Ann Finkbeiner
@annfinkbeiner.bsky.social
4.7K followers 660 following 1K posts
Freelance science writer, mostly astro, some natsec sci, some women-in-astro, some grief psych, otherwise whatever I can get paid to write about. I love Baltimore, I do.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
cosmicrami.com
lol .... also me.

My first attempt I described it as:

"A dull roaring background of rumbling, stretching and squeezing of the fabric of the cosmos, instigated by the cosmic dance of inspiral supermassive black hole binaries"

It was changed to:

"the low-frequency gravitational wave background"

😆
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
jaylyall.bsky.social
Rare moment of journalist solidarity as major news outlets, including WaPo, NYT, CNN, Newsmax, The Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, Reuters and the Guardian, along with the trade publications Task & Purpose and Breaking Defense, all reject new Pentagon reporting rules (no word from Fox yet)
News outlets broadly reject Pentagon rules before signing deadline
The Washington Post and other major news outlets have refused to sign the Defense Department’s restrictive new media policy, citing First Amendment concerns.
www.washingtonpost.com
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
josesepulveda.bsky.social
ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the 94 million pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the #Trump administration’s cuts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program.

My latest video for @propublica.org.
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
bleary.off-the-records.com
If anyone needs me I will be in the museum, lying down next to the bog bodies.
Did people really memorize phone numbers before cell phones, or is that just a movie thing?
2? Questions
I was watching some old shows from the 90s and noticed people would just dial numbers from memory - like they'd call their friends or family without looking anything up.
Made me wonder if that was actually normal back then? Did people genuinely have all their important numbers memorized, or did most folks keep a little address book or written list nearby?
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
kenwhite.bsky.social
Today I was thinking about small kindnesses, simple inexpensive things that brighten a day, and I thought about how the receptionist at my school saved me from humiliation in front of the Headmaster on account of having left my belt in a vase.
/1
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
baltimoremagazine.com
So many Lumbee Indians migrated to the city during its post-World War II industrial boom, they affectionately nicknamed the area where they settled “the Reservation.” But fitting into a segregated city proved a whole new challenge. #IndigenousPeoplesDay
This Land Was Their Land: Baltimore’s Lumbee Indians Claim Their History
Thousands of members of the tribe migrated to Upper Fells Point after World War II. Decades later, Native Americans are only now seeing their stories celebrated as part of the “American story” in main...
www.baltimoremagazine.com
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
ryanequinn.bsky.social
Hey, I'm an @insidehighered.com reporter writing today about how the ongoing shutdown may be affecting, or about to affect, university research. If you have a story to share, please DM me or email [email protected] today. Thank you.
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
helenkennedy.bsky.social
Old CBS would’ve probably spelled the guy’s name right, too.
newsjennifer.bsky.social
CBS News would never put a thinly sourced 'story' by a rookie blogger like this on it's air. Until now. The Free Press isn't a journalism outlet, it's bloggers aren't reporters. This piece is more NYPost than Tiffany Network but I guess that's the goal.

www.cbsnews.com/video/some-n...
Some NYPD officers worry about Mandani becoming the NYC mayor, The Free Press reports
The Free Press spoke to several New York City Police Department officers who are worried about Zohran Mamdani becoming mayor. Olivia Reingold joins CBS News with more.
www.cbsnews.com
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
ceaubin.bsky.social
What The Hell Is Going On, a thread:

I’ve seen some thinkpieces and posts about Portland protests that fail to understand the long-term hyperspecificity of Portland culture/humor, and frame it as a sort of shitposting meme-pilled ironic thing. Which is wrong.

So I’m gonna give you my breakdown.
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
philplait.bsky.social
I have an ask, as they say:

My newsletter is always free on Monday. Please share it with a nerd you know! I love astronomy and space, and I bet you know a lot of folks who do too. My whole point is to get the word out, and you can help immeasurably with that. Thanks!
philplait.bsky.social
In this corner: OCSN-49, a star cluster with hundreds of members wandering the galaxy

And in THIS corner: a diffuse giant molecular cloud with 100,000 times the Sun's mass just minding its own business

It's the CLASH of the EONS! Who will win?

badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/star-clust...

