May-lee Chai (she/her)
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mayleechai.bsky.social
May-lee Chai (she/her)
@mayleechai.bsky.social
3.1K followers 1.6K following 2.7K posts
Writer. Prof at SFSU. Tomorrow in Shanghai & Other Stories; Useful Phrases for Immigrants; The Girl from Purple Mountain, etc. Board member of NBCC @bookcritics. Web: https://may-leechai.com/
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mayleechai.bsky.social
🤣🤣🤣
Picture of Bad Bunny Super Bowl show with headline “Donald Trump reacts to Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime performance: President Trump slammed Bad Bunny Super Bowl show as ‘one of the worst EVER.’l
February 10, 2026 at 4:11 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
What fresh hell?
Picture of an iced latte with headline: there’s never been a better time to quit caffeine From the New York Times
February 9, 2026 at 12:06 PM
mayleechai.bsky.social
From New Yorker interview w longtime Washington Post staffer Ruth Marcus: “If Bezos took 1 percent of his net worth and put it into a trust that would endow the paper w/the resources to do the good journalism that it's been doing, he wd be remembered as the savior of the Post and not the destroyer.”
The Amazon billionaire bought the Washington Post to save it. Instead, with a mass layoff, he's forced it into severe decline. The former Post staffer Ruth Marcus reports on what went wrong. I recommend one in the piece: If Bezos took one per cent of his net worth and put it into a trust that would endow the paper with the resources to do the good journalism that it's been doing, he would be remembered as the savior of the Post and not the destroyer.
February 5, 2026 at 4:43 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
Here are some beautiful flowers I saw on my walk. #NatureIsABalm
Close up of white flower with green leaves Super close up of white flower Plum blossoms in bloom on a tree branch
February 2, 2026 at 3:02 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
Wow! This judge understands how inhumane and unconstitutional ICE’s behavior is:
U.S. Const. amend. IV. Civics lesson to the government: Administrative warrants issued by the executive branch to itself do not pass probable cause muster. That is called the fox guarding the henhouse. The Constitution requires an independent judicial officer. Accordingly, the Court finds that the Constitution of these United States trumps this administration's detention of petitioner Adrian Conejo Arias and his minor son, L.C.R. The Great Writ and release from detention are GRANTED pursuant to the attached Judgment. Observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency. And the rule of law be damned -2- Ultimately, Petitioners may, because of the arcane United States immigration system, return to their home country, involuntarily or by self-deportation. But that result should occur through a more orderly and humane policy than currently in place. Philadelphia, September 17, 1787: "Well, Dr. Franklin, what do we have?" "A republic, if you can keep it."
January 31, 2026 at 9:07 PM
mayleechai.bsky.social
Was running errands in Chinatown and stopped by On Waverly to sign copies of TOMORROW IN SHANGHAI AND OTHER STORIES! Thanks for carrying my book!
Yellow sandwich board sign for On Waverly bookstore. Me with chop raised signing a copy of my book Tomorrow in Shanghai Signed copy of Tomorrow in Shanghai (red and blue cover with a new red “signed copy” sticker on it ) by display of lucky cat pins and cute animal face stickers Outside view of On Waverly bookstore in San Francisco Chinatown showing red lanterns overhead and the colorful yellow and red sandwich board sign for the store on the sidewalk amidst bright sunshine
January 26, 2026 at 9:45 PM
mayleechai.bsky.social
ICE kills again. Another death, first described as “a suicide,” now found to have been homicide.
BREAKING NEWS Paul Ratje for The New York Times Cuban Immigrant in El Paso ICE Facility Died by Homicide, Autopsy Shows The report from the county medical examiner said the detainee, Geraldo Lunas Campos, was asphyxiated and restrained by law enforcement. Federal officials described his death as a suicide. Photo of an ICE facility in Texas
January 22, 2026 at 3:04 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
It’s been a rough week so I got us a sweet treat from Japantown today.
Plate of four wagashi sweets: a pounded rice wrapping around sweet bean filling; decorated with “leaves” and “flowers” made from rice paste, aspic, and other ingredients.
January 17, 2026 at 5:18 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
Nah. The death throes of Empire are just interesting in and of themselves.
The Economist Illustration of a blue cliff and someone falling off it while two people on a red cliff watch. “No doubt life can be tough in America. But might the Chinese fascination with the country's harsher aspects reveal something telling about China's own economic vulnerabilities? China obsesses over America's "kill line" It is easier to talk about American harshness than Chinese malaise…”
January 17, 2026 at 3:24 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
Yes one currently in SF:
January 8, 2026 at 3:56 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
Did anyone else get this sinister notice from PG&E? So electric bills are going UP for “smaller” and medium homes but going DOWN for “larger homes” with “high usage”? WTAF?! Check out this chart of Current Bill and New Bill projected charges.
