John W Buaas
@johnwbuaas.bsky.social
Retired Prof. of English, living in Wichita KS. PhD in 20c. Am. Lit. Proud husband, father. Inordinately fond of Mexico City. Surname rhymes w/ Louis.
Books read in 2025: https://bsky.app/profile/johnwbuaas.bsky.social/post/3lerufociu22y
Books read in 2025: https://bsky.app/profile/johnwbuaas.bsky.social/post/3lerufociu22y
Welsh poet/Anglican priest RS Thomas, cosplaying an Advent calendar.
December 2, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Welsh poet/Anglican priest RS Thomas, cosplaying an Advent calendar.
John Henry Twachtman, Winter in Cincinnati (1882)
December 1, 2025 at 2:50 PM
John Henry Twachtman, Winter in Cincinnati (1882)
Our nation is corrupt and compromised, led by leaders of every sort solely interested in the transactional rather than the just gesture. Former allies are choosing between coddling our president, fearing him, or tacitly abandoning us. Our enemies are emboldened, or we're now befriending them.
1/3
1/3
November 30, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Our nation is corrupt and compromised, led by leaders of every sort solely interested in the transactional rather than the just gesture. Former allies are choosing between coddling our president, fearing him, or tacitly abandoning us. Our enemies are emboldened, or we're now befriending them.
1/3
1/3
Happy Thanksgiving!
November 27, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Happy Thanksgiving!
My son and me, 7 years ago today. We're reading La oruga muy hambrienta (The Very Hungry Caterpillar).
November 19, 2025 at 3:09 AM
My son and me, 7 years ago today. We're reading La oruga muy hambrienta (The Very Hungry Caterpillar).
Sorry about that. Here's a screenshot of it:
November 17, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Sorry about that. Here's a screenshot of it:
I wish Barthes were alive so he could add a chapter to MYTHOLOGIES on these things.
Most people who own trucks have no genuine need for them; it's as though this thing was designed to make that precise point. It's not a truck but more like a commentary on that lack of need.
Most people who own trucks have no genuine need for them; it's as though this thing was designed to make that precise point. It's not a truck but more like a commentary on that lack of need.
November 17, 2025 at 2:32 PM
I wish Barthes were alive so he could add a chapter to MYTHOLOGIES on these things.
Most people who own trucks have no genuine need for them; it's as though this thing was designed to make that precise point. It's not a truck but more like a commentary on that lack of need.
Most people who own trucks have no genuine need for them; it's as though this thing was designed to make that precise point. It's not a truck but more like a commentary on that lack of need.
John Singer Sargent, A Dinner Table at Night (1884)
November 12, 2025 at 6:38 PM
John Singer Sargent, A Dinner Table at Night (1884)
6:30 am, Wichita, Kansas
November 11, 2025 at 1:02 PM
6:30 am, Wichita, Kansas
Helen Frankenthaler, Magic Carpet (1964)
November 10, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Helen Frankenthaler, Magic Carpet (1964)
It's called "tallgrass" for a reason. These stalks are about 9' tall.
(I led a group of Cub Scouts on a walk through the Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita this morning.)
(I led a group of Cub Scouts on a walk through the Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita this morning.)
November 8, 2025 at 10:47 PM
It's called "tallgrass" for a reason. These stalks are about 9' tall.
(I led a group of Cub Scouts on a walk through the Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita this morning.)
(I led a group of Cub Scouts on a walk through the Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita this morning.)
I'm calling it: Atole season has arrived.
November 7, 2025 at 2:53 PM
I'm calling it: Atole season has arrived.
Helen Frankenthaler, sitting on top of one of her paintings while wearing a white skirt.
What a badass.
What a badass.
November 5, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Helen Frankenthaler, sitting on top of one of her paintings while wearing a white skirt.
What a badass.
What a badass.
"Really? 'Cornflake Girl' AGAIN???"
(William Merritt Chase, The Song (1907))
(William Merritt Chase, The Song (1907))
November 5, 2025 at 3:29 PM
"Really? 'Cornflake Girl' AGAIN???"
(William Merritt Chase, The Song (1907))
(William Merritt Chase, The Song (1907))
Frida Kahlo aged six, Mexico, 1913
November 4, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Frida Kahlo aged six, Mexico, 1913
Very, very cool!
Sorta related: This famous 1524 map of Tenochtitlan was a co-creation of Nahua and European mapmakers; it in turn would influence later maps of cities such as Turin and Peking/Beijing. See Alessandra Russo's The Untranslatable Image for a fuller discussion of its history.
Sorta related: This famous 1524 map of Tenochtitlan was a co-creation of Nahua and European mapmakers; it in turn would influence later maps of cities such as Turin and Peking/Beijing. See Alessandra Russo's The Untranslatable Image for a fuller discussion of its history.
November 3, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Very, very cool!
Sorta related: This famous 1524 map of Tenochtitlan was a co-creation of Nahua and European mapmakers; it in turn would influence later maps of cities such as Turin and Peking/Beijing. See Alessandra Russo's The Untranslatable Image for a fuller discussion of its history.
Sorta related: This famous 1524 map of Tenochtitlan was a co-creation of Nahua and European mapmakers; it in turn would influence later maps of cities such as Turin and Peking/Beijing. See Alessandra Russo's The Untranslatable Image for a fuller discussion of its history.
Duy Huynh, The Trust Test
November 3, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Duy Huynh, The Trust Test
San Gregorio Cemetery, on the outskirts of Mexico City, prepared for Dia de los Muertos.
Photo by Marco Ugarte.
Photo by Marco Ugarte.
November 2, 2025 at 1:05 PM
San Gregorio Cemetery, on the outskirts of Mexico City, prepared for Dia de los Muertos.
Photo by Marco Ugarte.
Photo by Marco Ugarte.
Just remembering the time a few years back when I had to explain to my students what these were. The tech equivalent of farm implements, for most all of them.
November 2, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Just remembering the time a few years back when I had to explain to my students what these were. The tech equivalent of farm implements, for most all of them.