Alan Yoshioka, PhD
@thesheepcat.bsky.social
Come for the bugs and flowers and occasional topical verse; stay for a vision of human flourishing: faith and reason, dialogue, democracy. “Truth and love need each other.” Byzantinish Catholic,☦️ widower, Japanese Canadian,🌸🍁 medical editor.
Pinned
![A beautiful woman smiles with great warmth. Her headshot fills a circle within a white frame. She is looking directly towards the camera, with an expression both serene and animated, as if to express the assurance the medieval mystic Julian of Norwich writes of: "'All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.' ... This [Jesus said to me] so tenderly, without blame of any kind toward me or anybody else."
The woman is white, middle-aged. Her eyes are blue. Shoulder-length brown hair is swept back from an oval face. She is wearing a deep red top and burgundy velour jacket. She has carefully coordinated her make-up, a blue scarf, and a bead necklace in warm colours. Sunglasses sit high on her head. Natural light from the left, her right, illuminates her face; a neutral background is darkened at right as if in shade.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:oud4j43t3hn2bc7sgra6ovij/bafkreig4itlmmesf23dxuo7be4pbuvnqhilu5z2nyrx4u66sl6g35bkn7m@jpeg)
Four years on, my 2020 review of a book on Catholic Social Teaching remains as good an introduction as any to what I'm about. Along the way, I honour the memory of my beloved wife, Theresa, who truly tried to live by that teaching.
bccatholic.ca/voices/alan-...
bccatholic.ca/voices/alan-...
Reposted by Alan Yoshioka, PhD
Join the Gallery Singers for our Christmas concert on December 14th. From Renaissance to contemporary music, this concert invokes the “Angels” of the Christmas season.
www.tinyurl.com/gs-winter-2025
#LiveMusic #ChristmasConcerts #CanadianComposers
www.tinyurl.com/gs-winter-2025
#LiveMusic #ChristmasConcerts #CanadianComposers
December 10, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Join the Gallery Singers for our Christmas concert on December 14th. From Renaissance to contemporary music, this concert invokes the “Angels” of the Christmas season.
www.tinyurl.com/gs-winter-2025
#LiveMusic #ChristmasConcerts #CanadianComposers
www.tinyurl.com/gs-winter-2025
#LiveMusic #ChristmasConcerts #CanadianComposers
Reposted by Alan Yoshioka, PhD
"Things happen" sometimes, like when you walk into an embassy to apply for your marriage license while your bride-to-be waits outside, but then you get bonesawed to pieces for having exercised freedom of speech as an US-based journalist and have to be carried out in a series of suitcases.
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 18, 2025 at 11:18 PM
"Things happen" sometimes, like when you walk into an embassy to apply for your marriage license while your bride-to-be waits outside, but then you get bonesawed to pieces for having exercised freedom of speech as an US-based journalist and have to be carried out in a series of suitcases.
Though it remains to be seen what MTG will do to make amends, her apology gives me hope.🙏
I recall a favourite Bible verse, from the parable of the prodigal son: "*But while he was yet at a distance*, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him" (Matthew 15:20b).
I recall a favourite Bible verse, from the parable of the prodigal son: "*But while he was yet at a distance*, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him" (Matthew 15:20b).
‘Humbly, I’m sorry’: Marjorie Taylor Greene says she’s turning a new leaf after years of divisive comments | CNN Politics
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Sunday she will stop using “toxic” rhetoric, marking what would be a dramatic shift in a political brand hallmarked by derogatory comments.
www.cnn.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Though it remains to be seen what MTG will do to make amends, her apology gives me hope.🙏
I recall a favourite Bible verse, from the parable of the prodigal son: "*But while he was yet at a distance*, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him" (Matthew 15:20b).
I recall a favourite Bible verse, from the parable of the prodigal son: "*But while he was yet at a distance*, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him" (Matthew 15:20b).
I get your frustration, @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social.
But if someday🙏🙏🙏 the penny finally drops, will the people you now insult still be "morons"?
In the meantime, spewing ableist contempt for persons who are acting so foolishly is likely only to close their minds further. And to poison our own.
But if someday🙏🙏🙏 the penny finally drops, will the people you now insult still be "morons"?
In the meantime, spewing ableist contempt for persons who are acting so foolishly is likely only to close their minds further. And to poison our own.
