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John A. Martini

@johnamartini.bsky.social
289 followers 63 following 516 posts

Historian, author, retired National Park Ranger, former museum curator. Proud native San Franciscan.

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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
#scalemodels #histscalemodels Progress on the 1/35 M3 halftrack from Andy's/Takom. Very happy with overall fit and detail. Just started weathering, including distressing the seat cushions as if they'd been sat in. Only complaint is the thick decals. Had to flood them repeatedly with MicroSol.
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Question: If people have never filed a claim, what fraud has been committed?
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Other historic sites with Trump renaming possibilities include Manzanar, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, Wounded Knee, Andersonville …
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Diana B. Henriques @dianabhenriques.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Well, I have fire insurance and haven't ever filed a claim. Fraud? Clean driving record, but still have auto insurance. More fraud? I'll bet Dr. Oz had malpractice insurance. Did he ever have to use it, or was that a fraud, too?
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Just a Dad 📎 @dadmakingcans.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Hitler and other top Nazis inspect a scale model of a planned triumphal arch in Berlin, circa 1939.
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Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory self-regulated.
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
#scalemodels #histscalemodels Looking for advice on weathering. My latest effort is a 1/35 US halftrack, and I'd like to make the undercarriage look like it's seen some road miles. I found the attached photo of an overturned big rig and want to simulate the dusty gray-ish finish. Hints appreciated!
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The surest sign that a majority SCOTUS decision was moral, fair, and based on existing law:
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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Biden checks his watch at a ceremony and Fox does nonstop segments on it for weeks. But Trump falls asleep repeatedly at the 9/11 ceremony and they won’t even show it. But national broadcast news networks won’t show it either because that would be impolite.
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Samantha Puc 🍉 @theverbalthing.com · 09/09/2026
I need to make something very, very clear. If we are in a Zoom interview and your pet interrupts, you never EVER have to apologize. Instead, please introduce them so I can greet them properly. Thank you for your time.
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
#histscalemodels #scalemodels There's only one real hobby shop within 70 miles of me, and he's going out of business shortly, so I reluctantly visited a Hobby Lobby. In the model section I found a wall of car kits but only two airplane models and a weird carrier kit. It's NOT a replacement store.
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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
The title really says it all.
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Taze' Mae @ohboyblue.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
These are the current gasoline prices in San Francisco, CA. It's only going to go higher
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Socialism is what they called public power. Socialism is what they called social security. Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations. Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people. —Harry Truman, 1952
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jesse jarnow @bourgwick.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
60 years ago tonight, the 13th floor elevators at san francisco's avalon ballroom. sweet soundboard tape: youtu.be/Sgv6x8LNvHA
poster for 13th Floor Elevators at Avalon Ballroom
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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
#sanfrancisco I’m used to cleaning up all flavors of graffiti but this one kinda creeped me out.
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
#scalemodels #histscalemodels I understood at the outset just how small a Panzer I was, but this side-by-side comparison really struck me; the tank was actually a smidge shorter than a WWI Model T ambulance. (Both 1:35 scale.)
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George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Anne Lamott: Yes, this happened to me when Biden was president. I sent my grandson to school day and he came back a girl—in a burka. His dad and I still get angry just thinking about it.
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
#scalemodels #histscalemodels Panzer I done, except for a little dirt. For now, it's time to go on the shelf. This is essentially straight out of the box. Only additions were track links used as extra armor (overage from the tracks provided with the kit) and a tarpaulin made from rolled paper.
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Excellent resource!
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
#SFNews #SF #SanFrancisco The fog comes on little cat feet / It sits looking over harbor and city / On silent haunches and then moves on.
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
#scalemodels #histscalemodels Well, the little Panzer I is coming along. The worst part was the individual track links, but that's behind me. I went a bit light on the "dunkelgrau" because on a model this size the official color looks like a lump of coal, so I lightened and post-shaded.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
BREAKING NYT: A month after the Trump admin declared without evidence that thousands of noncitizens had illegally registered to vote in Nevada, DHS officials were unable to substantiate the claim — finding just 185 potential anomalies, not the 16,000 claimed last month.
nytimes.com
Homeland Security Unable to Prove That Thousands of Noncitizens Registered to Vote in Nevada
The Department of Homeland Security told Nevada election officials that it identified 185 “potential” noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls, not the nearly 16,000 it claimed last month.
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
