WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 16hWarren Hellman tribute band “the Wronglers” rehearsing with Jimmy Dale Gilmore at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, San Francisco. (my old friend Nate Levine on guitar) 020
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Celebrating Dolly day with a book drive at the Unitarian Church of San Francisco. (Note the Dolly votive candle on the altar with the gift books.) 162
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Smithsonian’s Secretary to Resign as Trump Tries to Rule the Institution www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/a...nytimes.comSmithsonian’s Secretary to Resign as Trump Tries to Rule the Institution (Gift Article)In the face of escalating White House attacks about how museums present American history, Lonnie G. Bunch III has announced his decision to depart. 001
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Sigh… the end of an era. But—We’ve got to keep defending the Smithsonian Institution during this nightmare in Washington. “Smithsonian chief to retire as Trump fights to reshape the institution” 011
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 04/09/2026“ make money, not friends” I’m guessing that this is an Elon Musk-inspired motto painted on the back of a Tesla. Sad statement. 010
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 23/08/2026Posters at the Unitarian Universalist Church in San Francisco. 020
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 15/08/2026A KQED reporter joined my Crissy Field & climate change walking tour and filed this report. www.kqed.org/science/1993...kqed.orgReporter's Notebook: A Climate Tour of Crissy Field Reveals Both Past and Future | KQEDA beloved San Francisco shoreline sits at a nexus of both nature and the built environment, of both history and the future. 020
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 02/08/2026California quail reintroduction to Presidio and Crissy field, San Francisco (from the newsletter of the Golden Gate bird alliance) 030
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 01/08/2026Good overview of the current science regarding the when and how of human arrival in the Americas. If you don’t want to listen to the full 20+ minute presentation, the short version is: Humans most likely arrived in the New World along the coastal route (kelp highway) at least 22,000 years ago.fb.watch 010
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 26/07/2026« First Unitarian Church of San Francisco, Franklin & Geary. Originally built in 1889 and designed in the Richardson Romanesque style, the landmark building also houses the gravesite of the influential 19th-century minister Thomas Starr King. » 000
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 25/07/2026One of the many trumpian-maga efforts to suppress objectivity and a critical understanding of US history. news.artnet.com/art-world/an...news.artnet.comI Watched the Unhinged Anti-Smithsonian Congressional Hearing So You Don't Have To | Artnet NewsAnthea Hartig is called to answer for changes of ideological bias at the National Museum of American History. 010
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 25/07/2026Detailed article about the earthquake. (I was one of several scientists interviewed for the piece) www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/ame...elnuevoherald.comExpertos advirtieron durante décadas sobre los riesgos sísmicos de Venezuela; la prevención nunca llegó“La falta de atención, o el interés por el beneficio por encima de una planificación cuidadosa y reflexiva, desgraciadamente conduce a estas terribles catástrofes”. 000
Reposted by WestPhillyMattauntyr.bsky.social @auntyr.bsky.social · 21/07/2026Everytime the U.S. has a hurricane, the storm always makes its way up to Canada and causes major floods in the east! The U.S. needs better Gulf water management to keep their storms from entering Canada! They have refused to do anything about their hurricanes and we need to raise tariffs! 🤣🤣🤣 1537478
Reposted by WestPhillyMattThe New York Times @nytimes.com · 22/07/2026In @nytopinion.nytimes.com “We are a nation that has moved at speed from the realm of fact colored by opinions to a kingdom of delusion infested with fear,” our columnist Bret Stephens writes about Vice President JD Vance’s recent interview with Joe Rogan.nyti.msOpinion | Call the Veep, Agent Mulder!Have the “space Jews” come to get us at last? 6488
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 22/07/2026One of the many examples of Trumpian fascism. 000
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 22/07/2026After many weeks of overseas travel, it’s great to be home in San Francisco amongst our friends and neighbors! 000
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 17/07/2026What a story! Messi will face Yamal on Sunday in the Argentina-Spain World Cup final. 000
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 12/07/2026Another attack on peer-reviewed climate science: Trump Administration Taps Climate Science Critic to Oversee Flagship Report www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/c...nytimes.comTrump Administration Taps Climate Science Critic to Oversee National Climate Assessment (Gift Article)Matthew M. Wielicki has criticized the scientific consensus on global warming as alarmist. Now he’ll oversee a major federal report on the topic. 011
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 07/07/2026www.facebook.com/reel/1540828...facebook.com 000
