Andrew Varnon
@andrew-varnon.bsky.social
Middle-aged adventurer of the ordinary. #GreenfieldMA #BeerBaseballAndTheBible #BigMessyAmerica #Tennis #PublicSchools Neurodiversity & Sexual Assault awareness. Poet & Essayist. ArtSpace board member. Check out my #Varticles (Varnon + Articles, get it?)
Pinned
The Driftwood Mermaid 🧜♀️— an assemblage of found objects from the beach at the cottage on Lake Huron, where we’re staying. #VernacularArt
Library newsroom? I like it.
"In a sequel to her influential 'Library as Infrastructure', contributing writer Shannon Mattern delves into the organizing force of libraries at a time when public knowledge is under attack."
placesjournal.org/article/extr... @shannonmattern.bsky.social
placesjournal.org/article/extr... @shannonmattern.bsky.social
Extralibrary Loan: Making the Civic Infrastructure We Need
Amid a war on public knowledge, libraries are pushing outward, enlarging the commons through new configurations of civic and creative life.
placesjournal.org
November 22, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Library newsroom? I like it.
Two pots I made in my class at ArtSpace. It was a joy to get my fingers on the clay, but I still have a lot to learn.
November 9, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Two pots I made in my class at ArtSpace. It was a joy to get my fingers on the clay, but I still have a lot to learn.
Viva the New Deal!
November 7, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Viva the New Deal!
Reposted by Andrew Varnon
ONE. WIN. AWAY.
The Blue Jays take Game 5 in L.A. and head back to Toronto with the chance to claim their first World Series title since 1993.
The Blue Jays take Game 5 in L.A. and head back to Toronto with the chance to claim their first World Series title since 1993.
October 30, 2025 at 3:13 AM
ONE. WIN. AWAY.
The Blue Jays take Game 5 in L.A. and head back to Toronto with the chance to claim their first World Series title since 1993.
The Blue Jays take Game 5 in L.A. and head back to Toronto with the chance to claim their first World Series title since 1993.
The ghost of Al Smith agrees.
So anyway, there's my big idea for reviving the fortunes of the Democratic Party:
Make More City.
Make More City.
October 30, 2025 at 1:21 AM
The ghost of Al Smith agrees.
Will Artificial Intelligence stand up to tyrants?
October 29, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Will Artificial Intelligence stand up to tyrants?
It occurs to me that this sounds like a prayer. I don’t know how I feel about that.
Algorithm, help connect me with people who are building community, who are turning things around, connecting locally (#WesternMass for me) and helping their neighbors.
October 26, 2025 at 1:29 PM
It occurs to me that this sounds like a prayer. I don’t know how I feel about that.
Algorithm, help connect me with people who are building community, who are turning things around, connecting locally (#WesternMass for me) and helping their neighbors.
October 26, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Algorithm, help connect me with people who are building community, who are turning things around, connecting locally (#WesternMass for me) and helping their neighbors.
There is a dollars-and-cents argument for why Trumpism is bad for America. It's about corruption, it's about inequality, and it's about instability. Our country is becoming more corrupt, more unequal, and more unstable. We can see that. We don't have to accept it.
October 24, 2025 at 1:26 PM
There is a dollars-and-cents argument for why Trumpism is bad for America. It's about corruption, it's about inequality, and it's about instability. Our country is becoming more corrupt, more unequal, and more unstable. We can see that. We don't have to accept it.
One of the things about our individualistic culture -- the way we assume life is a competition and the market will sort things out -- is that it often rewards selfishness and punishes community-mindedness.
October 23, 2025 at 12:45 PM
One of the things about our individualistic culture -- the way we assume life is a competition and the market will sort things out -- is that it often rewards selfishness and punishes community-mindedness.
Reposted by Andrew Varnon
Yesterday's No Kings protests were apparently the largest since the first Earth Day in 1970
The NYT covered that story with a six column headline across the top of the paper and two full pages inside
Today, two small pics below the fold and a story on page A23
They constantly let America down
The NYT covered that story with a six column headline across the top of the paper and two full pages inside
Today, two small pics below the fold and a story on page A23
They constantly let America down
October 19, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Yesterday's No Kings protests were apparently the largest since the first Earth Day in 1970
The NYT covered that story with a six column headline across the top of the paper and two full pages inside
Today, two small pics below the fold and a story on page A23
They constantly let America down
The NYT covered that story with a six column headline across the top of the paper and two full pages inside
Today, two small pics below the fold and a story on page A23
They constantly let America down
October 18, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Guys, I don’t think we’re going to be able to shoot ourselves out of this problem.
