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Jason Baluyut

@jasonbaluyut.bsky.social

370 followers 190 following 820 posts

I like to write and photograph stuff. I might get political. No to cruelty and broken systems; yes to kindness, love, and openness to possibility. He/him. Also on Mastodon: @[email protected]

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Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · Feb 15

Hello Bluesky! Hoping this is a place where I can share photos, geek out about music/literature/astronomy/other obsessions, and signal-boost like-minded folks trying to stay compassionate, sane, and human in these terrible times.

Here’s some blue sky from my neighborhood. See you around!

A streetlight and a flock of pigeons alighting on a building against a clear blue sky.

Reposted by Jason Baluyut

Susan Kaye Quinn is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 @susankayequinn.bsky.social · 1h

omg this is so great

Trump was like "Portland, get ready! I'm gonna invade with my ICE thugs!"

but it turned out Trump wasn't ready for Portland

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw5z...

A Message From The Frog Resistance

YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

www.youtube.com

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Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 2h

#ThickTrunkTuesday
#TextureTuesday
Tree and field, stones and sunlight.

#photography #trees #stones #texture #lightandshadow

Photo of the trunk of a mature tree growing in a gap in a low wall of stacked stones. The image highlights the texture of the stones and bark, dappled with sunlight. Beyond the tree and stone wall is a vivid green field with mown grass and distant trees. Taken at the Glass House historic site in New Canaan, Connecticut.

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Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 16h

#MonochromeMonday
#FotoVorschlag: At the #Museum

A working vintage voting machine from the Shirley Chisholm exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York. She tried to take us to a better place and we’re still trying to get there.

#photography #monochrome #blackandwhite #history #nyc

Black and white photo of a vertical list of candidates on the face of a mechanical voting machine. At the top is text that reads “1972 Presidential Primary Election / June 20, 1972” followed by “Col. 1 / DEMOCRATIC” and the candidates’ names: Shirley Chisholm, Hubert Humphrey, Edward Kennedy, John Lindsay, George McGovern, Edmund Muskie, George Wallace. To the right of each name is a square window and a small black lever; most of the windows are blank with the levers pointed up, while the lever for Chisholm has been pulled down, causing an “X” to appear in her window.

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Reposted by Jason Baluyut

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 21h

yearly reminder to people insisting that we view Christopher Columbus as "a man of his time" that *the people responsible for the Spanish Inquisition* thought Columbus was out of pocket

Thomas Lecaque @tlecaque.bsky.social · 1d

Christopher Columbus was dragged back to Spain in chains by a crusading knight, convicted of tyranny and immeasurable cruelty, pardoned by Isabella but banned from returning to Hispaniola.

Fuck Columbus.

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Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 1d

#FotoVorschlag
At the #Museum

The new Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History, with architecture inspired by natural rock formations.

#photography #urbanphotography #architecture #nyc

Photo of the central atrium of the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History. The design evokes a rock canyon, avoiding straight lines in favor of organic curves and contours. Sunlight casts the shadow of a barred window in warm rectangles of light on a central “stone” arch. Further back is the glass-paneled facade and entrance, several stories high, beyond which is a tall tree with vivid green leaves and city buildings and streets.

Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 1d

#FotoVorschlag
At the #Museum

From the exhibition “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at the Metropolitan Museum. Designer info in the alt text.

#photography #fashion #exhibition #metmuseum #nyc

Photo of a bald, dark-toned, male mannequin wearing a long gray bomber jacket over a striped collared shirt, green necktie, and light-colored pants studded with rivets. Beside it is an antique bureau with brown wooden drawers topped by a framed rectangular mirror, which reflects the image of a similar mannequin in a sleeveless white top. In the background are scattered displays of more mannequins in various outfits, under a dark ceiling dotted with museum lights.

Museum placard info for the main mannequin:

denzilpatrick (British, founded 2021)
Daniel Gayle (British, b. 1983)
James Bosley (British, b. 1983)
Ensemble, autumn/winter 2024-25
Tailed bomber jacket of gray synthetic twill; trousers of ivory cotton tumbled velvet studded with rivets of bronze metal; shirt of gold-and-ivory striped cotton plain weave; tie of green nylon plain weave; spats of ivory cotton tumbled velvet and bronze metal

Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 1d

#FotoVorschlag
At the #Museum

They each felt something was missing, but when they met at the museum they felt complete. It was like they were made for each other.

#photography #statue #sculpture #metmuseum #nyc

Photo of two marble Roman sculptures on pedestals at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. At left is an armless, headless statue of a male youth, with one leg braced against a sculpted tree stump. At right is the sculpted head of a man. The lighting throws the shadow of the headless statue onto the tiled marble wall between the two artifacts.

