Brian Ruh
@brianruh.bsky.social
Independent scholar, PhD in communication and culture, occasional writer, always looking for a new project. I wrote a book on Mamoru Oshii’s films.
Reposted by Brian Ruh
Thousands of institutions abandoned programs, ended or rewrote scholarships, closed down clubs and publications, all in pre-emptive compliance.
And you know why?
Mostly because they wanted to do it if they thought they could blame someone else for it.
And you know why?
Mostly because they wanted to do it if they thought they could blame someone else for it.
February 18, 2026 at 11:47 PM
Thousands of institutions abandoned programs, ended or rewrote scholarships, closed down clubs and publications, all in pre-emptive compliance.
And you know why?
Mostly because they wanted to do it if they thought they could blame someone else for it.
And you know why?
Mostly because they wanted to do it if they thought they could blame someone else for it.
Reposted by Brian Ruh
I recently received “The Bomber Mafia” as a birthday gift (heh). It was bad, so bad that I believe it cannot be read as a reliable account of strategic bombing in World War II. In so many ways, it demonstrates the worst tendencies of the “pop history” genre. My review (and latest)⬇️
Strategic Bombing and the Pop History Problem
Reviewing Malcom Gladwell’s “The Bomber Mafia”
secretaryrofdefenserock.substack.com
February 18, 2026 at 10:04 PM
I recently received “The Bomber Mafia” as a birthday gift (heh). It was bad, so bad that I believe it cannot be read as a reliable account of strategic bombing in World War II. In so many ways, it demonstrates the worst tendencies of the “pop history” genre. My review (and latest)⬇️
Reposted by Brian Ruh
GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX —SEASON 1 🩶 Coming to the Criterion Channel in March!
February 18, 2026 at 6:23 PM
GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX —SEASON 1 🩶 Coming to the Criterion Channel in March!
There's all sorts of stuff that excites me.
But solutions to the the fundamental problems we're facing on this planet - none of them require AI, new technologies, etc.
We already know what needs to happen. It's a matter of political will.
But solutions to the the fundamental problems we're facing on this planet - none of them require AI, new technologies, etc.
We already know what needs to happen. It's a matter of political will.
"Is there any technology that excites the Left?"
I just discussed a similar question in my ocean conservation science and policy course.
We won't invent our way out of the overfishing crisis, but new technologies can help reduce bycatch of endangered species, and improve enforcement of regulations
I just discussed a similar question in my ocean conservation science and policy course.
We won't invent our way out of the overfishing crisis, but new technologies can help reduce bycatch of endangered species, and improve enforcement of regulations
kermit the frog is standing in front of a red curtain and saying `` i 'm so excited ''
ALT: kermit the frog is standing in front of a red curtain and saying `` i 'm so excited ''
media.tenor.com
February 18, 2026 at 3:42 PM
There's all sorts of stuff that excites me.
But solutions to the the fundamental problems we're facing on this planet - none of them require AI, new technologies, etc.
We already know what needs to happen. It's a matter of political will.
But solutions to the the fundamental problems we're facing on this planet - none of them require AI, new technologies, etc.
We already know what needs to happen. It's a matter of political will.
Reposted by Brian Ruh
7 color screen print for one of my most favorite films, Wong Kar-Wai's IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE 🧡
Thank you to Lawrence, Jessica and the group that funded this project, eternally grateful for your kindness and patience for this poster.
I will have some APs on sale next week!
Thank you to Lawrence, Jessica and the group that funded this project, eternally grateful for your kindness and patience for this poster.
I will have some APs on sale next week!
February 18, 2026 at 1:36 PM
7 color screen print for one of my most favorite films, Wong Kar-Wai's IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE 🧡
Thank you to Lawrence, Jessica and the group that funded this project, eternally grateful for your kindness and patience for this poster.
I will have some APs on sale next week!
Thank you to Lawrence, Jessica and the group that funded this project, eternally grateful for your kindness and patience for this poster.
I will have some APs on sale next week!
Reposted by Brian Ruh
Sorry to get radical but I don’t think it’s my job or yours to embrace, accept, understand - and certainly not to use - the thing being sold to us as AI. I don’t like any part of it, so I won’t. I’m missing out? Good, that’s what I want. You’re worried about me missing out? That’s fuckin weird, man.
February 18, 2026 at 5:13 AM
Sorry to get radical but I don’t think it’s my job or yours to embrace, accept, understand - and certainly not to use - the thing being sold to us as AI. I don’t like any part of it, so I won’t. I’m missing out? Good, that’s what I want. You’re worried about me missing out? That’s fuckin weird, man.
Reposted by Brian Ruh
dream journal, february 17th, 2026
February 17, 2026 at 7:34 PM
dream journal, february 17th, 2026
Reposted by Brian Ruh
So lemme tell you about @adapalmer.bsky.social's Inventing the Renaissance, which came out last year and absolutely blew me away.
