Chris Brockett
@chrisbrockett.bsky.social
Data janitor and leftover linguist (retired). Tsundoku expert. Language & Cognition. NLP. Japanese literature. Anti-authoritarian. Pro-science.
Reposted by Chris Brockett
#otd 4 yrs ago: Old Chinese Prêt-à-porter. A double-edged sword.
A post by @madpoli.bsky.social about the pros and cons of digitized data. Easy to access, but it can also mean that fewer people understand what's underneath behind it
digitalorientalist.com/2021/11/19/o...
A post by @madpoli.bsky.social about the pros and cons of digitized data. Easy to access, but it can also mean that fewer people understand what's underneath behind it
digitalorientalist.com/2021/11/19/o...
Old Chinese Prêt-à-porter. A double-edged sword.
Sometimes I miss watching movies with commercial interruptions, at the theater or on television. Not only were they a great way to refill your pop-corn bowl without missing anything. Advertisements…
digitalorientalist.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:46 PM
#otd 4 yrs ago: Old Chinese Prêt-à-porter. A double-edged sword.
A post by @madpoli.bsky.social about the pros and cons of digitized data. Easy to access, but it can also mean that fewer people understand what's underneath behind it
digitalorientalist.com/2021/11/19/o...
A post by @madpoli.bsky.social about the pros and cons of digitized data. Easy to access, but it can also mean that fewer people understand what's underneath behind it
digitalorientalist.com/2021/11/19/o...
Reposted by Chris Brockett
臨川書店の「中世の日記をひらく」シリーズ、まずはこの2冊から。内容はいくつかの年の記録を現代語訳が中心で、コラムや解説も。大学院時代、『看聞日記』を研究会で読んでいたが、やはり面白い。『建内記』は真面目な記事ばかりだな。
November 19, 2025 at 3:19 AM
臨川書店の「中世の日記をひらく」シリーズ、まずはこの2冊から。内容はいくつかの年の記録を現代語訳が中心で、コラムや解説も。大学院時代、『看聞日記』を研究会で読んでいたが、やはり面白い。『建内記』は真面目な記事ばかりだな。
That would be a mortally unfortunate transcription.
I'm surprised that no Indian antivaxers seem to have picked up the possibility of phonetically reading "mRNA" as "मरना".
November 17, 2025 at 11:57 AM
That would be a mortally unfortunate transcription.
Reposted by Chris Brockett
For anyone who's struggled with variable spelling practices before modern printing, there's a summary of what's "interchangeable" in Thomas Wright's Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English. 2 vols. London, 1857.
#orthography #English #language #dialect #manuscripts #medieval
#orthography #English #language #dialect #manuscripts #medieval
November 16, 2025 at 2:58 PM
For anyone who's struggled with variable spelling practices before modern printing, there's a summary of what's "interchangeable" in Thomas Wright's Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English. 2 vols. London, 1857.
#orthography #English #language #dialect #manuscripts #medieval
#orthography #English #language #dialect #manuscripts #medieval
As one who has spent much time these last few months glaring at texts I can partially decipher but cannot read, I am qualified to recommend this essay.
Edging Toward Japan: What does being literate in Japanese really mean? - The Mainichi share.google/Gw4gLrPrnPyI...
Edging Toward Japan: What does being literate in Japanese really mean? - The Mainichi share.google/Gw4gLrPrnPyI...
Edging Toward Japan: What does being literate in Japanese really mean? - The Mainichi
By Damian Flanagan The other day I had the pleasure of attending a very interesting presentation about antique books by an expert in Edo period litera
share.google
November 17, 2025 at 4:54 AM
As one who has spent much time these last few months glaring at texts I can partially decipher but cannot read, I am qualified to recommend this essay.
Edging Toward Japan: What does being literate in Japanese really mean? - The Mainichi share.google/Gw4gLrPrnPyI...
Edging Toward Japan: What does being literate in Japanese really mean? - The Mainichi share.google/Gw4gLrPrnPyI...
Reposted by Chris Brockett
Even in Japan, many do not know that several yokai are original (and copyrighted) Shigeru Mizuki designs.
His yokai have become so accepted that most people just assume they are from ages ago.
His yokai have become so accepted that most people just assume they are from ages ago.
Not sure if anyone has written about the cancelled at-the-last-minute ghost spinoff of "Last Armageddon" which was to be called "Youkai Hen Kikou" (妖怪変紀行) by Brain Grey. It is rumored that it was cancelled because of copyright concerns from the art being so similar to legend Shigeru Mizuki #pc98
November 16, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Even in Japan, many do not know that several yokai are original (and copyrighted) Shigeru Mizuki designs.
His yokai have become so accepted that most people just assume they are from ages ago.
His yokai have become so accepted that most people just assume they are from ages ago.
