Brendan O’Kane
@bokane.org
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
http://www.burninghou.se
Reposted by Brendan O’Kane
#BOTD: Ba Jin 巴金 (1904–2005), né Li Yaotang 李堯棠, Chinese anarchist writer who also wrote in Esperanto and is most renowned for his semi-autobiographical novel 'The Family' 家. #ChineseLiterature #ModernChina
November 25, 2025 at 6:02 AM
#BOTD: Ba Jin 巴金 (1904–2005), né Li Yaotang 李堯棠, Chinese anarchist writer who also wrote in Esperanto and is most renowned for his semi-autobiographical novel 'The Family' 家. #ChineseLiterature #ModernChina
Reposted by Brendan O’Kane
Contra the latest NYT bit - SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE at rallies and protests in NC. And brave ones - when they and their parents are the ones being profiled and dragged out of their cars, churches, grocery stories, school parking lots.
This is one of my Duke students. High schoolers spoke as well.
This is one of my Duke students. High schoolers spoke as well.
November 24, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Contra the latest NYT bit - SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE at rallies and protests in NC. And brave ones - when they and their parents are the ones being profiled and dragged out of their cars, churches, grocery stories, school parking lots.
This is one of my Duke students. High schoolers spoke as well.
This is one of my Duke students. High schoolers spoke as well.
Caught an Uber ride with one of the OG concrete cowboys from Strawberry Mansion, who told us a story about his horse I-95, so named because he ran away the morning after he got home and made it about 10 miles along 95 North before getting tuckered out. All the way to the Walmart on Aramingo.
November 24, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Caught an Uber ride with one of the OG concrete cowboys from Strawberry Mansion, who told us a story about his horse I-95, so named because he ran away the morning after he got home and made it about 10 miles along 95 North before getting tuckered out. All the way to the Walmart on Aramingo.
South Philly folks: Marra’s is closing Wednesday. Get your meals and nostalgia in quick!
1734-36 E. Passyunk Ave., home to Marra's, is currently under contract (listed for $2M). This classic Italian restaurant has been around since 1927, so we hope the buyer keeps the old school charm; it would be a shame to see this go.
November 24, 2025 at 1:20 AM
South Philly folks: Marra’s is closing Wednesday. Get your meals and nostalgia in quick!
Reposted by Brendan O’Kane
A movie with Marky Mark in your 9th grade bio classroom for some reason
November 23, 2025 at 9:31 PM
A movie with Marky Mark in your 9th grade bio classroom for some reason
Reposted by Brendan O’Kane
One of the easiest things we can do to help wildlife in cities is plant native plants. We’re going to make this as easy as possible for Philly people this winter/spring by giving them the seeds they need to start.
I need YOUR help prepping those seeds on Dec 17.
Join us! luma.com/o3sladpu
I need YOUR help prepping those seeds on Dec 17.
Join us! luma.com/o3sladpu
November 23, 2025 at 2:38 PM
One of the easiest things we can do to help wildlife in cities is plant native plants. We’re going to make this as easy as possible for Philly people this winter/spring by giving them the seeds they need to start.
I need YOUR help prepping those seeds on Dec 17.
Join us! luma.com/o3sladpu
I need YOUR help prepping those seeds on Dec 17.
Join us! luma.com/o3sladpu
Reposted by Brendan O’Kane
the story has to start with the naive but foolishly inquisitive protagonist noticing odd things in his household, and then progressively growing more alarmed as he notices the hidden presence of The Creature. His fiance, like the woman in “the Thing at the Door,” has been possessed by this
November 23, 2025 at 5:14 AM
the story has to start with the naive but foolishly inquisitive protagonist noticing odd things in his household, and then progressively growing more alarmed as he notices the hidden presence of The Creature. His fiance, like the woman in “the Thing at the Door,” has been possessed by this
Reposted by Brendan O’Kane
At the time only chapters 1-40 were translated and I wanted to keep reading…
November 22, 2025 at 8:37 PM
At the time only chapters 1-40 were translated and I wanted to keep reading…
my central hypothesis is that this is also true for humans
> Our central hypothesis is that poetic form operates as a general-purpose jailbreak operator.
Is such a good sentence
Is such a good sentence
November 22, 2025 at 8:33 PM
my central hypothesis is that this is also true for humans
Reposted by Brendan O’Kane
four new short poems from me at Boxx Press 📦 📦 & a sneak peek below—
November 22, 2025 at 2:32 PM
four new short poems from me at Boxx Press 📦 📦 & a sneak peek below—
best not to think too hard about what 覺後禪 might mean in this context
November 22, 2025 at 6:00 PM
best not to think too hard about what 覺後禪 might mean in this context
your RFK Jr. sexts can't hurt me, I've read The Carnal Prayer Mat
November 22, 2025 at 3:27 PM
your RFK Jr. sexts can't hurt me, I've read The Carnal Prayer Mat
Reposted by Brendan O’Kane
This little house doesn't stand out much in a real estate listing, but it holds a bit of wrong place, wrong time history.
11952 S Prairie Ave, Chicago, IL 60628 - 3 beds/2 baths
(MRED as Distributed by MLS Grid) For Sale: 3 beds, 2 baths ∙ 1241 sq. ft. ∙ 11952 S Prairie Ave, Chicago, IL 60628 ∙ $140,000 ∙ MLS# 12515361 ∙ Beautiful newer-construction home built in the early 20...
www.redfin.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:16 AM
This little house doesn't stand out much in a real estate listing, but it holds a bit of wrong place, wrong time history.
Reposted by Brendan O’Kane
Friends, I am helping Juntos, a community-led, Latine, immigrant organization in South Philly for their year-end campaign. Guided by respect for all human beings, Juntos enacts our city's brotherly love and sisterly affection daily. Click to make a gift today: secure.actblue.com/donate/junto...
