Odds seem good some of you may be having a garbage day. Here’s some recent shots of my cat, ตัวแสบ (Tuasaeb; lit: “Body of Chaos”, menace, etc). aka อ้วน (“fatty”), หล่อสุด (“the most handsome”).

Here’s something no news story about the deadly train/bus collision in Bangkok is likely to include: IKEA played a central role. Don’t believe me? 🧵

Loved this band since go, back in the late 90s. But I have never so looked forward to one of their releases as I did this one today. I’m not even all the way through, and it might already be my AOTY. music.apple.com/us/album/ame...

The Palestinian Authority held the first municipal-level elections in years in occupied territory and in response the Israeli army kidnapped one of the victors and held him hostage and released him only on the condition that he step down from his seat.

Trump fully ate shit on the way out

They’re gonna stop calling it the Hinkley Hilton, huh?

I know everyone’s talking about this, but it marks something of a full-circle moment for me, so… story time, strap in. 🧵 www.wsj.com/business/med...

I cannot believe I have to ask, but… The fuck is the marketing logic of using dog+star in your band or film name? Neither category is terribly interesting in isolation. The combination of the two means nothing to me; I literally cannot imagine what it refers to. It’s 2 words of “who gives a fuck?”.

Man Who Threw Molotov Cocktail At Sam Altman’s Home Claims He Was Following ChatGPT Recipe For Risotto https://theonion.com/man-who-threw-molotov-cocktail-at-sam-altmans-home-claims-he-was-following-chatgpt-recipe-for-risotto/

My god. BAIT might be the funniest show I’ve seen since You’re the Worst.

This is the content I log on for.

On the occasions I’ve been asked what my dream job would be, I’ve only ever had one answer: Writing about books.

Flying back to BKK momentarily, with no real sense of what Immigration will do. The District Office docs I’ve got in tow regarding my impending marriage ought to get me over the line, but the last few entries have been dicey.

My main takeaway from Farrow’s piece on Altman is: How might *I* get salaried for a year and a half to read the first 1/4 of Karen Hao’s book?

Between the reasons laid out in Bin Laden’s mea culpa for 9/11 and Iran’s demands for opening the Strait, you’d really struggle not to conclude there’s no price the US isn’t willing to pay for having a military presence in the Gulf.

What, exactly, would the downsides be if the US never comes back from this?

I wrote a bit unpacking the photobook I’m releasing, reflecting on alienation amidst the death-rattles of everything the internet promised us, the durability of inspiration in tactile creative objects, and what I learned from running mics through bass amps at basement punk shows.

People should check out @joshuastephens.bsky.social Photography... The other video promo for his upcoming photobook contrasts in vibe & pace with the one he posted, demonstrating he's caught multiple aspects of Bangkok, many different slices of life within his beautiful photos.

That's all the events we have for now. Got a few other things to share & highlight. 1st up @joshuastephens.bsky.social friend of the team got a new photo book of Bangkok up for pre-order, In the mix are quite a few Photo's of our Friends protesting. Here's little taster vid. 8/

I did not know Bo, but his loss has me shook. His presence on the Hard Lore pod suggested the deep empathy/curiosity typical of a devoted friend. The grief and stories now flooding my timeline bear that out. Surprise people in how you love. Make them doubt the worst stories they tell themselves. ❤️

I have 32 preorder slots left on my first photobook, Notes on Nourishment — a photo-essay love-letter to a Bangkok at odds with its conventional representation. Preorders are entitled to a print of any (one) image from the book, as well as a note on its backstory, postmarked from BKK. Hit me up.

Elon’s sporting a mustache, now. Can we finally admit this look has always been cop-coded?

This is very sad because it changed our lives so profoundly. Bless up Mark. 🙏

Poppers.

The gf got me a hat with the antifascist iron front symbol on it for bday or such. Walking back from the Israeli Embassy protest today, a young Thai stopped me to compliment it. Turns out: 1. He’s a wobbly 2. He volunteers at the Thai Labor Museum 3. He’s part of an antifascist reading group here.

