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CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 21h

So @ricksteves.bsky.social we have never met and probably never will, but thank you for showing the way with endless passion and kindness. Happy travels!

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CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 21h

And then my driver proceeded to heap endless praise on Rick, telling me about all the wonderful experiences he had had.

Long story short: if you’re the kind of person that has strangers erupt in praise over kindness and dedication, you have done the right things with your life.

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CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 21h

But then things took off: every person in the room, all the hotel staff and the drivers, lit up and told me what a nice guy Rick Steves is. Everyone had nice words to say.

On my later drive to the airport in Rome I told the driver how disappointed I was not to have met Rick.

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CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 21h

I should note that I ordinarily do not do those things because it’s, well, embarrassing to every party involved. Still, it was Rick Steves who, I thought, might get a minor kick out of an admirer saying a few nice words.

Alas, I was informed, no, he was not there.

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CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 21h

Little anecdote about Rick Steves (whom I’ve never met): I was it Italy (Cortona), and on my final day at the hotel, I saw that there was a sign for a Rick Steves tour group. Naive me got excited so I asked the front desk whether he would be there.

Rick Steves @ricksteves.bsky.social · 1d

Thread:

A year ago yesterday was a very happy day for me. I had lost my prostate. It was good riddance, as it was riddled with cancer. I’m now cancer-free — and thankful for the tax-funded technology that saved my life.

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CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 1d

In my experience, UPS was already a pretty unreliable mess before this: random messages, unclear where your stuff was… I avoid them whenever possible.

FWIW, I had a Japanese tea store use Fedex (pre-paid extra duties), and that went 100% fine.

Scott Lincicome @scottlincicome.bsky.social · 1d

De minimis: "UPS is 'disposing of' U.S.-bound packages over customs paperwork problems: Shifting Trump tariffs have created a nightmare for UPS, as thousands of packages from overseas pile up at its hubs while they await customs clearance" www.nbcnews.com/business/bus...

UPS is 'disposing of' U.S.-bound packages over customs paperwork problems

Shifting Trump tariffs have created a nightmare for UPS, as thousands of packages from overseas pile up at its hubs while they await customs clearance.

www.nbcnews.com

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CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 5d

"Maybe that’s the cruelty that some critics have detected in Avedon’s photographs of his father [...]: a reminder that once a person has died, there is no more opportunity to say what could, or should, have been said — in effect an admission of their own fallibility as human beings."

CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 5d

"Photography doesn’t really stop time. Sure, in a photograph it does. But time still goes on and on, and at some stage only the pictures are left."

Immortal

cphmag.com

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Reposted by CPhMag.com

CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 5d

“To know that *looking* (the act, that is, of looking at someone, as one ordinarily does, without any special awareness) was such a proof of the rights of those who are alive, and that this *looking* could also be an expression of cruelty…

Immortal

cphmag.com

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CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 5d

The best part is that while students are dressed up in the most outrageous fashion, they’re also being incredibly polite about it.

Kyoto University in Japan made headlines by allowing students to wear anything they wanted for graduation ceremonies, resulting in bizarre cosplay outfits. #cosplayer #graduation #ceremony #kyoto #...

TikTok video by First Time Ever

www.tiktok.com

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CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 5d

“The University of Kyoto has an ongoing tradition during the graduation ceremony where, instead, of a rented cap and gown, it’s Halloween all over again.”

It’s Halloween Twice a Year at the University of Kyoto: An Eclectic Graduation Ceremony Tradition<br/> — sabukaru

Dry-cleaned, smooth wool suits or heirloom silk kimonos: whatever your choice for graduation attire is, it’s boring. Sure, the dress code is hard to navigate colorfully, but this university in Kyoto k...

sabukaru.online

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CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 5d

“all of this came to me now as a vivid experience.”

