Richard Rathe's Reflections

Social Media Highlights

Jen Sorensen (@jensorensen@mastodon.social)

Jan 31, 2026

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Latest comic: Hollowed out shells #cartoon #comic #uspol #media #authoritarianism #minnesota

Tjeerd Royaards (@royaards@newsie.social)

Mar 13, 2026

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What we get upset about. Cartoon for Dutch newspaper Trouw: https://www.trouw.nl/cartoons/tjeerd-royaards~bcb45712/ #GasPrices #oil #OilPrices #Iran

John Carlos Baez (@johncarlosbaez@mathstodon.xyz)

Mar 07, 2026

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Manet's famous painting Un Bar aux Folies-Bergère never appealed to me. But now I realize its genius, and my spine tingles every time I see it. The perspective looks all wrong. You're staring straight at this barmaid, but her reflection in the mirror is way off to right. Even worse, her reflection is facing a guy who doesn't appear in the main view! But in 2000, a researcher showed this perspective is actually possible!!! To prove it, he did a photographic reconstruction of this scene. Check it out in my next post. This blows my mind. (1/3)

Richard Rathe (@nickrauchen@c.im)

Feb 18, 2026

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"The world’s oldest known wild bird, Wisdom, the Laysan albatross, has returned to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge to nest." ..."Wisdom is estimated to be at least 75 years old. This makes her the world’s oldest known wild bird. In her lifetime, scientists estimate that Wisdom has flown more than 3 million miles, laid 50–60 eggs, and fledged some 30 chicks." https://medium.com/discourse/shes-back-wisdom-the-incredible-laysan-albatross-has-returned-2fcff1ba0cdf

Richard Rathe (@nickrauchen@c.im)

Feb 08, 2026

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#SuperbOwl #BarredOwl #Owls #Birds "Keep looking up!" I hear these guys/gals every day, often in the late afternoon. 🙂 🦉

Richard Rathe (@nickrauchen@c.im)

Jan 31, 2026

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@canyakker@mas.to For all those wondering what #kicksledding is... (like me!) "The kicksled or spark is a small sled consisting of a chair mounted on a pair of flexible metal runners that extend backward to about twice the chair's length. The sled is propelled by kicking (sparka or sparke in the Scandinavian languages) the ground by foot." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kicksled #Kicksled #WinterSports

Brian Jopek (@BrianJopek@mastodon.world)

Jan 29, 2026

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It is in the interest of tyrants to reduce the people to ignorance and vice. For they cannot live in any country where virtue and knowledge prevail. - Samuel Adams

Richard Rathe (@nickrauchen@c.im)

Mar 07, 2026

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"The biggest bird killer in the US (and likely, the world) is #Cats. Outdoor cats kill somewhere between 1.3 billion and 4 billion birds a year in the US alone. Let’s put it this way: for every one bird that dies in the blades of a turbine, domestic cats are dragging roughly 4,000 back to the porch." Article: The harm caused by wind turbines isn't nearly as bad as you think... https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/technology-articles/sustainability/renewable-energy/birds-and-wind-turbines/ #Birds #Windmills

Richard Rathe (@nickrauchen@c.im)

Jan 22, 2026

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#Beach #Rock & #Sand #Sculptures by #JohnForeman I am fascinated by these! Many of them remind me of #Mandalas, in the #Buddhist tradition "As a meditation on impermanence, after days or weeks of creating the intricate pattern of a sand mandala, the sand is brushed together into a pile and spilled into a body of running water to spread the blessings of the mandala." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala#Practice His site: https://sculpttheworld.smugmug.com Images here are from... https://www.designswan.com/archives/stunning-beach-stone-arranging-art-by-jon-foreman.html https://streetartutopia.com/2025/08/20/stone-sculptures-by-jon-foreman/ #Art #FoundArt #Nature

Jerome G (@Jgbird@mas.to)

Jan 12, 2026

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Hummingbird photography is mostly a matter of patience. It’s nice when other birds drop in to explore. Like this Bewick’s wren. You can see a piece of spiderweb on its face.

Firda (@firda@sunny.garden)

Dec 22, 2025

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For anyone who needs a puffin in their life today. #Puffin #Iceland #PhotoMonday #BirdsofMastodon #BirdPhotography #Nature #Wildlife #WildlifePhotography

Richard Rathe (@nickrauchen@c.im)

Nov 16, 2025

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@johncarlosbaez@mathstodon.xyz Love this little bit of history... #Beavers on #Parachutes! (#Idaho 1948)

AI6YR Ben (@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org)

Dec 19, 2025

oulder artist Jenny McCarty’s custom National Parks-pass stickers cover President Donald Trump’s face on the 2026 designs.

Denver Post: Boulder artist Jenny McCarty makes stickers to cover Trump’s face on National Parks passes — and the orders are flying in...

TimemiT (@_timemit_@mastodon.scot)

Nov 16, 2025

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#silentsunday

Teri Kanefield (@Teri_Kanefield@mastodon.social)

Nov 14, 2025

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Hi, Mastodon friends, I've been busy. I decided to turn that long blog post into a free book. Once I started working with it, I saw a million ways to improve it and make it more readable, so I think it's better. I had it professionally proofread, copyedited, and fact checked. Any errors are mine because I had to transfer all the marks to the Indesign document. Anyone wanna advance peek? I don't know how to put a PDF here, so it's on the blog page: https://terikanefield.com/whyextremismhappens/

🦅RichKeller Photography🏳️‍🌈 (@Rihilism@toot.community)

Nov 09, 2025

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Fall gold kaleidoscope. #PhotoHour #fall #FallFoliage #nature #NaturePhotography #abstract #AbstractPhotography #Photography #AltText

Richard Rathe (@nickrauchen@c.im)

Oct 23, 2025

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"How the Peterson nest box saved the Eastern Bluebird" "The Eastern #bluebird indigenous to North and Central America, is said to have once been as common as the American robin. A population decline starting in the early 20th century reduced the number of Eastern bluebirds by an estimated 90 percent, inspiring a grassroots movement to save them. Key to the movement’s success was the Peterson bluebird #nest box, designed by Dick and Vi Peterson of Brooklyn Center." https://www.minnpost.com/mnopedia/2025/10/how-the-peterson-nest-box-saved-the-eastern-bluebird/ #Birds #Conservation

Richard Rathe (@nickrauchen@c.im)

Aug 23, 2025

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Useful #Infographic on "Brain Boosters"... https://www.medscape.com/s/viewarticle/reality-check-brain-boosting-supplements-2025a1000loz "There is no magic pill for brain health." #Supplements #SnakeOil : #Brain #Health

Jerome G (@Jgbird@mas.to)

Oct 31, 2025

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Halloween Phainopepla

Greenpeace International (@greenpeace@mastodon.social)

Nov 01, 2025

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💔 Thinking about this blue whale weaving through shipping traffic instead of simply feeding and living in peace. No animal should have to struggle like this.⁣ ⁣ This is why ocean sanctuaries matter. Safe zones where marine life can rest, recover and thrive, free from industrial pressure.⁣

Tjeerd Royaards (@royaards@newsie.social)

Nov 01, 2025

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A visual summary of inequality. Cartoon from last year. #wealth #poverty #inequality

Richard Rathe (@nickrauchen@c.im)

Oct 20, 2025

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Brilliant #NoKings #WizardOfOz meme!! 👍 👏 (unattributed from FB) No Courage, No Brain, No Heart... NO KINGS! ✊ #Kakistocracy = "government by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous people" We certainly have that with #Trump #GOP, #SCOTUS, and their corporate cronies! 🤮