Author | Lightnews

Mark Baxter 🎃

@sparkbadger.bsky.social

6.7K followers 4.9K following 840 posts

Writer & IIlustrator. Editor at Moseley B13 Magazine, Brum. Free Palestine. Slava Ukraine. Animal rights. Art for social change #Resistance 🌊 Radio Show Communities #Forgotten80s #80sTM #sts70s #DLXP #ChooseDay #PtoP #MWXS #Deeper80s #TOTP

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Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · Sep 26

The October edition of @moseleyb13mag.bsky.social is out this weekend! 🍂🎃
The magazine features David Isgrove on the 25th anniversary of Moseley Farmers' Market; Newshound Investigates… on Stories for Halloween; Moseley Society History Group on Birmingham artist Raymond Cowern; and much, much more!

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Reposted by Mark Baxter 🎃

Shooti @bambooshooti.bsky.social · 21h

#ResistanceRoots

Harriet Powers was born on this day in 1837 in Clarke County, Ga. In celebration of her birthday, here's a reprise of my thread from Black History Month.

Shooti @bambooshooti.bsky.social · Feb 5

#ResistanceRoots
#Voices4Victory
#BlackHistoryMonth

Harriet Powers was a Black folk artist who created quilts that record Bible stories, astronomical events and local legends. Born into slavery in Georgia in 1837, Powers used traditional applique techniques to create stunning works of art. /1

Harriet Powers in 1901. Photo source: Southern Quilting.

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Reposted by Mark Baxter 🎃

admirablewomen.bsky.social @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 20h

Laura Bassi | Italian physicist and academic born #OTD in 1711

She defended her PhD thesis in 1732 (age 21), the second woman in the world to earn a doctorate, and was the first salaried female teacher in a university. One of the first #WomenInSTEM.

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Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 7h

Kiki Smith (American, b. 1954), Sleeping witch, 2000
Chromogenic print 🎃 #Halloween

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Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 7h

“The visibility and influence of women in the market have never been greater... (women are) championing works by female artists at unprecedented levels.”
Women Art Collectors Are Outspending Men, Survey Finds hyperallergic.com/1052129/wome...

Women Art Collectors Are Outspending Men, Survey Finds

They’re also more likely to buy works by artists they’re not familiar with, according to the UBS and Art Basel's 2025 Survey of Global Collecting.

hyperallergic.com

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Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 20h

Carving the pumpkin with Invaders from Mars on for inspiration. I haven’t seen this classic since I was a kid. #Halloween 🎃

Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 1d

Prunella Scales – a life in pictures
Best known for her comic roles, including the fearsome Sybil in Fawlty Towers, the actor has died aged 93. Here we look back at her life and career www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

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Reposted by Mark Baxter 🎃

Pazuzus farthers brothers nephews cousins former roommate @mark-80.bsky.social · 2d

RIP Prunella Scales, dying on John Cleese birthday feels very Sybil of her

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Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks for a spooky and excellent show. Nice tribute to Ozzy, the King of Halloween. I'll give SOTN to The Cranberries. See you next time! #ChooseDay

Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 1d

I love Ghost Town but it always makes me think of the Father Ted disco. #ChooseDay

Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 1d

Stunning song from George. I love All Things Must Pass. #ChooseDay

Choose The Choons @choosethechoons.bsky.social · 1d

#Nowplaying

BEWARE OF DARKNESS
George Harrison

Choosethechoons on
@madwaspradiomwr.bsky.social
presents...

#Halloweenspecial
#chooseday

Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 1d

Dolores’ voice on Zombie…. spine-tingling every single time. #ChooseDay

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Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 1d

It’s a Halloween/supernatural themed album, isn’t it? Enjoyed that version of Supernature. #chooseday

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Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 1d

It was the first Halloween film I watched and I loved it! #chooseday

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Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 1d

Hey, @choosethechoons.bsky.social! So glad you are back for the Halloween show! That was a crackin’ start to the show. Loving the Silver Shamrock advert! #ChooseDay 🎃

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Reposted by Mark Baxter 🎃

Ele Willoughby @minouette.bsky.social · 3d

Happy birthday to #mathematician & geodesist Gladys West (née Brown 1930)! 🧪🐡👩🏾‍🔬🧮⚒️ #histsci Shown with 3 satellites important to her career + tracks: Seasat, GEOS-3 & a GPS satellite. Her work, using math to precisely model the shape of Earth, laid the groundwork for GPS! Born to sharecropper parents🧵

My linocut portrait of Gladys West with 3 satellites important to her career in indigo in from of world map with satellites tracks in blue.

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Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 3d

Andrea Kowch (American, b. 1986), Light Keepers, 2014
Acrylic on canvas 🎃 #Halloween

Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 3d

Leonora Carrington (British Mexican, 1917–2011), El Ancestro (The Ancestor), 1968
Oil on canvas 🎃 #Halloween

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Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 3d

"This is perhaps the most cruel and unlawful offence the Trump administration has perpetrated yet."
US government says it will stop paying for food aid next week www.bbc.com/news/article...

Food stamps: US government says it will stop paying for food aid next week - BBC News

Food stamps will not be distributed from November due to the ongoing shutdown, it said.

www.bbc.com

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Reposted by Mark Baxter 🎃

Zarah Sultana MP @zarahsultana.bsky.social · 4d

Congratulations to Catherine Connolly, Ireland’s new president 🇮🇪

A historic landslide for peace, justice, equality and socialism.

Her victory is a triumph for hope, solidarity and a united Ireland 💚 An Phoblacht Abú!

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Reposted by Mark Baxter 🎃

Catharina @catharina24.bsky.social · 4d

Got round to the Mishal Husain interview with Nigel Farage. Forensic, fascinating and the first time I’ve seen someone who didn’t allow him to deflect, hector and wriggle his way out of answering questions! #MishalHusainShow

youtu.be/2uq_RRQxBAM?...

Nigel Farage on Putin, Immigration and Taking Risks | The Mishal Husain Show

YouTube video by Bloomberg Podcasts

youtu.be

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Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 4d

True! I'm not much of a rugby or cricket fan but glad the women's tournaments are getting a higher profile as well as the football.

Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 4d

And still very little male interest (or even hostility) in women for achievements and abilities - the reaction (or lack of one) to the England football team winning the Women's Euros two times in a row is one recent example.

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Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 4d

Thank you for sharing, Catharina! Yes, Manet's version is such a misogynistic (and normalised) piece of work.

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Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 4d

Definitely!

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Mark Baxter 🎃 @sparkbadger.bsky.social · 4d

Jacqueline Fahey (New Zealander, b. 1929), Luncheon on the Grass, 1981 - 82
Oil on canvas

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