Reposted by Chris Brockett
New favourite example of structural ambiguity
November 5, 2025 at 4:54 AM
New favourite example of structural ambiguity
Reposted by Chris Brockett
This has gotten surprisingly little attention — it's not even on the front page of @science.org right now — but it's really hard to describe what the SAFE Research Act would do to US science and scientists without sounding insane
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
November 14, 2025 at 5:16 PM
This has gotten surprisingly little attention — it's not even on the front page of @science.org right now — but it's really hard to describe what the SAFE Research Act would do to US science and scientists without sounding insane
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Chris Brockett
I've been on the road so I'm behind the times—but if you wanted to destroy US science, I can think of no more expedient action.
Blatant unconstitutionality aside, fuck this backwards forwards and sideways.
www.science.org/content/article/u-s-congress-considers-sweeping-ban-chinese-collaborations
Blatant unconstitutionality aside, fuck this backwards forwards and sideways.
www.science.org/content/article/u-s-congress-considers-sweeping-ban-chinese-collaborations
November 14, 2025 at 3:03 AM
I've been on the road so I'm behind the times—but if you wanted to destroy US science, I can think of no more expedient action.
Blatant unconstitutionality aside, fuck this backwards forwards and sideways.
www.science.org/content/article/u-s-congress-considers-sweeping-ban-chinese-collaborations
Blatant unconstitutionality aside, fuck this backwards forwards and sideways.
www.science.org/content/article/u-s-congress-considers-sweeping-ban-chinese-collaborations
Reposted by Chris Brockett
WE WON. I am *begging* you to take note of who did this. *Not* UCLA admin—they’re still scuttling around behind closed doors, attempting to appease—but FACULTY AND STAFF, led by AAUP.
BREAKING: In AAUP et al v. Trump (wall-to-wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of TItle VI to reshape the University of California system), the faculty and staff of the UC system WON!!!
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
November 15, 2025 at 12:01 AM
WE WON. I am *begging* you to take note of who did this. *Not* UCLA admin—they’re still scuttling around behind closed doors, attempting to appease—but FACULTY AND STAFF, led by AAUP.
Reposted by Chris Brockett
The intro to Judge Rita Lin's 76-page opinion holding that the Trump admin's pressure campaign against the University of California system is coercive and retaliatory in violation of the First Amendment. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 15, 2025 at 1:12 AM
The intro to Judge Rita Lin's 76-page opinion holding that the Trump admin's pressure campaign against the University of California system is coercive and retaliatory in violation of the First Amendment. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Chris Brockett
'A History of England in 25 Poems' by @cathamclarke.bsky.social has something for everyone, including nerdy historical linguists. While reading it, I seized upon an archaic H in a Middle English poem about happy animals as my chance to write about lost English sounds.
dannybate.com/2025/11/14/a...
dannybate.com/2025/11/14/a...
A Voice for the Voiceless: English’s Lost Consonants
In September this year, Catherine Clarke, professor at the Institute of Historical Research, published A History of England in 25 Poems. This chronological hike through England’s history via verses…
dannybate.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:30 PM
'A History of England in 25 Poems' by @cathamclarke.bsky.social has something for everyone, including nerdy historical linguists. While reading it, I seized upon an archaic H in a Middle English poem about happy animals as my chance to write about lost English sounds.
dannybate.com/2025/11/14/a...
dannybate.com/2025/11/14/a...
This would be a complete disaster for scientific research in the United States.
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 6:25 AM
This would be a complete disaster for scientific research in the United States.
Reposted by Chris Brockett
I did my PhD at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, which has more Chinese students than any other US university. I had the privilege of teaching and collaborating with Chinese students there.
This makes me indescribably angry for them and for all of us who benefit from our work together
This makes me indescribably angry for them and for all of us who benefit from our work together
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 5:10 AM
I did my PhD at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, which has more Chinese students than any other US university. I had the privilege of teaching and collaborating with Chinese students there.
This makes me indescribably angry for them and for all of us who benefit from our work together
This makes me indescribably angry for them and for all of us who benefit from our work together
Reposted by Chris Brockett
"A cultural revolution? Trump’s America feels oddly familiar to those watching from China.
Demands of absolute loyalty and attacks on institutions have raised memories of Mao-style chaos from US watchers in China." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Demands of absolute loyalty and attacks on institutions have raised memories of Mao-style chaos from US watchers in China." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
A cultural revolution? Trump’s America feels oddly familiar to those watching from China
Demands of absolute loyalty and attacks on institutions have raised memories of Mao-style chaos from US watchers in China
www.theguardian.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:38 AM
"A cultural revolution? Trump’s America feels oddly familiar to those watching from China.
