Bonnie Taylor-Blake

Something new-ish by me about antebellum uses of “tar heel” and how the epithet may have become linked to North Carolinians by ca. 1860. In short, "tar heel" was used for the marginalized poor across the South before the Civil War. btaylorblake.com/2022/04/29/who… #TarHeels #GDTBATH

Merriam Webster's online cites my work on the origins of "hoochie coochie" in its etymology of "coochie," in the sense of female genetalia. #word-history" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coo…

@EsnpcB Fascinating! Thanks!

It comes from a dance called the Kouta Kouta, one of a variety of exotic and erotic dances made famous during the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. esnpc.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-ko…

To clarify, I am not a fan of Duke basketball. I spoke to a graduating class for the behavioral and social science school at Maryland’s Cole Field House years ago. I closed with “All you have to remember is two words. The second one is ‘Duke.’”

I've suggested that the "Oscar" might have gotten its name from Oscar the penguin, a then-popular animal actor. I'll look at the "penguin-wears-a-tuxedo" joke. #Oscars cc @btaylorblake @QuoteResearch @EsnpcB 1/ newspapers.com/article/los-an…

Dummy critic named "Oscar." Possible Academy Awards connection? (1933). #Oscars cc @EsnpcB @btaylorblake @QuoteResearch @bgzimmer newspapers.com/article/the-at…

@barrypopik Thanks, Barry!

@sahilkapur @SenThomTillis North Carolinian here. I’m hoping that Senator Tillis will vote against the SAVE America Act, if it comes to a vote. It will impose a burden on many of his constituents, including thousands of married women who have taken their husbands’ names. (Senator Budd is a lost cause.)

.@SenThomTillis on the calls to use a talking filibuster to try and pass the Save America Act: “It’s a waste of time. I don't think it's going to result in an outcome. And if you take a look at the chances of success versus the probability of failure, it's not even close.”

Proud to be part of the extraordinary team behind the organization of this year's 10th Oliver Smithies Nobel Laureate Symposium. It is an honor to welcome Dr. Doudna to #UNC-Chapel Hill Fan mode activated in 3, 2, 1 ...

Baseball memory triggers thoughts not of how much time has gone by but how little—how in an instant you are that boy again.

Catchy opening! But the comma splice is unwieldy. Why dont you try "It was not just the best of times. It was also the worst of times."

@SFDukie Hopefully this one.

This is our tax dollars she used as a personal slush fund. She literally should be in prison.

@THEJeffBelanger I went looking for connections between “A Corpse Going to a Ball” and the origin of these small dolls. And I never found it. Nor did I find that Victorians ever thought of penny dolls as the embodiment of a young woman who froze on her way to a ball. btaylorblake.com/2019/07/06/def…

#NewEnglandLegends Podcast Episode 436 – Frozen Charlotte – we head to Benson, VT, to trace the origins of Frozen Charlotte. The tiny dolls were popular in the late 1800s. We trace the origins of this tragic and creepy winter legend. ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-436-fr…

@RaleighReporter Hope she finally gets the message.

For all the hype around Michele Morrow's entry into the U.S. Senate primary, it looks like she may finish fourth behind Thomas Johnson (whoever he is) #ncpol

@UNCBarstool Lee Roberts is a f*cking Dookie. Nuff said.

Lee Roberts is furious right now #DefendtheDeanDome

@DavidWright_7 (Yikes.)

Keep an eye on Rep. Dan Crenshaw's primary challenger

@barrypopik @EsnpcB Thanks for mentioning this, Barry. Don’t know anything about why it’s down, but (frankly) this just adds to my frustration with the site. (I do hope things we’ve saved there are still available when it’s back up!)

NewspaperArchive is still offline? Are there any subscribers with anything to say? cc @btaylorblake @EsnpcB newspaperarchive.com

@paininthecass67 Thanks for this. I once did a lot of research on “frozen charlottes” — their origins and how 19th-c Americans interacted with them — and I could never document a contemporaneous link to “A Corpse Going to a Ball.” If you know of one, I’m all ears!

@btaylorblake Penny dolls as a whole no but these ones in particular are based off “a corpse goes to a ball” Is that how kids and families were using / treating em? No probably not you’re right— but it doesn’t change the source material

How does Pinterest see you? Character Doll Tattoo Animal

@paininthecass67 (I mean, there’s no evidence that Victorians viewed or treated these small dolls in this way, though.)

The doll is a ‘Frozen Charlotte’ I find them at work all the time and I used Pinterest to find a picture of one to show someone once— it’s literally a doll that represents a frozen corpse they used to give to children as a toy 😭😭😭 I pull em out of fields all the fckn time

"March Madness" Indiana high school basketball tournament now pushed earlier, to 1930. I had found a 1931 cite years ago. #MarchMadness #Indiana #highschool #basketball cc @EsnpcB @bgzimmer @btaylorblake @NetsDaily 1/2 newspapers.com/article/the-in…