Benjamin Tausig
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burrata.bsky.social
Benjamin Tausig
@burrata.bsky.social
4.7K followers 1.6K following 4.6K posts
Associate professor of music and sound in Asia/anthropology. Crossword puzzle editor; TNG watcher.
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burrata.bsky.social
Very nice haul!! They had 2,500 country records for a buck each from an estate. Bought what I could fit.

Also took this picture for you and @davidjroth.bsky.social and anybody else with taste
The cover of Bronson Arroyo’s LP “Some Might Say” in a used bin
November 13, 2025 at 9:37 PM
burrata.bsky.social
Just want to plug our local food pantry, Lion’s Share. We distribute big bags of healthy groceries, diapers etc to ~400 New Yorkers monthly. There’s extra pressure now with SNAP endangered. Please donate if you’re able! My kids and their friends are helping today.

www.gofundme.com/f/support-li...
Volunteers pack bags of groceries at a food pantry
November 8, 2025 at 3:39 PM
burrata.bsky.social
Thai-language coverage of Mamdani’s win, from the newspaper Thai Rath.

After the headline, the graphic leads with “Is a rapper”
Zohran Mamdani waves to a crowd, with Thai language text summarizing him and his mayoral victory
November 5, 2025 at 1:15 PM
burrata.bsky.social
Chants for Mamdani tonight in Diversity Plaza, Jackson Heights, Queens
November 5, 2025 at 4:14 AM
burrata.bsky.social
Bless their racist hearts, they’re truly gonna keep mashing these buttons til the bell rings
NYT headline: “if elected, how might mamdani use mayoral power in ways that affect Israel?”
October 31, 2025 at 12:27 PM
burrata.bsky.social
No one knows what AI is for!

Universities (and tech companies) love these kinds of contests, where they offer a $10,000 bounty for people to tell them what possible utility AI has -- because they don't know.
Text of an email from a provost reading: " If you are using AI to support student or institutional success, we've got an opportunity for you. Apply now to join a new AI network and be considered for a $10,000 stipend. The Coastal Athletic Association Academic Alliance is developing a community of practice around innovative, ethical uses of AI. The application consists of three short-answer questions about: How you have used AI in an innovative and responsible way in your work, and the outcomes of that project."
October 29, 2025 at 5:53 PM
burrata.bsky.social
I bought us two tickets to see her live next month, hoping you’re free
October 28, 2025 at 9:39 PM
burrata.bsky.social
This is the relevant resource for understanding the “stake driving” strategy. There’s very little about Trump, from the racism to the media manipulation to the cynical developer tactics, that isn’t explained by his experience in NYC real estate.
The cover of Robert Caro’s biography of Robert Moses, the Power Broker.
October 26, 2025 at 3:28 PM
burrata.bsky.social
Mamdani is showing himself to be accommodating and intellectually flexible; meanwhile the president of the United States just nominated a self-described nazi to lead the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

Bret Stephens woke up in the morning and decided to write about the former as a vector of fear.
October 22, 2025 at 12:32 PM
burrata.bsky.social
There’s just so much great stuff going on in this picture, what a treasure
Black and white photo of some early nineteenth century French guys holding the recently recovered Mona Lisa in 1914
October 19, 2025 at 11:27 PM
burrata.bsky.social
Feel this for sure
October 16, 2025 at 8:15 PM
burrata.bsky.social
AI kinda never slops harder than when you try to use it to develop crossword clues
AI slop in response to the search query "list of food words that are also vehicles"
October 16, 2025 at 12:13 PM
burrata.bsky.social
I have a lot of favs, but this era and style really hit
October 10, 2025 at 3:51 PM
burrata.bsky.social
My daughter has a school assignment to write a scary story in just a few lines, and I showed her this from Clickhole, which is some of the most efficient horror scripting I've ever read.
Clickhole headline: "Incredible! We Asked These Astronauts What It's Like to Be In Space" Astronaut Barry Wilmore, pictured in an orange spacesuit, says "“You never know true beauty until you see Earth from space, or true terror until you hear someone knocking on the space station door from outside. You look through the porthole and see an astronaut, but all your crew is inside and accounted for. You use the comm to ask who it is and he says he’s Ramirez returning from a repair mission, but Ramirez is sitting right next to you in the command module and he’s just as confused as you are. When you tell the guy this over the radio he starts banging on the door louder and harder, begging you to let him in, saying he’s the real Ramirez. Meanwhile, the Ramirez inside with you is pleading to keep the airlock shut. It really puts life on Earth into perspective.”
October 10, 2025 at 12:46 AM
burrata.bsky.social
"Administration officials are weaponizing federal funding to make universities more congenial to Trumpism, saying that those who sign the compact will be at the front of the line for government money."

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...
A still from the film "Spirited Away" in which a monster offers Chihiroa heaping handful of gold while the bathhouse workers all watch in greedy excitement. it turns out that the monster shrinks and runs away when people don't accept the gold (which, in any case, wasn't real gold anyway)
October 8, 2025 at 3:19 PM
burrata.bsky.social
Appreciating the lovely cool weather today in Queens
October 7, 2025 at 12:26 PM
burrata.bsky.social
Teaching my children the fundaments of Showtime
Clowning on an empty subway car with my kids (I am a middle aged man in work clothes hanging upside down)
October 4, 2025 at 12:57 AM
burrata.bsky.social
Often I'll search for a synonym this way, but it always just makes me wish that there was actually a reference book called "The Hedonistic Thesaurus" or whatever
a google search for "hedonistic thesaurus"
October 2, 2025 at 6:57 PM
burrata.bsky.social
One more very exciting thing in the world of Sound Studies! Yun Emily Wang, Darci Sprengel, Ian MacMillen and I are co-editing a volume (with @dukepress.bsky.social) called "Quiet Relations," for which we're holding a (public!!) symposium next month at Duke University.