Demands of absolute loyalty and attacks on institutions have raised memories of Mao-style chaos from US watchers in China." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Demands of absolute loyalty and attacks on institutions have raised memories of Mao-style chaos from US watchers in China." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Chris Brockett
Under new head of Paramount David Ellison, the studio has drawn up a list of actors who opposed the Gaza genocide and will not allow them to appear in its films and TV shows.
Does this sound familiar?
Also, "Ellison is reportedly aiming to take over Warner Bros. next."
Does this sound familiar?
Also, "Ellison is reportedly aiming to take over Warner Bros. next."
Paramount Has Blacklist for Stars Deemed “Overtly Antisemitic” — World of Reel
It sure looks like the likes of Javier Bardem, Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, and Mark Ruffalo won’t be making movies for Paramount in the foreseeable future.
www.worldofreel.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Under new head of Paramount David Ellison, the studio has drawn up a list of actors who opposed the Gaza genocide and will not allow them to appear in its films and TV shows.
Does this sound familiar?
Also, "Ellison is reportedly aiming to take over Warner Bros. next."
Does this sound familiar?
Also, "Ellison is reportedly aiming to take over Warner Bros. next."
Reposted by Chris Brockett
Look up! The sky in Redmond, WA
November 12, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Look up! The sky in Redmond, WA
Reposted by Chris Brockett
Hasn't this come up before a few years ago? With some caveat that the northern Japan groups and North American groups might be offshoots of much less well documented eastern Siberian group?
US-Japan research team finds suggestive similarities between pre-Clovis stone-tool styles in North America and 20K-yr-old tools in north Japan--hinting that the ppl in Hokkaido may have been the origins of the ppl who were all over North America by ~16K yrs ago.
Characterizing the American Upper Paleolithic
Tool similarities link Late Pleistocene American and Northeast Asian lithic traditions.
www.science.org
November 11, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Hasn't this come up before a few years ago? With some caveat that the northern Japan groups and North American groups might be offshoots of much less well documented eastern Siberian group?
Reposted by Chris Brockett
Reposted by Chris Brockett
I really need to get to bed, but I just poked my head out the back door again. This is the view from my deck. All of this is looking south. When the geomagnetic storms are like this, the oval overshoots me and stretches into the US, which is why so many are seeing it tonight. #aurora
November 12, 2025 at 5:16 AM
I really need to get to bed, but I just poked my head out the back door again. This is the view from my deck. All of this is looking south. When the geomagnetic storms are like this, the oval overshoots me and stretches into the US, which is why so many are seeing it tonight. #aurora
Reposted by Chris Brockett
NOAA cut funding to the Alaska Earthquake Center, directed by my friend Mike West. As a result, seismic monitoring by nine stations in Alaska tracking tsunami-causing earthquakes will go offline by the end of the month. This endangers people in Alaska, Hawaiʻi, and other parts of the Pacific.
This lab is key for tracking deadly waves. Its sensors are about to go offline.
After NOAA cut funding to the lab that’s been monitoring seismic activity for more than 25 years, nine stations tracking tsunami-causing earthquakes for the agency will go offline by the end of the mo...
www.washingtonpost.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:24 PM
NOAA cut funding to the Alaska Earthquake Center, directed by my friend Mike West. As a result, seismic monitoring by nine stations in Alaska tracking tsunami-causing earthquakes will go offline by the end of the month. This endangers people in Alaska, Hawaiʻi, and other parts of the Pacific.
Reposted by Chris Brockett
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
November 11, 2025 at 1:50 AM
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
Reposted by Chris Brockett
An engineer wanted to make a quiet high-speed train. “The question then occurred to me — is there some living thing that manages sudden changes in air resistance as a part of daily life?” The answer: the kingfisher. See my story today for more tales of bioinspiration. Gift link: nyti.ms/4otNQyl
November 10, 2025 at 5:10 PM
An engineer wanted to make a quiet high-speed train. “The question then occurred to me — is there some living thing that manages sudden changes in air resistance as a part of daily life?” The answer: the kingfisher. See my story today for more tales of bioinspiration. Gift link: nyti.ms/4otNQyl
Groundbreaking British Museum show set to challenge samurai myths | British Museum | The Guardian share.google/EODJcwgkzB06...
Groundbreaking British Museum show set to challenge samurai myths
Exclusive: Exhibition will reveal complex reality, featuring women and artistic creations, beyond armour-clad warriors
share.google
November 10, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Groundbreaking British Museum show set to challenge samurai myths | British Museum | The Guardian share.google/EODJcwgkzB06...
Ever tried.
Ever caved.
Never mind.
Try again.
Cave again.
Cave better
Ever caved.
Never mind.
Try again.
Cave again.
Cave better
November 10, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Ever tried.
Ever caved.
Never mind.
Try again.
Cave again.
Cave better
Ever caved.
Never mind.
Try again.
Cave again.
Cave better