Aaron Webb
@aaronwebbdc.bsky.social
Comms guy in DC. Photography, digital diplomacy, Japan, and Maple Leafs Suffering (TM)
A really good film that's a massively big swing at a, uh, rather complex subject. Fun to see how the delayed release in Japan has become its own part of the story.
A 40-year wait for ‘Mishima’ ends at TIFF
A 40-year wait for ‘Mishima’ ends at TIFF
Paul Schrader’s 1985 biopic of the radical author Yukio Mishima finds its Japanese audience at last.
www.japantimes.co.jp
November 7, 2025 at 4:08 AM
A really good film that's a massively big swing at a, uh, rather complex subject. Fun to see how the delayed release in Japan has become its own part of the story.
The advantages of integrating "commercial activity" into neighborhood interiors is one of the first things you notice in Japan. Little cafes, bars, baths, & shops that you don't have to drive to are delightful. The lack of them in our communities is a policy/zoning choice that we can simply reverse.
"Neighbourhood interiors were never intended for commercial activity", says one letter writer. To be fair, this is true, if you toss the entirety of human history and modern day Earth outside North America in the trash, and think that urban planning less than a century old is ironclad natural law.
No corner coffee shops: Toronto committee waters down neighbourhood retail plan
It’s the second time in less than a year councillors balked at allowing certain businesses to open on some residential streets
www.torontotoday.ca
November 1, 2025 at 2:50 PM
The advantages of integrating "commercial activity" into neighborhood interiors is one of the first things you notice in Japan. Little cafes, bars, baths, & shops that you don't have to drive to are delightful. The lack of them in our communities is a policy/zoning choice that we can simply reverse.
Slappy the Eagle holds his lonely vigil at the Caps game, waiting for Ovechkin to score his 900th goal so he can flip the number board over. He worries about whether he will be able to grab the plastic numbers with his fabric hands in the heat of the moment. He dances occasionally, for no one.
October 26, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Slappy the Eagle holds his lonely vigil at the Caps game, waiting for Ovechkin to score his 900th goal so he can flip the number board over. He worries about whether he will be able to grab the plastic numbers with his fabric hands in the heat of the moment. He dances occasionally, for no one.
Every day Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex becomes more and more relevant (minus any of the *fun* tech stuff of course)
i imagine that the only way to deal with this would be some kind of blocker system installed in public places or homes, but coming into contact with one of those likely would be physically painful if you have artificial sensory systems
October 23, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Every day Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex becomes more and more relevant (minus any of the *fun* tech stuff of course)
One of the great, all-time radio voices!
Susan Stamberg, an original National Public Radio staffer who went on to become the first U.S. woman to anchor a nightly national news program, has died. n.pr/4qjVMDS
NPR 'founding mother' Susan Stamberg has died
Susan Stamberg, an original National Public Radio staffer who went on to become the first U.S. woman to anchor a nightly national news program, has died.
n.pr
October 16, 2025 at 7:35 PM
One of the great, all-time radio voices!
@stevedangle20.bsky.social Enjoyed the SDP chat on the Olympic Village, and am definitely on Team "They'll Enjoy It", but I think y'all may have missed a key, uh, appeal of the experience: theweek.com/articles/473...
The Olympic Village: One giant sex den?
A whole lot of lovin' goes down when you cram 10,000 of the world's fittest athletes together for three weeks straight — especially once they're done competing
share.google
October 16, 2025 at 12:54 PM
@stevedangle20.bsky.social Enjoyed the SDP chat on the Olympic Village, and am definitely on Team "They'll Enjoy It", but I think y'all may have missed a key, uh, appeal of the experience: theweek.com/articles/473...
Reposted by Aaron Webb
Today marks the 30th anniversary of my favourite game: Tactics Ogre 🎉
October 6, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Today marks the 30th anniversary of my favourite game: Tactics Ogre 🎉
Once again I beg people to check out the Patlabor series, which got this right. Alphonse is a horse name even.
Truly horses are the mecha of the real world
October 6, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Once again I beg people to check out the Patlabor series, which got this right. Alphonse is a horse name even.
