it's wild that we spent a century telling people that Driving is the ultimate freedom and now that our cities are such a traffic nightmare we've pivoted to sell the exact opposite, that Not Driving (but using an AV chauffeur) is actually the freedom we all need. something something transit.

Well, don't speak Dutch and don't live near Utrecht (or the Netherlands for that matter) so I'm out. That said, someone out there clearly has right stuff to offer. DCE does good work.

Stop subsidizing sprawl! If you want a big fully detached house with a private yard, you should have to pay what that actually costs. It’s outrageous that we’ve artificially made suburbia cheaper than the city in North America.

It looks like Oxford University Press is doing a survey of academics and "AI" use. Sounds like a good time to fill this out (5 mins) and leave useful commentary on, maybe, perhaps, not supporting a toolset whose use directly correlates to worse student outcomes. survey.alchemer.eu/s3/91036107/...

I've been looking forward to this "Neko-ten" for weeks. There's a flyer on my table right now. If you *need* a reason to come to Sendai for a day or so, maybe this is it?

Cattle use up about 50% of our agriculture lands and provide about 3% of our calories.

95% of cyclist deaths are caused by a collision with a motor vehicle. Bike helmets are not designed to protect against a collision with a motor vehicle. They're designed to protect against a 25km/h collision straight down with the ground, something that has never happened in real life.

A video of the recent MJHA "New Books on Japan" discussion with Akiko Takenaka regarding her "Mothers Against War: Gender, Motherhood, and Peace Activism in Cold War Japan" is now available on the MJHA YouTube channel!

your regular reminder to leavesubstack.com

Any U Press that wants to make "we have footnotes" conference swag would immediately run out

Currently being Rickrolled by a department store grocery in Sendai, man what a time

"What you feel in your heart towards the series is almost entirely irrelevant. What matters is what you do, because J. K. Rowling is out there doing a lot of things...Nothing is adequate to the situation except the truth. There is no way to watch the new Harry Potter show subversively"

It's "time to put names on kids' stuff for school" in Japan including writing items such as, "Coupy-Pencils" (クーピーペンシル). These were created in the 1970s by Sakura Color Prod. and French brand Baignol et Farjon. The name is a combination of "coup" and an "-y," purportedly to "soften" the sound.

Saving money on gas starts with smarter alternatives to owning a car. With an e-bike that can handle groceries, commutes, and school drop-offs, you can transition to a one-car family, using it for daily trips and saving thousands each year. #risinggasprices #gasprices #cargobike #ebike #SaveMoney

Truth: reallocated road space for bus and bike lanes fixes traffic, and makes all modes of travel faster and safer (yes, including driving). Lie: Bike lanes cause congestion (I hear this way too often...)

The good news is that in St. Louis it's 314 Day, the STL area code. Pi? Cake!

I reposted an item from @thewaroncars.bsky.social podcast earlier about the absurdity of cars in cities. Let me just add that I just rode a 12km (7mi) rounder to file my taxes and pick up a kettle bell from a train station. Also picked up dinner groceries and donuts otw. Push watts, not gas.

Media & police commonly report that “speed wasn’t a factor in a crash.” What they mean is the driver wasn’t technically breaking the speed limit, or at least not too much. But speed is ALWAYS a factor, in how much distance is needed to stop, how well crash victims can be seen, and whether they die.

"Cars are the most absurd means of transport in a city. They are parked 95 per cent of the time. It takes two tonnes to move someone who weighs 70 kilogrammes. And the denser the city, the more absurd it is."

I have both an acoustic upright road bike with a trailer and a two-seat e-assist chari here in Japan, and taking my kids anywhere is a guaranteed better time with the latter. Less effort, less sweat, and I can go fast enough. (Now if only Sendai would put in more bike lanes)

Nominations are open for the MJHA Book Prize, the F. Hilary Conroy First Book Prize, and the Charlotte J. Conroy Dissertation Prize! For full details, see: mjha.org/Prizes MJHA members or presses can make nominations at mjha.org. Authors do not necessarily have to be MJHA members to be considered.

“If you want to know how it feels to have slaves, in the modern world – and not be blamed openly for this desire – visit Dubai.” newleftreview.org/sidecar/post...

STUDY: Despite conventional wisdom that increases in vehicle fuel efficiency results in decreased gasoline consumption, Jevons’ Paradox holds. For every 1 mile per gallon of increased fuel efficiency there’s an associated 1.2 mile increase in vehicle miles travelled. Better cars = higher emissions.

They really want us to love cars. But why would we love being car dependent? Dependency is never freedom. Mobility freedom comes from mobility choices. #UrbanTruth

FYI, Academia.edu has changed its terms of service to give an irrevocable worldwide license for anything uploaded to its site to be used for generative AI. I do not consent to this and have pulled all my papers.