How much of a moron do you have to be to STILL, after all the shit that has gone down, remain an enthusiastic shill for this obviously incompetent con man.
November 17, 2025 at 12:06 AM
I get your frustration, @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social.
But if someday🙏🙏🙏 the penny finally drops, will the people you now insult still be "morons"?
In the meantime, spewing ableist contempt for persons who are acting so foolishly is likely only to close their minds further. And to poison our own.
But if someday🙏🙏🙏 the penny finally drops, will the people you now insult still be "morons"?
In the meantime, spewing ableist contempt for persons who are acting so foolishly is likely only to close their minds further. And to poison our own.
Reposted by Alan Yoshioka, PhD
Alice Wong helped me accept my disabilities.
She taught me there’s no social justice without disability justice.
She encouraged me to start The Disabled Ginger and was a friend & mentor.
She won’t be forgotten.
Don’t let the bastards grind you down:
www.disabledginger.com/p/thank-you-...
She taught me there’s no social justice without disability justice.
She encouraged me to start The Disabled Ginger and was a friend & mentor.
She won’t be forgotten.
Don’t let the bastards grind you down:
www.disabledginger.com/p/thank-you-...
Thank You Alice Wong
Alice Wong has passed away and the disability community has lost a leader. I lost a mentor and a friend. The Disabled Ginger wouldn't exist without Alice and everything she taught me.
www.disabledginger.com
November 16, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Alice Wong helped me accept my disabilities.
She taught me there’s no social justice without disability justice.
She encouraged me to start The Disabled Ginger and was a friend & mentor.
She won’t be forgotten.
Don’t let the bastards grind you down:
www.disabledginger.com/p/thank-you-...
She taught me there’s no social justice without disability justice.
She encouraged me to start The Disabled Ginger and was a friend & mentor.
She won’t be forgotten.
Don’t let the bastards grind you down:
www.disabledginger.com/p/thank-you-...
A wee comb-footed spider (Theridiinae) tucked away behind a curtain of droplets dreamily suspended from a fennel umbel.🕷️🕸️
November 16, 2025 at 7:10 AM
A wee comb-footed spider (Theridiinae) tucked away behind a curtain of droplets dreamily suspended from a fennel umbel.🕷️🕸️
Reposted by Alan Yoshioka, PhD
Wait, Mamdani's mom directed Monsoon Wedding??? WHAT?
November 5, 2025 at 6:53 AM
Wait, Mamdani's mom directed Monsoon Wedding??? WHAT?
Reposted by Alan Yoshioka, PhD
Reposted by Alan Yoshioka, PhD
The fact that the Trump admin removed ASL interpreters tells you everything you need to know about this regime’s stance on disability rights.
They’re eugenicists.
RFK Jr and Dr Oz constantly insinuate only the strong should survive.
Trump suggested his own disabled nephew be left to die
They’re eugenicists.
RFK Jr and Dr Oz constantly insinuate only the strong should survive.
Trump suggested his own disabled nephew be left to die
November 5, 2025 at 8:06 AM
The fact that the Trump admin removed ASL interpreters tells you everything you need to know about this regime’s stance on disability rights.
They’re eugenicists.
RFK Jr and Dr Oz constantly insinuate only the strong should survive.
Trump suggested his own disabled nephew be left to die
They’re eugenicists.
RFK Jr and Dr Oz constantly insinuate only the strong should survive.
Trump suggested his own disabled nephew be left to die
I suppose it's a good thing for us humans that this fearsome-looking dragon-like thing is only about 6 mm long.
It's the larva of a brown lacewing. If it makes it to adulthood, it'll be really pretty. Also, lacewings prey upon aphids and other pests.
#inverts
It's the larva of a brown lacewing. If it makes it to adulthood, it'll be really pretty. Also, lacewings prey upon aphids and other pests.
#inverts
November 4, 2025 at 5:30 PM
I suppose it's a good thing for us humans that this fearsome-looking dragon-like thing is only about 6 mm long.
It's the larva of a brown lacewing. If it makes it to adulthood, it'll be really pretty. Also, lacewings prey upon aphids and other pests.
#inverts
It's the larva of a brown lacewing. If it makes it to adulthood, it'll be really pretty. Also, lacewings prey upon aphids and other pests.
#inverts
Reposted by Alan Yoshioka, PhD
New and improved pics for #Halloween.
