Michael K. Bourdaghs
@mbourdaghs.bsky.social
Scholar and translator, modern Japanese literature and culture; I also write fiction, music criticism, and sundry other things. Plus the occasional sumo and baseball post. Faculty at University of Chicago. www.bourdaghs.com
Reposted by Michael K. Bourdaghs
It’s pretty simple.
When you do a huge armed midnight raid on an apartment building rounding up and terrorizing children and later find out there were no criminals there everyone involved resigns in shame and we have loud showy Congressional hearings.
When you do a huge armed midnight raid on an apartment building rounding up and terrorizing children and later find out there were no criminals there everyone involved resigns in shame and we have loud showy Congressional hearings.
November 16, 2025 at 6:31 PM
It’s pretty simple.
When you do a huge armed midnight raid on an apartment building rounding up and terrorizing children and later find out there were no criminals there everyone involved resigns in shame and we have loud showy Congressional hearings.
When you do a huge armed midnight raid on an apartment building rounding up and terrorizing children and later find out there were no criminals there everyone involved resigns in shame and we have loud showy Congressional hearings.
Reposted by Michael K. Bourdaghs
RIP legendary Japanese actor Tatsuya Nakadai. Star of Kurosawa's Kagemusha, Ran, many other classics. He was 92. news.yahoo.co.jp/pickup/6558551
俳優・仲代達矢さん死去 92歳 - Yahoo!ニュース
映画「人間の条件」や黒沢明監督の「影武者」などに主演し、主宰する「無名塾」で後進を育てた俳優で文化勲章受章者の仲代達矢（なかだい・たつや、本名元久＝もとひさ）さんが死去したことが11日、分かった。9
news.yahoo.co.jp
November 11, 2025 at 2:30 AM
RIP legendary Japanese actor Tatsuya Nakadai. Star of Kurosawa's Kagemusha, Ran, many other classics. He was 92. news.yahoo.co.jp/pickup/6558551
Legendary singer-songwriter Kanenobu Sachiko 金延幸子 will do a free concert with her Big Sky Band at UChicago 12/4. We were originally scheduled to do this in 2020 but then the damn virus arrived; I'm delighted we are finally able to do it! Register here: sachiko_kanenobu_performance.eventbrite.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Legendary singer-songwriter Kanenobu Sachiko 金延幸子 will do a free concert with her Big Sky Band at UChicago 12/4. We were originally scheduled to do this in 2020 but then the damn virus arrived; I'm delighted we are finally able to do it! Register here: sachiko_kanenobu_performance.eventbrite.com
New book: Patrick Noonan, "Age of Disaffection: The Aesthetic Critique of Politics in 1960s Japan" (Columbia University Press).
cup.columbia.edu/book/age-of-...
cup.columbia.edu/book/age-of-...
Age of Disaffection | Columbia University Press
The 1960s in Japan have long been understood as a period of radical political engagement. But as political movements from Old Left Communism to New Left revo... | CUP
cup.columbia.edu
November 10, 2025 at 12:46 PM
New book: Patrick Noonan, "Age of Disaffection: The Aesthetic Critique of Politics in 1960s Japan" (Columbia University Press).
cup.columbia.edu/book/age-of-...
cup.columbia.edu/book/age-of-...
Reposted by Michael K. Bourdaghs
Never forget that a Democratic US Attorney’s decision to prosecute Aaron Swartz for downloading JSTOR PDFs contributed to his suicide but AI firms’ decision to download everything ever will be a justification for hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer bailouts and legal exemptions.
“authors & publishers who filed a lawsuit against the Sam Altman-led firm have secured access to internal Slack messages… discussing the mass deletion of a pirated books dataset… A NY district court ordered OpenAI to hand over the communications regarding data deletion”
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
OpenAI in Danger After Authors Suing It Gain Access to Its Internal Slack Messages
Authors and publishers, who are suing OpenAI, secured access to internal Slack messages and emails discussing the deletion of pirated books.
futurism.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Never forget that a Democratic US Attorney’s decision to prosecute Aaron Swartz for downloading JSTOR PDFs contributed to his suicide but AI firms’ decision to download everything ever will be a justification for hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer bailouts and legal exemptions.
