English professor in Fukuoka, Japan; research focus on utopias in literature with forays into science fiction, ecocriticism, & monster theory. Immigrant, grandad, LGBTQIA+(bi), intersectional equality for all. he/him https://linktr.ee/azzageddi
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P.S. To anyone reading this note and getting ideas: please be advised that you can’t steal ‘Potholed With Fuckwits’ as an album title. I’m recording it as we speak, in a ruined barn in a remote part of Wales with two old buskers I found passed out in a hedge as I was cycling there.
I have never seen a single news article about whether or not Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer or Kristen Gillibrand need to assure Muslim New Yorkers that they're against Islamophobia and anti-Arab / anti-Asian bigotry
look I'm not myself a political scientist so I can't say what effects it would have for a spate of politicians to crop up saying "the enemy is the oligarchy" and "the enemy is billionaires" while swinging a kettlebell but I think we should try it for science and see what happens
Alaska vowed to resolve the murders of Indigenous people. But when one nonprofit asked state law enforcement officials for a fundamental piece of data — a list of Indigenous murders they’d investigated — the state said no. By @kylehopkinsak.bsky.social, w/ @adn.com
Graham Platner, an oyster farmer from Maine, wants to “claw back wealth that was created by the labor and the consumption of working-class Americans who have not shared in the riches they helped build.”
For some reason this makes me think of people having to choose an author’s photo for their publisher and knowing it will never be as good as this.
Oh, and they don't cover enough vaccines. When I think of how many lives could be saved if the flu jab wasn't about ¥3000--which is not a lot, but enough that way too many people don't get it--and now Covid vax not being covered for most people...I shake my head.
I have my criticisms of Japan's national insurance (mainly what they don't cover, like mental-health therapy and hearing aids), but right below "Junko's family," it's the biggest deciding factor for why we never moved to the US.
The US right already didn’t trust vaccines and public health, it’s so disingenuous to excuse their long history of trying to dismantle public health and frame COVID as their ‘justifiably radicalizing’ moment. Like, please.
I love these. Great 🧵
Bridget and the Garden of Catnip Delights 😆
For a period of a couple of years during the 2010s I was employed regularly by cattle to shoot the covers for the albums they had recorded. It was always wonderfully inspiring to witness the love, hard work & passion they had put into their music, & I really think that comes through in the photos.
Russia Suspected of Jamming GPS for E.U. Leader’s Plane, Officials Say www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/w...
I am with Tom Cox's dad. Ever since I found out Titchmarsh - garden presenter and Chief Fawner Over the Royal Family - was a Farage supporter and pro-Brexit anti-immgrationist.
RIP Graham Greene. Every time he popped up on screen when I was a kid, my mom would excitedly point him out for being an actual Native on the screen. Able to be deadly serious and infinitely hilarious (even in smaller roles like Last of Us), he ate up the screen. Nʌki’wah brother.
Cost of dentist visit, with xray, drilling, filling, etc: ¥1480 (US$10). And whenever I hear what my friends and family are paying monthly for health insurance, I'm stunned. It is almost always WAY more than I pay.
...because they're on the take from corporations that want to make big profits off a dystopian American-style health insurance industry.
Oh and for people who say national health insurance means long wait times...not in my experience. I've almost never had to wait to get seen by a doc or dentist for even minor things. If you're having long wait times, maybe conservatives are purposely making your natl health worse...
I just have to remember to avoid chewing on that side, and especially not floss between the broken tooth and the one next to it, or I'll dislodge the temp filling.
I took this picture 20 years ago and every so often I have to check on it to make sure that creepy ass shit didn’t escape the film and is like standing behind me or whatever
Broke a molar yesterday (I think it had been cracked for awhile, but just gave way). My dentist saw me this morning and did all the xray, drilling, etc. Got the temp filling in, and the real one is being made. Going back next Wednesday to get that installed. Whew--done just before classes start!
Can't help but notice that a lot of the people warning about so much covid going around in their circles, have a shit ton of pictures of themselves happily travelling around to cons all over the place rawdogging the fucking air maskless.
Oh god, someone on a thread invoked “Light of the World” aka the Piss Christ and I am really tired and just got off a plane but my impassioned screed on it was on Twitter and as some of you know, I have FEELINGS ON THIS TOPIC.