October 17, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Guys, I don’t think we’re going to be able to shoot ourselves out of this problem.
We've been talking a lot about democracy, but the climate crisis may very well be the defining issue of our lives, and solar power is the way forward. (And Trump -- like on many issues -- wants to yank us back to the dark ages.) www.sciencefriday.com/articles/sol...
Solar Energy Is Not Just Good For The Earth—It’s Practical
“Solar and wind power are almost too cheap for our economy,” says author Bill McKibben, arguing the switch from fossil fuels must happen soon.
www.sciencefriday.com
October 16, 2025 at 5:22 PM
We've been talking a lot about democracy, but the climate crisis may very well be the defining issue of our lives, and solar power is the way forward. (And Trump -- like on many issues -- wants to yank us back to the dark ages.) www.sciencefriday.com/articles/sol...
In the 1760s and 1770s, King George tried to subjugate the American colonies using tariffs, government shutdowns, and stationing soldiers in American cities, particularly Boston. 250 years later, Americans still don’t like tyrants. #NoKings
October 13, 2025 at 3:07 PM
In the 1760s and 1770s, King George tried to subjugate the American colonies using tariffs, government shutdowns, and stationing soldiers in American cities, particularly Boston. 250 years later, Americans still don’t like tyrants. #NoKings
We have spent time in Wiiliston. It’s a tidy Burlington suburb. I would expect the people there aren’t thrilled about an ICE facility. vtdigger.org/2025/10/12/o...
vtdigger.org
October 13, 2025 at 12:15 PM
We have spent time in Wiiliston. It’s a tidy Burlington suburb. I would expect the people there aren’t thrilled about an ICE facility. vtdigger.org/2025/10/12/o...
Art History, Nazi Germany and AI: oh my!
No, resurrecting the corpse of Anne Frank so 12-year-olds can gossip with her is not how you “make history come alive.” It’s how you destroy history so that someone can come in, rewrite it, and then author a future to their liking.
October 12, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Art History, Nazi Germany and AI: oh my!
I would like to think critically about the way we use the term “rock star.” What does it say about us that we think there should be a few people who get all the attention and speak for us?
October 9, 2025 at 10:14 AM
I would like to think critically about the way we use the term “rock star.” What does it say about us that we think there should be a few people who get all the attention and speak for us?
I was always leery about Marvel’s The Punisher character.
3c) Want to take the opportunity to share this great article from @truthout.org about racism/fascism and The Punisher character
Marvel’s “Punisher” Was a Hate Symbol Long Before Police Co-opted His Character
The Punisher has long been embraced as a classic superhero, but his comics spread reactionary ideology.
truthout.org
October 9, 2025 at 2:19 AM
I was always leery about Marvel’s The Punisher character.
As long as I've been around, lefties have wondered whether a progressive Democrat could give Springfield's Richie Neal (D-MA) a run for his (large war chest of) money. A new challenger is stenciling his name on the side of his yellow van, readying for a new campaign.
Across western Mass, leftists and progressives are looking for victory at the ballot box, reflecting a faith that local voters are ready to fight for progressive platforms.
By Dusty Christensen and Melanie Duronio. theshoestring.org/2025/10/08/t...
By Dusty Christensen and Melanie Duronio. theshoestring.org/2025/10/08/t...
The left looks to the ballot box
Across western Mass, leftist and progressive candidates believe that their platforms will resonate with voters.
theshoestring.org
October 8, 2025 at 6:08 PM
As long as I've been around, lefties have wondered whether a progressive Democrat could give Springfield's Richie Neal (D-MA) a run for his (large war chest of) money. A new challenger is stenciling his name on the side of his yellow van, readying for a new campaign.
Reposted by Andrew Varnon
I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.
October 7, 2025 at 11:29 PM
I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.
This is a sobering take on a disturbing phenomenon: how our president is making potentially lethal decisions. #NoKings open.substack.com/pub/robertre...
How Trump gets and processes information
How Trump is making potentially lethal decisions
open.substack.com
October 6, 2025 at 10:23 AM
This is a sobering take on a disturbing phenomenon: how our president is making potentially lethal decisions. #NoKings open.substack.com/pub/robertre...
What do you do when you’re stuck?
October 4, 2025 at 12:45 PM
What do you do when you’re stuck?
Reposted by Andrew Varnon
Kept thinking about the debate between Klein and Coates and wrote down some thoughts.
September 28, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Kept thinking about the debate between Klein and Coates and wrote down some thoughts.