Dr. Kurtis Hanlon
@kurtishanlon.bsky.social
An assistant professor in premodern Japanese Language and Literature at Palacký University. Researching literature, especially waka, and its intersection with play. Designated departmental baker (he/him) Signal: kurtishanlon.33
Pinned
Ok, one last minute bit of retrospective:
I am so happy this was the year I finally earned my regalia. If you're defending this next year, don't give up hope!
I am so happy this was the year I finally earned my regalia. If you're defending this next year, don't give up hope!
Well, I've made it to Europe. Mechanical delays in Detroit meant I missed my flight to Prague, but there's one in a little under 5 hours. It'll put me in Olomouc riiiiight ať bedtime.
I hope European trains have good food like Japanese ones.
I hope European trains have good food like Japanese ones.
February 3, 2026 at 9:28 AM
Well, I've made it to Europe. Mechanical delays in Detroit meant I missed my flight to Prague, but there's one in a little under 5 hours. It'll put me in Olomouc riiiiight ať bedtime.
I hope European trains have good food like Japanese ones.
I hope European trains have good food like Japanese ones.
Having a quick spot of lunch at the airport, a last taste of BBQ as I leave Kansas City for Prague!
This sandwich smells really good.
This sandwich smells really good.
February 2, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Having a quick spot of lunch at the airport, a last taste of BBQ as I leave Kansas City for Prague!
This sandwich smells really good.
This sandwich smells really good.
Reposted by Dr. Kurtis Hanlon
If you have ever struggled to get digital copies of research material from the NDL while NOT in Japan, this is the survey you want to participate in! ⬇️
The National Diet Library is exploring the possibility of extending its Digitized Transmission Service for Individuals (DCTI) to those residing outside of Japan. To understand potential demand, the NDL and CULCON have created a survey. Deadline for responses 3/31! forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...
February 2, 2026 at 4:17 PM
If you have ever struggled to get digital copies of research material from the NDL while NOT in Japan, this is the survey you want to participate in! ⬇️
So, I thought that packing a third suitcase would be the cheapest way to get another 50lbs of stuff to Olomouc with me. Turns out the third bag is $285 on Delta, so no, it's cheaper to ship that 50lbs. I've just finished rearranging the two suitcases I had already packed.
February 2, 2026 at 3:10 AM
So, I thought that packing a third suitcase would be the cheapest way to get another 50lbs of stuff to Olomouc with me. Turns out the third bag is $285 on Delta, so no, it's cheaper to ship that 50lbs. I've just finished rearranging the two suitcases I had already packed.
The slapstick gag of throwing a ragdoll will always be funny. Especially if the transition from actor to ragdoll is either really good or really bad.
February 1, 2026 at 5:47 AM
The slapstick gag of throwing a ragdoll will always be funny. Especially if the transition from actor to ragdoll is either really good or really bad.
Passport arrived with the visa inside, so I'm flying out Monday, babyyyyyy!
I'll arrive in Olomouc Tuesday night, so I'll have 3 work days plus a weekend to get all my stuff in order before I teach on the 9th. Piece o' cake. Hardest thing is getting apartment listers to respond to my inquiries!
I'll arrive in Olomouc Tuesday night, so I'll have 3 work days plus a weekend to get all my stuff in order before I teach on the 9th. Piece o' cake. Hardest thing is getting apartment listers to respond to my inquiries!
January 31, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Passport arrived with the visa inside, so I'm flying out Monday, babyyyyyy!
I'll arrive in Olomouc Tuesday night, so I'll have 3 work days plus a weekend to get all my stuff in order before I teach on the 9th. Piece o' cake. Hardest thing is getting apartment listers to respond to my inquiries!
I'll arrive in Olomouc Tuesday night, so I'll have 3 work days plus a weekend to get all my stuff in order before I teach on the 9th. Piece o' cake. Hardest thing is getting apartment listers to respond to my inquiries!
MY VISA IS APPROVED!
Now I get to look for flights. Probably flying out to Olomouc early next week. Just in time for the semester.
Now I get to look for flights. Probably flying out to Olomouc early next week. Just in time for the semester.
