Graham Sanders (he/him)

@gmsprof.bsky.social

415 Followers 182 Following

Professor of classical Chinese literature at the University of Toronto, among other pursuits. 若復不為無益之事則安能悅有涯之生？“Without trivial pursuits, how can we enjoy a life that must end?”

The City Limits A. R. Ammons 1926–2001 When you consider the radiance, that it does not withhold itself but pours its abundance without selection into every nook and cranny not overhung or hidden; when you consider that birds’ bones make no awful noise against the light but lie low in the light as in a high testimony; when you consider the radiance, that it will look into the guiltiest swervings of the weaving heart and bear itself upon them, not flinching into disguise or darkening; when you consider the abundance of such resource as illuminates the glow-blue bodies and gold-skeined wings of flies swarming the dumped guts of a natural slaughter or the coil of shit and in no way winces from its storms of generosity; when you consider that air or vacuum, snow or shale, squid or wolf, rose or lichen, each is accepted into as much light as it will take, then the heart moves roomier, the man stands and looks about, the leaf does not increase itself above the grass, and the dark work of the deepest cells is of a tune with May bushes and fear lit by the breadth of such calmly turns to praise. From The Selected Poems: 1951-1977, Expanded Edition, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Copyright © 1986 by A. R. Ammons.
Beautiful Sri Lankan woman dressed in funky clothes and boots, wearing a Betty Boop tie, holding a black carbon fibre violin, standing in a sunlit room on a snowy winter's day.
Shot of a hockey fan from behind watching a Canada v USA hockey game, wearing a red and white toque and a red jersey with white lettering spelling “NEVER 51”.
A red MAGA baseball cap, emblazoned with the words “Make America 2nd Greatest Again”.
A snowy street in downtown Toronto. An SUV has created a parking space by pulling halfway up onto a tall snowbank, tilting the car drastically to one side.
Screen capture from an episode of the TV show Chef's Table, featuring London-based Indian chef Asma Khan. It shows her standing in front of and contemplating the ruins of her family's ancestral fortress in India.
A light blue t-shirt, with an icon of someone shushing, and the words: I want you to shush your mouth. You are not the President. You need to go away.
An eerie image showing a humanoid monster with the head of a stag and burning eyes emerging from a misty nighttime forest. The caption reads: Legend has it that the Wendigo was a lost hunter. Facing starvation during a brutally cold winter, his intense hunger drove him to the taboo of all taboos—cannibalism. Shortly after feasting on human flesh, the man transformed into a beast-like creature, destined to roam the frozen forests in search of people to eat, never to be satisfied. SOURCE: https://sleepopolis.com/education/sleep-myths-the-wendigo/
TARIFFS = SALES TAX = SHIFTING TAX BURDENS FROM THE WEALTHY TO EVERYONE ELSE So, I think I finally have this tariff thing worked out and realize why some might consider it “the most beautiful word in the English language”… 1. Under a progressive income tax system, the wealthiest income earners (at least the ones who don’t hide their income offshore to evade taxes) will naturally pay the most taxes, as it should be. BUT 2. If you want to lower the tax rates for those wealthy people, and by law you have to account for that drop in revenue by cutting costs and increasing revenue elsewhere in the government, THEN 3. You can slash government programs that help all the people who are not rich, while being careful not to touch programs that benefit the billionaires who have contracts with the government, AND 4. Raise revenues from tariffs on imported goods, which will ultimately be paid for by US consumers, hitting those with the least money the hardest because they can’t afford for the cost of living to rise (unlike billionaires, who won’t notice). The added bonus (if your wealthy) is that all that tariff revenue raised on the backs of US consumers flooding into the US treasury will be controlled by the billionaires and their friends who are now running the country.
“A Poem for Prince Biao of Baima” by Cao Zhi (192–232), Prince Si of Chen In the first month of the fourth year of the Huangchu reign (223 CE), [my brothers], the Prince of Baima and the Prince of Rencheng, and I went to pay court [to our elder brother the emperor] at the seasonal assembly in the capital. After we arrived in Luoyang, the Prince of Rencheng met his demise. In the seventh month, I set out with the Prince of Baima to go back to our principalities, but then an official in charge deemed it more judicious for the two of us to stop and lodge separately on our return journey. I despise this in my thoughts. As we are likely to part forever in a matter of days, I bare my heart in bidding farewell to the Prince, and compose these verses in my indignation. From the Imperial Hall of Receiving Light I depart for my homeland At dawn, I leave the Royal City at dusk, I pass Shouyang Yi and Luo are wide and deep without a bridge to cross I sail my boat upon the waves resenting that long east road With yearning, I gaze back at the towers craning my neck, I’m wounded. The valley before me is vast and wide lush mountain trees grey-green Steady rain muddies my road water rushes everywhere At the crossroads, no tracks are left I turn to higher ground An unending slope to cloud and sun my horse is weary and worn. Weary and worn, but pressing on my thoughts tangled and twisted Tangled and twisted, on whom do I dwell? Dear brother parted from me We planned to make our way together were forced apart mid-journey Horned owls screech from the carriage yoke dholes and wolves block the way Swarms of flies turn white to black slander separates kin I seek to return, but the path is gone I pull the reins and falter.
