Mario Rustan
Officially a podcast chapter. Reviewing books on Asia. X correspondent.
- After I went to the bookstore I went to the supermarket. These are the American & Asian soft drinks, the Australian & Italian biscuits, Vegemite, and NZ chocolates that Lorde missed in LA.
- I went to a bookstore, didn’t find what I looked for, and have some thoughts. Anyway, do you still subscribe to magazines, whether in print or digitally? What do you read? provmandarin.substack.com/p/i-went-to-...
- TIL that public bins are hard to find in Japan. Removed for security concern in the 1990s (although might to do more w bad policy recommendation & an excuse to cut city budget). The English & airport probs will be forever. Everyone contributes to overcrowding. japantoday.com/category/nat...
- The carbo crime of nasi mawut, fried rice and noodle in a dish. With satay. When Obama visited Indonesia, nasi goreng, fried rice, was among the dishes and some said it's inappropriate to serve a breakfast meal (he grew up in Jakarta, Indonesian step father). I wrote "In Defense of Nasi Goreng"
- Few days after May the Fourth, a British woman won financial compensation for being compared to Darth Vader (she got it in the team-building Star Wars MBTI quiz), and an Australian MP candidate for Trumpet of Patriots party (yes) is named David Vader.
- The year of 2 conclaves. Alessandro de' Medici, Leo XI, was elected in April and died from cold (he was 70) in May. The May conclave was about Spain v France. The cardinals traded blows, a lost art today. Camillo Borghese won as Paul V and became a patron of Galileo.
- The Conclave to elect the 267th Pope begins today. This broadside, probably printed in Venice, shows plans for getting food and drink to cardinals in a Papal #Conclave in 1605. The food was checked for hidden messages and the door was guarded. @theulspeccoll.bsky.social T*.4.51(D)
- Reposted by Mario RustanWhy are the educational & career pathways for humanities degrees & skilled trades so completely separate? (Hint: public higher ed is dedicated to "upward mobility" & bourgeois graduates.) University career services are not equipped to support this path. open.substack.com/pub/hollisro...
- Reposted by Mario Rustan1) Harper's letter (and many signatories, individually, in the years prior) warns that left illiberalism though not as dangerous as the right-wing version makes it easier for the latter to win. 2) This happens. 3) Signatories repeatedly declared Why Trump 2.0 Happened.
- Every time I checked 🇮🇩 ex mutuals and found antisemitic stuff, I could be sure that those dumb takes were also in AJ and more. Yep. Some could be old talking points from the 2000s or older, and reshared recently.
- Al-Jazeera blames Jerusalem wildfires on “green colonialism.” It says if Jews hadn’t planted “non-indigenous” trees and “invasive flora”, then there would not have been anything for arsonists to burn. Now that’s just funny. #CompetingPerspectives #EnvironmentalLaw #Antisemitism aje.io/mn7gmy