January 29, 2026 at 9:33 PM
MY VISA IS APPROVED!
Now I get to look for flights. Probably flying out to Olomouc early next week. Just in time for the semester.
Now I get to look for flights. Probably flying out to Olomouc early next week. Just in time for the semester.
The temptation to dunk quote on idiots is so high, sometimes. But that is not the way of the bluesky elders.
(so I'll sub-skeet instead)
(so I'll sub-skeet instead)
January 29, 2026 at 2:05 AM
The temptation to dunk quote on idiots is so high, sometimes. But that is not the way of the bluesky elders.
(so I'll sub-skeet instead)
(so I'll sub-skeet instead)
When I say that my classes teach students how to think, anti-intellectuals hear that I teach them *what* to think. But no, humanities courses are about learning the process of critical thinking, which, truly, should be even more frightening to anti-intellectuals.
January 27, 2026 at 6:11 PM
When I say that my classes teach students how to think, anti-intellectuals hear that I teach them *what* to think. But no, humanities courses are about learning the process of critical thinking, which, truly, should be even more frightening to anti-intellectuals.
I've been thinking about this quote from Constantine, and also the fact that the proverb of the prodigal son includes him humbling himself before being welcomed home with open arms. No reason.
January 26, 2026 at 5:39 PM
I've been thinking about this quote from Constantine, and also the fact that the proverb of the prodigal son includes him humbling himself before being welcomed home with open arms. No reason.
Reposted by Dr. Kurtis Hanlon
Alex Pretti's gun is like Renee Good's car: irrelevant to the central fact that they were murdered by ICE. ICE wants us to debate whether Pretti should have been carrying because that avoids the central fact. Pro-carry, anti-carry--that has as much to do w/ his murder as his fashion choices. Zero.
January 25, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Alex Pretti's gun is like Renee Good's car: irrelevant to the central fact that they were murdered by ICE. ICE wants us to debate whether Pretti should have been carrying because that avoids the central fact. Pro-carry, anti-carry--that has as much to do w/ his murder as his fashion choices. Zero.
This is how fascism operates. Democracy is the idea that there are a multiplicity of agendas, and we use elections to reconcile those differences. Fascism is the idea that there is only one agenda—the one, national, true, state agenda—and anything else is illegitimate and an enemy to the state.
Putin pioneered this. No opposition is legitimate. Regular, decent, “ordinary” people cannot possibly be against us because only we represent “the real people.”
Tell-tale sign of authoritarianism.
Tell-tale sign of authoritarianism.
January 25, 2026 at 5:35 PM
This is how fascism operates. Democracy is the idea that there are a multiplicity of agendas, and we use elections to reconcile those differences. Fascism is the idea that there is only one agenda—the one, national, true, state agenda—and anything else is illegitimate and an enemy to the state.
I just learned the Japanese phrase 窮鼠猫を噛む (a cornered rat will bite a cat), and I think it's really fitting for the resistance we're seeing around the country. Keep it up; the antidote to fascism is community and solidarity.
January 23, 2026 at 2:46 PM
I just learned the Japanese phrase 窮鼠猫を噛む (a cornered rat will bite a cat), and I think it's really fitting for the resistance we're seeing around the country. Keep it up; the antidote to fascism is community and solidarity.
Reposted by Dr. Kurtis Hanlon
This is an excellent analogy, because my recollection from grade school is that the pen on the right looks fun and exciting, and then you play with it for a few minutes and realize it's not actually useful for anything and in fact makes some tasks more cumbersome, and never think about it again.
yeah, just out of interest, how many people choose the pen on the right for real work or art? See a lot of them in professional workplaces, do you?
January 22, 2026 at 12:21 PM
This is an excellent analogy, because my recollection from grade school is that the pen on the right looks fun and exciting, and then you play with it for a few minutes and realize it's not actually useful for anything and in fact makes some tasks more cumbersome, and never think about it again.
Reposted by Dr. Kurtis Hanlon
OP is not joking which is sad because this is a really fucking funny joke.
January 22, 2026 at 7:46 PM
OP is not joking which is sad because this is a really fucking funny joke.