Crest in gold for the Alice Independent School District, with the motto underneath, reading “It Starts with ME! I Matter!”
A letter from the Alice Independent School District in Texas, USA, which reads: February 5, 2025 Dear Parents and Guardians, We want to bring to your attention an important matter regarding student travel for extracurricular activities, including sports, band, and other co-curricular events. We have received information that U.S. Border Patrol agents may be boarding school buses at highway checkpoints in and out of the Valley to question students about their citizenship status. We strongly encourage families to be aware of the potential implications of these encounters. If a student is found to be without proper documentation, they may be removed from the bus, detained, and possibly deported under current immigration policies. Additionally, if a student provides false information regarding their citizenship and it is later discovered, this could result in a permanent bar to future U.S. citizenship. To ensure that families are fully informed, we are reviewing our student travel waivers and may include language advising parents of this possibility. Furthermore, we are considering additional measures, such as having a designated chaperone vehicle travel with school buses. In the event that a student is detained, a school administrator in the chaperone vehicle would be able to stay with the student while the rest of the group continues their journey. We understand that this information may be concerning, and we are committed to supporting our students and families through these changes. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. The clause “while the rest of the group continues their journey” is highlighted in green and indicated with a red arrow, labeled “How fascism gains a foothold.”
Here, too, Mr Musk seems to be applying lessons from his takeover of Twitter, where a small group of trusted acolytes combed through records such as the company's Slack channels and email accounts to decide whom to fire. Yet the federal government is a much larger beast than Twitter, which at its peak had just 6,500 workers. And Mr Musk has been touching some extremely sensitive parts of it. On January 31st it emerged that David Lebryk, a senior career Treasury official, retired after clashing with officials from DOGE. They may have obtained access to the government payments system, which pays the government's bills and makes almost 90% of its bank transfers. Mr Musk suggested in a tweet that he has direct control, claiming that his team is "rapidly shutting down" government payments to contractors. On his midnight X talk, he claimed that a large share of government spending is being stolen by charities. Already some with government contracts-to ferry elderly patients to medical appointments, for example-report that payments they expected have not turned up. Is any of this legal? The belated appointment of Mr Rubio as acting administrator of USAID suggests a recognition that agencies established by Congress cannot simply be shut down by fiat. Meanwhile, laws about the handling of government data remain in force. Few legal experts think that the offer of "deferred resignation" is legal. Nick Bednar, of the University of Minnesota's law school, notes that there are laws for severance packages for federal workers-and they cap payments at $25,000. Mr Musk's deferred-resignation offer would also seem incompatible with laws intended to reduce waste and corruption, says Mr Bednar. Workers who accept the offer-which has a deadline of February 6th-"could very much be left high and dry", he adds.
United States | The Twitter playbook Elon Musk is shredding America's government like he did Twitter Some of his operatives are barely out of their teens PHOTOGRAPH: AP
Screen cap of Fox News website, with a picture of Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump and the caption: TRADE WAR WIN Canada blinks, President Trump delays tariffs on northern neighbor for at least 30 days
Screen cap of the following social media post: 𝙆𝙉𝙊𝙒 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙀𝙉𝙀𝙈𝙔 The billionaire Peter Thiel (who made his money with PayPal, Facebook, and Palantir) is a big fan of the work of Curtis Yarvin (aka Mencius Moldbug). When Peter Thiel was grooming and funding JD Vance to enter politics, he told him to read Yarvin, and JD obediently started citing him in his interviews. Peter Thiel is famous for trying to start his own libertarian utopias, without success. More than one person has suggested that Thiel might have realized it would be more effective to take over an existing country and reshape it, rather than start a new one from scratch. How committed he is to this goal is anyone’s guess, but there are plenty of Silicon Valley bros who agree with him. They were all on stage at Trump’s inauguration, except for one, who preferred to remain behind the scenes of what amounted to a bloodless coup by billionaires to seize 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 control of an entire country. Here is a summary of Yarvin’s main beliefs, based on his work and interviews (see comments for links): 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆: Believes democracy is unstable and inefficient, advocating for authoritarian or monarchist systems instead. 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: Supports rule by a technocratic elite, emphasizing expertise and technology for effective management. 𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗺: Critiques progressive ideologies as destructive to tradition, hierarchy, and societal order. 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘀: Argues that inequality and hierarchies are natural and necessary for a functional society. 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Views contemporary institutions (media, academia, government) as corrupt and self-serving, requiring radical reform.
