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I took the boys out on Saturday. My initial plan was to get around to Shinagawa where we’d be able to catch the Tokkaidō Shinkansen back to Tokyo Station. However, John complained about a stomach pain when as the train we were on was approaching Meiji Jingu-mae and I decided why not visit the station’s namesake (Wikipedia)? About 20 minutes later we were walking through a decently sized crowd of people through Yoyogi Park to the shrine itself. I feel this is the part where I’m supposed to note how many more foreign tourists there are in Tokyo these days but my recollection of previous visits to Meiji Shrine is that there are always a lot of people.
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A week or so ago, I noticed that one of the soles of my black leather shoes had a pretty serious hole that didn’t look like it could be repaired. I bought these shoes in November 2018 and while that’s a bit disappointing, I mostly blame myself for not getting them resoled more proactively. I’m a complete convert to Ecco’s waterproofed shoes and found a cheap(ish) pair of one of their older designs. It was ¥18,700 but that’s better than the ¥27,00 I paid back in 2018 and if I can keep the soles in decent condition, hopefully they’ll last longer this time around.
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A few months back I discovered a salad place, WithGreen, over near Yurakucho Station. The food is overpriced—¥1500 or so for a medium-sized bowl—but I was desperate enough for a decent salad that I walked over there on one of their days I was in the office. Oporto and decent salads are the two things that are easy to buy in Australia but non-existent in Japan. With that in mind, I recommend the Red Chilli Chicken Cob Salad if you can stomach the price (I am legally permitted to make these jokes).
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One of those websites that makes the world a better place is Quote Investigator. They had a great investigation into the saying ’We die twice: first, when we cease to be; second, when we are forgotten’. They credit the basic concept to Roman philosopher Boethius (Wikipedia) and the English phrasing to a character in the 1863 novel Barbara’s History by Amelia Edwards (Wikipedia).
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A few weeks back I linked to a video essay by YouTuber T1J (AKA The 1 Janitor) about Seinfeld’s Elaine. He has another one (this one 36 minutes in length) on the sitcom trope of having an episode that shows the same basic story across two or more alternate realities. The essay uses examples from Scrubs, Malcolm in the Middle and Community. It’s very well done and highly recommended if you’re a fan of sitcoms.
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Rowan put an episode from season 3 of Floor is Lava (Netflix) on and I watched it properly for the first time. It’s pretty fun! I’m now disappointed that it doesn’t seem like Netflix is making any more episodes.
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I’ve spent a lot of time this week listening to ‘Promises’, the 2018 collaboration between Calvin Harris and Sam Smith (Apple Music). The song comes from the late 2010s when Harris released a string of non-album singles like ‘One Kiss’ and ‘Giant’. I find it a frustrating listen, with an ending that always feels sudden. But maybe that’s the genius of it? When it does abruptly come to a close, I find myself empty. Not unlike a fast food meal that leaves you hungry and eating more than you need.