Found in the new ¥100 shop that opened up near Nishijin Station, near my home. A set of perfectly good-looking TRPG dice for ¥100! (That's about 68 cents US.) And it's a pretty small shop, too...I haven't ever seen any RPG-specific goods in one of those shops before.
At least 10 gun industry businesses, including Glock, Smith & Wesson, Remington and Mossberg, secretly handed over names, addresses and other data to lobbyists, who used the details to rally firearm owners to elect pro-gun politicians. By @coreygjohnson.bsky.social (Published Oct. 2024)
Walking my dog, I just sometimes pass a pair of lonely forgotten dress shoes at a parking space, sometimes filled with water after a rainstorm.
There's a thing in Japan: Some drivers (I guess ones who've spent a big chunk of their income on a nice car) have special driving slippers. So they take off their shoes to put on the slippers...and sometimes leave the shoes (accidentally) next to their parking space.
LOL! "Uh, but that's AT YOUR HOUSE. You just trust that nobody's going to walk away with your shoes?" When I go to the beach I have a net bag just for my shoes.
One of the great character actors. The screen always lit up when he walked on. There was a kindness about him mixed with humor that you can't fake. Just one of those greats who always made every film or TV show he was in better.
I'm catching vague-posting about there being another genAI "artist" there, someone well-known.
One thing that’s interesting about Platner is he’s the antithesis of a focus-tested candidate and he’s still unbelievably charismatic. Authenticity is exactly why you can’t take your eyes off him when he’s talking. If this man somehow isn’t really This Guy then acting has missed an incredible talent
Crazy drama at DragonCon this weekend. This AI grifter was booted (good), but AA was buzzing about another high profile artist that is clearly using AI in his work.
Can you read 保栄茂 ? If not, don't feel bad: many native speakers can't either! Here are some of the most difficult-to-read Japanese place names from around the country, as determined by various polls. unseen-japan.com/hardest-japa...
Jerry Nadler ends his remarkable career, conceding that his brand of politics on the Middle East is over. “I don’t know what to say at this point,” he said. “I can’t defend what Israel is doing.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/n...
re: The vendor at #dragoncon who got thrown out for selling #genAI products.
On a not miserable note- the booth next to him looks like it belongs to The Art of Leanne Huynh . Her artwork is great and she offers free shipping on orders over $35 www.faedri.com
Its impossible to know what is happening exactly with Missing Trump but a reasonable interpretation of the available info is he had a stroke or mini stroke and is slurring his speech and doesn't want to be seen in public in that condition.
Your pal @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social at the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn. Genuinely hard to take a bad picture of this dude. That's the @nywfp.bsky.social float behind him - follow them and let's make this man mayor and get him the progressive caucus he needs to get things done, NYC!
It's September! That means it's Suicide Awareness Month, and as every year, I'm supporting the Austin Walk Out of Darkness as a member of the Jaywalkers (named in memory of my friend Beth's partner Jay). afspwalks.donordrive.com/participants...
The race btw Cornyn and Paxton is a big “who cares?” They’re both terrible. I’m looking forward to voting against either. If I’m allowed to vote. https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/cornyn-says-hes-confident-in-the-outcome-in-the-texas-senate-race-tells-paxton-to-brush-up-on-the-ten-commandments/#
There is a Facebook group with skilled, kind, and generous veterinarians, vet techs, and animal behaviorists. Every day, they answer an incredible number of insane questions with gruesome photos and try to provide science-backed guidance. The vax denial by pet owners on the page is staggering.
I let out several different audible “NO”s during this video incredible stuff, you gotta watch the whole thing
Is that “anti abortion” a typo?
Ah Guardian, reminding us how big of a roll it played in normalizing Terfism.
The Guardian, in their write up of the reshuffle, completely omit mentioning that Tim Allen, new director of comms, was a Trustee for anti-trans hate group Sex Matters. Instead he gets "Allan’s past colleagues describe him as charming and collegiate". Yikes. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
And it is still a long weekend! Happy #BlueSkyMonday! #Photography #EastCoastKin #ICM
Looking at the Hugo stats (again) and the thing that’s just struck me is how few people vote. Not even nominate, vote! Less than a quarter of those with the requisite membership, in best novel. Cannot fathom having the ability to do so and not using it.
Oh, hey, have you signed up yet for my @storystudiochicago.bsky.social online copyediting (but not just copyediting) series? It's going to be, if I say so myself, super-duper fun.