A screen-cap of a social media post that reads: THIS IS NOT COMMON SENSE Did you know that Canada is the largest market for US goods in the world? We import twice as much from the US as China does. Did you know that Canada accounts for 14% of all foreign direct investment in the US, second only to Japan (15%)? 🍁 Once oil imports are excluded, the US runs a trade surplus with Canada on goods. 🍁 Trade figures often do not include all the US services (especially digital and media ones) that Canada purchases from the US, which generate a huge surplus for the US. 🍁 Only 1% of incidents of US border control stopping people from entering occur at the border with Canada. 🍁 In 2024, just 19.5kg of fentanyl was seized at the northern border of the US, compared with 9,750kg at the southwestern border. 🍁 Despite the above two points, Canada has agreed to spend $1.3-billion on enhanced border security. So, why is the Trump administration insisting on moving forward on tariffs that will only raise prices in the US for businesses and consumers and will severely damage the Canadian economy and the livelihoods of millions of Canadians? We are an ally.
“We are never as steeped in history as when we pretend not to be, but if we stop pretending we may gain in understanding what we lose in false innocence. Naiveté is often an excuse for those who exercise power. For those upon whom that power is exercised, naiveté is always a mistake.” ― Michel-Rolph Trouillot, _Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History_
A transparent red decal, depicting a Chinese style spring motif of peonies in bloom with a butterfly, on a window, with snow in the background. One of my students gave me this Lunar New Year window decal as a gift. The pattern is based on a Qing dynasty lacquerware plate in the Palace Museum in Beijing. I believe the image is originally derived from a famous Five Dynasties painting called “Jade Halls of Wealth and Honor” 玉堂富貴圖, attributed to Xu Xi 徐熙 (886–975), which happens to be held in the Palace Museum in Taipei. This image took a long and convoluted journey to end up on my window in Toronto.
Map of China and Taiwan, showing some examples of other names in Chinese languages: 官話 Mandarin > 成都(蓉) Chengdu: 梭老二 ꜀so ꜂nau ɚ꜄ 'slithery second sibling' > 樂山(樂) Leshan: 乾黃鱔 ꜀kan ꜁xuaŋ san꜄ 'dry eel' > 昭通(昭) Zhaotong: 老梭 ꜂naɔ ꜀so 'old slither' 吳語 Wu > 松江(松) Songjiang: 長頭 ꜁zæ̃꜁dɯ 'long one' 湘語 Xiang > 雙峰(雙) Shuangfeng: 溜子 ꜀liʊ ꜂tsɿ 'slithery one' 客語 Hakka > 苗栗(苗) Miaoli: 土龍 ꜂tʰu ꜁liuŋ 'earth dragon' > 銅鼓(銅) Tonggu: 溜哥 ꜀liu ꜀ko 'slithery brother' 閩南語 Southern Min > 高雄(高) Kaohsiung: 溜 ꜀liu 'slither' 鄉話 Waxiang > 沅陵(沅) Yuanling: 虺 ꜂ɸi
Screen cap of the following passage: Hitler opened the meeting by boasting that millions of Germans had welcomed his chancellorship with “jubilation,” then outlined his plans for expunging key government officials and filling their positions with loyalists. At this point he turned to his main agenda item: the empowering law that, he argued, would give him the time (four years, according to the stipulations laid out in the draft of the law) and the authority necessary to make good on his campaign promises to revive the economy, reduce unemployment, increase military spending, withdraw from international treaty obligations, purge the country of foreigners he claimed were “poisoning” the blood of the nation, and exact revenge on political opponents. “Heads will roll in the sand,” Hitler had vowed at one rally.
