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Steve A

@stegan.bsky.social

5.7K followers 1.1K following 3.8K posts

Archivist-for-hire, romance novel historian, freelance writer about romance history, general ne’er do well, scalawag. He/Him. Blog: romancehistory.com Podcast: blackromancehistory.com

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · Jun 21

Okay, here’s my plan. I’ve not read a lot of La Nora, so I’m going to try and score as many squares as possible on the @smartbitches.bsky.social bingo card with Nora Roberts books. As many old categories as possible, too. This feels really doable.

Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · Jun 18

Me: maybe I’ll do one of the romance reading bingos this year!

Also me: Here are ten parameters I can set myself to make it far too complicated to even start!

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 4h

Like most things involving the English military, it feels like someone fucked up once and they won’t admit it so 800 years later here we are.

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 4h

Lieutenant! That’s one I will never understand.

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 5h

Also, the NYPL article the OP gives as evidence says that it was the shipping company employees, not Ellis Island employees, who changed the names. Which in family stories is so pedantic it near enough as makes no difference.

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 5h

Add to this the census! You ever try to trace recent immigrants through the old census? It’s HARD. Some of that was the people themselves but it was often the census takers who couldn’t be bothered to try and understand people who weren’t yet fluent in English.

Courtney Milan @courtneymilan.com · 6h

Lots of us have great-grandparents names who were absolutely changed when they came here, and when people say otherwise, they're assuming your great-grandparents name was in the Roman alphabet.

Robyn Pennacchia @robynelyse.bsky.social · 7h

Now, more than ever, it's important to understand why so many the myths we tell ourselves about immigration are actually very harmful.

First of all, your great-great-grandparents names *were not changed* at Ellis Island. No one there had the authority to do that.

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 7h

I was thinking about how people should sometimes use the Third Man Theme instead of Yakety Sax for ridiculous chase videos just to switch things up a little. And now I have the Third Man Theme firmly lodged in my brain on a loop. Damn you Lime!

a black and white photo of a man wearing a hat and a scarf

Alt: Dolly shot zooming in on Orson Welles as Harry Lime. Welles has an impish sly grin.

media.tenor.com

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 10h

Had a dream I moved to Dayton for a job, then today there’s an archivist job in Dayton. Weird! But with apologies to the home of aviation, I’m not moving to Dayton for 50k.

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 11h

Roberto Baggio’s ponytail.

Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 12h

There’s also the famous Barbie set for Jude Deveraux’s The Raider! smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2013/06/barb...

Barbie, The Raider, The Washboard, and Me | Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

smartbitchestrashybooks.com

Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 13h

I wrote a little bit about this for SBTB, though not exactly tie-ins: smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2024/07/roma...

Romance Memorabilia Never Disappears, It Just Shows Up On eBay! | Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

smartbitchestrashybooks.com

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 13h

The Clairol thing was a Carolyn Nichols innovation and kinda brilliant! www.latimes.com/archives/la-...

Does She? Doesn't She? Only Her Publisher Knows

Hair color, so vital an element in romance novels that readers besiege publishers with angry letters if the shade of a character's hair does not match the tint on the book cover, has become a major in...

www.latimes.com

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 14h

Something like that!

Reposted by Steve A

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 1d

This two-parter below is exactly why it's hard to make clothes in the United States.

Let's look at how much it costs to produce a button-up shirt in the US. 🧵

Someone on Twitter replies to me: "meh. buy american or stfu."

Two hours later, in a separate thread, the write: "$30 for a single button-up is ridiculous unless it is decent quality silk."

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Reposted by Steve A

ashley scarebanks 💀🕯️ @ziibiing.com · 15h

i forgot that i saved this, but my book is currently in an exhibit about Indigenous picture books at the Carle Museum (which made me squeeeee) and they provide an amazing list of recommendations of Indigenous picture books by subject matter are

Entwined Memory: Indigenous Stories of Creation, Place, and Continuity

Booklist for Entwined Memory: Indigenous Stories of Creation, Place, and Continuity, on view in the Reading Library from August 6, 2025 -August 2, 2026.

carlemuseum.org

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 15h

And then cancellation because of a gas leak at the high school. I did not see THAT coming!

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 18h

Two hour fog delays are the most annoying school delays of all.

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 1d

You say I should work harder, but if I put a long pipe over the end of my wrench it makes turning stuck bolts easier. Physics wants me to not have to work so hard. You go argue with physics.

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 2d

Bump!

Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 7d

It's October, aka American Archives Month, and while it's been a bit warm to don our cardigans, the shrines to Henry from RED are up and it's time to remind romance authors (and authors of all stripes!) about what kinds of things they ought to be preserving. romancehistory.com/2021/10/15/a...

Archives Month: Tips for romance authors (and others!)

October is always American Archives Month, which is of course when archivists don their colorful costumes and dance in the stacks after assembling their shrine to Henry the Record Keeper, as portra…

romancehistory.com

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 2d

GBH does have a ZOOM shop! zoom.shop.pbskids.org?srsltid=AfmB...

The ZOOM Shop

Hubellubo frubiends and welcome to the ZOOM shop! In 1972, GBH introduced ZOOM, a half-hour live-action educational television series for kids ages 8 to 12 that helped lay the foundation for GBH ...

zoom.shop.pbskids.org

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 2d

*Beesley, sorry. Anyone can put a cannon shot into the net, fewer can chip it over the keeper and then chase it into the goal.

Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 2d

Jake Beasley just scored a ridiculous goal for Burton Albion and football is so much fun.

Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 2d

Every once in a while, a football youtuber who usually trades in the very silly will hit upon a great video. Here’s a great one where Ellis goes to the Homeless World Cup. Keep hankies handy. youtu.be/Ryxiv-V73wg?...

The REALITY Of Modern Football

YouTube video by AwayDays

youtu.be

Reposted by Steve A

David DeWitt @daviddewitt.bsky.social · 2d

The Ohio Capital Journal: Fair, Fearless, Free. Reporting for the People. Subscribe to our morning newsletter. ohiocapitaljournal.com/subscribe/

Subscribe • Ohio Capital Journal

With waggish headlines and sharp insight, you can start your news morning off right with the latest from the Ohio Capital Journal and highlights from other publications across the state. We will lead…

ohiocapitaljournal.com

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Reposted by Steve A

skellyton bones jensen @heykellyjensen.bsky.social · 2d

How to be an educated, informed, and pro-library voter in the upcoming election cycle: bookriot.com/library-elec...

Be an Informed Pro-Library, Pro-Literary Voter Now: Book Censorship News, October 10, 2025

Elections in several states will be coming up throughout the months of October and November. Here's how to be a pro-library voter.

bookriot.com

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Reposted by Steve A

Maris Kreizman @maris.bsky.social · 2d

Just a reminder that Banned Books Week isn’t about selling more copies of 1984. It’s about keeping authors and teachers and librarians safe and making sure all of us have the freedom to read widely. www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

Children’s Authors on the Real-World Cost of Book Banning

Authors discuss how having their work targeted by censors has directly affected their livelihood and their well-being.

www.publishersweekly.com

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Steve A @stegan.bsky.social · 3d

Thanks!