#histscalemodels Working on aging Panzer I model kit. So tiny, especially after working on Sherman’s and other German armor. Hard to believe this is 1/35 scale.
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Scott MacFarlane @macfarlanenews.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Per internal park service records obtained by "Scott MacFarlane Reports" The $5 million allotted by Nat Park Service for Trump's helipad is roughly the same amount of $ set aside this year for all of: Gettysburg National historic site Olympic Natl Park Glen Canyon Bryce Canyon
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Carol 🍁 @carolcdt.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Mainstream media isn’t talking about it, but bulldozers and construction crews have descended upon Texas’ Big Bend National Park as the Trump administration moves forward with its border barrier project. The project will permanently damage one of our nation’s greatest natural treasures.
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
#SanFrancisco SF Then & Now. An occasional posting of contemporary versus historic views of San Francisco and the Bay Area. Today, the Golden Gate (pre-Bridge) circa 1906, and today. Two houses on the bluff were lighthouse keepers' homes. Must have had spectacular views!
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Nearly speechless. "President Donald Trump directed federal officials on Friday to ‌install signs outside the Smithsonian's flagship National Museum of American History to reflect his administration's criticism of how the institution portrays the United States." www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
reuters.com
Trump orders signs outside Smithsonian history museum to correct what he calls 'inaccurate information'
President Donald Trump directed federal officials on Friday to ‌install signs outside the Smithsonian's flagship National Museum of American History to reflect his administration's criticism of how th...
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
"There's still gonna be more bloodshed unless they shut their mouth." Probably not a good sign when federal officials sound exactly like abusive husbands
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Two of Donald Trump's wives would have been deported. And Don Jr. and Barron Trump would have Eastern European citizenships.
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
#histscalemodels #scalemodels Mini disaster. The 20mm AA gun for my 1:35 U-boat didn't quite make it out of the paint shop and I need a replacement. Couldn't find any in 1:35 scale when searching on-line. Any suggestions? (20mm or 37mm appropriate.) Alternately, I leave an empty gun mount.
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Bonnie @bonniefitz.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
You guys hear that? That's how a real president speaks.
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
#skystorians The good folks at Atlas Obscura just posted a podcast interview with me about the Sutro Baths in San Francisco. (Thanks for guys for the multiple plugs about my book on the baths “Sutro’s Glass Palace.”)
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Adam Kinzinger @adamkinzinger.substack.com · 16/06/2026
Trump is the same guy who negotiated the Afghanistan pullout too don’t forget
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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
We wanted to take a moment to thank Judge Angel Kelley of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Judge Kelley has temporarily blocked the National Park Service from
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
#Alcatraz #SanFrancisco On this date in 1962, three inmates of US Penitentiary Alcatraz escaped from their cells and were never seen again. They left behind fake heads "sleeping" in their bunks to fool the guard staff. The heads are now in the museum collection of the National Park Service.
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Adam Kinzinger @adamkinzinger.substack.com · 09/06/2026
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Chris Camfield (AlliedArmour) @alliedarmour.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Same...
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Ann Coulter is back to promoting Donald Trump. This can only mean she saw dollar signs as she has no morality or conscience.
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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
The deleted records covered the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy cases, along with rioters who beat police officers with flagpoles, hockey sticks, and bear spray.
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
I got one the other day from a close friend inviting me for “ an evening of fine dining and conversation.” Immediately suspicious. He eats out of cans.
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
So, if I follow the logic, the President will be only be safe at events if they take place in his bombproof ballroom. But the WHC dinner was an invitation event, not a presidential function. Does this mean all future events to which the president is invited will have to be moved to the WH?
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
#history San Franciso, April 18, 1906: Police Report: 'On Third St. a collapsed building pinioned a man to the ground. Realizing he would be burned to death he begged bystanders to kill him. A large man stepped forward, whipped out a revolver and shot him through the head, killing him instantly.'
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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
How does James Comer have Hillary testify but not Melania?
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
#photography #sanfrancisco Just for fun, one of my favorite streets in San Francisco: Seal Rock Drive near El Camino Del Mar. It drips of post-war, mid-century architecture.
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
#history A friend tried to clean up historic photos using AI and forwarded me examples for review. I was startled to see the program had added nonexistent features, like below… Original photo shows a lone soldier but the AI program added 4 more soldiers at right. Total fabrication Scary stuff.
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John A. Martini @johnamartini.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
Alcatraz penitentiary closed today in 1963 after 29 years of operation. It’s been a historic site for 53 years.
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