Do you know the political, abolitionist history of the song O Holy Night?

It began with controversy in France about the duo who wrote the song: the lyrics were penned by an atheist who embraced socialism, and the music was composed by a Jew. A decade later, controversy in the US emerged over the English translation’s strong abolitionist message.

Despite people with power trying to suppress it, it became and remains a well-loved carol.

I shared the story on FB: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0MBax7f61UsrR2Pv5z8aJNWK34dbXd7qKrTH6ZhRjLzNW8usHp2N8uqYQ98VPZmjMl&id=100057805491267&mibextid=qC1gEa

I have a fun one for #ThrowbackThursday: A few years ago, I accepted an invite to talk about gender-inclusive toy marketing on a Fox & Friends segment. (I know, I know.)

And, behold: The producers stuck a little chyron below me that said "P.C. Police," to make sure their viewers knew not to listen to me. 😆

#Fox #Gender #Toys #Inclusivity #AcademicMastodon

Look what a verified-but-not-real Nintendo of America account tweeted. Nice job, Elon! Kids looking for Nintendo news definitely needed to see Mario flipping them the bird. 😆

In response to this and other game-related hoaxing by “verified” accounts, gaming website Kotaku cautions fans: “I can't believe I have to say this, but you need to verify the verified accounts.”

If only this had been foreseeable.

Today, we Massachusetts voters made history by electing Maura Healey as governor. She is the first 1) woman and 2) out gay person in the role. Voters also elected Kim Driscoll as lieutenant governor on the same ticket — and seating two women as governor and lt. governor is another historic first. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Congratulations to Maura Healey, Kim Driscoll, and the people of Massachusetts. 🌊 🗳️🌊

#BlueWave

Hm, which bookcase to share as #MyTopShelf ? How about a few of the shelves related to my research?

The very top shelf has bins of LEGO pieces used for one of my studies with children on their LEGO play.

The shelves below have the boxes the LEGO sets came in, some books I’ve written and contributed to, and many I’ve referenced when writing about Mattel, Disney, LEGO, and more.

Your turn! What’s on your top shelf?