So excited for a new generation to be exposed to the absolute bangers that fill the Tactics soundtrack
I played "Character Creation" on the harp, to celebrate the upcoming Ivalice Chronicles! ❤️
#FinalFantasy #FinalFantasyTactics
#FinalFantasy #FinalFantasyTactics
September 26, 2025 at 5:45 PM
So excited for a new generation to be exposed to the absolute bangers that fill the Tactics soundtrack
Reposted by Aaron Webb
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS
SQUARE 1998
PLAYSTATION
SQUARE 1998
PLAYSTATION
September 26, 2025 at 4:05 PM
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS
SQUARE 1998
PLAYSTATION
SQUARE 1998
PLAYSTATION
Well, despite all the doubts, at least by some measures I guess the Osaka Expo has been a success?
With just three weeks left before the Osaka Expo closes and tickets nearly sold out, scalpers are cashing in on buyers' desperation to see the event before it's finished. 👉 ebx.sh/YJ4JQU
September 25, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Well, despite all the doubts, at least by some measures I guess the Osaka Expo has been a success?
What's a shockingly simple tip that you love sharing?
Mine is that the secret to food photography is to light from the back. It's weird, but shadows at the front of the subject/plate is 90% of making it look good.
Mine is that the secret to food photography is to light from the back. It's weird, but shadows at the front of the subject/plate is 90% of making it look good.
September 16, 2025 at 11:47 PM
What's a shockingly simple tip that you love sharing?
Mine is that the secret to food photography is to light from the back. It's weird, but shadows at the front of the subject/plate is 90% of making it look good.
Mine is that the secret to food photography is to light from the back. It's weird, but shadows at the front of the subject/plate is 90% of making it look good.
So, people are seeing stock photos from more than a decade ago, and their "AI GENERATED" alarms are going off, which is fascinating really: High quality, well lit stock photos I imagine are useful for training, so outputs reverts to their aesthetic, creating a new uncanny valley-type of trap.
September 6, 2025 at 4:02 PM
So, people are seeing stock photos from more than a decade ago, and their "AI GENERATED" alarms are going off, which is fascinating really: High quality, well lit stock photos I imagine are useful for training, so outputs reverts to their aesthetic, creating a new uncanny valley-type of trap.
Reposted by Aaron Webb
Special tribute illustration by Katsuhiro Otomo ("Akira") for Masamune Shirow's "Ghost in the Shell" exhibition.
September 4, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Special tribute illustration by Katsuhiro Otomo ("Akira") for Masamune Shirow's "Ghost in the Shell" exhibition.
September is Final Fantasy Tactics month everyone, prepare yourself for a temporary dip in household productivity amongst folks in their 40's
4Gamer 🔗https://www.4gamer.net/games/916/G091610/20250804038/
［プレイレポ］令和に蘇った名作SRPG「FFタクティクス」。オリジナル版の雰囲気そのままの“クラシック”と，フルボイス化やUI刷新などが行われた“エンハンスド”を搭載
「ファイナルファンタジータクティクス - イヴァリース クロニクルズ」は2025年9月30日に発売。
［プレイレポ］令和に蘇った名作SRPG「FFタクティクス」。オリジナル版の雰囲気そのままの“クラシック”と，フルボイス化やUI刷新などが行われた“エンハンスド”を搭載
「ファイナルファンタジータクティクス - イヴァリース クロニクルズ」は2025年9月30日に発売。
［プレイレポ］令和に蘇った名作SRPG「FFタクティクス」。オリジナル版の雰囲気そのままの“クラシック”と，フルボイス化やUI刷新などが行われた“エンハンスド”を搭載
www.4gamer.net
September 2, 2025 at 1:06 PM
September is Final Fantasy Tactics month everyone, prepare yourself for a temporary dip in household productivity amongst folks in their 40's
Reposted by Aaron Webb
Kawanishi Hideya argues that the symbolic emperor serves as a custodian of Japan's remembrance of WWII, standing in marked contrast to conservative security policies while reviving public awareness and transmitting wartime memory to future generations. apjjf.org/2025/8/kawan...
Do the Actions of the Symbolic Emperor Contribute to the Preservation of War Memory? 象徴天皇の行動は戦争を記憶するのに役に立つのか？ - Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus
[…]
apjjf.org
August 31, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Kawanishi Hideya argues that the symbolic emperor serves as a custodian of Japan's remembrance of WWII, standing in marked contrast to conservative security policies while reviving public awareness and transmitting wartime memory to future generations. apjjf.org/2025/8/kawan...
