Currently reading: History for Tomorrow by Roman Krznaric 📚
I first heard Roman on Everyday Anarchism talking about Colin Ward and then again on Upstream. I look forward to listening to it as I pack up and haul our last stuff from Kelowna to the new house in Surrey.
Rainy day… back at the airport. This time to Kelowna for the weekend. Picking up the last of our stuff left there in 2022 and hauling it to the coast to move in to the new house next week.
Friday, March 7, 2025
It had been years since I had been to Shinjuku, at least, around the JR Station. It was a lot dirtier than I remember, but more than 25 years had past. It was a whirlwind trip this time to Japan, all for an important meeting for a client that asked me to come and help out. Except for taking my client to Ginza by taxi for some shopping, I stayed put in Shinjuku.
Really should have brought my toque to #snokyo
Good day of walking around Shinjuku #Tokyo #Japan
Case in point wrt my last post: walk between the Yodobashi Camera buildings in Nishi-Shinjuku and you’ll see scads of people standing still, sitting on hand rails or on the benches provided by the store, all silent tapping on their phones—sometimes 2 phones! This is the Pokémon Go Square. Wild!
When I first came to Japan, at age 18 with a backpack and a guitar, I came to Tokyo at the end of February in 1997. That is almost 30 years ago! I am sitting in this little park drinking a canned coffee just watching the people like I did back then. And yet so so much has changed.
Lovely 20° day in Tokyo
Sure picked the wrong day to have a quiet walk around the neighborhood: it’s Tokyo Marathon Day! Already seen some mad costumes and all the streets are being blocked off.
Made it to my hotel in Tokyo. What up Famichikis! Been a few months! Gonna hit the konbini and then crawl into bed. Wiped… Cannot believe how many people were lined up at immigration.
Sent my monthly newsletter early since I am about to get on a plane to Japan. See you next month!
Started Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky 📚
A little audiobook for the plane ride
Wednesday, February 26, 2025 →
Birthday hangsang! 🎈🎂
This aside from Ben Evans recent newsletter:
(A very successful Silicon Valley VC once told me never to invest in a company called ‘labs’ because “they don’t know what they want to build”.)
This is me chuckling in has two shutdown labs in my work history. 😅
Omg it’s past midnight. I been watching that King Los freestyle reacts for hours! 🔥 🔥 🔥
He’s a lyrical zodiac killer. 🐏🐂👯🦀🦁🌬️⚖️🦂🏹🐐🏺🐟
2025 is gonna be a good year for #hiphop 😊
Vancouver Art Gallery 🎨
Started listening to the long Samir Amin essay from 2004 The Liberal Virus: Permanent War and the Americanization of the World which seems appropriate after finishing the latest Pankaj Mishra book. 📚
In an area of downtown Vancouver that I don’t frequent very often, and has changed significantly since I used to live in the area 25 years ago
Been dreaming and looking at old photos from Hawaiʻi and India. I had some memorable hotel experiences there, and would love to to go back.
Wednesday, February 19, 2025 →
Finished The World After Gaza by Pankaj Mishra 📚
I’ll need time to process this. Pankaj Mishra’s righteous teardown of Western tradition (racism, slavery, colonialism) puts Gaza and the Shoah in a wider context as he tries to wrestle it away from politicians with narrow agendas. Astounding work.