As a born and bred NYer, let me explain. Trump holds a deep lifelong resentment towards the NYC elite, who have never accepted him. Mamdani’s election terrifies this NYC elite. This makes Trump happy! It’s all about the retribution.

Very important tip, and make sure you do it on all your different gmail accounts

I noticed something “interesting” about the Hong Kong “patriotic” election posters this year. In the past, political posters were a lively gaggle of colors, styles, typo + graphic design. Now all the candidates’ posters look virtually identical , as if they came from a single design shop.

Such a moving, rich essay on the Wilfrido Lam retrospective at MOMA by Holland Cotter. I may have to fly back to NYC for this one. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/a...

Mamdani's victory wasn't only a repudiation of an old and exhausted political establishment in the city, it was also a triumph over the framing power of the political press, and none more so than the New York Times, whose coverage and editorials worked relentlessly to dampen his appeal.

Maybe Mamdani finally has a shot at the Schumer endorsement

Yes to 🧵. None of Kathryn Bigelow’s films stands up to scrutiny imo—peel away the tension and shock and there’s no there there, because she has nothing to say. And what a misuse/ waste of Idris Elba.

Thank you #HongKong apnews.com/article/hong...

chinese tea garden, main street, decatur, illinois, 1980

As I got off the plane at transit in Seoul there was a sign saying “Welcome to Korea” with 🇰🇷on one side and 🇺🇸 on the other. I felt so ashamed. I know it’s been said before but the way in which the US is destroying every shred of people to people global goodwill is depressing and I think irreparable

The NYT article dryly understates this extraordinary protest as “dozens of countries walked out”. In fact only a handful stayed.

Assata Shakur has "died in Havana, Cuba, as a result of health conditions and her advanced age." She was 78.

People are saying that the HK gov't overkilled it with the typhoon early warning signals. But having 24 hours of extra prep time certainly saved the day on my little island (the local council distributed free sandbags!). And even with all the warnings, you still had some wacko typhoon selfie takers.

There's a lot to unpack and learn in this dense doc, but as a Cold War baby I'm riveted by the images of Khrushchev, who loomed in my 6 year old head as the UN shoe-on-desk banger out to bury me. But K, a solid anti-colonialist, is an unexpected hero of this film www.theguardian.com/film/2024/no...

Hong Kong's Typhoon Ragasa couldn't have happened at a worse time for me. I rent a tiny flat that faces the ocean bay on a small island. But right now I'm in the US preparing to fly back to HK soon. My landlord is vacationing in Vancouver. I'm a bundle of nerves and obsessive refreshing of windy.com

Yet another echo of things we did a few years ago when museums in Hong Kong began “rectifying” history

Picked up Zohran posters today. How I got them says a lot about where we're at. The address came by text. When I arrived at the location I was flummoxed--there were no street numbers on any doors. Finally I took a guess and rang one doorbell, got buzzed into a courtyard, another door then, and...

There's also an ad up for a Classical Music Critic, also sprinkled with key phrases like "digital-first writer" "strong visual, audio and video components". Since all my writing comes from the tips of my fingers, does that make me "digital first"?

This is a must-read for anyone who wants to get up to speed on the mess that is Thai politics, written by the man who was overwhelmingly elected by Thais to be PM. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/o...

An ex-colleague has a new freelance gig: ghostwriting for authors in (prestigious) magazines. He does the writing, then runs it through ChatGPT to mimic the authors' style, then copy edits over that version to makes sure the magazine's editors can't detect the AI. How productive is that?

"It's a betrayal. It's like if you found out your husband was cheating on you" www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/w...

I deeply miss his dancing brilliant mind.

Went to see John Woo's Bullet in the Head today, which has been restored and is having a short theatrical run now. This is one of the films that, watching at home in the late 90s on a Kim's Video VHS, made me want to go to Hong Kong. So I guess you could say it is a movie that changed my life 1/x

After one month and change back in New York, I still hear the white noise hum of anxiety every time I go out and about in the streets. I wonder if it fades away as you stay here longer. I can tell you it's incredibly stressful, and I can feel it in every daily interaction.