Reposted by Dr. Kurtis Hanlon
I am excited and exhausted to finally release my annual data report on job advertisements in East Asian Studies! 📊🌏 This marks 5 years of collecting job data, so it's possible to see changes over time. For interactive visualizations, view via browser rather than phone. prcurtis.com/projects/job...
January 20, 2026 at 4:44 PM
I am excited and exhausted to finally release my annual data report on job advertisements in East Asian Studies! 📊🌏 This marks 5 years of collecting job data, so it's possible to see changes over time. For interactive visualizations, view via browser rather than phone. prcurtis.com/projects/job...
Signed. It is vital to be full throated and unapologetic about our resistance to so-called genAI. This letter does a good job outlining the reasons to reject it.
I am proud to sign this letter to protect students, artists, and society from the unsafe and unethical use of AI in education.
Link here and in my LinkTree: openletter.earth/an-open-lett...
Link here and in my LinkTree: openletter.earth/an-open-lett...
An open letter from educators who refuse the call to adopt GenAI in education
openletter.earth
January 20, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Signed. It is vital to be full throated and unapologetic about our resistance to so-called genAI. This letter does a good job outlining the reasons to reject it.
Well, all one can ask for is a good game, and that was one. Congrats to all the Hoosiers out there. My cousin is in his senior year there, so I'm sure he's having fun.
January 20, 2026 at 4:19 AM
Well, all one can ask for is a good game, and that was one. Congrats to all the Hoosiers out there. My cousin is in his senior year there, so I'm sure he's having fun.
Been replaying Breath of the Wild with the Switch 2 upgrade while I wait for my visa. I forgot just how many hoops they make you jump through to get the dang motorcycle. I spent like two hours on just the great plateau shrines.
January 18, 2026 at 10:57 PM
Been replaying Breath of the Wild with the Switch 2 upgrade while I wait for my visa. I forgot just how many hoops they make you jump through to get the dang motorcycle. I spent like two hours on just the great plateau shrines.
Reposted by Dr. Kurtis Hanlon
I have some bad news. One, if you need to use ChatGPT for your graduate application letter, you are not ready for graduate school.
Two, no, not "everyone is doing it" and those who don't do it aren't "losing out." ChatGPT is not an advantage.
Two, no, not "everyone is doing it" and those who don't do it aren't "losing out." ChatGPT is not an advantage.
An impressive number of graduate applications this year used the phrase “curiosity-driven approach” 🤔
January 17, 2026 at 10:46 PM
I have some bad news. One, if you need to use ChatGPT for your graduate application letter, you are not ready for graduate school.
Two, no, not "everyone is doing it" and those who don't do it aren't "losing out." ChatGPT is not an advantage.
Two, no, not "everyone is doing it" and those who don't do it aren't "losing out." ChatGPT is not an advantage.
If only someone, anyone, had foreseen such an outcome of rushing these products out when they are the equivalent of a parrot squawking a trained response rather than a replacement for a human brain.
January 17, 2026 at 3:02 PM
If only someone, anyone, had foreseen such an outcome of rushing these products out when they are the equivalent of a parrot squawking a trained response rather than a replacement for a human brain.
Noooooo, the online status of my visa application says it's still pending. That means no progress over the weekend now, and I'll probably be here at least another week...
I just want to move and start my new job. Why are they taking so long?!?
I just want to move and start my new job. Why are they taking so long?!?
January 16, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Noooooo, the online status of my visa application says it's still pending. That means no progress over the weekend now, and I'll probably be here at least another week...
I just want to move and start my new job. Why are they taking so long?!?
I just want to move and start my new job. Why are they taking so long?!?
Reposted by Dr. Kurtis Hanlon
Timeline cleanse. Kame-chan was super cute as he was sleeping today. Look at his neck fat!
January 16, 2026 at 5:06 AM
Timeline cleanse. Kame-chan was super cute as he was sleeping today. Look at his neck fat!
Timeline cleanse. Kame-chan was super cute as he was sleeping today. Look at his neck fat!
January 16, 2026 at 5:06 AM
Timeline cleanse. Kame-chan was super cute as he was sleeping today. Look at his neck fat!