People who don't ride transit should still support it. Why? Because you can’t build your way out of traffic with more lanes, but you CAN transit your way out of it by giving others a better option. Fewer cars = faster commutes for all. 🚌💨 www.fastcompany.com/91493803/whe...

Browsing through the listings and it seems really, really great? Form a group and start at it for those with an interest. I'll be trying to see how I can influence my urban studies class syllabus with this

The entire print run of classic SF punk magazine ‘Damage’ is now online! dangerousminds.net/comments/the... 'Ryan Richardson is one of the US’ foremost collectors, archivists, & dealers of punk rock records & ephemera, as well as being the Internet saint who created this free online archive.'

Food delivery robots and Waymos are not our friends. www.404media.co/serve-food-d...

feels like i should re-post this every few weeks

The #1 issue grading final papers this semester is my undergrads doing *some of the writing* but then using a chatbot to summarize a paper or book and using that as a "citation." And it's wrong, vague and pointless, or even crossing into misconduct! I won't ever have enough hair for a mohawk again.

An old college friend from Minneapolis shared this GoFundMe for a neighbor who was kidnapped at his immigration hearing. www.gofundme.com/f/community-...

The National Diet Library is exploring the possibility of extending its Digitized Transmission Service for Individuals (DCTI) to those residing outside of Japan. To understand potential demand, the NDL and CULCON have created a survey. Deadline for responses 3/31! forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...

Call for Papers: The Women’s History Network Annual Conference 2026 celebrates 100 years of The Women’s Library and a century of women’s history. Details here: womenshistorynetwork.org/whn-annual-c... #GenderHist #WomensHistory #WHN2026 #CFP Image LSE Flickr: Meeting of WSPU leaders, c.1906.

While the US is being buried in snow, the sea of Japan side here has been getting it for a week too. Weather reports this morning detailed the number of cars which got スタック (stuck) in the snow. Hadn't ever seen that word used in JP prior! Just, stuck!

To delete your TikTok account without agreeing to the new TOS: 1) put your phone in airplane mode 2) open TikTok and go to your profile 3) go to settings and scroll down to delete account 4) turn airplane mode off 5) delete your account Credit to @ kimsaira on instagram for this

You don’t know your role yet maybe, but we are all finding out just what we have to offer. In Minneapolis, one man knew immediately what he could offer and said “Bring me your clothing”.

Personal triumph for me: found a place in Sendai that makes galette des roi/King cake! Growing up round STL meant mardi gras was a Big Deal and eating madly ugly King Cake was incredibly normal.

Apropos of nothing, I discovered LAST ALLIANCE put out a new single in November after literally a decade. Most of the first bands I got to know from Japan (including LA) played this style of "melo-core" melodic hardcore and it still hits right.

There sure are a lot of car commercials running during the Hakone Ekiden broadcast. This feels ....wrong.

For the unfamiliar, this is an annual song contest broadcast on the national broadcaster NHK in Japan and it features highlights and then ncited performers from throughout the year and acts as a metacommentary on japanese popular music more broadly. Shelley Brunt is the scholar to read on this.

Its that time of year again! Time to livetweet the Kōhaku Utagassen!

One of the most successful pedestrian streets in the world, the Strøget in Copenhagen, was filled with cars until a 2 year pedestrianization pilot project in 1962. The opposition argued “no cars means no business,” but the street has been a massive retail success, the city’s busiest shopping street.

Having now been to two formal events in the span of 10 days I am coming ever more to the opinion that there needs to be A) acceptance of PhD robes as formalwear outside graduation and B) varying levels and forms of said robes (winter/summer, or a mantle of some sort?)

Over the past few years, "college/place wear" style clothing has been trendy here in Japan. Sometimes it is real, but often these pieces are just gesturing in the vicinity. Think "University of (name)" over a fake crest. Saw this one today which actually just goes ahead and talks to the meta.

404 Media is making a print zine! About the surveillance technologies used by ICE. 16 pages, riso printed. Shipping early January. Features reworked versions of our best reporting and a few new things. We're very excited! And hope to do more if people like it: www.404media.co/404-media-is...

This is an ocean mimic

Me to my two year old at a friend's wedding here in Japan: Oh, no thank you, no we don't need any pocket hamburger, no thanks.

Read this twice. “Our findings redefine SARS-CoV-2 infection as a condition of long-lasting immune compromise.” www.sciencedirect.com:5037/science/arti...

The opening to the Heikemonogatari, roughly: "The bells of Gion Monastery ring the impermanence of all things, the colors of the Sala flower reveals the truth that all who prosper shall one day fall." 祇園精舎の鐘の聲、 諸行無常の響あり。 娑羅雙樹の花の色、 盛者必衰のことわりをあらはす。