I'd replace half the 1st-year curriculum with this book.
Reading it made me a better historian, and also the kind of person who underlines books.
Plus, it's hilarious.
I'd replace half the 1st-year curriculum with this book.
Reading it made me a better historian, and also the kind of person who underlines books.
Plus, it's hilarious.
February 16, 2026 at 3:59 PM
So lemme tell you about @adapalmer.bsky.social's Inventing the Renaissance, which came out last year and absolutely blew me away.
I'd replace half the 1st-year curriculum with this book.
Reading it made me a better historian, and also the kind of person who underlines books.
Plus, it's hilarious.
I'd replace half the 1st-year curriculum with this book.
Reading it made me a better historian, and also the kind of person who underlines books.
Plus, it's hilarious.
Reposted by Brian Ruh
I decided to forgo an Angel’s Egg rewatch screening and be comfy at home with a much later Oshii blindspot. As a work of glacial animated stillness, I doubt The Sky Crawlers (2008) has any equal. A world every bit as twisted and dark as Ghost in the Shell rendered in pure serenity. Stunning ennui.
February 17, 2026 at 2:18 AM
I decided to forgo an Angel’s Egg rewatch screening and be comfy at home with a much later Oshii blindspot. As a work of glacial animated stillness, I doubt The Sky Crawlers (2008) has any equal. A world every bit as twisted and dark as Ghost in the Shell rendered in pure serenity. Stunning ennui.
Reposted by Brian Ruh
A conscientious journalism grad withdraw from a job when she learned the Cleveland Plain Dealer uses AI to write its stories.
Now the editor is castigating her and journalism professors for not being “prepared for the workforce.”
You can’t make this shit up.
www.cleveland.com/news/2026/02...
Now the editor is castigating her and journalism professors for not being “prepared for the workforce.”
You can’t make this shit up.
www.cleveland.com/news/2026/02...
February 16, 2026 at 12:16 PM
A conscientious journalism grad withdraw from a job when she learned the Cleveland Plain Dealer uses AI to write its stories.
Now the editor is castigating her and journalism professors for not being “prepared for the workforce.”
You can’t make this shit up.
www.cleveland.com/news/2026/02...
Now the editor is castigating her and journalism professors for not being “prepared for the workforce.”
You can’t make this shit up.
www.cleveland.com/news/2026/02...
I unironically love monorails.
February 15, 2026 at 9:24 PM
I unironically love monorails.
Reposted by Brian Ruh
Inspired by a delightful back-and-forth on here recently between @robertloerzel.bsky.social & @ladytophamcatt.bsky.social sharing photos of the Chicago Municipal Device, I thought it’d be fun to write about what the hell it even is and why you can spot it all over town once you look for it
Gift 🔗
Gift 🔗
The Chicago Municipal Device is the city symbol few Chicagoans know about
The backstory of Chicago’s century-old symbol — a “Y” inside a circle — that can be found dotted throughout the city.
www.chicagotribune.com
February 11, 2026 at 1:41 PM
Inspired by a delightful back-and-forth on here recently between @robertloerzel.bsky.social & @ladytophamcatt.bsky.social sharing photos of the Chicago Municipal Device, I thought it’d be fun to write about what the hell it even is and why you can spot it all over town once you look for it
Gift 🔗
Gift 🔗
Reposted by Brian Ruh
But you have to listen to contemporary pop music in its original Klingon.
a man in red pants is playing a guitar
ALT: a man in red pants is playing a guitar
media.tenor.com
February 15, 2026 at 5:11 PM
But you have to listen to contemporary pop music in its original Klingon.
Watching the most recent Starfleet Academy episode
February 15, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Watching the most recent Starfleet Academy episode
If there’s one thing I really dislike about recent Star Trek, it’s the use of contemporary pop music.
February 15, 2026 at 3:26 PM
If there’s one thing I really dislike about recent Star Trek, it’s the use of contemporary pop music.
“Palestinian poets see their work fuel debate when used in Japan school exam” mainichi.jp/english/arti...
Palestinian poets see their work fuel debate when used in Japan school exam - The Mainichi
NEW YORK (Kyodo) -- During an entrance exam for a top middle school in Japan in January, students were asked to read two poems depicting life in Pales
mainichi.jp
February 15, 2026 at 2:48 PM
“Palestinian poets see their work fuel debate when used in Japan school exam” mainichi.jp/english/arti...
Reposted by Brian Ruh
Watch as illustrator Katie Idle recreates her cover design for 'Athena’s Sisters' @cambridgebookshop.bsky.social 🎨🤩
Katherine Backler's new book transforms our understanding of Classical Athenian culture and society by approaching it from women's perspectives.
