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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD

@peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social
2.1K followers 796 following 245 posts

Historian of Chinese Religions & Chinese Buddhism, interest in smell culture & aromatics; recent hummingbird whisperer, belated powerlifter, curator of Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social

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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 6h
Commissioned by a local paper merchant in 1891, the Hyōgo Daibutsu at Nōfuku-ji was among the largest Buddhist statues in Japan at the time. Not far from Kobe Harbor, the icon became a favored tourist destination in the early 20th century, but it is remembered only through photographs today. 🧵 🗃️ 📜
A large gray stone statue of a seated Buddhist figure fills the center of the image. The figure has closed eyes, a calm expression, textured rows of tightly curled hair, and a draped robe with layered folds. Its hands rest together in its lap. A small, spreading tree partially overlaps the statue on the right, while flowering plants with muted red, white, and green foliage fill the foreground. Behind the statue is a softly colored sky in pale blue, pink, and beige, with sparse branches and vegetation along the edges.A vintage color postcard shows a large seated Buddha statue beside a traditional Japanese temple complex. The gray Buddha occupies the left side of the image, with tightly patterned curls on its head, lowered eyes, and layered robes. At center and right are temple buildings with sweeping blue-gray tiled roofs, ornate roof decorations, and dark wooden structures. Pine trees, shrubs, stone lanterns, grave markers, and other stone monuments fill the foreground. A utility pole with a decorative lamp stands near the right side. The sky is pale blue with a warm pinkish tint near the horizon. Red text appears along the bottom edge.

Transcribed Text:

Nofukuji Temple Hyogo.

兵庫能福寺大佛
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Portrait of a man in a camera costume, c.1860–1880. Attributed to Carleton Watkins, held by Getty [www.getty.edu/art/collection/object…]
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
The Under Gods project published 25 essays for America’s 250th celebration, including a fun one by Elijah Siegler, “Gods on the Menu,” which takes readers on a US road trip “in search of the gods of Chinese restaurants”: www.undergods.org/1985
undergods.org
Gods on the Menu | Under Gods
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Hōkō-ji's Hansōbō Shrine, July 2026.
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Hōkō-ji, set in the mountains of western Shizuoka Prefecture, was founded in the 14th century. It is perhaps most well-known today for the enshrinement of its tutelary deity, Hansōbō 半僧坊, which can be identified as a type of mountain goblin known as a tengu.
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
One more year of the Woodenfish Buddhist life study-abroad program is complete – and another wonderful summer with a group of thoughtful and deeply engaged students. 1: Staff (R to L): Rogelio, Pablo, Vladka, Lucy, me, Ven. Weixian, Angel 2: Group photo with Woodenfish founder Ven. Yifa & students
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Tao Nightclub, NYC. From IG
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
"We know “AI-powered” detectors are faulty ...Emboss lets you share your metrics...to show the human processes and labor behind the work, capturing how a document was written—the sessions, the edits, the time you put in, as positive evidence of human authorship." help.ellipsus.com/article/embo...
help.ellipsus.com
Emboss | Ellipsus Help Center
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Rijksmuseum @rijksmuseum.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Sculptures like this are often hollowed out and devotional objects can be found inside. 🪷 Using CT scanning, we peered inside this Shōtoku Taishi figure without opening it. No hidden objects – but now we have tree ring patterns to help us date it! 👁️ id.rijksmuseum.nl/200106193
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Matt Seybold @mattseybold.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Retractions never get proportional attention. This one should.
arstechnica.com
Influential study touting ChatGPT in education retracted over red flags
The retracted study on ChatGPT in education was already cited hundreds of times.
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Kendell Geers Losing my Religion 23, 2007 Spraypaint on wood, nails, rust
Wooden statue of the Buddha on lotus pedestal, covered in large wood nails
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Kendell Geers Losing my Religion 23, 2007 Spraypaint on wood, nails, rust
Wooden statue of the Buddha on lotus pedestal, covered in large wood nails
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Maggie Harrison Dupré @mharrisondupre.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
NEW: A new pre-print study offers the first causal evidence that outsourcing reasoning tasks to AI can rapidly erode users' independent performance AND their will to persist despite difficulty. "People’s persistence drops... they’re also not willing to try without AI.” futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com
AI Use Appears to Have a "Boiling Frog" Effect on Human Cognition, New Study Warns
A new study claims to offer the first causal link between AI dependency and cognitive erosion. Researchers warn of long-term implications.
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
"Over 100 newly restored bamboo slips are publicly displayed for the first time since their discovery...The main tomb of the Marquis of Haihun, the excavation of which was one of the most significant archaeological activities in the country in recent years..." en.people.cn/n3/2026/0415...
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Guangzhou, Hua Lin Temple (500 Genii Temple), by Milton M. Miller, ca. 1860-64. Original source for the postcard below, issued by O. F. Ribeiros in 1902.
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
This Many Years Ago @thismanyyearsago.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
195 years ago, on the 11th of April 1831, the Lewis chessmen were first exhibited at a meeting of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland shortly after being rediscovered. The pieces wee made between 1150 and 1200 and commonly believed to have been made in Norway. #otd #history 🗃️
Chessmen at NMS