Photograph of Ruby Dhalla, running to be leader of Liberal Party of Canada. Slogan below her reads: Ruby Dhalla will deport every illegal immigrant living in Canada as Prime Minister
Lightly edited from the transcript at: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/donald-trump-s-billionaire-administration-transcript-1.7430717 On average, eight years of discussion of Trump’s hypocrisy, greed, wealth, corruption, literal felonies, etc., didn’t deter average Americans in the majority from supporting him as a political candidate, for voting for him for president. There is a culture of impunity when it comes to the wealthy that is becoming a mass mentality in the U.S. And there are a couple of things that I attribute that to. One is crypto, which is almost a magical manifestation that sucks in the imagination of a lot of really young people, young men in particular. It seems like you can create value out of nothing, anyone can get rich. You just have to log on and have the right “grindset” and watch the right YouTube videos. This idea of self-help and self-actualization, which pans out as self-enrichment, is an ideology that helps to cleanse any stigma from rule by the wealthy. It makes them seem like people who just “grinded” harder. The popularity of things like UFC and WWE wrestling is also not to be underestimated. This world of just getting into the ring and beating yourself black and blue and subjugating your opponent is an ethos too. It’s entertainment, but it’s also a way of looking at other humans. It has led to a certain celebration of unbridled masculinity and aggression that is becoming an legitimating ideology for a lot of this stuff. —QUINN SLOBODIAN (CBC Front Burner podcast, 14 Jan 2025)
Tagliatelle Alla Bolognese Recipe by Pellegrino Artusi, from his book La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiar bene, published in 1891. Makes 4 servings INGREDIENTS: Salt 14 ounces | 400 grams tagliatelle (or macaroni) 5½ ounces | 150 grams lean veal (preferably fillet) 2 ounces | 50 grams pancetta ¼ onion ½ carrot 2 medium celery stalks 1½ ounces | 40 grams unsalted butter Freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon | 5 milliliters all-purpose flour Nutmeg (optional) 1 pint | 500 milliliters good-quality beef stock Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for serving INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. 2. Cut the veal into very small pieces and finely chop the pancetta, onion, carrot and celery. 3. Heat the butter in a pan and add the veal, pancetta and vegetables all at the same time; season with black pepper and a tiny pinch of salt. 4. Once the veal has browned, add a sprinkle of flour, nutmeg if desired, and a ladle of stock. 5. Continue to cook for 10 minutes, continuing to add more stock as necessary. Meanwhile, cook the tagliatelle according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain, toss together with the sauce and serve with grated Parmigiano- Reggiano.
A hand holding a light socket to electrical outlet adapter, with a bowl of clementine oranges in the background.
Back label of Dr. Teal’s Epsom salts with melatonin, lavender, and chamomile.
Close-up of a candle flickering, with relaxing harp music in the background.
The women of tango orchestra Solidaridad Tango with their instruments, flanked by a woman DJ and tango dance teacher. Text of poster reads: Milonga Café Domínguez with Tango Lesson, DJ, and Live Music 1-5PM LAST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH 1-2PM Dance Lesson with Ani Sanchez ($15) 2-5PM Milonga with Solidaridad Strings & DJ Naz ($15) DROM TABERNA 458 QUEEN ST. W
Woman in red hat and sunglasses balances a large Creston apple on her head.
Splash screen of the vintage video game Centipede, now on Netflix as Centipede Recharged.
Two large, shiny, mostly red Honeycrisp apples, sitting on a book cover, with a window in the background.
Of the coast of Amalfi, a lightning bolt descends from a sky, mostly covered with grey storm clouds but with a sliver of golden light left, to strike the water of the sea beside a small, mountainous island.
A glass display case full of various old-fashioned spectacles and eyeglasses made and used in China in the 18th–19th centuries.
“Poem on an Autumn Evening” Xiao Gang (503–551), Emperor Jianwen of Liang drifting clouds emerge from the eastern ridge the setting sun sinks into the western river pressing shade crosses darkened walls long rays slant through windows scattered rosy clouds encircled by green water crimson leaves silhouetted by hanging lanterns © 2024 Graham Sanders
A poster with an image from a Chinese scroll painting of a waterfall streaming down a tall, forested mountain. To the left of the image is a quotation in Spanish by Chef Andoni Anduriz, followed by a translation of it into English. “La voluntad de las personas es como el agua. No hay nada que la pueda parar. Vadea montañas, trae por cascadas, pero llega a donde tiene que llegar. Que esto solo sea una montaña para vadear.” “A person’s will is like water. Nothing can stop it. It will pass through mountains, it falls as waterfalls, but it reaches where it is meant to reach. Let this be only a mountain to pass through.”
A shallow acacia wood bowl filled with curried chicken and a hardboiled egg on a bed of red beet risotto, with a salad of sliced carrots and red onions.
To Autumn John Keats 1795–1821 Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells With a sweet kernel; to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease, For summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells. Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store? Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind; Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep, Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
A stunning abstract painting of beautiful yellows, oranges, and reds in a glorious jumble, akin to a kaleidoscope gone awry.
“Living at Ease on the Ninth Day Festival” BY TAO YUANMING (365–427) I was living at ease and fond of the name Double Ninth [for the equinox on the ninth day of the ninth month]. The autumn chrysanthemums filled my garden, but I could not get hold of any strong ale, so I just ate the Ninth Day blossoms, and entrusted what was in my heart to these words. my time is so short my aims so many this man would rejoice in living long days and months proceed with the stars every habit leads me to cling to my name the dew grows cold warm breezes fade the air becomes clear heaven’s signs shine departing swallows leave no shadows behind arriving geese bring calls without end ale would rid me of a hundred worries chrysanthemums stem the afflictions of age