The detail that really jumped out at me was the high school gym teacher in the shopping mall talking to the reporter while on her phone trading crypto. People, I'm getting serious dot.com crash vibes. www.ft.com/content/8530...

Really just perfect. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

The soundtrack seems designed to lull you into seeing this as poetic not disastrous

I started watching season 1 when it came out and lost interest about halfway, thinking it a sort of weak-tea version of Downton Abbey by a Brit writer who really didn't get America's class culture. Maybe someone can tell me when the plots started to pick up so I can try it again?

The headline underplays the article's range: it's about the loss of ALL arts listings, and, even sadder: the rich historical record of culture in NYC. My ex #VillageVoice peeps will enjoy the shout out to our VV centerfold's terrific editors and writers.

I've always been fascinated by how western pop music culture is adopted in other cultures. This is especially fascinating because certain Americans who also profess to be country music fans would probably blow a gasket if they saw this.

The loss of music listings is "the loss of a world," Gabriel Kahane writes. As a young musician in New York, they were his "bible, syllabus, and road map":

So I'm on an outdoor patio at a strip mall restaurant in a leafy DC suburb with a scenic view of a parking lot and a 7-11. Suddenly a Pop! Pop! Pop! and my waitress pulls me to the ground. "I was on my HS shooting team and that was gunfire!" she says. A real "I'm back in the USA" moment.

An unexpectedly thrilling evening watching the sharpest female minds of the 1970s reduce Norman Mailer to a blubbering fool. Sad that women are still fighting for (over) the same old shit, sadder that public intellectual discourse like this no longer exists. www.criterion.com/current/post...?

I really enjoy Jonathan Kemp’s wine essays which are never just about wine This one dives into the legacy of Rudolf Steiner and pops off a good RFK Jr joke too cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/12...

Duly noted

This is very cool, but I wish the article made the link between "art" and the tiny figures that are always watching over us in the streets and alleys of HK. Chinese gods, Kung Fu action figures, Pokemon minis, tucked into corners to protect, surprise and delight. zolimacitymag.com/isaac-cordal...

Hong Kong, free market darling of global capitalists and Heritage Foundations, has a flat business/corporate tax rate of 16.5 percent. Mamdani's proposing to increase New York City's corporate rate from 7 to 11.5%. And this pushes the panic buttons of big money folks!

@bencollins.bsky.social you might find this article illuminating... www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...

I’ve unlocked another level of Hong Konger-ness. Had lunch at an old beloved noodle place today that I haven’t visited in a couple years and has passed from father to son. Steep decline in broth quality and prices jacked to 50 HKD. Queue of tourists. Oh for the good old days!

“The material is so dynamic and resilient,” says master bamboo scaffolder Daisy Pak. “It’s just like the spirit of Hong Kong.” [Free link:] www.nytimes.com/2025/05/24/w...

Actually, I think he doth protest too much. All the tariff stupidity may end up adding some juice to Hong Kong's economy, which has languished since China imposed its political hardline. HK is a free port, and I'm absolutely sure HKers will figure out how to leverage that in a trade war .

This conversation between @financialtimes.com @gideonrachman.bsky.social and Princeton economic historian Harold James is the most informative big-picture discussion I have seen about tariffs, globalization and the role of the US in the global economy since 1900. www.ft.com/content/2605...

IKEA marketing department 🔥#severance

yep, this is what i think is going on. there is an underlying moral economy where service jobs are feminine and thus undesirable whereas factory jobs are masculine and thus good.

For reference, this is pretty much how the Hong Kong govt sees local and international media outlets that report things or publish opinions it doesn't like. And it's actively shut down at least two of them and jailed the publishers and editors. In case you're wondering how far this can go.

St Vincent and the Grenadines buys island central to Garifuna culture

Boring and ineffective. The US Dems really need to study the exuberant creative protest styles of HK legislators like Long Hair.

Top of my playlist these days when the shame becomes too much. Sun Ra is American greatness. youtu.be/IFJpnVFfF8Y?...

Hello Hong Kong! Hounding (arresting, jailing) of lawyers who defend clients the govt dislikes is straight out of the CCP playbook

In fact it’s the US that needs to be removed atm