Andrew Alan Johnson
@andrewalanjohnson.bsky.social
Anthropologist at Stockholm University. Senior historian, Firaxis. Water, ghosts, ruins, games. สนใจเรื่องไทย แม่น้ำโขง
https://andrewalanjohnson.com
https://www.dukeupress.edu/mekong-dreaming
https://andrewalanjohnson.com
https://www.dukeupress.edu/mekong-dreaming
Some people are thrown into existential dread from their car breaking down. Some people lose their mind if their phone dies. Me, I poured soup into my keyboard.
Shio ramen, sweet potatoes, celery.
Thai-English mechanical, lit letters.
Shio ramen, sweet potatoes, celery.
Thai-English mechanical, lit letters.
November 25, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Some people are thrown into existential dread from their car breaking down. Some people lose their mind if their phone dies. Me, I poured soup into my keyboard.
Shio ramen, sweet potatoes, celery.
Thai-English mechanical, lit letters.
Shio ramen, sweet potatoes, celery.
Thai-English mechanical, lit letters.
Sometimes, Charlie Brown, dead is better.
What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss, Charlie Brown?
“They tried and failed, all of them?”
“Oh, no.” She shook her head. “They tried and died, Charlie Brown.”
“Oh, no.” She shook her head. “They tried and died, Charlie Brown.”
November 24, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Sometimes, Charlie Brown, dead is better.
Reposted by Andrew Alan Johnson
The problem is distributing free pdfs of the readings for groups of senior faculty, or for grad seminars, as if there was someone else who was buying the books, while "we" get them for free. When "we" don't buy the books, there isn't anyone else to pick up the cost of publishing them.
This is the importance of buying the books we write and teach from university presses. The same administrations that don’t care about the humanities would be just as happy to have academic publishing handled by these companies. We can save our own publishing ecosystem- but we have to do it.
"academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it... The dominant four collectively generated... $12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024."
November 19, 2025 at 8:18 PM
The problem is distributing free pdfs of the readings for groups of senior faculty, or for grad seminars, as if there was someone else who was buying the books, while "we" get them for free. When "we" don't buy the books, there isn't anyone else to pick up the cost of publishing them.
Reposted by Andrew Alan Johnson
Autocorrect has become our worst enema.
November 19, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Autocorrect has become our worst enema.
Reposted by Andrew Alan Johnson
MOUNTAINHEAD (Armstrong, 2025)
I laughed at loud. These people are so pathetic; our enemies are numbskulls. They will kill us all and still not know hs physics.
COWEN: The stupidest question possible: Why don’t we just make more GPUs?
ALTMAN: Because we need to make more electrons.
conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/sam...
COWEN: The stupidest question possible: Why don’t we just make more GPUs?
ALTMAN: Because we need to make more electrons.
conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/sam...
November 19, 2025 at 12:21 PM
MOUNTAINHEAD (Armstrong, 2025)
Oh. So this is what wrecked my reading group.
happy cloudflare outage day to all who celebrate
November 18, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Oh. So this is what wrecked my reading group.
Reposted by Andrew Alan Johnson
"All major game studios are using generative AI" the fact this is a lie aside, the ones that are using it aren't doing so willingly. It's meddling managers and CEOs with no understanding or attachment to game development forcing it on devs who end up not using anything it outputs anyway.
November 12, 2025 at 7:01 AM
"All major game studios are using generative AI" the fact this is a lie aside, the ones that are using it aren't doing so willingly. It's meddling managers and CEOs with no understanding or attachment to game development forcing it on devs who end up not using anything it outputs anyway.
Reposted by Andrew Alan Johnson
trust is neither given nor earned. it forms naturally between people who share the experience of having listened to Skinny Puppy at or after 3 am in the dark by themselves
November 11, 2025 at 8:54 AM
trust is neither given nor earned. it forms naturally between people who share the experience of having listened to Skinny Puppy at or after 3 am in the dark by themselves
Reposted by Andrew Alan Johnson
At least 500,000 dead and that many more imprisoned by Soeharto though the number could be much higher. This was a genocide of right-wing militarism enabled by the US, UK, other Western powers and fostered by the political climate of the Cold War. Not a hero.
Then despite many protests, letters & much opposition, it is expected that President Prabowo will announce Soeharto a national hero in Indonesia tomorrow...
Which is horrific given the huge amount of death & suffering Soeharto inflicted on so many while in power.
#TolakGelarPahlawanSoeharto
15/
Which is horrific given the huge amount of death & suffering Soeharto inflicted on so many while in power.
