Chris Buckley

"I don't know what I want, but I know how to get it"

detail of a green silk cloth with lotus design

Detail of an old silk khata (offering cloth), woven in China for the Tibetan market. 18th century. Photographed in glancing light to catch the damask pattern

Kids, I regret to tell you that your degree in “writing AI prompts” may not be worth the $100k you spend on getting it

a shrunken head from Ecuador

Differing views: in western museums (eg Pitt Rivers in Oxford) shrunken heads have mostly been removed from public view. In Ecuador, their country of origin, the Museo Pumapungo in Cuenca has a gallery devoted to their display. It is a big hit with Ecuadorean schoolkids (I could barely get near it)

a pisco sour

It's the weekend, so here is a picture of a pisco sour

"[The EES] crowds out critical thought and gives cover for the acceptance or rejection of ideas based on esthetic and ideological standards independent of their explanatory value."

Yep, it’s unfortunate, quasi-religious, and explains nothing

Unraveling Southeast Asia's Ancient Weaving Traditions Southeast Asia stands as a vibrant tapestry of cultures, traditions, and historical nuances. Among the region's various artistic expressions, weaving has played a particularly significant role,

A publication called "Scienmag" wrote about one of my papers. It's pure AI slop ("vibrant tapestry" my ass) and bears absolutely no relation to the paper. The world is doomed and everything is turning to s**t scienmag.com/unraveling-s...

The risks of AI are mundane ... the destruction of education, and the division of the world into a tiny elite that can think for itself, and the rest

... a couple of patterned wool belts, and a detail of one of her ponchos. 3/3

... , which is odd because it has beautiful Alpine scenery as well as being culturally interesting. She showed us walnut dyeing, as well as a green color from a local mountain plant (good natural green colors are unusual). She weaves patterned belts, ponchos, saddle bags and flatweave rugs ... 2/3

This is Mama Rosa, a wool spinner, dyer and weaver in the Saraguro region in southern Ecuador. One of the last remaining backstrap weavers in this region. If you are in Ecuador, do visit her (she has a Facebook page, created by her daughter). Not many visitors in this region ... 1/3

If you are in the Bay Area, here is a date for your diary

Never! They never walk alone!

I notice the Everton Supporters group is surrounded by something resembling an exclusion zone

The output of media exceeds anything any individual can absorb by orders of magnitude, so we should only read the best, most innovative work (excepting bus timetables etc). So it follows that an AI sticker would help us to identify what we can afford to skip

A new "encyclopedia" which appears at the top of the search page whenever I search for content related to Mexico. It is entirely written and illustrated by AI and contains 100% pure slop www.mexicohistorico.com/english.php

screenshot from the FT of Noam Chomsky and Jeffrey Epstein, on Epstein's private jet

Ah! the rewards of academic success!

Demonstration of a purely instrument-based analysis of archaeological artifacts (arrowheads), coupled with a Bayesian analysis of phylogeny ... reproduces the classical typology, and much more besides ... osf.io/preprints/so...

Fascinating… AI replicates mediocre human waffle, and raises it to the nth power. It’s writing satire that no-one gets

Margarita Yambay weaving a narrow belt

Weavers Margarita Yambay, Juan Gualán, and dog

Warping a narrow belt loom ... with kittens

The centerpiece is an altar dedicated to gods such as Pacha Mama (earth god) and Pacha Kanak (creator god). We found weavers making belts and ponchos too. The festivals are a good time to see traditional dress, and visitors are welcome and encouraged

Man wearing traditional Cacha region poncho

Traditional dress for women: embroidered blouse, plain dark skirt, and woven patterned belts, of which there are two kinds that can be seen here

Mariano Criollo, local farmer and ritual specialist, sets up an altar to Pacha Kanak, with some impressive organically grown potatoes

We visited some weavers in the Cacha region of Cotopaxi province, Ecuador, and ran into a rehearsal for a festival (raymi). These events are held 4 times a year, at the equinoxes and solstices, on a sacred hilltop site ... (see alt text for details)

Still 6 days to go until the deadline ...

Setting up the warp. The warp is false-circular, like most Ecuadorean weaving, meaning the warp reverses direction around a locking stick or cord. Removing this stick gives a flat piece of finished cloth, which can be 4-selvedge, or may have fringes at the warp ends

Sandra learning complimentary warp patterning for a belt, following a design on graph paper

... these photos are of the Andrango family, in Agato, near Otavalo, north of Quito. They make traditional warp-patterned weavings from local wool, and are happy to teach visitors how to do it (fascinating, we spent 2 days with them learning complimentary warp weaving).

Rafael Perugachi is the current master weaver. Rafael’s wife, Luz Maria Andrango also weaves. Both can do the same types of weaving on the same looms, but Rafael generally tackles the wider, heavier pieces. In this photo they are wearing traditional dress, which can still be seen on Sundays when the whole town attends Mass. Rafael has a wool poncho in a twill weave, and both are wearing felt hats

Rafael, weaving a panel for a large blanket. The warp patterning is picked out by hand with the small pointed stick

Just got back from 3 weeks looking at traditional backstrap loom weaving along the Andes in Ecuador. Over the next few days I will post some weavers and their locations ... I encourage you to visit them, and do buy their excellent weavings, it helps keep their craft going (see alt text) ... 1/2

There is still time to join us in Athens 🫵 The extended deadline is February 9. #EAA2026

How economies forget From Nasa’s shuttle programme to Polaroid film, societies can lose capabilities as well as gain them. Why they are so hard to get back?

Interesting article about cultural forgetting ... progress is not inevitable giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

😯

A global brewing phenomenon!

Darwin’s Airport finch. The short beak is adapted for eating crackers