Wataru Tenkawa

Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 05, 2024 at 11:52 UTC

I just told my wife (who married me over 40 years ago) a dozen or so stories from the distant past that she's no doubt heard before, and she acted like it was the first time. We always do that for each other.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 05, 2024 at 04:13 UTC

So many incredible inventions had to take place along the way, it's no wonder he could not predict such a future as ours today.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 01, 2024 at 23:45 UTC

"Some beneficial elements of cheese, such as good fatty acids and probiotic bacteria, may compensate for its unhealthy qualities. But red and processed meats are just so bad for you that replacing them with virtually any other protein source is probably better." www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 01, 2024 at 11:09 UTC

I'm beginning to think more and more these days I've wasted a great deal of my life listening to the opinions of pundits, both professionals and volunteers.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 01, 2024 at 07:21 UTC

Oh, I hate those store jingles with a passion, along with the announcements and other noise that fill many shops. But having good jazz or classical pieces ruined that way is perhaps worse still.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 01, 2024 at 06:52 UTC

A Nepalese restaurant in Kichijoji has that playing on loop at the entrance. Familiarity does breed contempt, I'm afraid.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 01, 2024 at 04:28 UTC

"Reading them on the screen allows you to judge his performance solely by its content without getting distracted by his hoarseness or his facial expressions or any other bits of theater criticism.
Unfortunately, this does not improve things. It might make them worse."
jabberwocking.com/ten-excerpts/

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 01, 2024 at 02:01 UTC

My sister on her first visit to Tokyo, when we lived in Kunitachi, said something similar, commenting on how long it took to get to the interesting places. We later moved to the Musashino-Mitaka area, and on subsequent visits she enjoyed her stay more, with so much to see and do in walking distance.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 30, 2024 at 08:22 UTC

This guide to Starter Packs keeps updating so is worth checking periodically.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 30, 2024 at 06:27 UTC

A Japanese friend says, "Everyone [in Japan] I spoke to who watched the US presidential debate is like....." (this scene from "Ashita no Joe")

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 29, 2024 at 23:33 UTC

I've had months like that just in my own neighborhood.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 29, 2024 at 13:27 UTC

Me, same age as Biden, old enough to have worked on the failed McGovern campaign, sitting here nodding in furious agreement.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 29, 2024 at 13:09 UTC

My biggest regret is not having the chance to live in many more neighborhoods that look fascinating, like around Yutenji on the Odakyu Line, or even Shinjuku living alongside the 水商売 and 2-chome folks, which has long been a dream of mine. Life is too short!

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 29, 2024 at 13:05 UTC

I've lived in 14 places so far (12 years in our current place). I think every Tokyo neighborhood is different, and the choice of which one to live in greatly influences your experience. For greenery, the area from Kichijoji-Mitaka to the West is good, and Kichijoji also has unique, friendly shops.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 29, 2024 at 11:59 UTC

Pity the people who do sign language for these Tokyo governor candidate spots on NHK
【画像】都知事選の政見放送、民度最悪になって終わるｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗ rabitsokuhou.2chblog.jp/archives/689...

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 29, 2024 at 11:55 UTC

That was a surprise for sure. Now I have to rethink my response to your comments about Tokyo. But first, time to watch アド街天国, which I haven't missed in decades, a program that introduces all the great neighborhoods of Tokyo and environs.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 29, 2024 at 11:33 UTC

Agree! The Beatles came onto the scene when I was just starting college. Of course they were like nothing else before and I was captivated. To me their music is something we liked when we were young but got over as we became adults. The Beach Boys, on the other hand, made timeless classics.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 29, 2024 at 11:23 UTC

What part of Tokyo do you live in?

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 29, 2024 at 03:45 UTC

What I've found (and I shop every day of the year) is that yes, there is plenty of shop duplication, but also there are special places in each of those districts that are unique to them. Those are the shops I seek out.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 29, 2024 at 02:22 UTC

Why would anyone drive in Tokyo? I've lived here for 46 years without a car. Most of what I need, in fact, is within 30 minutes walking distance.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 29, 2024 at 00:33 UTC

I'm 81, still working full time as a translator, and have never had health problems; but I could not honestly tell people that I'm good for another four years, let alone as POTUS.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 29, 2024 at 00:19 UTC

Editor: omakase (お任せ)

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 28, 2024 at 11:37 UTC

And right after it on YouTube came this, somewhere in between it and Ascension, and pretty much Coltrane-Tyner at their very best. #jazzsky
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwj4...

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 28, 2024 at 11:25 UTC

New to me, and I quite like it, even with the chaos so restrained.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 28, 2024 at 07:37 UTC

Ascension is full of the no-holds-barred kind of music I hope for when listening to Coltrane. You can find similar elements in contemporary (non-jazz) works like this one by Hans Werner Henze (e.g., from around 2:45): www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtSU...

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 28, 2024 at 05:39 UTC

Still standing by this 8 months later, though without specifying which candidate(s) will drop out or drop dead.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 28, 2024 at 05:14 UTC

Around 1975 or so, I went to a Cecil Taylor performance in a fairly small venue in San Francisco. It was amazing, but I certainly would not call it "enjoyable." Ascension, on the other hand, I truly like and enjoy.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 28, 2024 at 03:45 UTC

And this was the best post of the night about the Debate.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 28, 2024 at 03:42 UTC

Watched the Debate commentary on deckblue and feel BlueSky is a pretty good platform for this kind of thing. That's fortunate since I've dropped my X-Pro subscription as of yesterday.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 27, 2024 at 11:54 UTC

Japan had a new standard for PCs, BTRON, and wanted to make it the default for schools rather than Windows. The USTR claimed that was a trade barrier and Japan backed down. Still pisses me off to this day.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 27, 2024 at 11:43 UTC

Checking, it would have been early Heisei (1991-1993). Was also surprised to see she is still alive, at 90.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 27, 2024 at 11:36 UTC

I do remember, and around the end of Showa and early Heisei I was translating letters to Carla Hills protesting the way the US protected Microsoft from new PC and OS technologies from Japan.

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Wataru Tenkawa @wtenga.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 27, 2024 at 10:05 UTC

Me too and I was already around 50 when I started using Usenet.

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