Reposted by Michael K. Bourdaghs
A voice that still carries: Aimee Mann’s greatest songs – ranked!
A voice that still carries: Aimee Mann’s greatest songs – ranked!
Thirty years on from the release of her acclaimed album I’m With Stupid, we count down the sucker-punching best tracks by the US singer-songwriter
www.theguardian.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:23 PM
A voice that still carries: Aimee Mann’s greatest songs – ranked!
Norma Field delivers the 19th Annual Tetsuo Najita Distinguished Lecture in Japanese Studies, November 21, 2025 at UChicago.
November 5, 2025 at 3:49 AM
Norma Field delivers the 19th Annual Tetsuo Najita Distinguished Lecture in Japanese Studies, November 21, 2025 at UChicago.
Hiroshima Survivor, In Visit To Chicago, Slams Trump's Call To Resume Nuclear Weapons Testing blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/02/h...
Hiroshima Survivor, In Visit To Chicago, Slams Trump's Call To Resume Nuclear Weapons Testing
Satoshi Tanaka was 1 year old when an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Visiting the birthplace of the atomic age at the University of Chicago's campus, Tanaka called Trump's order "an outrageousl...
blockclubchicago.org
November 3, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Hiroshima Survivor, In Visit To Chicago, Slams Trump's Call To Resume Nuclear Weapons Testing blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/02/h...
Reposted by Michael K. Bourdaghs
Last chance to turn it off.
On Monday, November 3rd, Microsoft will start using your LinkedIn data for AI training. And remember, you're opted in by default.
To toggle it off 👉 Account - Settings & Privacy > Data privacy > Data for Generative AI Improvement.
On Monday, November 3rd, Microsoft will start using your LinkedIn data for AI training. And remember, you're opted in by default.
To toggle it off 👉 Account - Settings & Privacy > Data privacy > Data for Generative AI Improvement.
October 31, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Last chance to turn it off.
On Monday, November 3rd, Microsoft will start using your LinkedIn data for AI training. And remember, you're opted in by default.
To toggle it off 👉 Account - Settings & Privacy > Data privacy > Data for Generative AI Improvement.
On Monday, November 3rd, Microsoft will start using your LinkedIn data for AI training. And remember, you're opted in by default.
To toggle it off 👉 Account - Settings & Privacy > Data privacy > Data for Generative AI Improvement.
New book: Jess Kruk and Wesley C. Robertson, "Peripheral Linguistic Brutality: Metal Languaging in the Asia Pacific" (University of Hawai'i Press).
uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/periph...
uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/periph...
Peripheral Linguistic Brutality: Metal Languaging in the Asia Pacific
Peripheral Linguistic Brutality is a sociolinguistic investigation into the production of “metalness” through language in the Asia Pacific. Concentrating on the ways local music scenes adopt, rejec…
uhpress.hawaii.edu
November 1, 2025 at 5:21 PM
New book: Jess Kruk and Wesley C. Robertson, "Peripheral Linguistic Brutality: Metal Languaging in the Asia Pacific" (University of Hawai'i Press).
uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/periph...
uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/periph...
New book: Alice Volk, "In the Shadow of Empire: Art in Occupied Japan" (University of Chicago Press).
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
In the Shadow of Empire
A pioneering look at an immensely creative period in Japanese art that developed amid the Cold War. Alicia Volk brings to light a significant body of postwar Japanese art, exploring how it accommoda...
press.uchicago.edu
November 1, 2025 at 11:31 AM
New book: Alice Volk, "In the Shadow of Empire: Art in Occupied Japan" (University of Chicago Press).
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Coming up next month in Chicago: former AKB48 member Iwata Karen in a solo performance with songs and stories.
October 30, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Coming up next month in Chicago: former AKB48 member Iwata Karen in a solo performance with songs and stories.
Made it to the bottom of the 11th inning before bedtime arrived here in Chicago....What a game that was!
