Mike Sakasegawa

@sakeriver.com

4228 Followers 264 Following

Photographer, writer, podcaster. Host of Keep the Channel Open. Co-host of Hey, It's Me. He/him. Please no unsolicited advice. Amassing frequent flyer miles with @jejunebug77.bsky.social. sakeriver.com keepthechannelopen.com heyitsmepodcast.com

A screenshot of an old post of mine, in which I say “That’s very kind of you but tbh I’m probably better in text form than in person”
A bowl of chicken soup with egg noodles, chunks of chicken, carrots, and celery in it
A pot of chicken broth simmering. Chicken bones and mirepoix and parsley are visible in the broth.
An excerpt from Frederick Douglass's address at the graves of the unknown dead, Arlington, Va, 1871, written in Douglass's own handwriting: "We are sometimes asked in the name of patriotism to forget the merits of this fearful struggle, and to remember with equal admiration those who struck at the nation’s life, and those who struck to save it—those who fought for slavery, and those who fought for liberty and justice. I am no minister of malice. I would not strike the fallen. I would not repel the repentant, but may my right hand forget its cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I forget the difference between the parties to that terrible, protracted and bloody conflict."
A large order of McDonald’s fries
An abstract-looking photo of the side of a metro car in a dark station. A light with a square grating shines upward from the bottom of the frame, making a glowing wavy line pattern on the metal side of the train car.
“The failure mode has a shape. A wide negative coalition assembles to remove an authoritarian. It succeeds. Then, in the consolidation window, it discovers that it had no shared theory of what comes next. Its median member wanted restoration - a return to the conditions that preceded the authoritarian. But the conditions that preceded the authoritarian are precisely the conditions that produced the authoritarian. Restoration hands the arsonist back the matches. This is the breakthrough trap. And the American pro-democracy movement is walking straight into it. The restoration problem Begin with a sentence that is uncomfortable to say out loud: the United States before 2016 was not a consolidated democracy. It was a managed democracy with severe minoritarian features.” The line “Restorstion hands the arsonist back the matches” is highlighted.
A small bottle of Paula’s Choice liquid exfoliant, which says “EXFOLIATE” on it in large capital letters
A hawk perched on a tree branch, surrounded by dense eucalyptus leaves. The hawk has a brownish head and a white and gray bar pattern on its breast, and its feet are yellow. It is facing toward the camera but with its head turned to the right of the frame.
Homeseeking, by Karissa Chen
Screenshot of two replies to the post I quoted. Reply: “They didn’t remain?” Reply to the reply: “No, they’re just remains now”
A donation receipt to the Trevor Project, showing a donation of $100 plus processing fees, made today.
The front cover of the hardcover edition of One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, by Omar El Akkad, as seen with the dust jacket removed. Silver text is debossed on black wrapped book board: “One day, when it’s safe, when there’s no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it’s too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this. -Omar El Akkad”
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, by Omar El-Akkad
Some braised beef from a Texas-style all-beef chili with a little rice, in a green bowl
A rice bowl with miso-glazed salmon, diced avocado, hard boiled egg, edamame, kimchi, and a sprinkling of yukari
A bowl of rice topped with sautéed kale, two fried eggs, kosher salt, and shichimi
It includes retirees who maintain a second home to be closer to doctors, family, or grandchildren. It could impact military families deployed for extended periods if they fail to properly file paperwork with a new city bureaucracy. It affects people navigating inheritance, relocation, family illness, or other life transitions. These are not faceless investors gaming the system; they are real San Diegans with legitimate reasons for how they use their homes.
The Terraformers, by Annalee Newitz
Six bookmarks from the bookstore Mysterious Galaxy. The first one shows a book on top of a card catalog under a shelf that looks like it’s from an Edgar Allen Poe story. The other five all depict a cartoon dragon reading or reading in space or blowing out candles on a 30th anniversary cake or sitting atop a hoard of Mysterious Galaxy coins.
