Michael K. Bourdaghs

Just a reminder that the UC system was not a party in this litigation. Faculty, staff and the @aaup.org fought on their own. UCLA, and the entire UC system, should be ashamed of themselves, and their leaders should be reminded of their submissives every day.

This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.

Astonishing chart showing support for Takaichi by age.

Traditional narrative is that surfeit of old people in Japan is keeping conservatives in power, but as with Trump in 2024, young people were main driver behind Takaichi's landslide victory.

New Mozilla Firefox version to allow AI features to be blocked Mozilla will allow Firefox users to entirely block current and future generative AI features on the browser.

Mozilla will allow Firefox users to entirely block current and future generative AI features on the browser after user feedback revealed many who wanted an AI-free browser experience.

46th St & I-35w, 175 E 46th St, Minneapolis, MN 55419, USA Description: As I was leaving my home, I hear cars honking near the top the of bridge. People screaming and whistling, I got in my uber and drove out. My uber driver mentioned that they were standing on top of the bridge and doing a check point and stopping people.

46th St & I-35w, 180 E 46th St, Minneapolis, MN 55419, USA Description: 4 vehicles pulled over a man in a red van on 46th over 35. Agents in Police US border patrol vests surrounding vehicle checking papers

ICE is still doing checkpoints in Minneapolis like we are an occupied territory. Life remains really hard here thanks to Trump's thugs.

Long Take A multifaceted portrait of the great Japanese director   For years, Akira Kurosawa resisted writing about himself. “It would turn out to be nothing but t...

Long Take
Akira Kurosawa
A multifaceted portrait of the great Japanese director
translated by @annekmck.bsky.social
www.upress.umn.edu/978151790329...

Can comfirm from MN, as can anyone who lives here, that not a THING has changed except little Bovino isnt peacocking around the streets anymore. And there hasn’t been a third high-profile murder of a white person yet.

But the gestapo attacks haven’t stopped. At all! bsky.app/profile/jyse...

reminder that a small handful of Republicans in the House and Senate could end this madness today

Bruce Springsteen performs ‘Streets of Minneapolis’ for the first time in Minnesota at First Avenue 🎶

🎥: @chrisrstrib.bsky.social

"I'm coming to Boston and I'm bringing hell with me."
--Homan in February

"Do I expect violence to escalate? Absolutely."
-- Tom Homan in March

"I actually thought about getting up and throwing that man a beating right there in the middle of the room"
-- Homan in July, referring to a D congressman

If you want some clarity on how & why community organizing is working here: "Again and again, I heard people say they were not protesters but protectors—of their communities, of their values, of the Constitution. . . . At times what I saw in Minneapolis reminded of what I saw in the Arab Spring..."

Mood in minneapolis right now

Oceanic Japan | University of Hawai‘i Press - Manifold Japan’s oceans demand our attention. Violent, prolific, and changeful, they define life and death on the archipelago: pushing the shore under the rush of tsunami, charging typhoon circulation, feeding...

New book (free open access): "Oceanic Japan: The Archipelago in Pacific and Global History," edited by Stefan Huebner, Nadin Heé, Ian J. Miller, and William M. Tsutsui (University of Hawai'i Press).

manifold.uhpress.hawaii.edu/projects/oce...

Talked to a Somali man today who said his mosque last night was surrounded by neighbors ready to protect them against ICE if needed. Made me feel proud to live in this city.

Cartoon by Mike Luckovich

(7) More information about the project is available at: ceas.uchicago.edu/re-staging-j...

(End of thread)

(6) If you plan to attend, please register at: www.eventbrite.com/e/restaging-a-japanese-american-chicago-a-conversation-with-miri-yu-tickets-1978936551497?aff=oddtdtcreator

(5) The event is open to all who are interested in learning more about the project. It will be held at the Buddhist Temple of Chicago (1151 W. Leland Avenue) from 2:00-4:00 on Saturday, February 7, 2026.

(4) Yu and project co-organizer, Michael Bourdaghs, (Robert S. Ingersoll Distinguished Service Professor in East Asian Languages and Civilizations) will be make a public presentation about their plans, including a video introducing Yu's previous theatrical productions.

(3) "Re-Staging" is based on projects she has carried out in Japan working with residents in areas affected by the 3/11 tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.

(2) Her residency is part of "Re-Staging a Japanese American Chicago," a project sponsored by UChicago's Center for East Asian Studies. Yu will carry out oral history interviews with members of Chicago's Japanese American community and use those as the basis for a new theatrical play script.

The Buddhist Temple of Chicago Asoka Society invites you to a conversation with acclaimed novelist/playwright Yu Miri. Yu is currently in residence at the University of Chicago as a Visiting Research Associate in East Asian Languages and Civilizations. (Thread)

Coming up 1/23/2026 at I-House, UChicago: "Japan Twang!," an hour-long performance of the modern Japanese musical style “Tsugaru-jamisen” by Satō Michiyoshi, including traditional and modern pieces, with commentary by Joshua Lee Solomon.
More info and registration: www.eventbrite.com/e/japan-twan...

'I once saw an Arsenal player stub out his cigarette as he ran onto the field' Ray Davies on his lifelong obsession with Arsenal, from the era of "boring, boring" era to the liquid football of Wenger The Kinks frontman on watching the Gunners with brother and bandmate Dave, and nearly missing a gig to see England’s World Cup win

Great new interview with the Kinks' Ray Davies by Richard Purden on Ray's lifelong obsession with Arsenal football:

www.fourfourtwo.com/person/i-onc...

Best of 2025: Top 10 performances on Chicago stages this year Beginning with Sondra Radvanovsky at the Lyric and including Steppenwolf’s Caroline Neff as well as Ryan Hake as the lead of “Angels in America.”

Chris Jones for the Chicago Tribune: "Best of 2025: Top 10 performances on Chicago stages this year." I am in strong agreement with his #1 and #3, both of which were highlights of our year at local theaters.

www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/26/b...

10 Favorites From 2025 and Year in Review - Read Japanese Literature Picking my favorite new translations from the year and noting trends in what publishers are putting out.

From the "Read Japanese Literature" site: "10 Favorites From 2025 and Year in Review."
readjapaneseliterature.com/posts/10+Fav...

It really is about the notes you don’t play

Robert Nakamura, ‘Godfather’ of Asian American Film, Dies at 88

"Robert Nakamura, ‘Godfather’ of Asian American Film, Dies at 88." NY Times obituary by Jeré Longman.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/m...

I published a thing! This chapter, on the reasons behind the relatively slow transition to music streaming in Japan, is included in a book on streaming around the world, edited by David Hesmondhalgh and team. luminosoa.org/chapters/e/1...

you ever read a book so bad you wanna go back to mesopotamia and uninvent writing