From Yukio Mishima: The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, p.33 (transl. Ivan Morris)

CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 5d

“To know that *looking* (the act, that is, of looking at someone, as one ordinarily does, without any special awareness) was such a proof of the rights of those who are alive, and that this *looking* could also be an expression of cruelty…

Immortal

cphmag.com

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Reposted by CPhMag.com

KOJAMF🤘🖤🤘 @kojamf.bsky.social · 6d

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

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CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 6d

I strongly suspect that this is the final time of me writing about Avedon. I don't think I will be able to add anything later.

CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 6d

I wrote a longish article about Richard Avedon and what his photographs of his old, dying father might tell us.

Immortal

cphmag.com

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Reposted by CPhMag.com

Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 9d

Reminder that @theguardian.com has a partnership with OpenAI, and has of late published a spate of asinine articles that are uncritical in framing, and just read as press releases for the company and for "AI" in general.
The headline/implicit framing of this article seems consistent with its biases.

Waitman Wade Beorn, PhD, FRHistS @waitmanwbeorn.com · 9d

Oh, man. After reading the article, what it actually says is that an historian did a lot of archival work and spatial research to determine the site of a killing and then the family of the likely perpetrator stepped forward with photographs to confirm identity.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Historian uses AI to help identify Nazi in notorious Holocaust murder image

Jürgen Matthäus has for years been investigating the killer – and is confident he has finally solved the mystery

www.theguardian.com

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CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 10d

I've never been paid when people re-used my texts. None of this makes anything any better; it's just that people do not value the work of writers or translators at all.

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Reposted by CPhMag.com

CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 12d

I wrote about Takashi Homma's new Portrait of J, about the idea of portraying a country through its denizens, about how flawed that ideas is (throwing in some thoughts about August Sander), and about what the book instead shows us

Portrait of J

cphmag.com

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Reposted by CPhMag.com

C. Robert Cargill @crobertcargill.bsky.social · 11d

"After we rob your house, you are invited to opt out from our Goods Removal Service, after which point we are willing to work with you to come to an arrangement about removing your personal goods. Meet our negotiators, Knuckles and Tiny. They will be assisting in your opting back in."

The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 12d

Exclusive: OpenAI is planning to release a new version of its Sora video generator, which creates videos featuring copyrighted material unless copyright holders opt out of having their work appear.

OpenAI’s New Sora Video Generator to Require Copyright Holders to Opt Out

Executives at the startup notified talent agencies and studios over the last week.

on.wsj.com

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CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 12d

I wrote about Takashi Homma's new Portrait of J, about the idea of portraying a country through its denizens, about how flawed that ideas is (throwing in some thoughts about August Sander), and about what the book instead shows us

Portrait of J

cphmag.com

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Reposted by CPhMag.com

Yuliya Komska @ykomska.bsky.social · 13d

A very cool Japanese mixed-media photography exhibit at the National Asian Art Museum, where every process is many times more complicated than most photo processes, with incredible results

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CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 16d

Quote from:

KIDILL and Seppuku Pistols - Japan’s Gone Mad, and that’s the Point │Yokogao Magazine

No seats. No rules. Just raw drums and rebellion. KIDILL & Seppuku Pistols ignite Paris with punk soul and tradition gone wild.

www.yokogaomag.com

CPhMag.com @hotelamnesia.bsky.social · 16d

“After the Meiji period, tradition in Japan was dictated by elite authorities—rigid, sterile, and disconnected from youth. We’re just trying to make tradition wild and fun again.”

Seppuku Pistols PUNK ISLAND 切腹ピストルズin NY パンクアイランド

YouTube video by ドキュメンタリー「切腹ピストルズ」公式 Seppuku Pistols Documentary

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by CPhMag.com

Michael Lobel @mlobelart.bsky.social · 23d

Have been thinking about continuing relevance of Dada artist George Grosz's political critiques. His scathing 1926 painting "Eclipse of the Sun" portrays alliance between feckless political & military leaders and capitalist financiers. Grosz, branded "degenerate" by the Nazis, fled to the US in 1933

Image of table at which sit headless figures, a military figure, and a top hatted capitalist whispering in his ear. The sun above includes a dollar sign

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