Info from the museum placards:

Marble statue of the Diadoumenos (youth tying a fillet around his head)
Roman, imperial period, 1st-2nd century A.D.
Copy of a Greek bronze statue of ca. 430 B.C. by Polykleitos

Marble head of a youth
Roman, probably Claudian period, ca. A.D. 41-54
Copy of a Greek bronze statue of ca. 450 B.C. attributed to Polykleitos

Reposted by Jason Baluyut

Maya Schenwar @mayaschenwar.bsky.social · 1d

SO many neighbors out in RP today!

There is so much horror. And also, countless people in our neighborhood and across our magical city, Chicago, are demonstrating, every day, a loving and fierce dedication to keep each other safe.

unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 1d

There are a tremendous number of ICE watchers out in Rogers Park this afternoon after some early morning abductions.

People are guarding churches and patrolling alleyways. Ran into Alderperson Hadden. First timers tell us they're primed and ready to use their whistles.

Know your rights flyer in Spanish on street pole

Alderperson Maria Hadden on street corner

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Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 1d

#FotoVorschlag
“Himmelsstürmer” / Sky striker, idealist, dreamer

#photography #landscape #silhouette #minimalism

Photo of a young woman in silhouette standing in a flat, empty landscape (Idaho farmland after harvest). She poses artfully, tilting her head sideways and extending one leg out in a “ballet” tiptoe as she stretches one arm upward into a clear blue sky. The sun is a glowing white halo at top frame, sending streaks of light downward. The photo conveys a mood of lightheartedness, expansiveness, and possibility.

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Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 1d

#FotoVorschlag
“Himmelsstürmer” / Sky striker, idealist, revolutionary, “skyward dreamer”

Statue of the Filipina revolutionary Gabriela Silang in her iconic pose: on horseback, bolo striking the sky, fighting for the dream of Philippine independence.

#photography #statue #publicart #philippines

Photo of a bronze statue of a young woman, facing right and riding a horse that rears up with its forelegs raised. The woman's hair flows back as if wind-blown and she wields a raised bolo in her right hand. The statue stands on a wide marbled pedestal. Behind it is a line of palm trees and a high-rise building with the words THE PENINSULA at the top of its facade. High overhead in a blue sky, a tiny moon looks down on the scene.

Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 2d

#SilentSunday

#photography #urbanphotography #streetphotography #brooklyn #nyc #vintage

Photo of a scene inside an ice cream parlor (Brooklyn Farmacy). Some notable elements: A Faema E61 vintage espresso machine — a long metal box in an illuminated red border with a horizontal stripe along the middle — sits on a black counter, flanked by stacked glasses and a water pitcher. The wall behind the counter displays a blackboard sign that reads “Enjoy! HOT CHOCOLATE with TOASTED MARSHMALLOW” handwritten in chalk. A half-spherical ceiling light hangs from a slender stem extending from a patterned tin ceiling. A soda jerk (ice cream parlor worker) in a white hat, white shirt and blue apron walks in from left frame, blurred by his motion. The scene feels cozy, dominated by brown and black tones, in shadows and soft glows.

Reposted by Jason Baluyut

Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 3d

I know not everyone is who they thought they would be under a fascist, authoritarian regime. That's okay. But it's time to do more than react and post about it. It's time to get organized—including mapping or creating lines of support and defense in your community.

Mapping Community Defense and Care in Our Neighborhoods

This worksheet can help us prepare for Trump's military interventions at the neighborhood level.

organizingmythoughts.org

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Reposted by Jason Baluyut

Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 3d

They're talking about killing leftist activists. They're talking about murdering people organizing in defense of immigrant communities, doing mutual aid work, and protesting their violence. They are talking about murdering people like me and my friends. We must do more than acknowledge it's fascism.

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 5d

My gosh. After the US bombed multiple boats in the middle of the ocean, murdering people on grounds that they were allegedly "carrying drugs," the US Attorney General says "Just like we did with cartels, we're going to take the same approach, President Trump, with Antifa."

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Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 3d

One more for #FotoVorschlag
Color: #Orange
Sunset over Brooklyn.

#photography #urbanphotography #sunset #brooklyn #nyc

Photo of a dramatic orange sunset over the Brooklyn waterfront. In the foreground is a low building behind a fence, illuminated streetlights, some tree leaves at right frame, and a container crane with its boom lowered and extended, silhouetted against the sunset glow. Some power lines stretch across the sky from left to right frame. Dark clouds are backlit by orange light, which gradually turns yellow-gold at the horizon.

Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 3d

#FotoVorschlag
Color: #Orange

Pau Villarreal of The Warning. At Warsaw in Brooklyn, September 2024.

#photography #concert #thewarningrockband

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Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 3d

#FotoVorschlag
Color: #Orange

#photography #sunset #minimalism #urbanphotography #blur #bokeh

Photo of the sun shining through tree leaves, as seen through the mesh of orange safety netting in the extreme foreground. The fine mesh texture of additional netting in the middle distance, stretched over a wooden frame, can also be seen. Everything in the image is out of focus, with a lens flare around the sun and all points of light softened into bokeh.

Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 3d

FotoVorschlag
Color: #Orange

Lanterns at a hotel in Hội An, Vietnam.

#photography #lanterns #Vietnam

Photo of a hotel courtyard, taken at ground level and looking up past the railings of 2nd- and 3rd-floor balconies to a rectangle of clear evening sky. Suspended in the foreground at upper left is an illuminated Vietnamese lantern, with silk fabric in a design of colorful birds and orange flowers with green leaves against an orange background. Similar lanterns hang from the ceilings of the different levels of the hotel, glowing softly against the shadows. Past the uppermost level is a glimpse of shadowy plants with pink flowers on the rooftop.

Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 3d

Max liked to sprawl out on my foot, as if I had no other place to be. Sure enough, I didn’t.

#caturday #cats #catsofbluesky #photography

Photo of the hind legs and tail of a gray tabby cat, sprawled on top of a person’s left foot standing on a rug with earth-toned geometric patterns.

Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 4d

#FotoVorschlag
'Das Unsichtbare sichtbar machen' / Making the invisible visible

My trusty telescope, which usually brings the universe into view. But on the lunar eclipse of March 14, I was foiled by the total cloud cover, which made the visible invisible.

#photography #telescope #lunareclipse

Photo of the gray optical tube of a telescope, with a Celestron eyepiece and attached finder scope, pointing up at a featureless, completely overcast night sky. In the background are a red brick apartment building, a street with parked cars, and a tree with bare branches.

Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 4d

#FensterFreitag
Dagger of light.

#photography #windows #WindowFriday #architecture #architecturephotography #skyscraper #lightandshadow #nyc

Photo of the Bank of America Tower in Manhattan, taken from street level looking up. The exposure is turned down so that most of the image is dark — except for a brightly sunlit triangular plane of the building’s facade of glass windows, looking like a narrow, downward-pointing dagger shining in the shadows. The sun is reflected at the midpoint of the triangle’s right edge.

Reposted by Jason Baluyut

Jess O'Thomson @jessothomson.co.uk · 5d

It cannot be made clearer.

If you continue to support the Harry Potter franchise in any way, you are directly funding the removal of trans people's human rights in the UK.

JK Rowling pledges to keep up fight against SNP trans policies

Author vows to bankroll campaigners after Scottish government fails to pay group's legal fees in Supreme Court equality case

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Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 5d

Nice!

Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 5d

#FotoVorschlag
“Briefkästen” / Mailboxes

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night…”

In truth, despite this unofficial motto, US mail can be delayed by bad weather conditions — which is fine, since safety should come first.

#photography #urbanphotography #winter #snow #mailbox

Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 6d

#FotoVorschlag
“(Hoch)Stapelei” / High stacking, piling up

At the Clearwater River in Idaho. Someone left some lovely stone stacks in the river (photo 1) so I decided to contribute my own (photo 2).

#photography #river #stones #rocks #art

Photo of several stacks of balancing stones in a river: many of them smooth, wide and flat closer to the base, tapering to smaller rounded pieces at the top. Sunlight glitters on the golden waves. In the distance are two swimmers, and beyond, a far bank lined with conifers.

Photo of a pile of carefully balanced stones in the middle of a river. The stones are wider and flatter at the base, smaller and rounder at the top. Ripples radiate out from the pile and cast sunlit patterns on the rocky riverbed, which can be seen through the clear water. A beach lies in the distance, with rocks and sand eventually giving way to a dense conifer forest. Further off are more forested hills, fading into blue under a clear blue sky.

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Jason Baluyut @jasonbaluyut.bsky.social · 6d

#FotoVorschlag
“(Hoch)Stapelei” / (High) stacking

Stacks of boomboxes, radios, cameras, and other vintage tech at an electronics shop on Canal Street. I’m not a tech-head, but I still felt a huge rush of nostalgia walking in to get my stereo fixed.

#photography #vintage #tech #nyc

Photo of shelves at an electronics store — New Hi Tech Electronics on Canal Street in NYC — stacked to the ceiling with vintage radios, boomboxes, cameras, and other equipment.

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