk.
#birds #ProspectPark #Brooklyn
Red-tailed Hawk perched on a bare branch and looking up toward a Baltimore Oriole in flight. Both against a backdrop of tree leaves.
May 28, 2025 at 9:52 PM
ancientreader.bsky.social
Yellowthroat hell-bent on showing its whole ass today in #ProspectPark, #Brooklyn

#birds #birding #JustRude
Yellowthroat seen from below and facing downward Yellowthroat seen mostly in profile but from below Yellowthroat seen from behind and below Yellowthroat seen from behind and below
May 21, 2025 at 3:48 AM
ancientreader.bsky.social
And here's the Cooper's Hawk, everybody's victim this evening in #ProspectPark, #Brooklyn

#birds #birding
Cooper's Hawk perched on a bare branch, seen from below.
May 21, 2025 at 3:39 AM