belinda ridgewood
Stories by belinda ridgewood
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10 Gems of Bluesky Today – Day 375
Hello, my friends! It’s almost the weekend! Meteor Blades nails it again. And don’t forget THIS, please! World Ocean Day was earlier this month, but I’d say this is always relevant. Know someone who aspires to know more science? (Maybe you?) Here’s some news. [Edit: the link to this resource, thanks to Rexxmama in the…
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing 6/16/2026: Salmagundi Vol. XII
Good evening, Kibitzers! I hope everyone’s weather has improved! Here, we seem to be back to “normal” summer weather until the end of the week, at which time it apparently starts heating up again. Alas. I’m in receipt of an email from the Obama Presidential Center, advising that their Grand Opening Ceremony will be livestreamed…
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10 Gems of Bluesky Today – Day 373
Hello, everyone! I apologize to Spurs fans for my Knick-centric opening! Gotta have a bodega cat to honor New York! These particular storms were about a week ago now. You might need to click through and enlarge to read this tale of the “FIFA Prize for Literature”. Looks like I have to make a very…
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📚 The Inoculation Project 6/14/2026: Cardboard and Butterflies
This week, we’re helping art students at a Texas elementary school get a kid-safe tool to cut cardboard, and a Fresno kindergarten get a supply of caterpillars to raise into butterflies. We hope that readers who support quality public school education will help by sharing or supporting our featured projects. The Inoculation Project is an ongoing,…
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10 Gems of Bluesky Today – Day 368
Hello, friends! Today I have a new account from which to choose gems: Low Quality Facts (slogan: “Sorry about the quality”). You will observe that their facts are, indeed, of extremely low quality. Of course Thursday is Zinn Bonus Day! We do not learn until the video skeet that this hedgehog is Anthea. Such a…
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing 6/9/2026: One Song
Good evening, Kibitzers! Interestingly, the YouTube channel for the Colbert Late Show is still up. I had been feeling like a music diary today, but I was also attracted to that trove of video — yet, I’ve already covered that show’s musical performances kind of a lot. So here’s another angle. I am sure you’ve…
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10 Gems of Bluesky Today – Day 366
Hello, everyone, and welcome! Beach kitty!!! If you click through, you can see the colorized and cleaned up version of a similar 1930 photograph, to which this is a reply. Both were taken by Oscar Graubner of photographer Margaret Bourke-White shooting from a gargoyle on top of the Chrysler Building in New York City. The…
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📚 The Inoculation Project 6/7/2026: Journaling and Building
This week, we’re helping a North Carolina first grade get notebooks for vocabulary and creative writing, and students in a Texas elementary school get a saw that safely cuts heavy cardboard. We hope that readers who support quality public school education will help by sharing or supporting our featured projects. The Inoculation Project is an ongoing,…
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10 Gems of Bluesky Today – Day 361
Hello, my friends! Here’s the latest entertainment news. And here’s some rare ACTUAL GOOD NEWS! Thursday is Zinn Bonus Day! So today, we find Nadine walking with her friend. Thanks for reading! Almost time for the weekend!
