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Brendan O’Kane

@bokane.org

6.5K followers 3.4K following 13K posts

Scrutable Occidental, erstwhile 北漂, quondam translator, Ming and Qing fiction enjoyer, congenital Philadelphian. Shitposty sinology. Cynicism makes you an easy mark. Signal: @bokane.1644. http://www.burninghou.se

www.burninghou.se

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 5h

Poor old Emperor Huizong met his fate nine years later and probably cold, in a part of Manchuria where it gets down to minus forty, with the new title 昏德公 Duke Dumb-Dumb. Aurorae are not cute!

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 5h

Not mentioned here because none of the compilers or prospective readers needed reminding, but while red qi was spanning the entire sky, Jurchen invaders were laying siege to the imperial capital, which would fall a few weeks later. The emperor and his son were dragged north in chains and died there.

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 5h

Literary Chinese For When The Sky Does That:

靖康元年正月丁丑夜，赤白氣起西方。九月戊寅，有赤氣隨日出。九月乙未，西方日下有赤氣。十一月乙丑，日下有赤氣。閏十一月丁酉，赤氣亙天。
February 4, 1126: Red and white qi arose in the western night sky.
October 3: Red qi followed the sun.
November 4: Red qi pooled under it.
December 21: Red qi spanned the entire sky.

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 8h

suspicious nyam

After several days of me feeding her, playing with her, cleaning her litterbox, attempting to purchase her affection with treats, &c., a feral little grey cat licks her paw non-nonchalantly — chalantly? — while attempting to turn me to stone out of the corner of her eye.

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Reposted by Brendan O’Kane

Wolfgang Behr / 畢鶚 (氒/厥/攸) @behrwolf.bsky.social · 1d

Postdoctoral position in global philology at U. Uppsala (apply by Nov. 26). Specialisations include: Comp./General Lx., Greek and Byzantine Studies, Indology, Iranian Languages, Latin, Semitic Languages, Sinology, and Turkic Languages. tinyurl.com/nhbk8fhh

Postdoctoral position in global philology - Uppsala University

Postdoctoral position in global philology, Department of Linguistics and Philology, Uppsala University

tinyurl.com

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 1d

there are some cold rainy November days where you just have to remind yourself that the ocean doesn't want you today.

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Reposted by Brendan O’Kane

Lev Nachman @lnachman32.bsky.social · 2d

Amazon Kindle currently has my new book availalbe for FREE as an e-book online right now! Buy it now for $0.00 before they change it back!

Link: shorturl.at/uPZC3

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 2d

Whereas I couldn't sustain a Philly accent to save my life, despite having grown up here

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 2d

Emilia Jones and Alison Oliver had really, really good Delco accents, but I honestly thought Fabian Frankel was local until I watched the behind-the-scenes featurette after the final episode. Like, he reminded me intensely of a guy I went to elementary school with

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 2d

the dialect work in Task is crazy good

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Reposted by Brendan O’Kane

No true bill @bill-of-lefts.bsky.social · 2d

It is so scummy that Fetterman turned off his voicemail months ago

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 2d

I get confused about whether we should normalize this sometimes, so I appreciate the reminders there

Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 2d

“Do not let familiarity dull your outrage” man you could do eye surgery with my outrage, we’re good on outrage

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 2d

It's a colloquialism 呢, though I wouldn't be so quick to say it hasn't got any meaning 嘛

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 3d

if he has another island lying around we should convince him of this

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 3d

Cracker Barrel Ludovico Technique-ass

Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 3d

nooooo my archipelagito

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 3d

pov: you are on probation

a grey cat crouching on a kitchen floor pins you (a Stranger) with a wary look. the kibbles you fed her proved edible — apPARently — but you read way too much into that appreciative hiss and tried going in for friendly skritches, which was Fresh, and now you are trapped out on the thin, brittle ice of her regard.

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 3d

85th floor penthouse fire girl meme

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Reposted by Brendan O’Kane

Great Depression (nightcore remix) @bluespacecanary.bsky.social · 5d

Anyway I'd like to propose a new and improved version of the Basilisk: what would an aligned AI think of people who helped create a world where the average person thinks of AI as a technology which talks people into killing themselves?

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 5d

huayan buddhism specifically imo

Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · Aug 16

You (a fool): The LLM is an all-knowing oracle, on its way to godlike intelligence

Me (dumber): The LLM is Indra’s Net, each fundamentally empty token a multifaceted jewel in whose surfaces the reflections of every other jewel arise in mutual interdependence

The LLM: You can eat that rock

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 6d

Also really strikingly good if you're mixing languages in speech -- not perfect, but way better than anything else I've seen, even without context.

Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 6d

Ring any bells for anyone?

conaljarvis.bsky.social @conaljarvis.bsky.social · 6d

Ok Bluesky hive mind: trying to find a clip that was played in a class lecture about three years ago. It was a documentary (I think) featuring a rural Manchurian village where they’re doing a lottery. (Felt just like home LOL) @beijingpalmer.bsky.social @bokane.org any ideas?

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Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 6d

Doesn’t ring any bells, I’m afraid, but I’m very behind on anything contemporary

Brendan O’Kane @bokane.org · 6d

People say English doesn’t distinguish between inclusive and exclusive “we,” but that speech pretty clearly managed it.