Andrew Alan Johnson
@andrewalanjohnson.bsky.social
Anthropologist at Stockholm University. Senior historian, Firaxis. Water, ghosts, ruins, games. สนใจเรื่องไทย แม่น้ำโขง
https://andrewalanjohnson.com
https://www.dukeupress.edu/mekong-dreaming
https://andrewalanjohnson.com
https://www.dukeupress.edu/mekong-dreaming
Doctor (Doktor) I trust more than RFK Jr.
September 7, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Doctor (Doktor) I trust more than RFK Jr.
Autumn light has begun, but the air is still warm.
September 3, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Autumn light has begun, but the air is still warm.
“I’m not sure why you would listen to a cultural anthropologist as an authority on pituitary gland function but…”
September 1, 2025 at 3:39 PM
“I’m not sure why you would listen to a cultural anthropologist as an authority on pituitary gland function but…”
Coincidence? I don’t think so.
August 30, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Coincidence? I don’t think so.
If we look at the language of democracy in mid-20th C Thailand, we see a lot of talk about “เสรีภาพ (freedom)” while we have an authoritarian government. The images used here (US distributed) emphasize prosperity, not politics.
August 24, 2025 at 6:16 PM
If we look at the language of democracy in mid-20th C Thailand, we see a lot of talk about “เสรีภาพ (freedom)” while we have an authoritarian government. The images used here (US distributed) emphasize prosperity, not politics.
The termites build a bridge from the earth to the sky, and the forces of the earth and waters - the naga, the yaksha, the people, and, of course, the Toad King force the sky-god to relent. Today, it is commemorated by MASSIVE HOMEMADE FIREWORKS.
July 23, 2025 at 3:35 PM
The termites build a bridge from the earth to the sky, and the forces of the earth and waters - the naga, the yaksha, the people, and, of course, the Toad King force the sky-god to relent. Today, it is commemorated by MASSIVE HOMEMADE FIREWORKS.
The quote here comes from one of my favorite Lao folktales, and which I translated for this quote. It involves a jealous sky-god who will not stop burning the land with the sun. To protect the people, all of the watery spirits come out to wage war on the sky.
July 23, 2025 at 3:35 PM
The quote here comes from one of my favorite Lao folktales, and which I translated for this quote. It involves a jealous sky-god who will not stop burning the land with the sun. To protect the people, all of the watery spirits come out to wage war on the sky.
It is time to revisit some #Civ7 #Civilization quotes! Wat Xieng Thong is a place that I'm really happy to bring to the game - it is beautifully represented... but the actual structure is breathtaking. "The Temple of the Golden City" is in Luang Prabang, Laos, and is all dark wood, shadows, and gold
July 23, 2025 at 3:35 PM
It is time to revisit some #Civ7 #Civilization quotes! Wat Xieng Thong is a place that I'm really happy to bring to the game - it is beautifully represented... but the actual structure is breathtaking. "The Temple of the Golden City" is in Luang Prabang, Laos, and is all dark wood, shadows, and gold
Grandmother and Grandfather, Atlantic City, 1930s
July 14, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Grandmother and Grandfather, Atlantic City, 1930s
This ad came up on my NYT app. I am so confused by it.
What is it selling?
How do her shoulders work? Are those her hands or someone else’s? Why does she look haunted? Is she chewing on the bar? Is gram a zombie and we’re keeping her out? What is happening here???
What is it selling?
How do her shoulders work? Are those her hands or someone else’s? Why does she look haunted? Is she chewing on the bar? Is gram a zombie and we’re keeping her out? What is happening here???
June 18, 2025 at 5:52 AM
This ad came up on my NYT app. I am so confused by it.
What is it selling?
How do her shoulders work? Are those her hands or someone else’s? Why does she look haunted? Is she chewing on the bar? Is gram a zombie and we’re keeping her out? What is happening here???
What is it selling?
How do her shoulders work? Are those her hands or someone else’s? Why does she look haunted? Is she chewing on the bar? Is gram a zombie and we’re keeping her out? What is happening here???
On May 5, I had the bittersweet pleasure of going back to Cornell’s SEAP for a meeting of Jim Siegel’s colleagues and students.
This is me with another teacher of mine, Thak Chaloemtirana. He looks almost the same as 15 years ago, when I was last here.
