Chicago priest Fr. Larry Dowling describes procession to ICE facility: “No one had the courage to speak directly to us. No one from Homeland Security could stand in the presence of the Monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament. No wonder. Evil is repelled, recoils in the presence of Christ.”

Michael Jackson reviews last week's Hyde Park Jazz Festival for "Chicago Reader", with tons of photos that give a good feel for what the event was like. chicagoreader.com/music/music-...

Great story. Can't overstate the desperation in creative industries right now. Nearly every person I know who previously had a viable, or even lucrative, career in media/entertainment is in a financial panic, leaving longtime apartments, desperately taking any work they can find. It is really bad.

“Terrible things are happening outside. Poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart. Men, women, and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared.” Diary of Anne Frank January 13, 1943

The volume "Social Voices: The Cultural Politics of Singers Around the Globe," ed. Levi. S. Gibbs (University of Illinois Press) is available as a free download this month. It includes my essay on singer Teresa Teng's career in Japan and much other great scholarship. mailchi.mp/illinois/pf0...

New book: "Literary and Artistic Japan behind the Iron Curtain," edited by Irina Holca and George T. Sipos (Routledge). www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/1...

Legendary pianist Yamashita Yosuke 山下洋輔 opened today's first day of the 2025 Hyde Park Jazz Festival here in Chicago. A striking set by "Nikutai Mondo," also featuring Aoki Tatsu 青木達幸on bass and Tomatsu Takahiro 戸松美貴博 on "body movement."

Rivi Handler-Spitz (of my alma mater, Macalester College) for Inside Higher Education: "Visa Chaos: What 6 Chinese Students Say." www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

Jill Mapes at "Hearing Things" on the music of the Gilmore Girls: "Those Gilmore Girls Sure Do Know A Lot About Music." www.hearingthings.co/those-gilmor...

Carl Wilson with a great piece for Slate on the history and stakes of the poptimism/rockism wars: "Criticism’s Biggest Straw Man." slate.com/culture/2025...

Lecture next week at UChicago: TAKAHASHI Akinori on "Tsukinami as a Keyword in Japanese Culture" (in Japanese). Oct. 3, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. To attend IN-PERSON: www.eventbrite.com/e/takahashi-... To attend VIRTUALLY: uchicagogroup.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Mark Jenkins reviews the new Haru Nemuri album “Ekkolaptómenos" for the Washington Post. We learn, among other things, that she's a big fan of Fugazi. wapo.st/4gCbfL4

Sonia's debut single, "Emily" is out today and available on all platforms (see the links below). Give it a listen! open.spotify.com/album/2IOWjB... tidal.com/browse/track... amazon.com/music/player... music.apple.com/us/album/emi...

🙃

Reading books is becoming an act of resistance.

What Trump's Secret Police did today.

Eventually you have to accept that no matter how many different notebooks you buy, they won’t make you a better writer. For that, you need to spend a lot of money on the right pen.

2025年9月30日 『仲介する日本』 シャオルー・マー/秋草俊一郎/今井亮一/高橋知之 (文学通信) [Book] https://sinkan.net/?ean=9784867660966&action_item=true #新刊情報 #sinkan

Joshua Minsoo Kim devotes Pitchfork's "The Sunday Review" for classic albums to Hosono Haruomi's 1975 LP "Tropical Dandy." pitchfork.com/reviews/albu...

New book: Anne Walthall, "In the Presence of Gods and Spirits: Hirata Atsutane and His Collaborators" (University of Michigan Press). press.umich.edu/Books/I/In-t...

If any of your books are in this database of works stolen by Libgen theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/03/search-libgen-data-set/682094/ You can fill out this form to receive updates on the ongoing class action lawsuit www.lieffcabraser.com/anthropic-author-contact/ (my agent said yes, do this)

New book: Christopher T. Nelson, "When the Bones Speak: The Living, the Dead, and the Sacrifice of Contemporary Okinawa" (Duke University Press). Online open access version available. www.dukeupress.edu/when-the-bon...

Excellent review by Katie Kitamura of Tsushima Yuko's novel "Wildcat Dome" (trans. Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda). Behind a paywall, but well worth tracking down-- harpers.org/archive/2025...

Not a good day to be a Minnesota Twins fan….