My copy of Read This When Things Fall Apart: Letters to Activists in Crisis, edited by Kelly Hayes
Two Costco hot dogs with ketchup, yellow mustard, pickle relish, and onions
The losses in the states – coinciding with the decennial Census – have had lasting repercussions. With many Republican trifectas in place, Democrats were on the wrong side of severe partisan gerrymandering at the state legislative and federal levels in 2012. Subsequent federal court decisions have enabled and encouraged partisan gerrymandering, stripping even the idea of competitiveness out of the broader electoral and civic ecosystem. Consequently, Democrats have invested less and less in what is now seen as non-competitive terrain, compounding and reinforcing partisan disadvantages in many states and jurisdictions. Worse, Republicans have been relentless at the state policy level, reversing worker protections, enacting restrictions on voting, gutting essential services that Americans have paid for and depend on for their quality of life, and denying pathways of opportunity to and advancement to those most in need. While state legislative Democrats combat these changes when and where they can, in too many states they lack the legislative numbers to stop Republicans. Voters in these states may see Democratic policy as the preferable alternative to Republicans authoritarian advancement, but the inability to offer any substantive effective electoral opposition impacts perspectives and opinions about the party. 2010 also saw federal court decisions enabling a tsunami of “independent” spending and the easing of restrictions that facilitated the injection of dark money into the political ecosystem. In 2010, there was approximately $500 million in outside spending, with super PACs spending $62.6 million. This has now grown to $4.5 billion in outside spending on federal campaigns in 2024, with $4.1 billion from super PACs and hybrid PACs.
The 2008 election cycle was the high point for the modern Democratic Party. With a landslide in the Electoral College, a 9.5 million popular vote advantage for President, and wins in the House, Senate, and in the States, Democrats were poised and positioned to lock in those gains for a generation. For the first time since the 1964 election of President Johnson, Democrats gained seats in both chambers while winning the White House. Democrats expanded their House majority to 257 seats, gaining 21 seats, and grew to 60 seats in the Senate, with wins in New Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina, Minnesota, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, and Alaska. In the states, Democrats flipped six legislative chambers, while Republicans flipped four. Democrats retained the governorships in New Hampshire, Delaware, West Virginia, North Carolina, Montana, and Washington, and flipped Missouri. These gains did not last long – as Democrats failed to capitalize on the economic disaster of the Bush presidency by cementing a relationship with working Americans.
These hair-splitting margins of defeat may lead some to argue Democrat leadership and candidates may need less changing of their message and approach and more massaging of their ideas for widespread adoption. The arguments have run nonstop since November 2024 – with a better political climate, or advancing slightly different policies, or with a different candidate, victory could have been assured. This kind of thinking – denialist at its core – prevents the Party from seeking real accountability, and from making the changes we need to deliver on our promises to the American people. To grow, we must admit and accept some hard truths about our Party. Since the high point of the 2008 Obama landslide, when he received nearly 10 million more votes than John McCain, the Democratic Party has vacillated between stagnation and retrogression. In doing so, we have lost the confidence we once received from everyday Americans – and election results show it. In the sixteen tumultuous years since that historic election, Democrats have lost ground at every level of government. These losses are the direct result of missed opportunities to invest in our states, counties, and local parties and candidates.
Yes, many are deeply angry with the outcome of this most recent national election. They feel cheated, abused, and taken advantage of by a broken system. At the same time, we must acknowledge how close the margins actually were. 7,309 votes across three districts decided control of the US House of Representatives. 327,557 votes across four states decided the US Senate. And 270,607 votes across four states decided the Presidency – around two-tenths of one percent of all ballots cast for President. The 2020 cycle was also very close – a narrow win for the Presidency, a narrow Democratic majority in the House, and a tie in the Senate based on a runoff in Georgia. The 2016 cycle was also close at the presidential level – with a split between the popular vote and Electoral College (with seven faithless Electors). This demonstrates a basic truth – we have been and remain a nation divided. It is not unique to the 2024 election
Finding our way back to this level of success will not be easy, and it will not happen overnight. But the reason we will win is twofold. The first is that we do not plan to advance alone. Winning Anywhere is the shared mission and purpose of the DNC and its partners. We will do the hard work to reassess our strategies, our messaging, and our targets, and challenge our partners, including Labor and other progressive organizations, to hold us accountable as we move through the next ten years and beyond. Secondly, once we win, we will ensure our newly elected and re-elected officials move consistently and decisively to instill faith and confidence in the American voting public. The rage of the voters, stoked daily by information silos, talking heads, and even politicians, has contributed to most Americans having a lack of confidence in both parties. Democrats must accept it is more important than to deliver on what they promise and then make sure our constituents are aware we are fighting for the things they care the most about.