October 28, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Made it to the bottom of the 11th inning before bedtime arrived here in Chicago....What a game that was!
Reposted by Michael K. Bourdaghs
World War 2 veterans, the original antifa, took part in the nationwide protests against the fascist Trump regime. #3E #NoKings #50501Movement #indivisible #wearetheflood
October 19, 2025 at 12:50 AM
World War 2 veterans, the original antifa, took part in the nationwide protests against the fascist Trump regime. #3E #NoKings #50501Movement #indivisible #wearetheflood
Reposted by Michael K. Bourdaghs
An astonishingly large crowd!
Chicago
Chicago
October 18, 2025 at 9:18 PM
An astonishingly large crowd!
Chicago
Chicago
Tomorrow (10/18/2025) is "Arts and Humanities Day" at UChicago. Speakers include such luminaries as Amitav Ghosh, Roxanne Gay, Nick Offerman, Gary Shteyngart--and yours truly (in agate font at the bottom of the bill), speaking on Japanese popular music. humanitiesday.uchicago.edu/presentations
October 17, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Tomorrow (10/18/2025) is "Arts and Humanities Day" at UChicago. Speakers include such luminaries as Amitav Ghosh, Roxanne Gay, Nick Offerman, Gary Shteyngart--and yours truly (in agate font at the bottom of the bill), speaking on Japanese popular music. humanitiesday.uchicago.edu/presentations
Mladen Dolar on an early encounter between Freud and the rising new force of populism, "a politics that would violate a long series of unwritten laws and rules and succeed precisely on the basis of that violation—given that unwritten laws form the very fabric of society and its ethical foundation."
"Unwritten laws form the very fabric of society+ its ethical foundation. Every populism starts with breaking the unwritten rules.
Psychoanalysis was born at exactly the historical moment of the rise of new authorities. its mission demanded their dismantling."
www.e-flux.com/notes/505443...
Psychoanalysis was born at exactly the historical moment of the rise of new authorities. its mission demanded their dismantling."
www.e-flux.com/notes/505443...
Freud, Slovenia, and the Origins of Right-Wing Populism - Notes - e-flux
Mladen Dolar uncovers a series of curious historical encounters that set the stage for the world we know today.
www.e-flux.com
October 14, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Mladen Dolar on an early encounter between Freud and the rising new force of populism, "a politics that would violate a long series of unwritten laws and rules and succeed precisely on the basis of that violation—given that unwritten laws form the very fabric of society and its ethical foundation."
Reposted by Michael K. Bourdaghs
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.”
October 11, 2025 at 9:10 PM
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-...
chicagoreader.com/music/music-...
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival defies federal defunding to shine brighter than ever - Chicago Reader
Photos from the Hyde Park Jazz Festival's 19th year overflow with joy and community that give the lie to Trump’s ugly vision of the world.
chicagoreader.com
October 7, 2025 at 2:08 AM
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-...
chicagoreader.com/music/music-...
Reposted by Michael K. Bourdaghs
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.
The most important human story in the entertainment industry right now is the severe downturn in film and TV production in LA and how it's affecting middle-class crew workers. I spoke to dozens of them for this story about the depressed Hollywood economy. www.wsj.com/business/med...
L.A.’s Entertainment Economy Is Looking Like a Disaster Movie
Work is evaporating, businesses are closing, longtime residents are leaving, and Los Angeles’s creative middle class is hanging on by a thread.
www.wsj.com
October 4, 2025 at 1:00 PM
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.
Reposted by Michael K. Bourdaghs
“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
Diary of Anne Frank
January 13, 1943
October 4, 2025 at 8:17 PM
“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
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...
mailchi.mp/illinois/pf0...
UIP October 2025 free e-book
mailchi.mp
October 3, 2025 at 5:25 PM
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...
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...
www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/1...
Literary and Artistic Japan behind the Iron Curtain | Irina Holca, Geo
This book examines the public perception, scholarly reception, and critical analysis of Japan through translations of its literature and artistic endeavors
www.taylorfrancis.com
October 3, 2025 at 1:01 PM
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...
www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/1...