Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 23h

Sending support and solidarity to my friends and colleagues in the USGS, NOAA, NSF, NPS, State, and Energy.

Reposted by Callan Bentley

Dr Thomas Clements @taphonomist.bsky.social · 2d

Had the amazing privilege earlier in the year to watch a lithographic limestone plate be made by one last plate makers in Germany. Each plate is cut and then hammered by hand into shape - and after having a go it's very skilled work. Currently they have no apprentices, so a truly dying art.

2 43 110

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 1d

oh.

Cassandra in the 305 @cassandrasaidso.bsky.social · 1d

Right-winger Maria Corina Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, is an enthusiastic trump supporter, describes trump as a “visionary," and says that trump was right to bomb the Venezuelan boat, and he's Venezuela’s best chance for regime change.
😑
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Nobel Peace Prize winner hailed Trump as ‘visionary’ just days before her victory

Maria Corina Machado was given the award for promoting democracy in Venezuela and says that the US president is the country’s best chance for regime change

www.independent.co.uk

3 1

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 1d

A #FridayFold in the Contorted Bed of the Witwatersrand Group in South Africa. ⚒️
More photos of this outcrop in this 2012 blog post: mountainbeltway.all-geo.org/2012/01/06/f...

13 years ago, Callan sits on an outcrop of banded iron formation with tight to isoclinal folds of various shapes. He wears a baseball cap with sunglasses perched on top. The rock layers are red, white, and black.

2 6 51

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 1d

I hear that a lot of that erupted during the Crustaceous.

1 4

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 2d

This is very exciting. I just finished reading Govert Schilling's book "The Elephant in the Universe," about the search for dark matter, and this lensing technique was described as very promising but at the time of publication, it hadn't yet worked. 🔭
www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...

3

Reposted by Callan Bentley

Schmidt Ocean Institute @schmidtocean.bsky.social · 2d

In celebration of World Octopus Day, we wanted to revisit one of our favorite cephalopod sightings, the glass octopus — Vitreledonella richardi filmed during a month-long #PhoenixIslandsCoral expedition in 2021.

25 480 1.2K

Reposted by Callan Bentley

Ainsley S @americanbeetles.bsky.social · 2d

!!!!

Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social · 2d

Scientists suspected that Europe’s largest bats snack on migrating songbirds when they can, but a stunning newly published observation proves it

Bat vs. Robin—Scientists Capture Real-Life Audio of Midair Hunt

Scientists suspected that Europe’s largest bats snack on migrating songbirds when they can, but a stunning newly published observation proves it

www.scientificamerican.com

2 20

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 2d

Beautiful morning for a walk with Pickles.

Buck Mountain with a tan field in front of it, and a wooden fence in front of that, sporting a bluebird nest box on one post. The sky is blue.

A black dog wearing a black collar sits in the grass, with a fence and a tree in the background. The sky is blue.

1 21

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 3d

Yes, Rye-Oh

1

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 3d

They do. That's not how the locals do it.

1 1

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 3d

Rio Rd.

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 3d

What’s the word where you’re from that, when pronounced exactly as it looks, identifies a tourist immediately?

2 6

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 3d

We were delighted to host @weinersmith.bsky.social today in the Geology Lab to give us a talk on the 563 major downsides to settling outer space. ⚒️ 🔭

Photo of a teaching classroom with a middle aged woman standing and a bunch of college aged students sitting. On the screen is the cover of the book A CITY ON MARS and the podcast DANIEL AND KELLY'S EXTRAORDINARY UNIVERSE.

2 2 58

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 3d

A log, petrified with malachite + azurite. University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), 2012. ⚒️

A big log sitting on concrete with a rock wall behind it and a scale pencil on top of it. The log is blue and green!

1 9 86

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 3d

50%

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 3d

I had my first Yellow-bellied sapsucker of the fall this morning, and first Golden-crowned kinglet. The seasons roll on despite the chaotic machinations of humans. 🦉

3

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 3d

Stoked!
Taking my kid to see our third Godzilla movie in the theaters together.
drafthouse.com/charlottesvi...

Pixelated Godzilla image, flames in the background and smoke trailing from the saurian monster's mouth.

8

Reposted by Callan Bentley

Matthew Gillikin @mtgillikin.bsky.social · 3d

It’s ridiculous to me that there’s not a multimodal path from the city to PVCC and Monticello

2 1 20

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 3d

Quite plain and blatant

1

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 4d

I'm listening to Naomi Klein's "Doppelganger" now, & it initially seemed pointless & specific, but she has built it out into something societal + essential. Amazing how trivial matters sometimes take on colossal importance.
Sending optimistic encouragement; I would read anything you write!

4

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 4d

Big music recommendation; I'm catching up on the @wtjuradio.bsky.social shows I missed during last week's Jazz Marathon. This one, on Japanese psychedelic "jazz" (I'd classify a lot of it as rock), is very much worth a listen: www.wtju.net/recent-shows...

Recent Shows - WTJU 91.1 FM

www.wtju.net

4

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 4d

My wife and I watched the Jane Goodall episode of FAMOUS LAST WORDS last night (Netflix); enjoyed the journey. I think it's a pretty cool concept for a show. I didn't agree with everything she said, but I did find the conversation stirred a lot of parts of my brain. Worth watching.

2

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 4d

👇

Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 4d

This has nothing to do with crime. This is an attempt to crush political dissent.

Never before, in our entire 250 year history, has the military or immigration agents been used like this. It's dystopian, illegal, and it should stop.

2

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 4d

It's only the law...
No need to abide by it.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 4d

Breaking News: President Trump signaled that he may try to deny federal workers back pay after the shutdown, in contradiction to U.S. law.

Trump Suggests Furloughed Federal Workers May Not Receive Back Pay After Shutdown

Union leaders and Democratic lawmakers say the move would run afoul of a law adopted under President Trump’s first term.

nyti.ms

1 5

Callan Bentley @callanbentley.bsky.social · 4d

Free Union, VA,
Site of the old Maupin Brothers gasoline station:
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦
𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯?
𝑵𝒐𝒘, 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔

A beautiful field of pink, magenta, and white flowers

2017 Google Earth screenshot showing the location of the old gas station building in Free Union

2025 Google Earth screenshot showing the building is now gone - "it's only fields and trees"

1 9