Kuroda Saburo
Laundry
I drink
make Yuri cry
get scared, lose heart
and skip work—
I’ve got no good points.
No pride
no shame,
a worthless drunk.
I could fault myself
in limitless ways—
standing up, sitting down
in the middle of this smallish, damp room—
I’m a useless fool.
Faltering
earnest
but at this point to whom could I complain?
Would anyone even nod
“I understand,”
or try to calm me
“It’s all right, it’s okay …”
Like the roadside beggar
raising high his voice—
“I am a beggar!”
Wretched world.
In the middle of this damp, smallish room
I stand up precariously
and—quick—
gallop off to the washplace.
I clean little Yuri’s undershirt
wash her shorts
in the washroom of the empty apartment
I challenge an unseen foe to combat.
The water
flows with a fierce sound—
the leaves in the treetops
nod faintly in the breeze.
—Translated from the Japanese by Bruno Peter Navasky
A gigantic chart that explains absolutely everything
This chart is an overview of Meaningness and Time: the past, present, and future of culture, society, and our selves. It shows how the modes of meaningness manifest in many aspects of life.
Some people find this sort of systematic presentation helpful; others do not. Skip it if you are one of those who don’t. It probably won’t fit in your browser window, and you’ll have to scroll horizontally. Sorry about that. (The title of this page mocks its unwieldiness and ambition.)
“Deep Fusion Films has announced the commission of a new 8-part podcast series Virtually Parkinson hosted by an AI replica of the late Sir Michael Parkinson to be launched later this year.”
Expanding Deserts, Shifts in Ownership, and Expanded Digital Coverage. Medill’s 2024 Report: A More Holistic Snapshot of a Rapidly Changing Local News Industry – “An introduction to the 2024 State of Local News Report by Tim Franklin, Senior Associate Dean and John M. Mutz Chair in Local News and Director of the Medill Local News Initiative. Welcome to the third installment of Medill’s annual State of Local News Report, a research project designed to provide new insights and to identify trends in the nation’s fast-changing local news ecosystem. Our research this year unearthed major changes with significant implications for the news industry, our communities and our democracy. The loss of local newspapers is continuing at an alarming pace, deepening the local news crisis and further depriving people of information they need to make informed decisions. Local news deserts are spreading. A furious pace of mergers and acquisitions is underway, as many longtime newspaper owners bail, and regional chains capitalize on opportunities. Meanwhile, the number of standalone digital local news sites has continued to grow. With this year’s report, the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University is continuing to expand its research to provide a more holistic view of local news in the U.S. For the first time, this report includes a new dataset showing the growing number of network local news sites, such as those operated by Patch, Axios and others. Medill also conducted an extensive survey to get a handle on the growing number of “ghost newspapers”: those that operate in name only and that have virtually no original local reporting. The local news crisis isn’t just about the loss of local outlets; it’s also about the diminution of community coverage…”