Democrats need a new, forward-thinking electoral strategy focusing on more than who or what is on the ballot, and addressing how Democrats can reconnect with Americans at every level across our country. We must organize everywhere to Win Anywhere. Winning Anywhere means providing for a renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South, who have come to believe they are not included in the Democratic vision of a stronger and more dynamic America for everyone. Millions of Americans are suffering from poor access to healthcare, manufacturing and job losses, and a failing infrastructure, yet continue to be persuaded to vote against their best interests because they do not see themselves reflected in the America of the Democratic Party.
Unfortunate reductions in support and training for our state parties, consequential shifts in voter registration, a loss of partisan organizing capacity, and a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters has provided the other major party with opportunities for advancement at the expense of Democratic growth, evolution, and ability to find common ground with seemingly disparate groups of voters from coast to coast, and the heartland Democrats tend to ignore. Historically, Democrats have held the advantage in each of these areas. The Democratic Party has always tried to be seen as the party of the people, the party of workers, fair play and civil discourse. The party’s connections with working Americans and their families were forged through decades of organizing and engagement, the development of a vibrant and inclusive party infrastructure, and a relatable agenda which helped us connect in homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods across the country.
Make Me Better, by Sarah Gailey
My copy of Sarah Gailey’s new novel, Make Me Better
Violations where enforcement would stop include billboards, signs, building wraps, illegal storage and adult businesses. In particular, the city would no longer make sure no one is illegally living at massage businesses. Violations where enforcement would slow significantly include abandoned houses, substandard housing, illegal grading, environmental destruction, damaging historic structures and enforcing rules on streeteries: restaurant extensions into street parking spots.
The Farthest Shore, by Ursula K. Le Guin
A turkey and Swiss sandwich on buckwheat bread with mayo, tomato, and dill pickle, with a side of ketchup-flavored lattice chips
Two slices of buckwheat toast topped with mashed avocado, sliced Campari tomato, everything bagel seasoning, kosher salt, and black pepper
White text on a black screen: PLANETFALL Infocom interactive fiction - a science fiction story Copyright (c) 1983 by Infocon, Inc. All rights reserved. PLANETFALL is a trademark of Infocom, Inc. Release 37 / Serial number 851003 Another routine day of drudgery aboard the Stellar Patrol Ship Feinstein. This morning’s assignnent for a certain lowly Ensign Seventh Class: scrubbing the filthy metal deck at the port end of Level Nine. With your Patrol-issue self-contained nulti-purpose all-weather scrub brush you shine the floor with a diligence born of the knowledge that at any noment dreaded Ensign First Class Blather, the bane of your shipboard existence, could appear. Deck Nine This is a featureless corridor similar to cuery other corridor on the ship. It curves away to starboard, and a gangway leads up. To port is the entrance to one of the ship's prinary escape pods. The pod bulkhead is closed.
A screenshot from the Apple II version of Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? At left, a picture of a tabac shop in Baghdad. At right, a knife has just been thrown and stuck into a wall, with the caption “The only thing I can tell you is to watch your step!”
A screen from the game Oo-Topos. A purple room with a door to the left, a barred window ahead, and a cot coming out of the wall to the right. Below, text reads: > look window Through the barred east window, you can see the hulk of your ship on the beach of a pale green sea.
Guns of the Dawn, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate ___________, My name is ______ and I am a California voter from (ZIP Code). I request that you remove yourself from the race for Governor. Consider the real possibility that the Democratic vote is so thoroughly diluted that our only choice for Governor becomes two Republican candidates. On top of our freedoms, we would be handing Trump access to the purse strings of the fourth largest economy in the world. Do not let this happen. Please consider what is best for this gubernatorial race, this state and this moment. I ask that you choose one of the top-two Democratic candidates according to The Ballot Book – California Governor Polling Aggregator and back one of them. If you cannot do this, and if a Republican becomes the governor of California, then voters, like me, will not forget your placement of your campaign above the assurance that California remains led by a Democrat. You need to step aside. Please respond ASAP with your plan to keep California a blue state and the Governorship safe from Republican rule.
Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate ___________, My name is ______ and I am a California voter from (ZIP Code). I request that you remove yourself from the race for Governor. Consider the real possibility that the Democratic vote is so thoroughly diluted that our only choice for Governor becomes two Republican candidates. On top of our freedoms, we would be handing Trump access to the purse strings of the fourth largest economy in the world. Do not let this happen. Please consider what is best for this gubernatorial race, this state and this moment. I ask that you choose one of the top-two Democratic candidates according to The Ballot Book – California Governor Polling Aggregator and back one of them. If you cannot do this, and if a Republican becomes the governor of California, then voters, like me, will not forget your placement of your campaign above the assurance that California remains led by a Democrat. You need to step aside. Please respond ASAP with your plan to keep California a blue state and the Governorship safe from Republican rule.
Homemade birria tacos with diced white onion, cilantro, and avocado
A screenshot from the game Rainy Attic Room. A pensive-looking cartoon figure sits on the floor of a sparse attic apartment, hugging their knees and saying “I believe the day will come when the dark clouds of my life clear up.”
A tweet by CallumMcNab93 from March 20, 2013: Just got 4 drinks at the drive thru n that guy asked 'do ye want a cupholder'. Obviously a do ya fucking reprobate am no a fucking octopus
A tweet by LeBearGirdle from August 17, 2017: [Dentist waiting room] Me: [chanting] teeth, teeth- Other patients: teeth, TEETH Secretary: [pounding her clipboard] TEETH, TEETH, TEETH!
"PLEASE DON'T TALK TO ME AT THE URINAL" in bold white text, centered in a stop-sign-shaped red octogon with a white border
Three tacos Al pastor that I made, with marinated pork shoulder, homemade guacamole, grilled pineapple, and diced white onion
SoundMachine, by Rachel Zucker
Hannibal from The A Team giving a thumbs up, with the caption “I love it when a plan comes together”
A sign on a marble wall, which reads: THE DESOTO AT LOGAN CIRCLE 1445 P STREET, N. W. BUILT 2004 BY SJG PROPERTIES & PN HOFFMAN
For her part, Jaques posited that the AI systems' language-altering behavior could be a result of' how they are currently trained, which might reward the manipulation of graders' preferences. "If you're training a model on human feedback, the model has no boundary or perception of the difference between satisfying the humans and actually altering the human to make their preferences easier to satisfy," Jaques said. She suggested that humans' reliance on LLMs to write might be similar to how YouTube recommendations could alter peoples' preferences about what sorts of YouTube videos they most enjoy.
what is with you and your need to not ever be blamed?
My Baby First Birthday, by Jenny Zhang
A flour tortilla with ground beef, diced tomato, homemade guacamole, shredded cheddar, shredded lettuce, sour cream, and salsa
A bowl of rice topped with Chinese red braised pork belly and steamed broccoli
A turkey sandwich on buckwheat bread with Dubliner cheese, mayo, garlic confit, dill pickles, green leaf lettuce, and tomatoes. On the side, a couple of chunks of Dubliner cheese.
A receipt showing that I donated $50 to Tsuru for Solidarity
February 19, 2026 INSTRUCTIONS TO ALL PERSONS OF JAPANESE ANCESTRY As survivors and descendants of the mass removals, detention, deportation, and family separation targeting our community during WWII, we refuse to stand by idly while our friends and neighbors are violently disappeared, forcibly removed, mass incarcerated, and separated from family members. We decry the murders of community members and at least 37 people in ICE custody and enforcement in 2025. We reject false narratives that state violence is "unavoidable," a "justifiable military action," necessary for "national security"—the same arguments used as they forced our parents, grandparents, aunties, and uncles into U.S. concentration camps in 1942. On this Day of Remembrance, we call on Japanese Americans and all people who believe in "Never Again" to demand justice for those we have lost—on the streets and hidden away in ICE detention centers. To break this cycle of state violence. To rise up and resist, together. We bravely commit to being the allies our familes needed during WWII. STOP REPEATING HISTORY. #TsuruForSolidarity #FreeFamilies #FreeThemAll
A pan of golden brown garlic swimming in amber-colored oil
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