Yesterday was the day to hear it. Always a good sign that the better weather is here to stay.

Shorts weather is upon us. Is today the day when I hear “Atsui desu ne” for the first time in 2026?

『おかあさんといっしょ』新“おどりのお姉さん”アンジェはどんな人? 現在は大学4年生 NHK Eテレの教育番組『おかあさんといっしょ』の取材会が18日、東京・渋谷の同局で行われ、3月30日の放送から新たに「おどりのお姉さん」を務めるアンジェが登場した。

My son is very happy to see the new presenter on Okasan to Issho is half Japanese-half English. He feels underrepresented and this is big for him. Thanks NHK. More of the same please. news.mynavi.jp/article/2026...

It’s not fair to say the piece misses what happened post-311, but it’s worth mentioning as a side note. I remember people who arrived after asking WTF was up with Tokyo social media. Everyone went through 311 and it sucked.

Everyone's very angry online right now Read to the end for a truly incredible TikTok video

This piece in @garbageday.email identifies how US social media is similar to Japan’s circa 2016. It’s good. www.garbageday.email/p/everyone-s...

The eugenics vibes were creepy. As was the incel flavor. I’m surprised it is not as bad here as it could be but it was unpleasant to see. Pretty funny to see all the tourists taking pics of them like they were an attraction though.

I saw a far right demo today focused on “saving Japan” from immigrants.

Two observations:
- The demonstrators were almost exclusively men.
- They were mostly dressed like East 17.

Maybe if they hung out in areas with women and dressed better they would be more effective at saving Japan.

Ya. They were living in Zappa’s house/studio with him.

Yeah fair enough. I think Zappa just left him to do as he wanted though. That doc (or another I watched) goes into what the band made of it. One of them said learning Trout… for Beefheart was equivalent of 12 standard albums, and with little financial reward. Sounds rough.

I think they influenced each other more than one over the other. Their first band was together etc.

Zappa is clearly the winner on technical musicianship, but Beefheart’s raw instinct for what he wants from a song is something I think Zappa lacked.

This sent me down a Beefheart rabbit hole. I am white, but do feel a bit left out after noticing almost every pundit praising his music is bald.

I asked my wife what she thought of Beefheart’s music… “It is shit.”

Captain Beefheart 1997 The Artist Formely Known As Captain Beefheart YouTube video by Jazzfromhell

A BBC2 special on Captain Beefheart has landed on YouTube.Watch it before it gets removed. youtu.be/O3zxyUy0VOY?...

Did you watch on a streaming service?

I made a load of vegetable dishes with a chicken dish yesterday and my son was horrified. He requested Mexican today. When that came, he asked to have no vegetables with it given how many he ate yesterday. The Sheffield is powerful on you, young one.

Leonard Cohen - Happens to the Heart (Official Video) YouTube video by LeonardCohenVEVO

Yep youtu.be/2AMMb9CiScI?...

It is maybe a strange thing to do, but I find the lyrics Cohen writes brilliant. I don’t meditate but sometimes I’ll go for a walk and just try to tune into every word of his songs as a way to focus.

Things I have done since yesterday to contain my anger:
- Listen to Leonard Cohen, focusing on the lyrics.
- Walk in the mountains.
- Cook and eat lots of vegetables.

How a Close Associate of Epstein’s Found Career Redemption in Japan Top Japanese officials are backing a tech and entrepreneurship initiative led by Joichi Ito, whose involvement with Jeffrey Epstein may endanger efforts to get the project off the ground.

Top Japanese officials are backing a tech and entrepreneurship initiative led by Joichi Ito, whose involvement with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein may endanger efforts to get the project off the ground.

Testimonial - Karyna — TOKI

Epstein's last girlfriend, Karyna Shuliak, visited Japan in 2017 - all funded and arranged by Epstein/Joi Ito, staying at the Hyatt, presumably because Epstein friend + billionaire Thomas Pritzker was chairman of the Hyatt group. Anyway looks like she had a nice time
www.toki.tokyo/testimonials...

This already happens in some areas of Yamagata and it means ice rather than snow a lot of the winter period.

And of course Yokohama once again tops the list of most desirable places to live in Japan. Omiya is second and the rest of the entries are districts to West(ish) Tokyo.

Outside greater Tokyo and Sapporo, apartment prices declined across the board in Japan last year. This is a big reason the soaring inflation residents of Japan feel when shopping is not reflected in government statistics.

テスラ「整理解雇」巡り法廷で突然“降伏宣言”、約1年半の訴訟に幕　弁護士「外資による日本人の使い捨ては許されない」 | 弁護士JPニュース テスラジャパン合同会社の社員が、解雇の撤回と解雇期間中の給与相当額（バックペイ）の支払いを求めていた訴訟で、2025年12月5日の第11回口頭弁論期日において被告側が突然「請求を認諾する」と宣言し、訴訟が終結。 2月24日、原告代理人の坪井僚哉（りょ...

Tesla Japan fell foul of Japan's labour laws. After a lengthy dispute, the company has been obliged to re-employ a man they first tried to sack, and then tried to coerce into leaving. www.ben54.jp/news/3236

I guess it’s in the north as well then. Hope this is a one off. Know it isn’t.

Joi Ito features in this episode. Joi Ito has government roles in Japan and is also president of the Chiba Institute of Technology.

Did you get “peak winter”? I guess a lot of why it feels like we didn’t is ocean temps kept those Siberian winds from getting into Kanto properly.

Hadn’t seen but not surprised.

There just hasn’t been a winter where we live this year. The weather got chilly but there’s been like one day of snow and a bit of rain but it’s generally been closer to autumn weather.

@tobiasharris.bsky.social

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Chelmico have gone on indefinite hiatus. www.instagram.com/p/DVIv686kQ2...