Minus the final entry in this release, I’ve just noticed it kinda follows a theme, of nostalgia. Totally unintentional, that. And then, as I’m thinking about it, there was definitely a theme in the last one, too, but which was, IMO, much cooler: lava.
In chronicling my media habits, I think the first step was just to take a step back and notice that I am indeed tending towards x, y, and z rather than just blindly consuming, which I consider a good development. But its also interesting, and even subtly enlightening, to notice how the picks I make seem to often enough be thematically related in one way or another.
What does that mean? Can’t yet tell you, but I’m sure something profound.
Oh, and just so you know, this is one of those backdated issues that I’m retconning from unstructuredness. It was originally featured in the May 26th, 2023 release, Dismïsthiš.
Music - Miki Matsubara
Yeah, so that vinyl delivery thing I set up is kinda hinged on my perception of how popular 1980’s Japanese pop appears to be in North America, which means that I am now immersed in it.
And you know, its pretty catchy. Particularly the genre known as City Pop, which Miki (above) was somewhat representative of. I wasn’t aware of her prior to this little venture, so she’s kinda top of mind.
Games - Life is Strange 2
I have a really bad relationship with Square Enix since, like, 1997 or something. Basically once Final Fantasy 7 quieted down, everything became constantly awful. And then there’s their international business practice and notable ability to force NFTs on players, and you’ve got a great recipe for me to shun them.
And yet there’s this series. This one, extremely outlier series that is so utterly captivating. Its extremely story heavy, so I won’t say much of anything about it other than its a majestically cinematic and emotionally engaging play.
Movies - Slacker
Richard Linklater writes movies like some kinda wonky combination of 1980’s Patti Smith meanderings, a rather highly Philip K. Dick-ian solipsism, and American Melodrama ala David Mamet.
Honestly, I don’t think he’s particularly profound to anyone beyond the age of 14 or so - Waking Life was great when I first started getting stoned in high school - but his films are at least kind of a relaxed and relaxing trip down a quasi-philosophic memory lane.
Wellness - Anytime Fitness
I’ve been more stuck in the city this year than in the past 3, so I’ve had to take extra steps to ensure that I get something near the daily exercise merely by existing in a rural environment here in the metro area. So, in addition to the hot yoga I mentioned last time, I also have a membership at Anytime Fitness.
If you’re wondering, I do weights in the mornings and yoga in the evening. And, just like Lava’s membership package, with Anytime Fitness I’ve also got access to a wide range of gyms, which is great because while I’m often in the city, keep in mind that Tokyo is fucking massive and I’m not always in the same spot.
And its like $75 a month, so whatever.
But something to be clear about is that while, yes, it’s nice to keep yourself looking at least kinda good physically, I find that I consider exercise - be it yoga, weights, hiking, climbing, or what have you - way more valuable for stress relief.
See, I do a lot of stuff. Weird stuff. And its fun, I truly love my line/s of work. But that doesn’t mean its all sunshine and flowers. Its quite stressful, and in particular confusing as a big part of all of the things I do is figure out how things which no one understands not only work but have value.
It can really drive me into a hole if I’m not careful, and I find that intense physical exertion is an extremely effective method of controlling this.
So give it a go, its done wonders for me.