National Museums Scotland - National Museums Scotland
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Buddhistdoor Global (BDG) @buddhistdoor.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
BDG News: Gen Z Predominates as a Record 250,000 Visitors Flock to 2026 Seoul International Buddhism Expo 🔗 Read more: tinyurl.com/4kkzeyk3 #Buddhism #Buddha #Seoul #Gangnam #Korea #HeartSutra #JogyeOrder #Meditation #ContemporaryBuddhism #Mindfulness #COEX #YoungPeople #KoreanBuddhism #Zen #Seon
tinyurl.com
Gen Z Predominates as a Record 250,000 Visitors Flock to 2026 Seoul International Buddhism Expo - Buddhistdoor Global
The 2026 Seoul International Buddhism Expo (BEXPO2026) recently concluded in the South Korean capital, with organizers reporting record attendance.
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Hong Kong International Airport has unveiled a giant interactive cat art installation at Terminal 1. Belated #caturday www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...
scmp.com
Move over, Easter Bunny: cats are the stars in Hong Kong this holiday
Seasonal cat-themed artworks are stealing the limelight this Easter, tapping into the city’s booming ‘cat economy’.
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Southern Shaolin Monastery in Putain, Fujian Province, 2019.
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Southern Shaolin Monastery in Putain, Fujian Province, 2019.
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Pleasure working with Tracy Stegman of San Diego Central Library to put this exhibit together. Special Collections on the top floor has an amazing view of the city! Exhibit up through June. 🗃️ 📜
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Note how the original artist below used John Thomson's photograph from 1873 as reference to create the illustration of Gushan's temple in Fuzhou.
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Leon Furze @leonfurze.com · 28/03/2026
The concept of "AI slop" highlights the imbalance in effort between creators and consumers of content generated by artificial intelligence. As production becomes effortless, the burden shifts to the consumer. #ArtificialIntelligence #AIEducation #AIEdu #AIInEd #AIInEdu
leonfurze.com
The Effort Economy of Slop
The concept of "AI slop" highlights the imbalance in effort between creators and consumers of content generated by artificial intelligence. As production becomes effortless, the burden shifts to the consumer.
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Photo of Whampoa Pagoda, Guangzhou, 1875. hpcbristol.net/visual/RH01-03
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Cameron Blevins @cblevins.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
📣 New historical data visualization! "How Fast Was the Mail?" is an interactive map showing how long information took to travel across the US between 1882-1908: cblevins.github.io/mail-time/ +
cblevins.github.io
How Fast Was the Mail?
Explore mail transit times via railway between major U.S. cities, 1882–1908.
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Footnotes in History @footnotesinhistory.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
A photograph of a well-attended baseball game at the Manzanar incarceration camp in California. Camp barracks are seen beyond the outfield. Taken by Ansel Adams sometime in 1943. In honor of #MLB #OpeningDay, we celebrate the long and storied history of Japanese Americans in baseball. 🗃 #skystorians
Found in the Densho Digital Repository
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
American Historical Association @historians.org · 26/03/2026
From #AHAPerspectives in 2018: During the 1906 World Series, umpires used gestures to call the game for the first time. Rebecca Edwards explained how deaf @mlb.com player William Ellsworth “Dummy” Hoy brought umpires’ signs into the game. 🗃️
historians.org
Hand Signals – AHA
The truth about a deaf player’s contribution to the national pastime has been too long and too unfairly denied.
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Michael Sheehy @mclsheehy.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
New webpage for the AI + Human Flourishing Initiative at the Contemplative Sciences Center, UVA. The initiative investigates the bidirectional loop of how AI can enhance human flourishing, and how lived human knowledge can inform the human-AI interface. csc.virginia.edu/research/ai-...
csc.virginia.edu
AI + Human Flourishing Initiative | Contemplative Sciences Center
At this critical moment, when human consciousness and emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI) are being shaped and adapted symbiotically, this research initiative organizes interdisciplinary expertise t...
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Map of the Tam Thai Monastery complex in the Marble Mountains near Da Nang. The monk in the hood was likely the monastery's abbot. Map from Sallet's Les Montagnes de Marbre (1925), prepared by Vietnamese mapmaker, Do Khai.
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Sunrise at Zhaoming Monastery in northern Fujian province. The temple overlooks a valley where the city of Fuding is located. 2018.
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
matteoB @matteob.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
