Kerim Friedman 傅可恩
@kerim.one
Taiwan-based anthropologist. 人類學家與台灣新住民。 https://kerim.one My Triptych newsletter: https://triptych.oxus.net/
![Vertical graphic filled by a photograph of a Times Square billboard, cropped to
the memorial poster on its left half: a large snapshot of a small
brown-and-white long-haired dog looking at the camera with its mouth open and
tongue out, green leaves behind it. Below the snapshot, handwritten-style text
on the billboard. A BBC News watermark is faintly visible at the bottom. The
lower half darkens to black beneath cream text, a thin orange rule beside the
quotation.
Text: "This week on Kerim's Triptych — Item 1". "Stray Dog". "Ordinary Chinese
people paid for these displays, one small donation at a time – all to mourn a
stray dog." "https://triptych.oxus.net/". On the billboard, partly obscured: "In
Memeory of our Wangwang" [sic].
(ALT Text by Claude AI)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:jgysjlql3r6m27bhjlmmfqlv/bafkreiadmvx22wunj7q37aotvw72x2ck4hd65w6obgfobwkgzgabaqdkvi)
Honored to have Julia Strauss review my book, In the Global Vanguard: "All interested in contemporary Taiwan history, as well as other audiences interested in agrarian development or the high modernism of the Green Revolution, should run, not walk, to get their hands on this informative and ground-
I recommend this short video on the genius that was Satoshi Kon. While it isn't a major part of the video, it shows how all the most interesting visual ideas from Nolan's Inception were copied directly from Kon's work.
Satoshi Kon - Editing Space & Time
YouTube video by Every Frame a Painting
youtube.com
One Nolan film I have watched multiple times is Momento. That is because I teach about this film regularly. The reason I teach it is not that I love it (though I do like it more than many of his other films that I have seen), but that it is useful for making a point about film structure.
Congratulations to the @propublica.org Guild! Relieved that I can end my boycott of this important news organization and resume my monthly donations.
ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · 5d ago🚨 WE HAVE A DEAL! After three years, in a major step forward for our members, we have ratified our first contract with @propublica.org’s management. We deeply appreciate everyone who supported us along the way. Here are some of our big wins👇
![A graphic poster reads "We have a deal! The ProPublica Guild has reached a deal with ProPublica's management on our first contract and has voted to ratify it. Swipe for the highlights [pointing emoji].](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cdv2pqnwpgqvwp7i4h6qqm3m/bafkreicamcjhmrljmxkoelj7c44bud5joxgqjjqcwjjdq66mmnjljtqawe)
Fascinating article on issues surrounding the "force-unification blockbuster” (武統大片) THE BELIEF (aka the Naval Battle of Penghu) 澎湖海战, directed by the fine HK filmmaker Soi Cheang. This "main melody film" 主旋律片 was supposed to be released this week, but seems to be in limbo. 1/
Sean Gilman@theendofcinema.bsky.social · 5d agoTaiwan Conquest Film Shelved
I haven't seen Nolan's film and don't plan to (I find his films dull & uninspired), but I've read 3 terrible takes on Wilson's essay, none of which seem to have actually read or understood what she wrote, most of which was about the moral vision of the film, not the cinematic liberties it takes.
If you’ve seen this article, you may be sitting with anger, pain, or just exhaustion at dealing with another helping of colonial nonsense. We feel a responsibility to speak back when these colonizing narratives show up, yet again, in such a prominent venue. endangeredlanguages.com/story/respon...
The New Yorker@newyorker.com · 2w agoThe idea that we have a special duty to prevent the death of languages is instantly compelling to anyone who loves languages. But is it true? www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
If the gods were less capricious, they would have given us a second season of Kaos instead of another overwrought Nolan film...
Kaos (TV series) - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Imagine how many mistakes like this never see the light of day?
A missing underscore sent innocent man to prison for 18 months
When the first step goes wrong, bad results follow.
arstechnica.com
1/ In 2022, Hong Kong cited security reasons for refusing to disclose which books had been removed from libraries. hongkongfp.com/2026/07/17/l...