See the attached poster!!
Greenish poster advertising a "sound studies symposium" at Duke University, October 20-21, on the subject of "Quiet Relations" -- "the silent. the quiet. the minor. and the not-listening."
September 26, 2025 at 3:43 PM
burrata.bsky.social
more sane, pragmatic policy for you, for us
ALL STUDENTS - PLEASE READ REVISED RULES ON PROTESTING AT THIS UNIVERSITY – 2025-26 The Right to Protest Protest of any kind is not permitted at this university. What If I am Unhappy about Something and Wish to Say So? In terms of major global issues that may cause unhappiness – climate crisis, famine, war, genocide, women – our trusted world leaders and businessmen will solve each of these soon; no further action from you is needed. In terms of dealing with personal issues that may cause unhappiness, please visit any campus dining area during operating hours to purchase a cool, refreshing Sprite! History of Campus Protest American university campuses have no history of political protest. What If I Want to Speak, Peacefully and with Moral Conviction, in Favor of Improving the Social, Economic, and Political Lives of Other Human Beings? What Happens if I Protest? Prohibited campus protest actions (all) will be met with coordinated response from campus police as well as the armed Suffolk County Police. Their response may include both old-fashioned skull-cracking and uniformed thuggery as well as public recrimination, legal prosecution, and digital-age surveillance of social media accounts and other online activity by the university’s emergency response management (ERM) unit. Your life as a student belongs to the university – in the name of safety. You are required to avoid protest at all times, both on and off-campus, publicly and privately, aloud and in your private thoughts. Please recognize that states, corporations, politicians, universities, militaries, and even leaders whose methods you may personally disagree with (including warlords) are simply doing their best. Protest can distract them, potentially disrupting the world from the trajectory it is currently on.
September 15, 2025 at 10:22 PM
burrata.bsky.social
Exciting new university policy
ALL STUDENTS - PLEASE READ REVISED RULES ON CRITICIZING THE US GOVERNMENT AT THIS UNIVERSITY – 2025-26 The Right to Criticize the US Government Beginning in 2025-26, criticism of the United States government, its leaders, and their actions is prohibited (party in power only). This applies to all students, faculty, and staff at all times, including in private conversation, during internal monologues, or in dreams (including daydreams). What If I am Unhappy with the US Government? You are not. History of Criticism of the US Government The United States government has never been criticized. Although the Boston Tea Party has sometimes been falsely described as an act of political dissent, it was in fact merely a surprise birthday party for Samuel Adams, featuring cake and karaoke, both of which were invented that day. That’s all it was. Adams sang the wildly popular "Anacreontic Song" while Benjamin Franklin held up stone engravings with the lyrics. What If I Want to Speak, Peacefully and with Moral Conviction, in Favor of Improving the Social, Economic, and Political Lives of Other Human Beings? What Happens if I Criticize the US Government? Such action would increase the chances that the president of the United States might withdraw funding from, or post angrily on social media about, Stony Brook University. That might sound like tyranny, but without a functional media, it is hard to say for sure. In any case, we all know that the best way to resist tyranny is to simply let it pass. The situation is similar to being caught in a thunderstorm. The right move is not to grab an umbrella or seek shelter, but instead to stand outside until you are completely soaked, holding the tallest tree or flagpole nearby for safety, for as long as necessary until the storm is satisfied with its destruction, at which point it will surely move on.
September 15, 2025 at 10:18 PM
burrata.bsky.social
The Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) at the University of Michigan announced today that all of its federal funding has been cancelled.

The announcement drips with disbelief and sadness, as you might imagine. The notion that the Center "doesn't advance American interests" is beyond inane.
I am sad and frankly, ashamed, to have to tell you that on Wednesday evening I received word from the US Department of Education that all the federal funding to the Center had been cancelled. Every other area studies center at U. Michigan and all of the SE Asian Studies National Resource Centers in the US received the same cancellation letter at the same time. In their own words, the administration decided that our programs, “‘are inconsistent with Administration priorities and do not advance American interests or values.’ As such, the Department has determined that continuation of the following programs is not in the best interest of the Federal Government.” Perhaps there is one amongst you who agrees with this statement. I have not met that person. I have met many of you who have had your lives changed by the opportunity to learn Southeast Asian languages with the support of FLAS fellowships. Who were able to spend semesters in Ann Arbor on leave from your institutions in SE Asia, working with our fabulous library resources. Who conducted Master’s and PhD thesis research with support from the Center and from the Fulbright-Hays Grants. Who have enjoyed the Gamelan and Rondalla performances that cap our SE Asian music courses. The funds for these undertakings are now terminated.
September 12, 2025 at 7:31 PM
burrata.bsky.social
But other parts of the same paper read like this -- a strikingly high number of stories about non-political violence, including robberies and shootings. And a "kindergarten burnt down"!
Cover of the Bangkok Post from April 1976 with multiple articles about low-level robberies and violence
September 11, 2025 at 4:09 PM
burrata.bsky.social
I've been in the archives trying to understand the texture of the moment. By 1976 it was common to find headlines like the one here, at right: "Diplomat fires gun at student protest." This kind of political violence was becoming so ordinary that it wasn't the main headline.
Cover of the Bangkok Post from April 1976. One headline reads "Diplomat fires gun at student protest"
September 11, 2025 at 4:07 PM
burrata.bsky.social
A lot of these arborists need to grow the hell up
A tree that had a branch cut and now it looks like a dick
September 11, 2025 at 12:25 AM