#TolakGelarPahlawanSoeharto
15/
Prabowo to Announce 10 New National Heroes Tomorrow, Including Soeharto
Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi claimed that ten people, including Soeharto, will receive the title of national hero.
en.tempo.co
November 10, 2025 at 11:01 AM
At least 500,000 dead and that many more imprisoned by Soeharto though the number could be much higher. This was a genocide of right-wing militarism enabled by the US, UK, other Western powers and fostered by the political climate of the Cold War. Not a hero.
Reposted by Andrew Alan Johnson
« On ne sait même plus qui est mort. La dernière fois, j’ai appris par hasard qu’un collègue était décédé depuis quatre mois. Avant, je l’aurais su dans La Tribune. » Quand la presse locale disparaît... larevuedesmedias.ina.fr/presse-quoti...
Ce qui disparaît avec un journal local : « On ne sait plus ce qui se passe »
Un an après la disparition de « La Tribune républicaine », hebdomadaire fondé en 1899, les habitants de Valserhône mesurent le vide laissé par leur journal. Entre souvenirs de papier et fil d’actualit...
larevuedesmedias.ina.fr
November 7, 2025 at 9:45 AM
« On ne sait même plus qui est mort. La dernière fois, j’ai appris par hasard qu’un collègue était décédé depuis quatre mois. Avant, je l’aurais su dans La Tribune. » Quand la presse locale disparaît... larevuedesmedias.ina.fr/presse-quoti...
It has seven chambers, each with its own color, and in the center a great ebony clock.
“.. Guests were seen mimicking ‘Roaring 20's’ era attire, a period just before the Great Depression that historians note for its staggering income inequity.” 🤡
@usatoday.com
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
@usatoday.com
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
November 3, 2025 at 12:08 AM
It has seven chambers, each with its own color, and in the center a great ebony clock.
This is beautiful-looking exhibition about my favorite neighborhood in Bangkok!
New events!
📆18th-30th Nov Exhibition
📆18th Nov 🕠5:30pm BKK time Opening event
@seajunction.bsky.social hold “Face of Phra Khanong” a photo exhibition about the vitality & precariousness of lives in the Bangkok neighbourhood of Phra Khanong, along with opening event
seajunction.org/event/openin...
📆18th-30th Nov Exhibition
📆18th Nov 🕠5:30pm BKK time Opening event
@seajunction.bsky.social hold “Face of Phra Khanong” a photo exhibition about the vitality & precariousness of lives in the Bangkok neighbourhood of Phra Khanong, along with opening event
seajunction.org/event/openin...
November 2, 2025 at 12:51 PM
This is beautiful-looking exhibition about my favorite neighborhood in Bangkok!
Reposted by Andrew Alan Johnson
“And for what? A cankerous glut of racist memes and cardboard essays. Not only is the ratio of AI’s resource rapacity to its productive utility indefensibly and irremediably skewed, AI-made material is itself a waste product: flimsy, shoddy, disposable, a single-use plastic of the mind.”
Large Language Muddle | The Editors
The AI upheaval is unique in its ability to metabolize any number of dread-inducing transformations. The university is becoming more corporate, more politically oppressive, and all but hostile to the ...
www.nplusonemag.com
November 1, 2025 at 12:34 PM
“And for what? A cankerous glut of racist memes and cardboard essays. Not only is the ratio of AI’s resource rapacity to its productive utility indefensibly and irremediably skewed, AI-made material is itself a waste product: flimsy, shoddy, disposable, a single-use plastic of the mind.”
Reposted by Andrew Alan Johnson
POV you’re still not married and your grandparents just found the nicest boy with a good job they want you to meet
October 29, 2025 at 2:36 AM
POV you’re still not married and your grandparents just found the nicest boy with a good job they want you to meet
This quiz is terrible:
The subtext is “we cannot know from demographic or three data points someone’s political choice”
But we already knew that. And the data presented is often misleading. So stop giving uninformative surveys if they don’t predict behavior.
The subtext is “we cannot know from demographic or three data points someone’s political choice”
But we already knew that. And the data presented is often misleading. So stop giving uninformative surveys if they don’t predict behavior.
Take this quiz to die instantly www.americansurveycenter.org/quiz/
Beyond the Ballot Quiz - The Survey Center on American Life
www.americansurveycenter.org
October 29, 2025 at 9:06 PM
This quiz is terrible:
The subtext is “we cannot know from demographic or three data points someone’s political choice”
But we already knew that. And the data presented is often misleading. So stop giving uninformative surveys if they don’t predict behavior.
The subtext is “we cannot know from demographic or three data points someone’s political choice”
But we already knew that. And the data presented is often misleading. So stop giving uninformative surveys if they don’t predict behavior.