Chart shows projected bills for low usage: Current $75 New bill $91 Medium usage: Current $184 New bill $188 High usage: Current $304 New bill $296
January 8, 2026 at 3:15 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
Called my senators and Rep again. Five calls app makes it very easy to find the phone numbers of your reps.
5 Calls page: ENTER AN ADDRESS OR ZIP CODE Stop the Military Escalation with Venezuela (UPDATED 1/3)
January 5, 2026 at 11:17 PM
mayleechai.bsky.social
AI Slop slop slop slop slop
Slop slop
Slop
Merriam Webster “Your 2026 Word” “sloppy” (Over a teal to yellow ombré background)
January 3, 2026 at 3:25 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
2025 going out with a rain storm in SF.
Raindrops on a window with street lights reflected in the water Green, red, and white street lights reflected in raindrops on window glass at night.
January 1, 2026 at 3:02 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
The moon just before sunset was lovely tonight.
Silhouette of trees, a gold pink glow in the gray clouds, the 3/4 moon overhead
December 31, 2025 at 6:14 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
that was some downpour this afternoon!
Picture of raindrops on windshield obscuring cityscape outside
December 27, 2025 at 4:36 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
Enjoying our fresh baozi for Xmas!
Picture of two fluffy white steamed baozi on a plate
December 25, 2025 at 10:45 PM
mayleechai.bsky.social
Flash flood warning for San Francisco, now till 6 am PT
Map showing entire city of San Francisco under flash flood warning
December 25, 2025 at 12:08 PM
mayleechai.bsky.social
Power outages shutting down MUNI underground trains and BART! Be careful out there!
Power Outages Causing Significant Transit Disruptions. Avoid Non-Essential Travel. AlertSF is owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco and powered by Everbridge, Inc. ALERTSF: Power outages are causing significant transit disruptions. Muni trains are not getting underground into Muni Metro or Central Subway. BART stations are closed at Civic Center and Powell. Muni shuttle service running between West Portal and Caltrain. Consider the 8, 30, 45 for Central Subway. Avoid non-essential travel.
December 21, 2025 at 2:11 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
The giant funerary urn/overgrown chia pet is weird but what is going on with the Chanel toilet and all those little wall curtains?
Apartment decorated with many statues, a blue sofa with yellow trim and a giant urn with green giant chia pet hair A bathroom with toilet surrounded by rows of horizontal green wall curtains/banners and a giant framed ad for Chanel perfume
December 21, 2025 at 2:04 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
Lots of power outages in San Francisco right now. I had some errands to run and it was hard to navigate intersections where traffic lights are out. Clearly some drivers don’t know the rules of a four-way stop!
December 21, 2025 at 12:53 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
It’s raining, it’s pouring, it’s truly winter in San Francisco!
Rain streaked windshield with red taillights of a car reflected in the raindrops Red taillights reflected in raindrops on car window at night
December 20, 2025 at 3:17 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
Whoa, the Brown university shooting and MIT shooting might have been by the same person? Via citizen app
Summary The suspected shooter, Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old former student at Brown University, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after authorities tracked him to a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire. A vehicle linked to the investigation was discovered in the facility's parking lot. Authorities sayValente is responsible for the killing of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro, who was found in his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, on Monday. Valente and Loureiro reportedly attended university together in Lisbon, Portugal. Valente had been on the run since Saturday, when a shooting during a finals review session at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, killed two students and injured nine others. Valente was a graduate student at Brown University studying physics. The last class he took at the university was in 2001.
December 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
It’s been getting very cold as soon as the sun sets, but I do love to see all the holiday lights this time of year!
Two tree trunks wrapped in strings of gold lights on a sidewalk at late dusk.
December 17, 2025 at 7:47 AM
mayleechai.bsky.social
Happy TOMORROW IN SHANGHAI is in such good company! Thanks to Kinokuniya Bookstore in SF Japantown! #SpottedInTheWild ❤️📚
Bookshelf at the Kinokuniya bookstore showing spines of books, including TOMORROW IN SHANGHAI by May-lee Chai next to books by Mu Cao, Alexandra Chang, K-Ming Chang, David Chang, Ted Chiang, Alan Samantha Chang and Yoon Choi.
December 17, 2025 at 3:53 AM