Stephen Pemberton

Weeping willow. Dusk beside Raritan River. Evening before Halloween.

Good grief. Evening before Halloween, following day of rain.

Picture of latte froth. Dinosaur like appearance, subject to interpretation. Self-made latte 1/18/2025

Made myself a dinosaur latte.

#photography #evolution #devolution #dinosaur

Photo of canal and tow path, Raritan River 12/31/24. Reminder of calm.

Reminder.

There will be calm in 2025 as well as …

#photography #health #mentalhealth #newyear

Photo of lost doll placed in bush along row if reeds, awaiting its owner. Donaldson Park, NJ 12/30/2024

Forlorn doll, beautiful day.

#photography

Photo of ice on Raritan River looking through reeds towards bridge, Donaldson Park New Jersey

Ice on Raritan River

CDC confirms first known severe case of H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. The U.S. has confirmed its first known severe human infection of H5N1 bird flu, in a person in Louisiana.

#CDC has confirmed an #H5N1 #birdflu case in Louisiana, in a person believed to have been infected through contact with infected birds in a backyard flock. This person is seriously ill, the first such case recorded in the US. Similarities to the recent BC case. www.statnews.com/2024/12/18/h...

Robert Kennedy seems to think that big pharma is bad, and vitamins are good, and that the two industries are... different. Or something.

As a historian of the pharmaceutical industry all I can say is... uh, no. Not really.

[thread]

#histmed #history 🗃️

Sun behind creosote pole, on the reed-lined bank of Raritan River, Donaldson Park NJ

Alignment made more often than given

In which I interview GPT about its existence.

Infectious diseases killed Victorian children at alarming rates — their novels highlight the fragility of public health today Between 40% and 50% of children didn’t live past 5 in the US during the 19th century. Popular authors like Charles Dickens documented the common but no less gutting grief of losing a child.

Important lessons from old books: "Victorian novels chronicle the terrible grief of losing children. Depicting the cruelty of diseases largely unfamiliar today, they also warn against being lulled into thinking that child deaths can never be inevitable again." theconversation.com/infectious-d...

An advertisement for the polio vaccine which reads: "they all got vaccine except dad...don't take a chance...take your polio shots!" It depicts a photo of a family gathered around a father who is in an iron lung.

With science falling under increasing attack, this medical historian is here to remind people of the power of vaccines. THREAD👇

Hard-hitting polio advert from 1958. In the first half of the 20th century, polio was the leading cause of death in children and young adults. 1/7 #history #skystorians

Photo of cell phone tower anchor.

Tethered? Grounded? Aligned?

Photo of Raritan River, from bank in Donaldson Park, looking back into early afternoon sun following a passing snow flurry.

Post-snow flurry walk on Raritan River.

The Forgotten History of the World's First Trans Clinic The Institute for Sexual Research in Berlin would be a century old if it hadn’t fallen victim to Nazi ideology

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments today about Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for young people. This is not a both-sides story. One side is right and the other is dangerously wrong. Nazis were the first people to try to destroy trans health care. @bschillace.brandyschillace.com (1/n)

Tall tree casting shadow. A pin oak in Donaldson Park, Middlesex, New Jersey

I took a walk on Saturday… a beautiful day that carried a long shadow….

Indeed! Shared concern.

Here is my public service for the day, courtesy of Groucho Marx.

‘_______’ is a great institution, but who wants to live in an institution.

Fill in your own favorite institution - academic or otherwise.

Indeed, that’s a lot of what I am paid to do too. Thanking and nominating and awarding. Fan of basic courtesy. I should’ve been clearer.

It’s basic courtesy to acknowledge people. A huge amount of my time is spent in writing thank you letters at work.

This careerist stuff is inconsequential in the grand scheme. I can do without a discount or another cut-glass trophy. Institutional service is what we’re paid for. Not complaining. But occasionally, it is nice to see and be seen as serving something greater. The thousand cuts of academic service …

Thanks for the review, no spoilers!

Congrats!

Some mornings, things seem to align. Grateful when that happens.

Thanks Joe. Nice to be back, and on a for-the-moment sane social media platform with familiar connections

btw nice to find you here

Count yourself lucky. I just got a 30% discount at the campus bookstore for my 20 years of service. Not kidding.

Happy travels #Bluesky

Evening stroll

I like walking and snapping photos as I go. So …