Read more 🔗 https://cup.org/3MwAzY5
Katherine Backler's new book transforms our understanding of Classical Athenian culture and society by approaching it from women's perspectives.
Read more 🔗 https://cup.org/3MwAzY5
February 15, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Watch as illustrator Katie Idle recreates her cover design for 'Athena’s Sisters' @cambridgebookshop.bsky.social 🎨🤩
Katherine Backler's new book transforms our understanding of Classical Athenian culture and society by approaching it from women's perspectives.
Read more 🔗 https://cup.org/3MwAzY5
Katherine Backler's new book transforms our understanding of Classical Athenian culture and society by approaching it from women's perspectives.
Read more 🔗 https://cup.org/3MwAzY5
This evening we went to eat at an American Irish pub and then saw a performance of a play called “The Revolutionists” at the local civic theater.
February 15, 2026 at 4:23 AM
This evening we went to eat at an American Irish pub and then saw a performance of a play called “The Revolutionists” at the local civic theater.
Reposted by Brian Ruh
So much of our present crisis is coddled, ignorant, and short sighted people tearing down the institutions that protect them because they don’t understand that bad things can happen.
February 14, 2026 at 8:37 PM
So much of our present crisis is coddled, ignorant, and short sighted people tearing down the institutions that protect them because they don’t understand that bad things can happen.
Reposted by Brian Ruh
Reposted by Brian Ruh
A little leftover video from last year: My review of Yoji Yamada's lovely Tokyo Taxi (with Chieko Baishō and Takuya Kimura):
youtu.be/vgHxSBDrypQ
youtu.be/vgHxSBDrypQ
Yoji Yamada takes us on one more round through Tokyo in his: Tokyo Taxi (2025, TOKYOタクシー)
YouTube video by Compendium of Discomfort
youtu.be
February 5, 2026 at 10:26 PM
A little leftover video from last year: My review of Yoji Yamada's lovely Tokyo Taxi (with Chieko Baishō and Takuya Kimura):
youtu.be/vgHxSBDrypQ
youtu.be/vgHxSBDrypQ
Reposted by Brian Ruh
Have some Emperor Julian Valentines today for some hot & heavy Hellenism.
February 14, 2024 at 12:43 PM
Have some Emperor Julian Valentines today for some hot & heavy Hellenism.
Mamoru Oshii: “I’m not that interested in cyberpunk, and I haven’t actually read many cyberpunk works, to be honest. I don’t care about it.”
I wish I’d had that quote when I was writing my entry on Oshii for “Fifty Key Figures in Cyberpunk Culture”. I’d certainly have included it.
I wish I’d had that quote when I was writing my entry on Oshii for “Fifty Key Figures in Cyberpunk Culture”. I’d certainly have included it.
Fifty Key Figures in Cyberpunk Culture
A collection of engaging essays on some of the most significant figures in cyberpunk culture, this outstanding guide charts the rich and varied landscape of cyberpunk from the 1970s to present day.
T...
www.routledge.com
February 14, 2026 at 2:19 PM
Mamoru Oshii: “I’m not that interested in cyberpunk, and I haven’t actually read many cyberpunk works, to be honest. I don’t care about it.”
I wish I’d had that quote when I was writing my entry on Oshii for “Fifty Key Figures in Cyberpunk Culture”. I’d certainly have included it.
I wish I’d had that quote when I was writing my entry on Oshii for “Fifty Key Figures in Cyberpunk Culture”. I’d certainly have included it.
Reposted by Brian Ruh
These people don't even understand the tech sector is meant to give — yes, give — money to academia (which is a different problem that leads to conflicts of interest)... not the other way round in order to steal data and intellectual labour
These clowns at the University of Colorado are going to give minimally $2 million to OpenAI 🫨
www.cu.edu/gen-ai
www.cu.edu/gen-ai
Gen AI
[tabs][tab-item title="ChatGPT Edu Information"] ChatGPT Edu soon to be available for eligible CU faculty, staff and students The University of Colorado has entered into a three-year agreement with Op...
www.cu.edu
February 14, 2026 at 8:41 AM
These people don't even understand the tech sector is meant to give — yes, give — money to academia (which is a different problem that leads to conflicts of interest)... not the other way round in order to steal data and intellectual labour
Reposted by Brian Ruh
In regards to what’s going on at the Berlinale film festival, here is footage of Godard & Truffaut shutting down the 1968 Cannes Film Festival in solidarity with students workers & protestors getting brutalized by police in the streets, & probably Godard’s best line about film criticism ever
February 14, 2026 at 1:20 PM
In regards to what’s going on at the Berlinale film festival, here is footage of Godard & Truffaut shutting down the 1968 Cannes Film Festival in solidarity with students workers & protestors getting brutalized by police in the streets, & probably Godard’s best line about film criticism ever