The arguments against language reclamation haven't changed much in the nearly 20 years I've been working in this field: "It costs too much." "People are choosing to abandon their languages, so let them." "They have no practical use." "It's just sentimental nostalgia." Fuck All That, a thread:
Sometimes It’s O.K. to Let a Language Die
When cultural preservation comes at the expense of speakers’ decisions, sometimes it's O.K. to let a language die.
newyorker.com
Nikhil Krishnan's review of @sophiasgaler.bsky.social's book, "How to Kill a Language" in the @newyorker.com is one of the worst things I've ever read in that magazine. The article undermines each of its own specious arguments before they appear on the page. How did this get past the editors?
How long before the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) splits into the CJP (ML), CJP (L), CJPI, and CJP (Maoist)?
In case you think that tankies are just some strange online phenomenon that can safely be ignored . . .
mrsomerton@mrsomerton.bsky.social · 2w agoperennial reminder that this section was in the DSA platform as late as last September
People don't realize just how much the corporate elite and the political establishment hate capitalism and just how much regulation is necessary to maintain functioning, competitive, markets.
Helen Kennedy@helenkennedy.com · 2w agoThe wild eyed radical communist continues to destroy capitalism www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
One reason this is so infuriating is that in addition to the totally unnecessary sickness the measles virus gives patients "immune amnesia"--it wipes out acquired immunity to other diseases. The patient does end up w/ measles immunity, but also an increased vulnerability to other pathogens.
Measles and Immune Amnesia | ASM.org
Measles is much more serious than a rash and fever: it also causes immune amnesia and leaves patients especially vulnerable to secondary infection.
asm.org
Pleasantly surprised to see this comment about prison labor in the NY Times: "though [the US] still allows prison labor under conditions that labor organizations consider coercive." (Gift link)
Trump Administration Imposed New Tariffs of Around 10% on Over 80 Nations (Gift Article)
The administration launched new duties tied to countries’ imports of goods made with forced labor, replacing a 10 percent tariff immediately after it expired.
nytimes.com
Larry laid his mouse in front of the press to be photographed. Lest you ask, this is a real photograph via the Press Association.
"Mondol was told that he would be working as a packer in a warehouse. Equipped with a tourist visa, he traveled via Saudi Arabia to Russia, where he was then forced to sign a contract in Russian, which he could not read."
How Russia is luring foreign nationals to fight in Ukraine
More and more, Russia is recruiting men from the world’s poorest countries to send them to the front in the Ukraine war. Why are people joining up?
dw.com
Yesterday, WIRED learned that Madison Square Garden was suing us for our accurate reporting. We stand by our work. That’s why we’re removing the paywall from two of the MSG stories they don’t want you to read, making them free for everyone.
Half of House Democrats continue to support arming a corrupt, genocidal regime.
Almost Half of House Democrats Vote to End Aid to Israel
The measure failed, but the level of support among Democrats exposed a stark shift in the party away from backing the Jewish state.
nytimes.com
This is the best explainer I’ve seen for one of the biggest stories in India right now.
UK News 🇬🇧@news-flows-uk.bsky.social · 3w agoWhy Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk is on hunger strike and what happens next Renowned climate activist joined student-led protest over alleged examination irregularities, but his worsening health has become a growing concern © AFP/Getty
A White House report has defended the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, pushing back against its characterization by a Smithsonian Institution exhibit that the law was racially motivated. www.forbes.com/sites/stuart...
White House Defends 1882 Immigration Law Excluding Chinese Immigrants
The Trump administration is defending the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act against the charge that the law had a racist intent.
forbes.com
Elon Musk’s cuts to U.S.A.I.D. led to some 700,000 deaths, Atul Gawande says. www.newyorker.com/news/the-new...
The Human Cost of DOGE’s War on U.S.A.I.D.
Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and the “public man-made death” that they’ve caused.
newyorker.com
New climate research suggests a push factor that led to migration into the eastern Pacific: lack of rainfall.
The real mystery behind Moana: After 1,700 years, why did Polynesians suddenly sail east?
New climate evidence adds context to these long voyages.
arstechnica.com
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) demands the immediate release of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, amid credible evidence that his life is in imminent danger in Israeli custody. @medicalaidpal.bsky.social www.map.org.uk/latest/news/...
MAP demands immediate release of critically ill Gaza hospital director in Israeli detention
MAP demands the immediate release of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, amid credible evidence that his life is in imminent danger in Israeli custody.
map.org.uk