1/2. A long-jawed orbweaver (Metellina sp., I believe), a whirligig mite (Anystis sp.), another prostig mite (family Rhagidiidae), and a Western earwig (Forficula dentata).
#arachtober 🐡
1/2. A long-jawed orbweaver (Metellina sp., I believe), a whirligig mite (Anystis sp.), another prostig mite (family Rhagidiidae), and a Western earwig (Forficula dentata).
#arachtober 🐡
October 31, 2025 at 6:19 PM
New and improved pics for #Halloween.
1/2. A long-jawed orbweaver (Metellina sp., I believe), a whirligig mite (Anystis sp.), another prostig mite (family Rhagidiidae), and a Western earwig (Forficula dentata).
#arachtober 🐡
1/2. A long-jawed orbweaver (Metellina sp., I believe), a whirligig mite (Anystis sp.), another prostig mite (family Rhagidiidae), and a Western earwig (Forficula dentata).
#arachtober 🐡
I'm pretty much ready for #Halloween.
L to R: whirligig mite (Anystis sp.), another prostig mite (family Rhagidiidae), and Western earwig (Forficula dentata). The pièce de résistance, a long-jawed orbweaver jack-o'-lantern (not shown), was completed this afternoon.
#arachtober 🐡
L to R: whirligig mite (Anystis sp.), another prostig mite (family Rhagidiidae), and Western earwig (Forficula dentata). The pièce de résistance, a long-jawed orbweaver jack-o'-lantern (not shown), was completed this afternoon.
#arachtober 🐡
October 30, 2025 at 11:39 PM
I'm pretty much ready for #Halloween.
L to R: whirligig mite (Anystis sp.), another prostig mite (family Rhagidiidae), and Western earwig (Forficula dentata). The pièce de résistance, a long-jawed orbweaver jack-o'-lantern (not shown), was completed this afternoon.
#arachtober 🐡
L to R: whirligig mite (Anystis sp.), another prostig mite (family Rhagidiidae), and Western earwig (Forficula dentata). The pièce de résistance, a long-jawed orbweaver jack-o'-lantern (not shown), was completed this afternoon.
#arachtober 🐡
The replies are pretty amusing too.
Not that it would have mattered much in the days before electronic submission, but I *think* the filenames of my own drafts didn't ever match the pattern *steamingpile*.wp*.
Not that it would have mattered much in the days before electronic submission, but I *think* the filenames of my own drafts didn't ever match the pattern *steamingpile*.wp*.
Genuinely delighted to download a PhD thesis from a university repository where the author has neglected to remove the words "BITCH THIS IS YOUR THESIS" from the filename.
October 30, 2025 at 3:28 PM
The replies are pretty amusing too.
Not that it would have mattered much in the days before electronic submission, but I *think* the filenames of my own drafts didn't ever match the pattern *steamingpile*.wp*.
Not that it would have mattered much in the days before electronic submission, but I *think* the filenames of my own drafts didn't ever match the pattern *steamingpile*.wp*.
Reposted by Alan Yoshioka, PhD
In my column today, I note that Trump's freakout over the anti-tariff Reagan ad let slip a basic fact: He's very worried the Supreme Court is going to declare his tariffs unconstitutional.
It's in Canada's strategic interests to make that argument. #GiftLink
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
It's in Canada's strategic interests to make that argument. #GiftLink
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
www.thestar.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:51 PM
In my column today, I note that Trump's freakout over the anti-tariff Reagan ad let slip a basic fact: He's very worried the Supreme Court is going to declare his tariffs unconstitutional.
It's in Canada's strategic interests to make that argument. #GiftLink
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
It's in Canada's strategic interests to make that argument. #GiftLink
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Hilarious little video by Instagram reel creator spaghettysean about how to take good photos of an earthworm so someone can tell which of more than 6000 species it might be.
#inaturalist #inverts 📷🪱
www.instagram.com/p/DQUSJjMDOmN/
#inaturalist #inverts 📷🪱
www.instagram.com/p/DQUSJjMDOmN/
October 29, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Hilarious little video by Instagram reel creator spaghettysean about how to take good photos of an earthworm so someone can tell which of more than 6000 species it might be.