"Blueskyism" helped make The Onion one of the largest newspapers in the world in less than a year. If we had spent all of our time on Twitter, we'd be poorer, dumber and terminally ill with internet poisoning. He's just angry he's wasting away over there in a nazi agnostic lane that doesn't exist.
I love that one, especially “Em-dash it all!”
TV and screenwriters work job to job. No job is guaranteed, and no job is for life. But we have employer-paid health insurance and pensions (pensions!). We have minimum pay agreements. We have protections and rights. The only reason we have those things is because of our union. #WGA #laborday
We’re only a few years removed from creatjng a vaccine to protect against a deadly airborne virus in a matter of months. Now, we have a scion fail son running the CDC into the ground not because it failed, but because its success conflicts with RFK Jr’s eugenicist ideology.
Today's newsletter. 31 Notes I Have Made About My Dad In My Notebook: the-villager.ghost.io/31-notes-i-h...
My dad on swallowing bubble bath and my mum's crazy lifestyle.
Your occasional reminder that Ming Na Wen
They loaded up those planes with children - some as young as 10. I don’t believe they had a safe place to go in Guatemala. And the government did not care. This admin is the least compassionate of any in my lifetime.
Yes, but the economy is structured for increasing population. Too many retirees and not enough workers is leading to difficulties in Japan…just in time for me to retire in a few years. I’m already worried as a non-citizen I’ll be told “oops, no benefits for you.”
📢 We're launching a new training project to help young people spot and challenge disinformation online. In partnership with @cilipscotland.bsky.social, @youngscot.bsky.social, thanks to support from @tnlcommunityfund.org.uk. Find out more more: theferret.scot/the-ferret-h...
This week!!! (In the USA) This month!!! (In Australia)
Did you know that in the 70s, the British Army created Satanic Panic stories in Northern Ireland. They used blood from the mess hall, set up altars etc and then contacted the media
Also, in much the same way as repeatedly manifesting "Trump is frail and dying" is wishcasting that punctures their illusion of invincibility, making "Vance would be a weak and floundering President" the common wisdom might be advantageous. We can't actually determine that but we can set the tone.
I think the minimum age in Japan is 65 for natl insurance to kick in and cover 70% of the cost.
My favourite brand of political commentary is "Why is this politician doing these apparently nonsensical things that align perfectly with their stated aims and beliefs?"
Every single thing, EVERY SINGLE THING, that RFK has done was predictable and predicted. He is doing what every other fascist eugenicist has done before him. The disability community has been warning about this for YEARS. It is not in any way shape or form mysterious and unknowable.
Google developer #1: "That's it. Our search engine is simple, efficient, and reliable. It's perfect. We're done." Google developer #2, presumably: "But wouldn't it be *more* perfect if the first search result was always a robot who mansplained your search results to you incorrectly?"
Just a reminder that if you’re an author and you’re feeling a certain way about the Mahmoud decision, there’s a place for you: www.authorsagainstbookbans.com
Dragon Con achievement unlocked: gave @maryrobinettekowal.com a Try Not To Set Your Dick On Fire ribbon
Current earworm: “In a Big Country,” by Big Country.
I don't get how people don't realize that a technology that replaces junior and entry level positions in a field destroys that field. There's no skipping steps. You have to be a junior before you can be a senior, and if you don't have senior people, you don't have a field.
Random Fact The “Goldenrod” trading card incidentally used a photo that was taken at the moment of a costume malfunction. Right after the C-3PO oil bath scene, the vegetable oils caused the costume to pop apart creating momentary phallic imagery at the exact moment the photo was taken.
Racists are like bears. You get one bear scoping out your house, leaning against the doors at night, and it's freaking you out a bit so you think "well maybe if I leave it a nice big jar of peanut butter, it'll go away." And now you've got 20 bears, and they KNOW you've got peanut butter in there.
🧵 US states that implemented abortion bans saw higher than expected infant mortality rates, with larger increases among Black infants and those in southern states, according to this analysis of US national vital statistics data from 2012–2023. ja.ma/4aVchPn #MedSky
There are over 18,000 types of lichen in existence. My personal favourite is ‘village bench lichen’, which devotes its entire existence selflessly to gradually making communal public seating more furry and comfortable.
Before writing this piece I knew two things would happen: Someone would read just the headline & make a joke at my expense. (Happened.) Someone would misconstrue it & think all I'm doing is moaning about my health. (Happened.) But stubbornly I wrote it anyway, for people who *aren't* twats.
