Wayne O'Cohen / 上野公園
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wayneocohen.bsky.social
Wayne O'Cohen / 上野公園
@wayneocohen.bsky.social
Maryland native, adopted New Jerseyan, current Tokyoite whose heart's in Hong Kong. Syracuse grad; postgrad at Gutenberg Universität Mainz. Entertainment writer formerly of Japan's Mainichi Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun. Interests: Media biz, Asian history
My time on FB was full of interactions w/ high school classmates I'd barely spoken to back then. The kids I hung out w/ as a teen turned into Trumpers, but the gay kids, artsy & theater types, the Jews, Muslims, a few jocks, etc. grew up to be engaging adults. We're the last liberals left standing.
November 29, 2025 at 7:54 AM
The implication is the same, even if Churchill never uttered this sentiment in any of its various forms: Pie-in-the-sky progressivism is the stuff of youthful dreamers who are not yet grounded in the sometimes harsh & unforgiving reality of day-to-day life. More: winstonchurchill.org/resources/qu...
Quotes Falsely Attributed to Winston Churchill
These fake quotes make for good storytelling, but popular myth has falsely attributed them to Winston Churchill.
winstonchurchill.org
November 29, 2025 at 7:54 AM
"If you’re not a liberal when you’re 25, you have no heart. If you’re not a conservative by the time you’re 35, you have no brain" is a famous quote falsely attributed to Winston Churchill, according to the International Churchill Society. There are many variations w/ slightly different wording.
November 29, 2025 at 7:54 AM
The theory is that adult responsibilities, i.e. home ownership, medical bills, child rearing, retirement planning & countless other expenses, force aging liberals to rethink their worldview & become "practical" (read: more conservative). Some become fiscally conservative, but stay socially liberal.
November 29, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Oh, I know exactly what you mean. It's happened to a few well-educated friends of mine who've not only become more conservative over the years, but also more religious, sometimes taking the latter to extremes. This is often referred to as the "mortgage mentality."
November 29, 2025 at 7:54 AM
In this case, the opposite happened. The Baltimore County Exec ordered police not to interfere w/ protests & a boycott of several crab restaurants, which serve a B'more specialty, following the owner's racist FB posts. The owner's lawsuit for compensation failed. www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Court dismisses lawsuit by Vince’s Crab House over racial justice protests
The owners accused Baltimore County officials of violating their rights after racial justice protesters demonstrated against a restaurant operator's racist posts on social media.
www.thebanner.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:18 PM
I interviewed the Aussie alt-rock band Regurgitator, formed in Brisbane, but whose Vietnamese Australian guitarist Quan Yeomans has lived in HK for years. They mocked the police diet w/ "Fat Cop," which features such lyrics as "Make a little room for the blimp in the blue hat." youtu.be/JlmyKZMHboE
Regurgitator - Fat Cop
YouTube video by Warner Music Australia
youtu.be
November 28, 2025 at 4:23 PM
All the more reason to patronize such businesses & show support. Let the cops know consumers won't be cowed by such ridiculous attempts at intimidation. Funny thing, though: In the States--and apparently Australia, too--cops are infamous for hanging around doughnut shops, filling up on sweets.
November 28, 2025 at 4:23 PM
There's a lot that I don't know about the man. But w/ a background like that, if accurate as described, I'd like to think he'd have a much more highly developed sense of compassion & empathy. I've his Iowa host family & others he met during a visit to a rural town remember him fondly. What happened?
November 28, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Or, even worse, Dan Patrick, a lieutenant governor with real power. I fear what his next move will be.
November 27, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Nice!
November 27, 2025 at 11:54 AM
They went their separate ways in 1955, but their businesses ended up back under 1 roof. Mr. Donut is still an industry leader in Asia, though. If I see a Krispy Kreme in Tokyo, it's likely a stall in a dept. store. Mr. D has standalone shops all over. In HK, too. Menu here: www.misterdonut.jp
ミスタードーナツ
ミスタードーナツの公式サイトです。新商品、ミスドクラブ、ドーナツ&ドリンクメニュー、飲茶メニュー、ショップ検索、TVCMなど、様々な最新情報をご覧いただけます。
www.misterdonut.jp
November 27, 2025 at 11:50 AM
For years, I've been under the mistaken assumption that Mr. Donut is still a going N. American concern. It's not. By 1990, after an ownership change, nearly all US/Can outlets became Dunkin' Donuts stores, w/ 1 still in Illinois. Funny twist of fate. The chains were founded by 2 brothers-in-law.
November 27, 2025 at 11:50 AM
More, also from 2020, from the Center for Religion and Cities at Morgan State University: www.religionandcities.org/hope-baltimo...
Betting on Hope | Two Baltimores: The “Black Butterfly” And The “White L” — Religion and the City
www.religionandcities.org
November 27, 2025 at 9:25 AM
A 2020 essay about the "Black Butterfly" from a report by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition: ncrc.org/the-black-bu...
Baltimore: The Black Butterfly » NCRC
Marceline White, Executive Director, Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition
ncrc.org
November 27, 2025 at 9:25 AM
The tour tells of "Black resistance to white supremacist institutions & political machinations" ca. 1865 to 1920," and covers HBCUs, Black churches, lawyers, political & labor organizing. It offers "a vision of what B'imore looked like before the 'Black Butterfly' & the 'white L' took shape."
November 27, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Ugh! I wish this crap could be written off as AI slop. But no. No, no. It's much worse.
November 24, 2025 at 2:15 PM
But sometimes fate works in weird ways. This family handed over their young adoptee to the proper authorities, and it's now thriving at the Nairobi Safari Walk, as it can't be returned to the wild: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Kenya cheetah cub raised by Wajir family: 'It became one of the children'
Their neighbours, who raise livestock, told the family to get rid of the wild animal.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 11:26 AM
It's pretty awful. In the past, orangutans suffered the same fate, no thanks to a show on Taiwanese TV that featured a baby orang. Viewers didn't seem to realize that those babies grow up to be adults that are 4 or 5 times stronger than adult humans. More here: cheetah.org/uk/2025/10/1...
Combating the Illegal Wildlife Trade – A better world for cheetah cubs - Cheetah Conservation Fund United Kingdom
The illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is one of the greatest threats to cheetah survival in the Horn of Africa. Each year, as many as 300 cheetah cubs are stolen from the wild to feed demand for exotic pet...
cheetah.org
November 24, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Hmm. Yeah. Maybe it comes across that way. Which, unfortunately, is why cheetahs are a favored target of the illegal pet trade. They're known to be relatively docile toward humans. Perhaps that's why there's a demand for them in the Gulf States. They're a prestige pet.
November 24, 2025 at 11:07 AM
No, this is not AI slop. There are plenty of other examples of cheetahs meowing out there: youtu.be/0tmCIsSpvC8
Meowing cheetahs
YouTube video by meskal44
youtu.be
November 24, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Mountain lions, aka pumas or cougars, are kinda the same. They're the largest cat that's capable of purring. Seems that zoos have discovered it's a mistake to house cheetahs in the vicinity of lions, etc., as it causes them great anxiety & fear. More here: www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts...
Big cat vs small cat: what's the difference between these furry felines? | Discover Wildlife
What's the difference between a big cat and a small cat? We look at what truly separates big cats from their smaller cousins
www.discoverwildlife.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:11 AM