Brian Bergstrom
@brianbergstrom.bsky.social
Lecturer & Literary Translator JPN -> ENG Current: DILEMMAS OF WORKING WOMEN by Fumio Yamamoto 21 July 26: CAPITAL FROM ZERO by Kōhei Saitō Soon: LOVEAHOLIC by Fumio Yamamoto Tarte 🥧 and Butt 🌈 Enthusiast (à Montréal) IG: instagram.com/asa_no_burei
I'll be linking to groups and organizations to support Spokane as well as other communities in the state being impacted by the fires. H.O.M.E Starts Here - my.spokanecity.org/endinghomele... Every dollar donated will provide direct support.
H.O.M.E. Starts Here Donations
Donations to the H.O.M.E. Starts Here Fund go directly to supporting services for those experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
my.spokanecity.org
Cat Power only knows one woman, Miranda July
kate bush’s husband@airbagged.bsky.social · yesterdayCat Power is antivax
Annoying margins (too narrow OR too wide!)
Brian Thill@brianthill.bsky.social · 23h agoThis post puts me in mind of something. I've ditched books (and sometimes entire publishers) because of my annoyance with relatively "minor" details such as this (the paper was too glossy; the binding glue a certain publisher uses smells really weird; the spines behave oddly; etc.) What are yours?
This wet boy brought to you by sweating on a dancefloor then walking home through a rainstorm yesterday
It only makes sense that people should make sure they're in top physical condition before attempting high-risk activities like eating lettuce
The New York Times@nytimes.com · 2d agoBreaking News: Two deaths in Michigan have been linked to cyclospora. Both people who had the parasite also had underlying health issues.
"AI democratizes fraud" is such a good way of putting it
Josh Gondelman@joshgondelman.bsky.social · 3d agoJaya rules, and Ravenous rules! This is such a vivid example of how generative AI does not "democratize" art and culture like its boosters claim. It actually increases the need for/impulse towards gatekeeping because in practice, AI just democratizes fraud. Actual work still takes time and skill!
This is the area where I was born and raised. The house I grew up in, that my father built himself (that is, not using a contractor) the year I was born, barely escaped burning down last night. Every summer is worse than the last, we really must do something, as a human collective
The Associated Press@apnews.com · 3d agoA fast-moving wildfire driven by strong winds and high temperatures swept across northwest Spokane on Saturday before jumping the Spokane River and prompting the evacuation of thousands of people.
beginning of La Fierté (Kink Party tonight) #nsfw #singletsaturday
🥰🥰🥰
Capt. Spike 2099@spikepoint.bsky.social · 5d agoWrapping up my first read of this book, Capital From Zero. I’ve been doing a chunk of pages each day since I got it, being careful to pace myself as frankly the material is presently VERY accessibly, but is often worth ruminating further on. I recommend it. (@brianbergstrom.bsky.social translated!)
★ Political theorist Kohei Saito argues in this penetrating treatise that Karl Marx’s Capital has never been more relevant than in the era of global warming. This brims with power and urgency. @AstraHouseBooks buff.ly/yEFFzwi
Immensely saddened to hear that author Higashino Keigo has died of colon cancer. He was only 68. The Devotion of Suspect X remains one of my favourite mysteries . RIP.
Neurotic translation moment: a character is sitting on a sidewalk, watching people's legs go by. In Japanese, though, she's watching their "足首"—"ankles."
one of the worst things a person can do is sell a book with a sticker that only comes off in strips and leaves a sticky residue
When sea bass and choufleur mauve are both on sale at the same time
What if we profiled these people who have no opinions worth listening to but—and here's the twist!—they're quite well-off?
Luke O'Neil@lukeoneil47.bsky.social · 2w ago“This is a group of people who are not far left and mostly feel politically homeless,” Guttman said. “They see the mayor’s office and they don’t really identify as that Democrat,” she added, referring to New York City’s democratic socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
Sorry for all the Saitō-spamming, but one last thing: Capital from Zero got a starred review at Publisher's Weekly! ✨ www.publishersweekly.com/9781662603419
Capital from Zero: Reading Marx in the Age of Climate Catastrophe by Kohei Saito
Political theorist Saito (Slow Down) argues in this penetrating treatise that Karl Marx’s Capital has never been more relevant t...
publishersweekly.com
LitHub has an excerpt of my translation of Capital from Zero-check it out! "We cannot manage the environment—a resource that ultimately belongs to no one—in a sustainable way as long as we operate within a system founded on ceaseless exploitation in the name of private ownership and profit seeking"
Lit Hub@literaryhub.bsky.social · 2w agoKōhei Saitō examines why solutions rooted in capitalism will never stop climate change.
Photos from the book launch for Capital from Zero by Kohei Saito at Argo Bookshop in Montreal last night. A great discussion and event!
A really great review (with an important critique gesturing toward what could be added to Saitō's vision) in LA Review of Books! "...while Capital from Zero undeniably serves as an introductory text, it simultaneously offers incisive interventions into pivotal political debates of our times."
Los Angeles Review of Books@lareviewofbooks.bsky.social · 2w ago"To do such organizing work, however, we must first actually see these workers." Ashley Dawson reviews Kohei Saito’s "Capital From Zero" and Marx’s development as an ecosocialist thinker: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/kohei-saito-capital-from-zero/
International Association of Art Critics Japan has issued a statement opposing the Flag Desecration Bill out of fear that works of art that use the Japanese national flag might be subject to punishment under the new law. (Pictured: Yanagi Yukinori's World Flag Ant Farm.) critique.aicajapan.com/18358