What’s wild to me: NOW, media outlets & medical organizations are “stunned” by the damage RFK Jr. is doing to CDC, other health agencies, & public health. Me & my colleagues have been screaming about him for years. Years. Even more so in the last year. We were called hyperbolic. 1/
I wouldn’t have thought many Labour MPs came into politics to strip the rights of torture survivors to be reunited with the spouses & children. They need to take a long hard look in the mirror & ask whether Starmer, Cooper & Reeves are really the leadership their careers should be remembered with.
Tangential but it’s notable that when California does things it gets reported as “Newsom” and when Illinois does things it gets reported as “Illinois”
And of course there are the Japanese commenters, but not so many under English-language news articles. The first two groups annoy me much more: the pick-me expats who want to pull the ladder up, and the racist Japanophiles who know very little about the reality of Japan.
The other common commenter on news stories about immigration are people who have only visited or maybe only dreamed of visiting Japan, and have this unrealistic vision of Japan as utopia. They weirdly want to "protect" Japan, and often say things like there should still be samurai...
Also, the people saying "Don't let immigrants in, Japan!" are largely immigrants like me, already in Japan--often calling themselves expats (bc they think it sounds better than "immigrant"), and what they're really against is immigrants who aren't white.
And listen, follow the money means follow the money. Substack funds transphobes and nazis. Substack's VC money comes from Andreesen Horowitz, a firm that, among other things (incl border "security" and defense projects), committed to $400 million in equity investments toward Musk buying Twt.
We keep hearing about the immigration crisis, and I reject the idea that there is one in any wealthy nation. All of these nations have falling birthrates, and all of them need young people. The crisis is that the Far Right is magnifying people's fears to gain power.
This article is about the UK and US, but whenever I see an article about immigration in Japan, there's a ton of comments under it (if comments are enabled) saying "Don't let immigrants in, Japan! Don't repeat Europe's mistake!" And I rdon't believe there's an immigration crisis...UK, US, EU, Japan.
It me. 🙆♀️🙆♀️🙆♀️
I've been saying this exact thing. I love science fiction, with robots, droids, intelligent supercomputers, all that being among the top things I love! And omg ChatGPT etc are NOT what I want!
www.asahi.com/ajw/articles...
Ok but hear me out, what if we taxed the fuck out of really rich people
I'd be constantly thinking "This manchild could've built a really comfortable home and given all the leftover money to help out people who need it."
Or how the Save icon on MS Office apps is still a miniature image of a 3.5" floppy disc.
I told my sensei (in very carefully worded, polite language) that that’s kind of why I would hesitate to stay in Japan long-term as a black person (Sensei was like “we need engineers, you’re so good at math”) yeah but I at least know how to navigate the racism in my native country, you know?
If you can read Spanish, I hope you like Sofón, Issue 1. It includes 17 SFF short stories and poems in Spanish, which I really enjoyed reading, editing, and putting together. Sofón is the third speculative fiction magazine from Mexico that pays its authors. I also did the cover art ^u^
When they tell us, over and over, that we have to "reach out" to our MAGA relatives and heal the divisions, these are the kind of people they're insisting we make peace with: open gutter racists who view every Black person as their genetic inferior.
Holy crap! My story "Marginalia" just won the Eugie Foster award at Dragoncon
i think some of what’s happening here is many cishet white leftists inadvertently revealing their belief that LGBTQ people only care about ourselves and that progressive policy is a zero-sum game. marginalized people who are accustomed to banding together for survival often don’t see it that way
When I took the train from LA to Austin, TX, it took 3 days. I had some nice chatting in German with some Amish people who'd been visiting their kids in Arizona. It was still a pretty terrible experience...I didn't get a sleeping berth so I was in the same seat for 3 days.
In my case, it was 2 shots at 20,000 yen each, no discount for national health insurance, but I was able to declare it as a medical expense on taxes which reduced the expense a bit. My reaction was pretty mild: a little fever and joint-ache.
Even in Japan, if the destination is 1000km away, it's usually cheaper to fly. I still prefer train (downtown to downtown, no security lines, leg room, beautiful countryside, much lower ecological impact), but many people just fly on a budget airline.
@erinbiba.bsky.social was kind enough to post the full alt text. There is a police statment out there that exists …parallel … to this narrative. Lots of people seem to know lots of subtext about the area and such.