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing 6/2/2026: Colors
Good evening, Kibitzers! In theory, I have just returned home this afternoon sometime, but I am not counting on my ability to form coherent sentences at that time (to the extent I ever do). So this is something just shy of an open thread, that I am assembling and queuing before I leave. I’ve had…
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10 Gems of Bluesky Today – Day 359
Hello, friends! I am assembling this diary almost a week in advance, because I am out of town as it actually publishes, so please forgive me if I post anything that gets outdated faster than I expected! One thing that I know is happening is the beginning of Pride Month! It’s a little early (as…
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10 Gems of Bluesky Today – Day 354
Hello, Gemsters! Stay with this until the 15-second mark. I was dubious, but I do see numerous reports on the internet, including from ABC News, so I am taking it to be real. You’re going to need to click through and read this whole thing. McSweeney’s is sort of vaguely like a long-form Onion, but…
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing 5/26/2026: Friends
Good evening, Kibitzers! Later this week, I am heading to my fiftieth college reunion. You may recall that, surely just five minutes ago, I was headed to my fortieth reunion, which I wrote about in a KTK I have no clue how to find now. No one headed to my 45th because it was during…
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10 Gems of Bluesky Today – Day 352
Hello, my friends! A below-average hurricane season would be good news! But they’re right. I really hope whoever was filming this stepped up and threw the stick once they stopped laughing! Tuesday is random-bonus day, so today we have Colbert-related skeets! This is what I really wanted to put here: the night after his last…
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10 Gems of Bluesky Today – Day 351
Hello, everyone! This one is h/t Crimson Quillfeather, who will be our new Saturday diarist! Yay!!! I wasn’t expecting the spectrum to ride along, but I’m not objecting! Welcome to the small blue spiral section. It’s short! Monday is Maybe It Will Happen Today bonus day! Because everyone needs a hopeful thought on Monday! Thanks…
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📚 The Inoculation Project 5/24/2026: City of Ember, River of Trout
This week, we’re helping a Texas sixth grade get a set of copies of a good book, and a Pennsylvania elementary class get materials to supplement their trout-raising project. We hope that readers who support quality public school education will help by sharing or supporting our featured projects. The Inoculation Project is an ongoing, volunteer effort…
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10 Gems of Bluesky Today – Day 349
Hello, and welcome to Saturday! This canyon is in Washington state. Saturday is another freeform bonus day! Today, I bring you colorful Colorado wildflowers from the FrontRangeWildflowers account. I’m afraid there are too many, because come on, which of these would you leave out? Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend!
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10 Gems of Bluesky Today – Day 347
Hello! Meteor Blades always gets right to the heart of matters, doesn’t he? I heartily recommend clicking through and embiggening each of these! This one is in honor of my friend TexMex, science educator and scholar of crickets. (I have no idea what they’re doing with the sorted crickets here.) Here’s another one it’s especially…
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing 5/19/2026: Late Late
Good evening, Kibitzers! This is the last week that Stephen Colbert‘s Late Show will be on the air. There is a ton of his past content on the show’s YouTube page, and I have NO idea what will become of it when the show ends. Maybe it will stay up — I hope so! But…
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10 Gems of Bluesky Today – Day 345
Hello, my friends! (Hastily corrected from “Hell, my friends”, which I guess would also have worked.) This is from ten days or so ago. Today’s bonus has a “Fire and Rain” theme… …because the actual bonus is this complete 45-minute James Taylor concert from 1971, in honor of his birthday (which was March 12). (It…
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10 Gems of Bluesky Today – Day 344
Hello, and welcome to a new week (but one with a holiday weekend at the end of it!) Mondays are Maybe It Will Happen Today bonus days! That way, we’re good for the whole week. I went back and found some older ones I like, that I don’t think I’ve posted here before (but I…
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📚 The Inoculation Project 5/17/2026: Tennessee STEM, North Carolina Books, Part 2
This week, we’re again helping a Memphis fifth grade take on an exciting STEM program, and a North Carolina first grade get a chance to read and keep beloved books. We hope that readers who support quality public school education will help by sharing or supporting our featured projects. The Inoculation Project is an ongoing, volunteer…
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10 Gems of Bluesky Today – Day 342
Hello, everyone! This coming week will be the last of the Colbert Late Show. I have no idea if their archives on YouTube will stay up, but it might be a good time, if you haven’t been watching, to check out their video page for some excellent guests recently, including Barack Obama. And in case…
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10 Gems of Bluesky Today – Day 340
Hello, my friends! This is from a few days ago, but well worth celebrating. Welcome to the “dog and pony show” section! Thursday is Zinn Bonus Day, so today we meet Elise! As always, thank you for reading! I so much enjoy finding these for you. Have a lovely day!
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing 5/12/2026: Names Plus
Good evening, Kibitzers! The last Tuesday before the big migration, I posted a diary of songs whose one-word titles were women’s names. I said then that I had a second part in mind, where the titles had women’s names but other words as well, but I wasn’t going to post it until you all could…