Would America be fixed if everyone submitted an entry to their local county fair? Well, no, but it would be a good way along the path!
My Hard Opinion is you cannot call yourself a patriot if you don’t go to your local fair and nod approvingly at everyone’s beautiful quilts, lovely pies and amazing gourds
This quilt was hand pieced and stitched and I voted for it Best Quilt
August 31, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Would America be fixed if everyone submitted an entry to their local county fair? Well, no, but it would be a good way along the path!
Reposted by Aaron Webb
I'm looking forward to moderating a fantastic panel of experts to talk about the future of litigation after Trump v. CASA's limitation on injunctive relief. Join Hon. Robert B. Kugler (Ret.), @stevevladeck.bsky.social, @eleanortyler.bsky.social, and me on Sept. 10 (12-1 ET): aboutblaw.com/bjmE
August 28, 2025 at 4:45 PM
I'm looking forward to moderating a fantastic panel of experts to talk about the future of litigation after Trump v. CASA's limitation on injunctive relief. Join Hon. Robert B. Kugler (Ret.), @stevevladeck.bsky.social, @eleanortyler.bsky.social, and me on Sept. 10 (12-1 ET): aboutblaw.com/bjmE
Obvious that schools have to move away from takeaway or student laptop assessments due to endemic cheating... But why are make typing native students do handwriting? Test centers are a solved problem, electric typewriters exist, so many better ways than blue books if you aren't nostalgia-poisoned
So far, the main businesses that have been financially benefited from AI have been the producers of blue books
www.wsj.com/business/cha...
www.wsj.com/business/cha...
They Were Every Student’s Worst Nightmare. Now Blue Books Are Back.
Cheating with ChatGPT has become a huge problem for colleges. The solution is painfully old-school.
www.wsj.com
August 26, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Obvious that schools have to move away from takeaway or student laptop assessments due to endemic cheating... But why are make typing native students do handwriting? Test centers are a solved problem, electric typewriters exist, so many better ways than blue books if you aren't nostalgia-poisoned
Reposted by Aaron Webb
Once, Sesame Street was a lifeline for indie animators. It offered money and incredible freedom to create.
This built an indie animation boom that powered MTV, Nickelodeon and much more. We explore:
animationobsessive.substack.com/p/the-golden...
This built an indie animation boom that powered MTV, Nickelodeon and much more. We explore:
animationobsessive.substack.com/p/the-golden...
August 25, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Once, Sesame Street was a lifeline for indie animators. It offered money and incredible freedom to create.
This built an indie animation boom that powered MTV, Nickelodeon and much more. We explore:
animationobsessive.substack.com/p/the-golden...
This built an indie animation boom that powered MTV, Nickelodeon and much more. We explore:
animationobsessive.substack.com/p/the-golden...
Reposted by Aaron Webb
this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like
August 22, 2025 at 2:20 PM
this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like
Startling to come across a photo that I took years ago on a news article, sad to hear of a Mr. Green's passing, he was an amiable sort when I met him, and I know he was a big part of DC's Japan community for years.
Commentary: Carl J. Green, a lawyer who opened the Ford Foundation’s representative office in Tokyo and devoted a lifetime to U.S.-Japan relations, has died at age 85.
Opinion: Carl J. Green, mentor to a generation of ‘Japan hands,’ dies at 85
A lawyer and scholar with deep ties to Tokyo’s business and legal communities, Green opened the Ford Foundation’s Tokyo office.
ebx.sh
August 21, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Startling to come across a photo that I took years ago on a news article, sad to hear of a Mr. Green's passing, he was an amiable sort when I met him, and I know he was a big part of DC's Japan community for years.
Ben Folds Four
Slightly diminish a band:
The Inconvenienced Hip
The Inconvenienced Hip
Slightly diminish a band:
U1
U1
August 13, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Ben Folds Four
The Penultimate Dinner Party
Slightly diminish a band:
The Inconvenienced Hip
The Inconvenienced Hip
Slightly diminish a band:
U1
U1
August 13, 2025 at 2:06 AM
The Penultimate Dinner Party