#inaturalist #inverts 📷🪱
www.instagram.com/p/DQUSJjMDOmN/
#inaturalist #inverts 📷🪱
www.instagram.com/p/DQUSJjMDOmN/
Reposted by Alan Yoshioka, PhD
"Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet, or even a whole system, is insignificant next to the power of the Force." - Lord Vader
"We’re going to win this war - not by fighting what we hate, but saving what we love!” Rose Tico
"We’re going to win this war - not by fighting what we hate, but saving what we love!” Rose Tico
October 24, 2025 at 8:20 PM
"Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet, or even a whole system, is insignificant next to the power of the Force." - Lord Vader
"We’re going to win this war - not by fighting what we hate, but saving what we love!” Rose Tico
"We’re going to win this war - not by fighting what we hate, but saving what we love!” Rose Tico
Not as spectacular as the swallows of Capistrano or anything, but the Ptenothrix (Ptenothrixen? 🙃) have returned to Marpole, Vancouver!😍
#inverts
www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#inverts
www.inaturalist.org/observations...
October 25, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Not as spectacular as the swallows of Capistrano or anything, but the Ptenothrix (Ptenothrixen? 🙃) have returned to Marpole, Vancouver!😍
#inverts
www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#inverts
www.inaturalist.org/observations...
They can put a man on the moon, but they can't make a tent that doesn't leak, so the nation's only alternative is to build a ballroom that will seat nearly 4 times as many guests as Buckingham Palace's. Got it.
#EastWing
Oop, pardon me, can't turn your eyes for a sec! More than 5 times as many.
#EastWing
Oop, pardon me, can't turn your eyes for a sec! More than 5 times as many.
October 25, 2025 at 12:10 AM
They can put a man on the moon, but they can't make a tent that doesn't leak, so the nation's only alternative is to build a ballroom that will seat nearly 4 times as many guests as Buckingham Palace's. Got it.
#EastWing
Oop, pardon me, can't turn your eyes for a sec! More than 5 times as many.
#EastWing
Oop, pardon me, can't turn your eyes for a sec! More than 5 times as many.
Stinkbug aficionados – or, er, detractors, for that matter – this is way cool! I wonder if other kinds of stinkbugs exhibit the same phenomenon.
These stinkbugs coat their eggs in fungi to protect them from parasitic wasps
An unusual relationship could shed light on how insects choose their partners
www.science.org
October 24, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Stinkbug aficionados – or, er, detractors, for that matter – this is way cool! I wonder if other kinds of stinkbugs exhibit the same phenomenon.
Outstanding thread!👏
Verification asks: can we reliably establish what is true? Deliberation asks: can we debate and decide fairly together? Accountability asks: can we hold power to account? If one or more of those breaks down, democracy doesn’t just wobble, it hollows out.
October 24, 2025 at 4:56 AM
Outstanding thread!👏
Said Ronald, in hope, most of all,
That, answering liberty's call,
Berlin be united,
No longer benighted,
"Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
Said Donald, "This joint is too small.
There oughta be a beautiful hall.
We'll hold our events
Inside, not in tents.
Make room for it. Tear down this wall!"
That, answering liberty's call,
Berlin be united,
No longer benighted,
"Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
Said Donald, "This joint is too small.
There oughta be a beautiful hall.
We'll hold our events
Inside, not in tents.
Make room for it. Tear down this wall!"
October 24, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Said Ronald, in hope, most of all,
That, answering liberty's call,
Berlin be united,
No longer benighted,
"Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
Said Donald, "This joint is too small.
There oughta be a beautiful hall.
We'll hold our events
Inside, not in tents.
Make room for it. Tear down this wall!"
That, answering liberty's call,
Berlin be united,
No longer benighted,
"Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
Said Donald, "This joint is too small.
There oughta be a beautiful hall.
We'll hold our events
Inside, not in tents.
Make room for it. Tear down this wall!"
Reposted by Alan Yoshioka, PhD
After authoritarian regimes are toppled, monuments to the authoritarians are *always* removed. If America's republic survives, the ballroom should be treated no differently. www.thebulwark.com/p/we-will-te...
We Will Tear Down the Trump Palace Ballroom and Casino
Thinking like a dissident movement.
www.thebulwark.com
October 23, 2025 at 2:30 PM
After authoritarian regimes are toppled, monuments to the authoritarians are *always* removed. If America's republic survives, the ballroom should be treated no differently. www.thebulwark.com/p/we-will-te...