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 05/07/2026In Lisbon, watching the Brazil vs Norway game. Not too many Norway fans here.! 000
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 01/07/2026Belgium rallies to tie quite it! Quite a game! Let’s see if Senegal can make a comeback. 010
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 01/07/2026Looking like another European power team is going down. 110
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 01/07/2026Raise a 🥃 to immigrants, who make or nation great! 010
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 30/06/2026The former Prussian Academy of Science, where Albert Einstein was a member until 1933, when he resigned over Nazi policies. 010
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 28/06/2026Stolpersteins in front of Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz (national library), Berlin. Six of these nine “remembered” individuals escaped Nazi persecution by fleeing to other countries. The other three were deported and murdered in Nazi concentration camps. 110
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 28/06/2026“acclaimed artist Yadegar Asisi is the creator of the monumental Pergamon Panorama, a massive 360° walk-through experience depicting the ancient Greek city of Pergamon (in modern-day Turkey) as it appeared in 129 AD.” Berlin Pergamon Museum. 110
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 19/06/2026Midsummer festival in Stockholm; the biggest holiday of the year. 010
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 06/06/2026Caminantes cansados, frente el Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, España. 010
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 03/06/2026Monumento a la Madre del Emigrante, Gijón. Statue of a mother, facing west, in Gijón, Spain (on the north coast, on the Cantabrian Sea) beckoning to her children, who have emmigrated to the New World. Most of us from the americas, have someone like this in our past. 010
Reposted by WestPhillyMattGuardian US @us.theguardian.com · 28/05/2026"No country can guarantee safety if it lacks functioning asylum laws, honest courts, impartial officials and the will to protect people from detention, coercion, disappearance or onward removal," write James A. Goldston and Natasha Arnpriester.theguardian.comThe US has deported thousands to third countries. This must stop | James A Goldston and Natasha ArnpriesterMonitors estimate 17,500 people have been sent to countries they may never have visited – and where they could face further danger 15037011646
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 22/05/2026I bought a medal of Santa Cecilia (patron saint of musicians) in Madrid. I started wearing it yesterday but so far I’m not seeing much improvement with my mandolin playing…. (Santa Cecilia is playing an organ. I thought this was an anachronism, but apparently the organ was invented in 246 BC) 110
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 21/05/2026Congrats to San Francisco in landing this talented orchestra conductor! Welcome Dr. Chan to our symphony! The first woman in this role after more than a century. www.sfchronicle.com/entertainmen...sfchronicle.comSan Francisco Symphony names Elim Chan as its first female music directorThe Hong Kong-born conductor will succeed Esa-Pekka Salonen as music director, becoming the first woman to lead the orchestra in its 115-year history. 010
Reposted by WestPhillyMattUniversity of Pittsburgh Press @upittpress.bsky.social · 11/05/2026Thanks to @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social for this terrific interview with Peter Sopplesa about his new book, Paris After Haussmann: Living with Infrastructure in the City of Light, 1870-1924! newbooksnetwork.com/paris-after-... 1116
WestPhillyMatt @westphillymatt.bsky.social · 14/05/2026Nuclear power plant on the Rhône River, near Valence, France. (About 70% of France’s electricity is sourced from the nuclear industry, and the country is second among European countries in terms of the production of the most carbon-free electricity 000
Reposted by WestPhillyMattD. C. Fitzgerald @dcfitzgerald.bsky.social · 07/05/2026 Black Heron or Black-Egret (Egretta ardesiaca) engaging in canopy feeding…this is so the heron can see past the surface reflection to spot fish. #nature #birds #wildlife #biology 882740411
Reposted by WestPhillyMattAndrew Weinstein @andrewjweinstein.com · 07/05/2026There is something deeply pathological about Chief Justice Roberts insisting the Supreme Court isn’t political while sitting atop the most ideological supermajority in modern history.apnews.comChief Justice John Roberts says Supreme Court is not politicalChief Justice John Roberts says Supreme Court justices are not “political actors.” He says justices are making decisions based on the law, not their personal policy preferences. 116597102755
Reposted by WestPhillyMattRobert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 06/05/2026Don't forget: my old Yale Law classmate Clarence Thomas refused to recuse from Jan. 6 cases despite his wife's involvement in the plot. And he's taken at least 100 gifts worth over $2 million while serving, including from GOP donor Harlan Crow. He's a disgrace to the Court. 990153125777
Reposted by WestPhillyMattAbilu Tangwa. @abilutangwa.bsky.social · 07/05/202610 Reasons to Love Solar Power 1. Zero CO₂ to run 2.Infinite fuel 3.sunlight 4Cuts air pollution 5.Creates local jobs 6.Low water use 7.Price keeps dropping 8.Powers homes + grids 9. Works off-grid too 10. Energy independence Future-proof tech 598146233823