#Auntgate is still deeply annoying. But linguistically interesting. There are some languages (esp Chinese languages) where kinship terms are very specific - mother’s older sister is different from mother’s younger sister is different from father’s sister.
growing up we were taught to call almost every unrelated woman older than us "auntie," and we had more specific names for relatives. and if i were trying to describe any of them in public to a bunch of white journalists, i might say "aunt" instead of "auntie" or "dad's cousin" or whatever. who cares
October 29, 2025 at 1:08 PM
#Auntgate is still deeply annoying. But linguistically interesting. There are some languages (esp Chinese languages) where kinship terms are very specific - mother’s older sister is different from mother’s younger sister is different from father’s sister.
Gaming stuff: Crusader Kings 3’s “All Under Heaven” is out now. I helped consult for historical accuracy and design on its representation of medieval Southeast Asia (and Siberia). Check it out! A fantastic expansion for a fantastic game.
www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/crusad...
www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/crusad...
Crusader Kings III: All Under Heaven - Paradox Interactive
Build, Conquer, and Rule in the East. With Crusader Kings III - All Under Heaven, the vast and dynamic history of Eastern Asia comes to life. Claim the Mandate, unite your people, and shape the future...
www.paradoxinteractive.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Gaming stuff: Crusader Kings 3’s “All Under Heaven” is out now. I helped consult for historical accuracy and design on its representation of medieval Southeast Asia (and Siberia). Check it out! A fantastic expansion for a fantastic game.
www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/crusad...
www.paradoxinteractive.com/games/crusad...
Also this. Students pick up about 20% of what you say, and question 80% of what you say (in other words, they’re very quick to critique a whole lot of stuff that nobody said).
Tapping the sign: professors today have enough trouble getting students to *read* - let alone "stepping them in leftist dogma"?
(NYTimes says what?)
(NYTimes says what?)
October 29, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Also this. Students pick up about 20% of what you say, and question 80% of what you say (in other words, they’re very quick to critique a whole lot of stuff that nobody said).
This is a frustrating nothing issue - in Thai, at least, and in so many other languages, “aunt” (ป้า) means “someone I am familiar with who is around my mother’s age.” CERTAINLY your dad’s cousin. Me, I’m getting to uncle (ลุง) age and don’t feel great about it.
I used to love how my daughter's little friend Neha, down the street, would call me "Uncle Jeff" when the girls were little.
October 29, 2025 at 12:04 AM
This is a frustrating nothing issue - in Thai, at least, and in so many other languages, “aunt” (ป้า) means “someone I am familiar with who is around my mother’s age.” CERTAINLY your dad’s cousin. Me, I’m getting to uncle (ลุง) age and don’t feel great about it.
Not to mention the football coach. I saw an ad for a faculty position in the NY area for $60k/yr. A typical applicant would be in their 30s or 40s and have debt from living on a grad student stipend for a decade or so.
October 24, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Not to mention the football coach. I saw an ad for a faculty position in the NY area for $60k/yr. A typical applicant would be in their 30s or 40s and have debt from living on a grad student stipend for a decade or so.
Reposted by Andrew Alan Johnson
The Klamath River runs through the heart of Yurok life. For decades, the community fought to free it — and in 2024, they won.
I spoke with Yurok Tribal attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis about what it means to restore a river, a people, and a way of life in my latest conversation for @thenation.com.
I spoke with Yurok Tribal attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis about what it means to restore a river, a people, and a way of life in my latest conversation for @thenation.com.
The Water Remembers, With Amy Bowers Cordalis
On A People's Climate: The largest dam removal in US history.
www.thenation.com
October 22, 2025 at 4:52 PM
The Klamath River runs through the heart of Yurok life. For decades, the community fought to free it — and in 2024, they won.
I spoke with Yurok Tribal attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis about what it means to restore a river, a people, and a way of life in my latest conversation for @thenation.com.
I spoke with Yurok Tribal attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis about what it means to restore a river, a people, and a way of life in my latest conversation for @thenation.com.
It has been one of the great parts of my career to work with new liberal arts schools - seeing students thrive with deep thought, careful reading, and individual attention. But these have been in Asia. In the US, we are turning our back on the liberal arts.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/o...
Opinion | What’s Lost When Liberal Arts Schools Close
www.nytimes.com
October 22, 2025 at 5:48 PM
It has been one of the great parts of my career to work with new liberal arts schools - seeing students thrive with deep thought, careful reading, and individual attention. But these have been in Asia. In the US, we are turning our back on the liberal arts.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/o...
Duke press sale! 50% off books including my own Mekong Dreaming!
Our Fall Sale begins today! Save 50% on books & journal issues now through November 9 with coupon code FALL25. buff.ly/Bk390cu
October 21, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Duke press sale! 50% off books including my own Mekong Dreaming!
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. #NoKings
October 18, 2025 at 6:21 PM
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. #NoKings