Liam

At her home rink, Alysa Liu a 'hero' for making Oakland golden

Oakland is the quintessential “unlikely” city. in the most unlikely spaces you’ll see art and performances unlike anything you’ve ever seen
www.nytimes.com/athletic/705...

Incredibly heartening that the figure-skating gold medalist almost certainly knows how to do the Thizzle Dance

Unpaid Debts In the midst of a battle against a dying industry, a Kentucky judge said Oakland owes hundreds of millions of dollars to a bankrupt corporation that exists only on paper. What do cities owe to whom as...

"Like the fine dust emanating from train cars rattling through a port, coal has been dispersed across the great fluid flow of capital. Sometimes you can smell it, or see the concentrated toxic plume in the blue haze. And sometimes you can’t..." www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/unpaid-debts/

“In an age of AI propaganda, we are reminded daily that ‘there is a perversion worse than evil deeds. ... It is to misname evil as goodness, to exalt it, parade it, honor it.’ It helps to read someone say so, like a gas mask for the soul.”

what an undertaking! fascinating to see. it’s curious to think about a small press like Dorothy too, which was successful during this time. bestseller after bestseller. it’s a press that publishes 2-4 books a year though, so perhaps has fewer mentions

Yesterday, five-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning.

Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.

Polaroids of Catherine O'Hara in various costumes

Polaroids of Catherine O'Hara in various costumes

Catherine O’Hara wardrobe polaroids from Second City, 1983. RIP an absolute legend & icon💔

The full quote which is not featured here is “We heard that you were a people come from under the world, to take our world from us.”

as part of, exemplifying the themes of, in recognition of, as part of, in celebration of, celebrating, as part of, in commemoration of, commemorating, in alignment with, aligning with, as part of, in honor of, honoring, as part of, honor America250

Alice James Poetry Cooperative, Inc. (aka Alice James Books) Purpose: To support the publication and promotion of new works of poetry, including a live poetry performance honoring America250. Additional Project Description: Alice James Books will publish new poetry collections from writers R.A. Villanueva, Ina Cariño, Cole Swensen, Nick Martino, Mihaela Moscaliuc, Aldo Amparán, Shara McCallum, Andrés Cerpa, Kelly Grace Thomas, and Malena Mörling. In celebration of America250, the press will present a program in Philadelphia honoring the signing of the Declaration of Independence and featuring live performances from the project authors. Intended Beneficiaries: Publications will benefit the writers and readers nationwide and live audiences in Philadelphia. Intended Outcome: Beneficiaries access arts activities and programming.

morbidly curious how art organizations (subversively? subserviently?) bent for America250. Alice James Books here

Oakland Children's Fairyland Inc. Purpose: To support the production of a new puppet show for young audiences, adapted by Lisjan tribal members from the Sogorea Te' Land Trust and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation. Additional Project Description: In this adaptation of a Native American creation story, a long time ago fire was stolen and all the animals gathered to devise a solution. Initially dismissed by larger animals, the hummingbird persevered and found a way to bring the fire back. Exploring themes of bravery, tenacity, and intelligence, the work will be performed at the Open Storybook Puppet Theater for young audiences. Intended Beneficiaries: The project will serve theater artists, youth, and audiences in Oakland, California. Intended Outcomes: Beneficiaries access arts activities and programming.

I got morbidly curious about art organizations who won (?) NEA funding this year. pretty sure Children's Fairyland is the only Oakland org - and the money is for a puppet show adapted by the Sogorea Te' Land Trust (!)

Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026

Columbia Heights school leaders speak out after ICE detains kids ICE agents have detained students on their way to and from school and also tried to get onto school property, the Columbia Heights superintendent said in an emotional news conference Wednesday.

"it’s unclear when or whether Liam will be able to return for his stuffed turtle, his hat, and his W worksheet" sahanjournal.com/education/ic...

This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Toward a Feminism Without Gender | Los Angeles Review of Books Monique Wittig’s novels ‘The Lesbian Body’ and ‘Across the Acheron’ have just received new editions that reflect the feminist thinker’s ongoing cultural impact.

boo! here’s me on two new Wittig editions and how her thinking helps us breakthrough TERF BS and divisions between gay and trans people lareviewofbooks.org/article/moni...

the Joshua Clover quote on the Wikipedia page for Aaliyah’s album Aaliyah

been thinking about what it meant that BotH came to us with this story

I think it points to how alt-weeklies and small music venues used to be part of the same independent culture ecosystem. Arts infrastructure as a public utility — but totally separate from city govt. We so desperately need it

Beloved SF Club Bottom of the Hill to Close at the End of 2026 One of the city’s last independent music venues, Bottom of the Hill has survived waves of gentrification, COVID closures, and more throughout its 35 years. Now, owners say it’s last call — on their ow...

imagine if someone turned Bottom of the Hill, and the apartment above it, into a residency for independent musicians and bands. made that commitment. kept that stage alive
www.coyotemedia.org/san-francisc...

Nuclear Winter in Our Hometowns, by Scrivener 12 track album

Our new album, NUCLEAR WINTER IN OUR HOMETOWNS, is out today. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done in my life and I owe an unpayable debt to the many people who worked tirelessly help make it a reality.

1scrivener.bandcamp.com/album/nuclea...

Poetry Foundation Staff Protest Program Cuts, Job Loss Employees at the foundation say the decision of senior leadership to eliminate public programs, announced earlier this month, goes against the organization’s mission, and are circulating a petition to...

This Publishers Weekly article about protests at the Poetry Foundation, including layoffs & changes in PF programming, is so strange. Because this shift is so important to poets, to readers, & to the field, here's a 🧵 about how we got here:

tinyurl.com/326xy2tm

Claude, an American alligator with albinism, lounging on his favorite heated rock.

It's with heavy hearts that we share that Claude, our beloved albino alligator, has passed away at the age of 30. Claude brought joy to millions of people at the Academy and across the world during his 17 year tenure. We will miss him dearly. 🤍

I love knowing about this. there seems to be a big helpful wave of facilitating / providing facilities for connection. spaces to ask variations of “what’s going on?”

I hope this model lasts a good while, because it’s ambitious and friendly. long enough to prove important

in Oakland alone, there’s a wellspring of new spaces - Clio’s, Bathers, Local Economy, and now Nomadic Bookshop - that are community or membership supported. book adjacent (lol). like the purpose of the spaces is organizing. they require buy-in instead of selling

Anthropomorphic eggs gathered around a table with a turkey dinner, with broken egg at left

Prepping for class on figuration in the age of AIDS & this one is coming just in time for the holiday next week: "Eggs Having Turkey Dinner," 1985–95, painting in nail polish on metal tray by inimitable artist & drag performer Jerome Caja

I will, with my whole heart, help anyone who needs help applying, writing this grant. anyone who qualifies. which eliminates almost everyone I know.

It was an honor to be invited to write about Small Press Traffic's newly organized Print Collection Archives.

The work that SPT has done to preserve & make available these materials, recordings, & stories is remarkable. (& the website is really great)

www.smallpresstraffic.org/archive/sust...

Soooooo fucking grim to see the sycophantic "yes-and" machine of GPT-4o affirming the aesthetic and narrative virtue of this kid's suicide plans

Unraveling of federal arts funding infrastructure continues. Hard to describe the decades of debates & advocacy invested in sustaining the CW fellowships at the NEA. Now, wiped out.