The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions! This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...

there seems to be one fine art edition of TBOT left in the shop; I believe this is truly the last copy of this edition: shop.specialprojects.jp/products/thi...

Thank you! ❤️

tonight's TBOT event with motoyuki shibata was sold out, but I added a few more ticket spots; 19:30 @ dandelion chocolate Kuramae: tbot.peatix.com/view

TBOT Tokyo Event, one week from today (a few tix left) (and please use the Student Tickets if price is an issue!!): tbot.peatix.com/view

Two weeks until my TBOT event with Motoyuki Shibata — about 25 tickets left (out of 80): tbot.peatix.com/view

Some additional notes on my 2026 New York Times 52-Places to Go pick: Nagasaki craigmod.com/ridgeline/221/

Having a TBOT book event in Tokyo: "THINGS BECOME HOT CHOCOLATE" January 23 @ Dandelion Chocolate in Kuramae, in conversation with translator Motoyuki Shibata tbot.peatix.com/view

reading in situ with @craigmod.com

100 Notable Small Press Books of 2025. The big end-of-year lists mostly feature books from big publishers; this list aims to spread the attention to smaller publishers. [lithub.com]

"There’s a ruthlessness that’s taken hold across all cultural making. Everything turned into a casino, 'traps' galore. Billions as the only goal. Leave “nothing on the table.” Epicurean maximizing. That sort of thing. AI now turning solid ground liquid for the next decade." craigmod.com/roden/109/

For some reason, it looks like the ebook edition of Things Become Other Things is $1.99 today. (Hardcover is also $17, which is the cheapest I've seen it; I still get the same royalties, so, you know, please, buy away 😂) amzn.to/4ntXoYW

＊NEW BOOK ALERT＊ This beauty is being printed as we speak (the pictured is a mockup): 272 full colour pages with the best stories from the Mundo Mendo website. Foreword by @craigmod.com Presale is open at MundoMendo.com/books Become a SEMIBOLD (or BOLD Member) to get it for free. 🚚 Shipping s

Walking 200km of the Kiso-ji (back and forth) starting on Thursday; more deets and signup links here: craigmod.com/ridgeline/216/

A new pop-up walk and newsletter from @craigmod.com is a reason to rejoice. https://mailbot2000.craigmod.com/h/r/3D7AC42BDB99659A2540EF23F30FEDED

You can listen to all the conversations @craigmod.com did during his recent TBOT book tour as a podcast series -- I started with the Robin Sloan one, and it's really great. I've listened to 3 of them now, and they are all a bit different, due to the interviewer. craigmod.com/books/things...

Really loved @craigmod.com’s Things Become Other Things. Beautifully-written along with a healthy dose of humor that somehow manages to sneak up on you.

holy crap, Adolescence was four very very very very very very intense hours of TV, good god (it was very good, too; esp episode 3, wow)

The perils of Shibuya 2025 by @craigmod.com craigmod.com/ridgeline/213/

#Reading today: THINGS BECOME OTHER THINGS by @craigmod.com. As the subtitle indicates, this text is a #walking #memoir, and so much more. Travel writing, personal essay, and cross-cultural storytelling. Stunningly beautiful—sip, don't gulp this one.

Woke, meditated, coffee brought to me by my wife. More coffee on the porch, transported to pilgrimage routes in Japan via @craigmod.com's enthralling "Things Become Other Things". Yoga, a bike ride to a local bakery to pick up breakfast. Quick stop by my office to get some books.. A lovely morning..

I can confirm that the pain I experienced in childbirth cannot be compared to the pain accompanying the passing of a kidney stone. The latter was worse. This piece was a fun read.

"I swept away the everyday to make space for the profound, and my days refilled with everyday things." frankchimero.com/blog/2025/ti...

"real feel" of 43℃ in Tokyo right now; drink lots of water folks, don't get all kidney stoned like me craigmod.com/ridgeline/212/

i've reached a "decision saturation point" where I can't make any more decisions; each additional decision I'm asked to make is like pushing a wire under my fingernails; i've never reached quite this "intense" level of decision fatigue! please don't ask me where to have dinner tomorrow!!

Finally finished. First physical book I’ve read in a long time and one of the best. Impactful in ways similar to Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist and The Pilgrimage. Highly recommended. (And take it slow like I did!) Kudos to @craigmod.com

What a nice page showing you how to move your newsletter off substack: leavesubstack.com

thank you! 🙏

"Take a moment to think about this. Each of us possesses a tangible, living soul. The System has no such thing. We must not allow The System to exploit us. We must not allow The System to take on a life of its own. The System did not make us: We made The System." www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

Aaannnndddddds 104 reviews. Thanks everyone.

9 reviews away from 100 reviews on amazon, which is the world's stupidest metric to look at, but I will fight tooth and nail for every inch of whatever i can get for this book amzn.to/46DQxY4

Goddamn poetry by @craigmod.com. I immediately subscribed and followed. What a piece. What a writer! craigmod.com/ridgeline/210/

"This is modest celebration of the fact that a physical book can be passed along" www.robinsloan.com/newsletters/...

Six showers in one day kinda nasty out there

My cab driver is 12,000 years old

Across the road from Takadanobaba Station, next to the Seibu Shinjuku line running overhead, a row of shops, bars and restaurants has been demolished. They have been there illegally since after the war. takadanobaba.keizai.biz/headline/1478/

working on a post about culture shock and trying to temper the negativity about the state of things in the US

never not doing laundry

Intuition isn’t random–it often leads us to the outcomes we were meant to find all along. Episode 913 with @craigmod.com ✌🏼🌱 GIVEAWAY: 3 winners will receive Craig's signed book + exclusive RRP tote bag! Subscribe to newsletter by July 11th to enter: richroll.com/subscribe

"how will the cult followers rectify the actions of their cult leader" is the silliest question i see posed on social media again and again (variation on: face eating leopards etc); there is no "good faith" in cult membership (ergo no logic, no conversations to be had etc etc etc)

Overtourism is driving Japan crazy, yet the government forges ahead with plans to double the number of inbound tourists by 2030. Ever wonder why? blog.pureinventionbook.com/p/hell-is-ot...

If you have a spare 2h45m, this interview with @craigmod.com is a nice, serene watch. It covers a lot of deep topics. www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfiU...

📚 My summer book list is already filling up and June is halfway through! I'm very much looking forward to reading @craigmod.com's latest. Do you know his work? The guy is a force. Hell of a photographer too. I'm eager to tuck into this one. Soon!

Back in Japan after six weeks in america: my GOD, these roads, these smooth beautiful roads

flight back to tokyo is 8 hours late … so ANA offered me … … … SIXTY-FIVE DOLLARS as compensation ($8/hr is usually what i charge for my time)

what's amazing about using the kindle app on macos is you truly feel the disdain the company has for reading, books, software, user experience, and life itself

Japan folks: Looks like TBOT is in stock on Amazon Japan, shipping next day: amzn.to/3ZXRAho

I don't follow the LLM / model releases because … they're all so stupidly named and the changes feel micro-incremental at best, but this @simonwillison.net breakdown was a great way to peek at the last six months! simonwillison.net/2025/Jun/6/s...