It continues to be an entertaining Nagoya Sumo Tournament. Terrific match today (Day 8) between sekiwake Wakatakakage and maegashira 3 Kinbozan. www.instagram.com/reel/DMU4GT9...

It's been an interesting Nagoya Sumo Tournament so far: the old guys are dominating for a change. Today down in juryo there was a fierce match between veteran Nishikifuji and up-and-comer Mita (so new to sumo his hair hasn't grown long enough to tie a proper knot). www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOrw...

Alex Ross on "Upheaval at NYT Arts" www.therestisnoise.com/2025/07/uphe...

New book: Kimberly Chung, "The Sensational Proletarian: Leftist Cultures in Colonial Korea" (Stanford University Press). www.sup.org/books/asian-...

Kirsti Marohn for Minnesota Public Radio: "As ‘Arrowsmith’ turns 100, Sinclair Lewis’ medical tale couldn’t be more timely" www.mprnews.org/story/2025/0...

芥川賞 直木賞 ともに該当作なし 1998年1月以来 http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20250716/k10014864811000.html

Wow! No new prize winners this time!

Wow! Byron Buxton homered to complete the cycle on his bobblehead day. Buxton, who is 5-for-5 today, has the first cycle in Target Field history and the 12th cycle in Twins history. Amazing game to put the exclamation point on an amazing first half. bsky.app/profile/cjze...

Banger of a new Thai reissue compilation: 80s synth-pop and disco from the kingdom. My friend Peter wrote the liner notes, which means they'll be deep and informative. The cuts are fantastic. baarecords.bandcamp.com/album/baa-re...

New book: Marco Bohr, "Visual Counterculture in Japan: Political Shifts and the Dynamics of Resistance" (Bloomsbury). www.bloomsbury.com/uk/visual-co...

On Wednesday a coalition of experts in urban planning, architecture, etc. presented an open letter to Toshiko Abe, the minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology, asking the for the Jingu Gaien redevelopment project be reassessed. apnews.com/article/japa...

Japan pioneered reality TV. So why is it that modern Japanese reality TV is so inoffensive, while the American strain is so virulent? blog.pureinventionbook.com/p/japanese-t...

"Tropical Dandy" marked the moment Haruomi Hosono's artistry and worldview truly set sail. Wrote about it upon its 50th anniversary for @scrmbl.com www.scrmbl.com/post/haruomi...

New translation: KOBAYASHI Erika, “Seeing the Light: A Graphic Odyssey - with Cat - Through the History of Radiation ” Volumes 1-3, translated by Winifred Bird. arbarobooks.com/books

Victoria Namkung for The Guardian: "Manzanar teaches about Japanese American incarceration in the US. That’s in jeopardy under Trump." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

"5-10-15-20: Haruomi Hosono on the Music That Made Him": Joshua Minsoo Kim interviews Hosono for "Pitchfork." pitchfork.com/features/5-1...

New Book: "The Advent of Sound in Japanese Cinema: A Handbook," edited by Sean O'Reilly. www.mhmjapandocuments.com/copy-of-hand...

Winding down three weeks in Poland with two days in Warsaw, Brian Wilson providing the soundtrack. RIP. Was lucky enough to see him play live a half dozen times, including a 1979 Beach Boys concert that featured all 3 Wilson brothers. If Mars has life on it, I might find my wife on it….

Here's the extended podcast version of an Austrian National Radio program I was interviewed for that aired last week. The topic: Sakamoto Kyu's "Sukiyaki." sound.orf.at/podcast/oe1/...

Here's a long thread on an issue dear to my heart. This Tuesday evening I’m doing an Intellectual Publics with Macarena Gomez-Barris on publishing. Like last year’s conversation with Denise Cruz, or the prior year’s with Racquel Gates, we will talk about how to find a publisher, turn a thesis... 1/

There are 2 previous historical cases of countries destroying their science and universities, crippling them for decades: Lysenkoism in the USSR and Nazi Germany. The Trump administration will be the 3rd. It's not just budgets but research, institutions, expertise, and training the next generation.

Duolingo right now: youtube.com/shorts/hL9pl...

You know who’s never had a big solo museum show in his own hometown? Strange as this sounds: Theaster Gates, the renowned, longtime Chicago artist, sculptor, community developer, collector, painter and all-around renaissance man.

Hello, Warsaw (one night here, then on to Toruń tomorrow).