This is me with another teacher of mine, Thak Chaloemtirana. He looks almost the same as 15 years ago, when I was last here.
May 23, 2025 at 6:52 AM
On May 5, I had the bittersweet pleasure of going back to Cornell’s SEAP for a meeting of Jim Siegel’s colleagues and students.
This is me with another teacher of mine, Thak Chaloemtirana. He looks almost the same as 15 years ago, when I was last here.
This is me with another teacher of mine, Thak Chaloemtirana. He looks almost the same as 15 years ago, when I was last here.
It is a refusal to submit to the colonial world, a choosing of another, invisible one - to exit and keep beauty alive rather than remain and serve.
(Thanks @nellraban.com for helping me with the screenshots here.)
(Thanks @nellraban.com for helping me with the screenshots here.)
March 12, 2025 at 8:09 PM
It is a refusal to submit to the colonial world, a choosing of another, invisible one - to exit and keep beauty alive rather than remain and serve.
(Thanks @nellraban.com for helping me with the screenshots here.)
(Thanks @nellraban.com for helping me with the screenshots here.)
In 1906 and 1908, during the Dutch takeover of Bali - the island where, according to legend, the Majapahit dyansty fled, the Balinese were vastly outgunned and outnumbered. Instead of fighting and facing inevitable defeat, they danced towards the machine guns, preferring beauty over life.
March 12, 2025 at 8:09 PM
In 1906 and 1908, during the Dutch takeover of Bali - the island where, according to legend, the Majapahit dyansty fled, the Balinese were vastly outgunned and outnumbered. Instead of fighting and facing inevitable defeat, they danced towards the machine guns, preferring beauty over life.
You have to be facing pretty steep odds, playing as Majapahit to trigger this. It's a situation where many players would have long ago quit, but these stories give even near-defeat a narrative... and a way out.
Here's the history behind the puputan.
Here's the history behind the puputan.
March 12, 2025 at 8:09 PM
You have to be facing pretty steep odds, playing as Majapahit to trigger this. It's a situation where many players would have long ago quit, but these stories give even near-defeat a narrative... and a way out.
Here's the history behind the puputan.
Here's the history behind the puputan.
In @civilization.2k.com #CivilizationVII #Civ7, certain game situations can bring up narrative events (a system designed by @catacalypto.bsky.social , and written by Finn Taylor, @nellraban.com , @emmakidwell.bsky.social , Ben Reeves), me, and others.
Here's one you're not likely to see.
Here's one you're not likely to see.
March 12, 2025 at 8:09 PM
In @civilization.2k.com #CivilizationVII #Civ7, certain game situations can bring up narrative events (a system designed by @catacalypto.bsky.social , and written by Finn Taylor, @nellraban.com , @emmakidwell.bsky.social , Ben Reeves), me, and others.
Here's one you're not likely to see.
Here's one you're not likely to see.
I received a Fulbright-Hays research grant in 2005-2007, and was funded through grad school with a FLAS fellowship, which meant a middle-class kid from Suffolk, VA became fluent in Thai and Lao and went on to live and teach in 8 countries around the world, and wrote two books.
March 3, 2025 at 12:31 AM
I received a Fulbright-Hays research grant in 2005-2007, and was funded through grad school with a FLAS fellowship, which meant a middle-class kid from Suffolk, VA became fluent in Thai and Lao and went on to live and teach in 8 countries around the world, and wrote two books.
I will be at GDC this year talking about history, culture and games. Let me know if you’d like to meet!
February 26, 2025 at 10:21 AM
I will be at GDC this year talking about history, culture and games. Let me know if you’d like to meet!
Just feeling the seal of my home state. No reason.
February 19, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Just feeling the seal of my home state. No reason.
Another thing that I wrote for @civgame.bsky.social #Civ7 #CivilizationVII 's crisis system. This is the follow-up to the plague crisis and sought to bring home a couple things:
That the development of your empire (doing what the game wants you to do) has unforseen consequences...
That the development of your empire (doing what the game wants you to do) has unforseen consequences...
February 17, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Another thing that I wrote for @civgame.bsky.social #Civ7 #CivilizationVII 's crisis system. This is the follow-up to the plague crisis and sought to bring home a couple things:
That the development of your empire (doing what the game wants you to do) has unforseen consequences...
That the development of your empire (doing what the game wants you to do) has unforseen consequences...