David Rattray
@davidrattray.bsky.social
Editor at The East Hampton Star. Co-founder of the Plain Sight Project.
Reposted by David Rattray
Thea Giovannini-Torelli, hearing a sound like rustling paper, walked out of her bedroom and found a fish, covered in a thin layer of soot flopping on her living room floor near her fireplace. She took it as a sign. By @cgangemi.bsky.social
It Came in Through a Sooty Chimney | The East Hampton Star
A fish dropped from the sky lands in a Montauk living room with a heavy message of . . . accepting death?
www.easthamptonstar.com
December 13, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Thea Giovannini-Torelli, hearing a sound like rustling paper, walked out of her bedroom and found a fish, covered in a thin layer of soot flopping on her living room floor near her fireplace. She took it as a sign. By @cgangemi.bsky.social
A lovely musing on childhood and growing up from @vineyardgazette.bsky.social
Ava on the Rock Is a Portrait of Change
Each summer for the past 18 years Keith Moskow has taken a photograph of his daughter Ava at Squibnocket Beach. In the series, viewers watch Ava and the landscape change over time.
vineyardgazette.com
December 10, 2025 at 11:41 AM
A lovely musing on childhood and growing up from @vineyardgazette.bsky.social
Reposted by David Rattray
Birding in the Time of AI
"Now, anyone can stand in the woods, hold out their damned phone, and say, “Uh, yeah, that’s a black-throated blue warbler,” or whatever, stealing my single parlor trick.
Worse, every time that happens, a tech bro somewhere gets a new Tesla."
"Now, anyone can stand in the woods, hold out their damned phone, and say, “Uh, yeah, that’s a black-throated blue warbler,” or whatever, stealing my single parlor trick.
Worse, every time that happens, a tech bro somewhere gets a new Tesla."
On the Wing: In Birding, Not Knowing Is Okay | The East Hampton Star
Once upon a time, birders might arm themselves with a simple pad and pencil before they tromped off into the woods. When birding, you could touch the sacred, experience wonder, get lost on a loop trai...
www.easthamptonstar.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Birding in the Time of AI
"Now, anyone can stand in the woods, hold out their damned phone, and say, “Uh, yeah, that’s a black-throated blue warbler,” or whatever, stealing my single parlor trick.
Worse, every time that happens, a tech bro somewhere gets a new Tesla."
"Now, anyone can stand in the woods, hold out their damned phone, and say, “Uh, yeah, that’s a black-throated blue warbler,” or whatever, stealing my single parlor trick.
Worse, every time that happens, a tech bro somewhere gets a new Tesla."
Reposted by David Rattray
Nov. 4, 1775: A man named Mr. Coggeshall, described as “somewhat drunk or crazy,” walks to the end of the long pier at the Newport, R.I., harbor, turns "up his backsides” to a British brig anchored nearby and makes “some insulting word.” The ship responds by firing its cannon. 1/2
November 4, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Nov. 4, 1775: A man named Mr. Coggeshall, described as “somewhat drunk or crazy,” walks to the end of the long pier at the Newport, R.I., harbor, turns "up his backsides” to a British brig anchored nearby and makes “some insulting word.” The ship responds by firing its cannon. 1/2
Reposted by David Rattray
Remember what hell life was before all the Little Free Libraries started popping up everywhere?
November 1, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Remember what hell life was before all the Little Free Libraries started popping up everywhere?
Reposted by David Rattray
Oct. 3, 1925: Police in Liverpool plan to swear in up to 3,000 members of the British Fascists as special constables to crack down on radicals in case of emergencies. The police commander for greater Lancashire and Wirral hopes to employ even larger numbers of the blackshirts.
October 3, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Oct. 3, 1925: Police in Liverpool plan to swear in up to 3,000 members of the British Fascists as special constables to crack down on radicals in case of emergencies. The police commander for greater Lancashire and Wirral hopes to employ even larger numbers of the blackshirts.
Reposted by David Rattray
Sept. 21, 1925: Rosa Julian of Bridgehampton, N.Y., is fined one cent for violation of Prohibition law by having bootleg liquor at home. It’s the smallest penalty ever assessed in Brooklyn federal court.
September 21, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Sept. 21, 1925: Rosa Julian of Bridgehampton, N.Y., is fined one cent for violation of Prohibition law by having bootleg liquor at home. It’s the smallest penalty ever assessed in Brooklyn federal court.
Reposted by David Rattray
July 29, 1925: A hippopotamus at Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo receives a tonsil massage from keeper M.J. Carter.
July 29, 2025 at 2:41 PM
July 29, 1925: A hippopotamus at Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo receives a tonsil massage from keeper M.J. Carter.
Reposted by David Rattray
Spotted lanternflies are now dormant for the winter, but numbers increased this year in the Hamptons. Entomologists expect a population explosion in either 2025 or 2026.
www.easthamptonstar.com/index.php/vi...
www.easthamptonstar.com/index.php/vi...
Spotted Lanternfly Marches East | The East Hampton Star
The spotted lanternfly, after making its first appearance on the South Fork last fall, continued its eastward march in 2024, with the fancy-looking insects showing up in every trap placed here by the ...
www.easthamptonstar.com
December 7, 2024 at 12:18 PM
Spotted lanternflies are now dormant for the winter, but numbers increased this year in the Hamptons. Entomologists expect a population explosion in either 2025 or 2026.
www.easthamptonstar.com/index.php/vi...
www.easthamptonstar.com/index.php/vi...
Reposted by David Rattray
New York has had wildfires because it’s been the driest fall on record, a long #drought. For those living on the East End with #ticks, there is a silver lining. In this week’s @easthamptonstar.bsky.social
www.easthamptonstar.com/villages/202....
www.easthamptonstar.com/villages/202....
An Upside to the Drought? A Downturn in Ticks | The East Hampton Star
Want something nice to talk about on Thanksgiving? Allow yourself to indulge in a little schadenfreude and take joy in the struggles of the hated, the feared, the disgusting, and yes, the misunderstoo...
www.easthamptonstar.com
November 27, 2024 at 6:18 PM
New York has had wildfires because it’s been the driest fall on record, a long #drought. For those living on the East End with #ticks, there is a silver lining. In this week’s @easthamptonstar.bsky.social
www.easthamptonstar.com/villages/202....
www.easthamptonstar.com/villages/202....
Reposted by David Rattray
The Pillars of Creation captured by the James Webb Space Telescope
November 16, 2024 at 6:09 AM
The Pillars of Creation captured by the James Webb Space Telescope
Lee Zeldin combat vet? Not so much. www.easthamptonstar.com/government/2...
November 14, 2024 at 3:20 PM
Lee Zeldin combat vet? Not so much. www.easthamptonstar.com/government/2...
Reposted by David Rattray
The new US Sec of Defence-to-be and the Christchurch terrorist have something in common.
Never a good time in politics when historians - esp historians of the crusades - have to comment on current matters. @tlecaque.bsky.social and I wrote about incoming Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s tattoos - and their violent meaning for @thebulwark.bsky.social: open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...
What’s the Deal With Pete Hegseth’s Crusader Tattoos?
Donald Trump’s potential secretary of defense hasn’t been straightforward about the violent symbolism of his ink.
open.substack.com
November 14, 2024 at 8:27 AM
The new US Sec of Defence-to-be and the Christchurch terrorist have something in common.