🧪🔭
Star cluster vs. giant molecular cloud: who wins?
The answer surprised me, and I do so love being surprised.
badastronomy.beehiiv.com
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
abbiestev.bsky.social
If any of you fine folks are planetarians in (or want to be in) mid-Michigan, the Abrams Planetarium is hiring a full-time-staff position for the first time in 11 years!! Come work with the astro, scicomm, and informal ed folks at MSU!! 🔭 🧪 (reskeets welcome) careers.msu.edu/jobs/educati...
Educational Program Coordinator II - East Lansing, Michigan, United States
Position Summary The program coordinator will maintain the planetarium, present live shows, and create new planetarium visualizations. In addition, this position will assist customers, assist in educa...
careers.msu.edu
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
marklevinenyc.bsky.social
Murders per 100k residents:
* Houston 19.0
* Dallas 16.6
* San Antonio 15.9
* Ft. Worth 10.8
* NYC 4.6
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
peterpaulrubens.bsky.social
Battle of Heraclius & Chosroes by Piero della Francesca, working in the Cappella Maggiore, Arezzo. Most utterly motionless battle ever painted. Even Uccello moves more than this. Today is Piero's day.
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
brendelbored.bsky.social
Government is like you aren’t sexy enough to do authoritarianism we need some dang DILFS up in here
nslayton.bsky.social
The Texas Military Department confirmed to @taskandpurpose.com it had replaced some of the 200 National Guard troops sent to Chicago for not being "in compliance" with validation standards. This came after photos of heavyset NG members were widely mocked. taskandpurpose.com/news/texas-n...
Some Texas National Guard troops replaced in Illinois after failing to meet standards
An unspecified amount of Texas National Guard troops were replaced in Chicago, shortly after photos of their appearance were mocked.
taskandpurpose.com
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
peterpaulrubens.bsky.social
3/3 The bottom part, so gold and traditional. The top part, space like a miracle. JUST like a miracle, truly. That's Piero, with the polyptych of Saint Anthony in 1469.
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
peterpaulrubens.bsky.social
2/2 This Annunciation is staged before a truly fabulous demonstration of deep perspective. Top segment of Polyptych of Saint Anthony, by Piero della Francesca. It's his day.
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
peterpaulrubens.bsky.social
2/2 While soldiers sleep, the ultimate miracle occurs. And the ultimate painting of it is Piero della Francesca, in 1462. Today is his day.
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
peterpaulrubens.bsky.social
2/2 On the back of Piero della Francesca's Montefeltro portraits, the couple ride in chariots w/ their virtues in front of rather surreal landscape.
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
peterpaulrubens.bsky.social
Federico da Montefeltro (of the famous nose) & his lovely wife Battista Sforza. Frozen in time in their perfect profiles, in 1470, by Piero della Francesca.
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
maxkennerly.bsky.social
Former Presidents consistently talk about the difficulty of getting good information as President, how everyone has an agenda, is telling them what they want to hear, etc.

Most Presidents make some effort to mitigate that well-known problem, but Trump's like "moar bubble, I want only bubble."
swin24.bsky.social
For my piece today at @zeteo.com i wanted to truly underscore how punishingly stupid american fascism is now. Like, my original proposed headline for this was:

Our Democracy Is Imperiled Because One Old Man Won’t Stop ‘Yelling’ At His TV. zeteo.com/p/trump-addi...
Trump’s Addiction to Watching Fox Is Killing American Democracy
Our country is falling apart because one old man, Trump advisers and former administration officials say, won’t stop ‘yelling’ at his TV.
zeteo.com
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
adarayiraviews.bsky.social
EVERY. WORD.

And shut up about “merit,” too.

#FACTS
Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner
kenwhite.bsky.social
“I’m a cop. I am not supposed to feel dread. He’s a brown person. HE’S supposed to feel dread!”

Bari nods sympathetically.
misoshnik.bsky.social
Lmao is this supposed to be a bad thing?
A tweet from Bari Weiss that says “"It's shaken me to my core," a lieutenant said of Mamdani's unexpected victory in June. "The absolute dread I feel is palpable.
"
Today in @TheFP our @Olivia_Reingold talks to the cops who say they will walk if Zohran Mamdani is elected in November:”