"This is the Voice of Moderation. I wouldn't go so far as to say we've actually SEIZED the radio station . . . "
Liberal Japonicus 
by liberal japonicus I was going to title this ‘End of a error’, not because we are finishing or because ObWi was an error, I just like the pun. Other similar titles might raise some concerns. But I thought I should note that the old home of ObWi has gone to that Internet Valhalla to … Read more
by liberal japonicus Noted by Charles WT in the comments, Jane Goodall has passed away. At the risk of making another bad joke, there is this Gary Larson cartoon incident In 1987, Gary Larson published a Far Side cartoon of two chimpanzees grooming, in which one discovers a blonde hair and says, “Conducting a little … Read more
by liberal japonicus As promised, a selection of youtube videos about Japan along with some commentary from me. First, in the category that the end is nigh, here two videos chosen from many “In 1990, the Nikkei dropped 38% and lost $2 trillion of market value. And even now, in 2024, Japan’s wages have yet … Read more
by liberal japonicus This short Japanese article has a lot to discuss and a translation is below On the 17th, the Japan Restoration Party compiled recommendations on foreign policy. A “total volume regulation” has been proposed, which will set a cap on the proportion of foreigners in Japan’s entire population and limit the acceptance of … Read more
by liberal japonicus Just an update and explainer about what’s happening with this site and the archive site. As you’ve probably noticed, the posting frequency is way up, because I want to try and have daily posts in case people wander back here. It is unfortunate that Typepad basically has gone off the air a … Read more
by liberal japonicus I posted about Ezra Klein’s piece entitled Charlie Kirk was practicing politics the right way and Coates’ reply. Well, Klein had Coates on his podcast. I’ll write more about it in the comments, (and thanks to GftNC in the comments, here is a gift link, thank you!) but you are welcome to … Read more
by liberal japonicus (image: cartoon by Paul Noth available at the Conde Nast store, but also check out his site at www.paulnoth.com) Working on the archive, the Middle East was unsurprisingly a running theme, and there was quite a number of bytes spilled on Iran. So when I noticed this Atlantic article about Iran by … Read more
by liberal japonicus An open thread to allow you to talk about the current political mess(es). CNN posted this article “Kamala Harris has a five-word response to the Comey indictment“, but I’ll be damned if I can find the 5 words, though I suppose it is possible that it is the phrase that begins “are … Read more
by liberal japonicus Trying to post little bits for the next month or so to keep the blog going, and I thought of morceau, which is cognate with the English word morsel, and I thought about Saint-Saëns’ horn composition Morceau de concert, which you can enjoy from the youtube video at the bottom where Anneke … Read more
by liberal japonicus If you have an interest in the mathematics of knots, like I do, this Quanta piece might interest you. But more importantly, if you have an interest of unexpected juxtapositions of language, this paragraph from the piece is just up your alley. “I have got so thoroughly on one groove,” he wrote … Read more