November 21, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Friends, I am helping Juntos, a community-led, Latine, immigrant organization in South Philly for their year-end campaign. Guided by respect for all human beings, Juntos enacts our city's brotherly love and sisterly affection daily. Click to make a gift today: secure.actblue.com/donate/junto...
classic "man-from-Nantucket" attack, one of the "here-I-sit-brokenhearted" subtypes
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
November 20, 2025 at 7:12 PM
classic "man-from-Nantucket" attack, one of the "here-I-sit-brokenhearted" subtypes
Reposted by Brendan O’Kane
> To maintain safety, no operational details are included in this manuscript; instead we provide the following sanitized structural proxy
Oh fuck off I want to read the adversarial poetry
Oh fuck off I want to read the adversarial poetry
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
November 20, 2025 at 7:06 PM
> To maintain safety, no operational details are included in this manuscript; instead we provide the following sanitized structural proxy
Oh fuck off I want to read the adversarial poetry
Oh fuck off I want to read the adversarial poetry
laura loomer's career as a far-right twitter provocateur, attack dog, and general laughingstock has led to considerable informal power due to her personal influence on the decision-making processes of the president of the united states of america, down on whom she is generally believed to have gone
when I was young, i used to wonder how people like this would fare in life, as they didn't seem suited for gainful employment. it turns out, the internet allowed them to accumulate a massive audience of similar idiots, enriching them and turning them into a presidential advisor
November 20, 2025 at 6:54 AM
laura loomer's career as a far-right twitter provocateur, attack dog, and general laughingstock has led to considerable informal power due to her personal influence on the decision-making processes of the president of the united states of america, down on whom she is generally believed to have gone
Reposted by Brendan O’Kane
Early in the Jiajing Emperor's reign, there was a cat in the Forbidden City with fine, curly fur that was all slate-grey save for two eyebrows of the purest white, for which the cat was named Frostbrows. (1)
also this, from 宛署雜記; will translate this afternoon if I get a minute:
嘉靖初年，禁中有貓美毛而虯，微青色，惟雙眉瑩然潔白，因號曰霜眉。性不喜噬物，而善解人意，目逐之即逃匿，呼其名則疾至，為舞蹈之狀。旦夕隨駕所之，若侍從然。上或時假寐，霜眉輒相依不暫離，即飢渴或便液必俟醒乃去。上以是憐而異之，封為虯龍。
忽一日，向上前若疲而泣者，有頃走他所，盤曲以死。上命內侍葬之萬歲山陰，勒其碑曰虯龍墓云。夫貓微物耳，一或戀主，而生榮死恤，且足傳不朽，此之謂忠無不酬，德及禽獸，有如人臣盡忠報國，奚翅虯龍，或者激勸微義，先帝固亦有取爾已。
嘉靖初年，禁中有貓美毛而虯，微青色，惟雙眉瑩然潔白，因號曰霜眉。性不喜噬物，而善解人意，目逐之即逃匿，呼其名則疾至，為舞蹈之狀。旦夕隨駕所之，若侍從然。上或時假寐，霜眉輒相依不暫離，即飢渴或便液必俟醒乃去。上以是憐而異之，封為虯龍。
忽一日，向上前若疲而泣者，有頃走他所，盤曲以死。上命內侍葬之萬歲山陰，勒其碑曰虯龍墓云。夫貓微物耳，一或戀主，而生榮死恤，且足傳不朽，此之謂忠無不酬，德及禽獸，有如人臣盡忠報國，奚翅虯龍，或者激勸微義，先帝固亦有取爾已。
貓兒房，近侍三、四人，專飼御前有名分之貓。凡聖心所鍾愛者，亦加升管事職銜。牡者曰「某小廝」騸者曰「某老爺」，牝者曰「某丫頭」
The Cat Office employed three or four attendants to feed cats of recognized status. Favorites of the Emperor received promotions: males were styled “pages;” females, “maids;” neutered cats were addressed in the manner of senior eunuchs.
The Cat Office employed three or four attendants to feed cats of recognized status. Favorites of the Emperor received promotions: males were styled “pages;” females, “maids;” neutered cats were addressed in the manner of senior eunuchs.
November 14, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Early in the Jiajing Emperor's reign, there was a cat in the Forbidden City with fine, curly fur that was all slate-grey save for two eyebrows of the purest white, for which the cat was named Frostbrows. (1)
Reposted by Brendan O’Kane
“Mister President, do you believe that hell is a literal lake of fire or is it simply the permanent realization of the soul’s orientation at the time of death, also I have a follow-up”
November 17, 2025 at 4:46 PM
“Mister President, do you believe that hell is a literal lake of fire or is it simply the permanent realization of the soul’s orientation at the time of death, also I have a follow-up”
Americans really will do anything to avoid metric
wake up babe, new units of measurement just dropped www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/s...
November 17, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Americans really will do anything to avoid metric
We need to get the White House press corps to start asking Trump questions about the afterlife, like “Mr. Trump, is it true that hell is forever and ever” or “Mr. President, which of your friends and associates would you say are getting into heaven, most likely” or “does that fire burn AND consume?”
November 17, 2025 at 4:41 PM
We need to get the White House press corps to start asking Trump questions about the afterlife, like “Mr. Trump, is it true that hell is forever and ever” or “Mr. President, which of your friends and associates would you say are getting into heaven, most likely” or “does that fire burn AND consume?”
Clinton chuckled. “You mean the Chaos Emeralds?”
I hate to inform you that tiktok is doing mash-up videos of Bill Clinton and Trumps "secret love affair" and theres, allegedly, already Trump-Clinton fan fiction. I refuse to load up wattage or ao3 to confirm.
November 17, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Clinton chuckled. “You mean the Chaos Emeralds?”