I've translated a short but very important passage by Satō Makoto about the concept of aura in documentary cinema. Part of my "mission" 😅 to disseminate as much as possible not only his films but also his writings...
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Asita, the Awakened disciple with fashionable eyebrows. Mt. Emei, Sichuan. 2011.
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Asita, the Awakened disciple with fashionable eyebrows. Mt. Emei, Sichuan. 2011.
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
View inside Shengshou Monastery in Wenzhou. 2014.
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Buddhist monastic robes store, Zherong county, Fujian, 2018.
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Buddhist monastic robes store, Zherong county, Fujian, 2018.
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Visualizing Language Contact is a wonderful site by Dr. Michelle Li that combines Chinese language history with postcards! ~swoon~ Over fifty articles covering Chinese Pidgin English from chow chow to chin chin and more. Link to the article on "joss" 👇 visualizinglanguagecontact.com/joss/
visualizinglanguagecontact.com
13. Joss – Visualizing Language Contact
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
National Council on Public History @ncph.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
New on History@Work: Lily Anne Welty Tamai and Michael Yee document how NCPH’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Working Group has grown the presence of AAPIs in #PublicHistory, a model other underrepresented groups could use to grow their presence in the field. Read at loom.ly/AbpvVAY
ncph.org
NCPH's Asian American and Pacific Islander Working Group | National Council on Public History
Since the 1970s, community groups—often working alongside professional historians—have created a growing number of public history organizations, including museums, archives, and preservation groups to document, preserve, and share the histories of their communities. Notably, the growth of public history developed in tandem with the growth of Ethnic Studies. This led to the creation of specific …
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Dr Dion Georgiou 🇨🇾❤️🇬🇾 @drdiongeorgiou.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
'Who is Chinatown for?', by Xiao Ma, for @vittles.bsky.social.
vittlesmagazine.com
Who is Chinatown for?
Xiao Ma unpacks the layers of London’s Chinatown. Illustration by Kenn Lam.
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
The Asian Feminist @theasianfeminist.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Bhikshuni Lineage Restored in Bhutan 265 Tibetan Buddhist nuns took ordination vows in Thimpu. The event marks a great victory in the struggle for gender equality in Buddhist monastic communities.
tricycle.org
Bhikshuni Lineage Restored in Bhutan
Tibetan Buddhist nuns embrace the Buddha’s full path at a mass gelongma ordination event in Thimphu.
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
"After being rescued in 1894 and raised by Presbyterian missionary Donaldina Cameron at the Mission Home, Wu began working alongside Cameron in her teens, as a translator, aide and travel guardian for the young women in their care, and as a fundraiser." www.kqed.org/arts/1398683...
kqed.org
Chinatown Street to Be Named for Rescuer of Trafficked Girls
Tien Fuh Wu Way will be unveiled on March 6, after a successful campaign by the staff of Cameron House.
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Huading Monastery on Mount Tiantai, Zhejiang. 2016. Monks heading to vespers.
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
The 120ft Amitābha Buddha statue stands over Foguangshan, or Buddha’s Light Mountain, at Gaoxiong, Taiwan. 2006. The statue was constructed in 1975, making it one of the tallest Buddhist statues in the world at the time. Photo taken with one of those early 2000s digital cameras 📸🙌
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
James Bielo @secondhandsacred.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
#secondhandsacred #vhs #vhscollection
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
The 120ft Amitābha Buddha statue stands over Foguangshan, or Buddha’s Light Mountain, at Gaoxiong, Taiwan. 2006. The statue was constructed in 1975, making it one of the tallest Buddhist statues in the world at the time. Photo taken with one of those early 2000s digital cameras 📸🙌
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Cave 20, Yungang Grottoes, near Datong, Shanxi province. 2016.
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Cave 20, Yungang Grottoes, near Datong, Shanxi province. 2016.
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Reposted by Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD
matteoB @matteob.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
fun fact: a reboot of the original lost film from 1934 was released in 2018 youtu.be/EiYOSmikk6s?...
youtu.be
The Great Buddha Arrival - Trailer (HD)
YouTube video by 3Y FILM
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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
A surviving still from the now lost Great Buddha Arrival (Daibutsu Kaikoku) from 1934. #大佛廻國
Image shows Great Buddha towering over building sin Nagoya. From
April 15, 1934 issue of The International News Photo Weekly.
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