J. L. Bell
@boston1775.bsky.social
History, analysis & unabashed gossip about Revolutionary New England.
“Be a pope!
Be a pope!
All the world just loves a pope!
Make ’em pray!
Sing a psalm!
And you’ll have ’em in your palm!
If you’re a Jew or a Buddhist, then you’re often ignored,
But the only thing higher than a pope is Our Lord!
Be a pope! …”
Be a pope!
All the world just loves a pope!
Make ’em pray!
Sing a psalm!
And you’ll have ’em in your palm!
If you’re a Jew or a Buddhist, then you’re often ignored,
But the only thing higher than a pope is Our Lord!
Be a pope! …”
November 24, 2025 at 3:48 PM
“Be a pope!
Be a pope!
All the world just loves a pope!
Make ’em pray!
Sing a psalm!
And you’ll have ’em in your palm!
If you’re a Jew or a Buddhist, then you’re often ignored,
But the only thing higher than a pope is Our Lord!
Be a pope! …”
Be a pope!
All the world just loves a pope!
Make ’em pray!
Sing a psalm!
And you’ll have ’em in your palm!
If you’re a Jew or a Buddhist, then you’re often ignored,
But the only thing higher than a pope is Our Lord!
Be a pope! …”
Stop scrolling and post two characters who bring you happiness
October 22, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Stop scrolling and post two characters who bring you happiness
Lordy, I hope there are capes.
September 11, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Lordy, I hope there are capes.
Something strange about this selfie, and I can’t figure out what.
September 7, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Something strange about this selfie, and I can’t figure out what.
At the Old State House in Boston for a in-person event launching a virtual exhibit. A big change from virtual events tied to in-person exhibits.
September 5, 2025 at 10:33 PM
At the Old State House in Boston for a in-person event launching a virtual exhibit. A big change from virtual events tied to in-person exhibits.
Doorways at Historic Deerfield from this morning’s walking tour.
June 27, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Doorways at Historic Deerfield from this morning’s walking tour.
Touring Revolutionary sites at Historic Deerfield. Here we are at the Liberty Pole with a Liberty and Union flag at the top. Deerfield’s original pole was chopped down one night. A witness stone recognizes chattel slavery at the same site. Part of our “Recalling the Revolution” conference.
June 27, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Touring Revolutionary sites at Historic Deerfield. Here we are at the Liberty Pole with a Liberty and Union flag at the top. Deerfield’s original pole was chopped down one night. A witness stone recognizes chattel slavery at the same site. Part of our “Recalling the Revolution” conference.
Visiting the Tudor family tomb in the King’s Chapel Burying Ground. @ascolotl.bsky.social
June 14, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Visiting the Tudor family tomb in the King’s Chapel Burying Ground. @ascolotl.bsky.social
At the GAR Hall in Scituate, ready to speak about what the redcoats were looking for in Concord 250 years ago. The cannon out front sort of gives away the answer.
May 15, 2025 at 10:31 PM
At the GAR Hall in Scituate, ready to speak about what the redcoats were looking for in Concord 250 years ago. The cannon out front sort of gives away the answer.
The average American has three friends.
May 2, 2025 at 3:44 AM
The average American has three friends.
This morning I got to visit Mount Vernon (visible in the distance) in the company of 14 very good dogs.
April 26, 2025 at 8:58 PM
This morning I got to visit Mount Vernon (visible in the distance) in the company of 14 very good dogs.
Me in the national security group chat
March 25, 2025 at 3:12 AM
Me in the national security group chat
On Thursday, 13 March, I’ll speak at Washington’s HQ in Cambridge and online on the topic of “Choosing a Commander: Myths & Realities Behind the Continental Congress’s Decision to Make George Washington the General”: nps.gov/planyourvisi... Generalissimo, actually!
March 12, 2025 at 12:36 AM
On Thursday, 13 March, I’ll speak at Washington’s HQ in Cambridge and online on the topic of “Choosing a Commander: Myths & Realities Behind the Continental Congress’s Decision to Make George Washington the General”: nps.gov/planyourvisi... Generalissimo, actually!
Drying drums are photogenic.
January 30, 2025 at 2:58 AM
Drying drums are photogenic.
Without downloading any new pictures, what is your energy going into 2025?
December 28, 2024 at 4:34 PM
Without downloading any new pictures, what is your energy going into 2025?
To publicize “John Dough and the Cherub,” L. Frank Baum and his publisher ran a contest in 1906 inviting children to write essays arguing whether Chick was a boy or a girl.
Reportedly the contest ended with two winners, one on each side of the issue. Chick’s gender remains undetermined.
Reportedly the contest ended with two winners, one on each side of the issue. Chick’s gender remains undetermined.
December 4, 2024 at 5:40 PM
To publicize “John Dough and the Cherub,” L. Frank Baum and his publisher ran a contest in 1906 inviting children to write essays arguing whether Chick was a boy or a girl.
Reportedly the contest ended with two winners, one on each side of the issue. Chick’s gender remains undetermined.
Reportedly the contest ended with two winners, one on each side of the issue. Chick’s gender remains undetermined.
I’ve created a Bluesky Starter Pack® for the comics-making community in greater Boston. Let me know if you want to be added. Cheers.
November 23, 2024 at 5:07 AM
I’ve created a Bluesky Starter Pack® for the comics-making community in greater Boston. Let me know if you want to be added. Cheers.
If you see this, post a robot.
November 12, 2024 at 2:07 AM
If you see this, post a robot.
I don’t know why I was surprised to see a statue of Queen Charlotte and her little dogs.
September 28, 2024 at 12:44 AM
I don’t know why I was surprised to see a statue of Queen Charlotte and her little dogs.
My costars for this evening’s talk at the Longfellow–Washington site in Cambridge: two pieces of the Washington Elm, provided by History Cambridge and a neighbor.
March 14, 2024 at 9:40 PM
My costars for this evening’s talk at the Longfellow–Washington site in Cambridge: two pieces of the Washington Elm, provided by History Cambridge and a neighbor.
This is not a campaign message I’d be running with now, but then I’m not a highly paid consultant.
January 11, 2024 at 9:51 PM
This is not a campaign message I’d be running with now, but then I’m not a highly paid consultant.
Photos from tonight’s reenactment of the “Meeting of the Body of the People” at Old South Meeting-House before the Boston Tea Party. #Sestercentennial #c18th
December 16, 2023 at 1:21 AM
Photos from tonight’s reenactment of the “Meeting of the Body of the People” at Old South Meeting-House before the Boston Tea Party. #Sestercentennial #c18th