Outside the Israeli embassy in Bangkok today.

Fucking gutsick. Taking breaks from paltry, negligible paid work to check in with friends in the Gulf, to make sure they’re okay. Seething that my irredeemable country is (once again) spewing terror the world over and hoping the risks it’s inflicting on everyone blow back spectacularly.

I’m selling photo prints again to cover bureaucratic costs in locking down our marriage certificate before my visa runs out. Can ship pretty much anywhere in the world. Hit my site. Holler if something calls to you. www.jxshua.com

"Bangkok has all the components of a magnificent and important city; but its roads are execrable, its drainage abominable, its lighting inferior, its sanitation nil." -Bangkok Times, 1899, but also like every person in Bangkok you talk to about municipal govetnance

Tonight’s protest against the election theft, outside the Bangkok Arts and Cultural Center. As with most protests since 2022, it’s overwhelmingly aunties and uncles. Negligible youth participation.

When Bad Bunny rattled off the names of all those countries last night, he was recounting every nearby government the US has overthrown, right?

Story of Naga who resist. #NoWarThaiCambodia

Tobias Kinter Bencosme, 44, of Miami, FL, is an ICE Supervisory Detention Agent who participated in the illegal home invasion and kidnapping of an elderly American citizen in St Paul, MN on 1/18/2026. Bencosme dragged the Hmong grandfather outside in the frigid air wearing only boxers and a blanket.

Apropos of nothing: I occasionally log into FB to check for messages. At those junctures I see whatever the algo puts in frame. Often, it’s stuff from Bangkok Expat groups. It’s red-pilled dipshits and “psychedelic therapists into tango”, and pretty much nothing in between. GunInMouth.gif

(Hopefully) winding down my exile in Ho Chi Minh City. My evening walks have typically avoided the party areas. But I wandered this way looking for a particular restaurant tonight, and I’m not mad I caught this.

The response to this has been nothing short of shocking. The holiday production deals I’ve been using to keep these prints cheap will probs disappear in a few days. So if you’d like to have something I’ve shot turned into a print for yourself or something else — now’s the time to hit me up!

I finished 100 books this year. Which is bonkers.

In case anyone wants to add something to their wall, or gift something to someone for theirs, I’ve found my way to selling on-demand prints of my photography (which is how I’m surviving this upcoming month in Vietnam, and funding my way back to Bangkok). Holler for sizing/rates. www.jxshua.com

Exiled in Ho Chi Minh City till New Years. Writing, walking, eating.

“Here are the top five songs I heard while held hostage by people who screamed in my face about what an ungrateful failure I am, and then asked me to show them how to work the remote.”

GF: You know what Xmas song I like? :::proceeds to sing Lily Allen’s “Fuck You”::: Me: That’s not a Xmas song. GF: It is for me.

A morning walk.

#MilkTeaAlliance Thailand, Solidarity Collective TH & Thai 4 Palestine are running a digital sticker sale to raise funds to support the victims of the flooding in Southern Thailand. Available here: friendii.art/milkteatha

Listening to the posthumous orgasm segment of the Johnny Appleseed ep of @thedollop.bsky.social just now as I showered and the gf charged in demanding to know Gareth’s whereabouts so she could cave his skull in.

Exchanged emails with a *very* en vogue comic/podcaster this week; very critical of the Riyadh fest, performing in Bangkok in Feb. Offered to pitch a feature ahead of his show, particularly to connect him with audiences who face repression in ASEAN. “We won’t have time for this,” his PR rep said.

If you’re still reeling from the recent gutting of @teenvogue.com, I might recommend either or both of these novels I finished this month. Stories of women-led anti-colonial revolt, but even more noteworthy — stories that tackle the messiness of resistance in pretty unvarnished ways.

Kinda shocked, amidst the tidal wave of memes, that I’ve seen not one connecting Trump to West Ham with a punch line that involves “I’m Forever Blowing Bubba”.