David B. :SetouchiExplorer:

Blogger, Teacher, Father, Immigrant.
🇪🇺 🇯🇵 🇫🇷

- Gallivants on the Seto Inland Sea art islands.
- French, but teaches English at a Japanese university.
- Raises two wonderful kids that drive him nuts.
- Friend of crows
- Writes things. Tries to be better at it, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
- Hopes the world doesn't end soon. Not too optimistic about that.
- Mostly talks about #Japan, #Education, #Crows and #Climate here.

about me: https://davidbilla.online
blog & newsletter (EN): https://davidbilla.net
thoughts and stories (EN): https://glitched.earth
réflexions et fictions (FR): https://metaphorismes.com

Public Key

npub10jpp2p8y6aac36y2zyn974y4zexmwypggx8uy8lkynam3r247xzsw8ujnd

NIP-05 Address

david_at_setouchi.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs8eqs4qnjdw7ugaz9pzfjl2j23vndhzq5yrr7zrlmzf7ac342lrpgprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmntursttt

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

Author Public Key

npub10jpp2p8y6aac36y2zyn974y4zexmwypggx8uy8lkynam3r247xzsw8ujnd

Show more details

Published at

2026-08-29T22:58:08Z

Kind type

0 Metadata

Event JSON

{ "id": "df3f81139ef0e0e8c664358cad9badc163e17256059a3d3ab12e51562d59fb4f", "pubkey": "7c821504e4d77b88e88a11265f5495164db71028418fc21ff624fbb88d55f185", "created_at": 1788044288, "kind": 0, "tags": [ [ "emoji", "SetouchiExplorer", "https://cdn.masto.host/setouchisocial/custom_emojis/images/000/000/001/original/17b2122a4f44b61a.png" ], [ "t", "japan" ], [ "t", "education" ], [ "t", "crows" ], [ "t", "climate" ], [ "proxy", "https://setouchi.social/users/David", "activitypub" ], [ "L", "pink.momostr" ], [ "l", "pink.momostr.activitypub:https://setouchi.social/users/David", "pink.momostr" ], [ "-" ] ], "content": "{\"name\":\"David B. :SetouchiExplorer:\",\"about\":\"Blogger, Teacher, Father, Immigrant.\\n🇪🇺 🇯🇵 🇫🇷\\n\\n- Gallivants on the Seto Inland Sea art islands.\\n- French, but teaches English at a Japanese university.\\n- Raises two wonderful kids that drive him nuts.\\n- Friend of crows\\n- Writes things. Tries to be better at it, both quantitatively and qualitatively.\\n- Hopes the world doesn't end soon. Not too optimistic about that.\\n- Mostly talks about #Japan, #Education, #Crows and #Climate here.\\n\\nabout me: https://davidbilla.online\\nblog \u0026 newsletter (EN): https://davidbilla.net\\nthoughts and stories (EN): https://glitched.earth\\nréflexions et fictions (FR): https://metaphorismes.com\\n\",\"website\":\"https://setouchi.social/@David\",\"picture\":\"https://cdn.masto.host/setouchisocial/accounts/avatars/111/969/878/329/371/483/original/48050b53cb4f111b.gif\",\"banner\":\"https://cdn.masto.host/setouchisocial/accounts/headers/111/969/878/329/371/483/original/e804ead457c2245f.jpg\",\"nip05\":\"david_at_setouchi.social@momostr.pink\"}", "sig": "e0da5e8062990d1eb9fac3ce9c85aaaa97059f29ab8f6fce4945cfaf8927f84924b93b7e7200e7bd73b16a8d4187f82159b095694dc1180e4c3317f448b7fa55" }

Last Notes

2026-06-13 03:37:43 UTC

Why hadn't I seen this video before?
https://youtu.be/EWbgKCENqn0?si=17sH_VKNtOuuo-lf
#Japan

2026-06-11 06:13:23 UTC

- reply

As a reminder, unagi is an endangered species. Endangered mostly by human consumption.
I love the dish, but I haven't had any in 13 years.

2026-05-24 04:02:07 UTC

- reply

Okay, maybe not five, but two and each had different options for sources, and I ended up having to search in several different places for apps, and sometimes even ended up installing it several times by mistake.
And how do I "try KDE"?
And if Gnome is a Ubuntu thing and Cinnamon a Mint thing, why separate names? You do understand why Linux is way more confusing than it should, right?

2026-05-24 03:53:26 UTC

- reply

So am I destined to either use Ubuntu and deal with the things that drive me nuts there (especially the five different "app installers") or use Mint and not being able to see what the files I'm uploading look like?
@npub1xxq…uv50

2026-05-02 08:10:58 UTC

A few pictures from Byodo-in, near Kyoto.
https://davidbilla.net/byodo-in-in-uji-near-kyoto/
#Japan #Kyoto #Uji #Byodoin

2026-04-30 11:37:35 UTC

https://www.tokyoweekender.com/entertainment/anime-and-manga/studio-ghiblis-porco-rosso-is-more-important-now-than-ever-before/
#Ghibli #PorcoRosso #Fascism #Pigs #Macron

2026-04-25 03:05:11 UTC

Old man, dressed very oldmany with a cap that says "stay weird." I'm sure he doesn't know nor care what it says, but I love it.
#Japan #Japanglish

2026-04-23 05:54:37 UTC

- reply

Yes, sometimes I feel that English education in China is even worse. Especially the speaking part.
Japanese people are afraid to speak from fear of making mistakes. I feel that Chinese people are less afraid to speak, but they're confused and get frustrated when you don't understand a word of what they say, because what they say is only understandable by another Chinese person. Like they never learn pronunciation.

2026-04-23 00:51:11 UTC

- reply

I mostly know the history of Britain through the history of the English language, but in a sense, while it's usually considered to be earlier (sometimes for non-historical reasons) I consider the true birth of England being 1066. The Anlo-Saxon (and Frisians, why are the Frisians always left behind?) period is some sort of proto-England, but not really England in my opinion (but I'm not a historian).

2026-04-23 00:18:44 UTC

- reply

... that doesn't mean that they constitute a language (nor several).
But it remains fascinating, and for me unsurprising that a proto-written "language" would appear at the same time as "graphical art" and not tens of thousand years later.

2026-04-23 00:16:44 UTC

RE: https://toot.community/@openculture/116451105098139797
I've been fascinated by those symbols for years. Since first seeing them in the French caves, I've been convinced that they "had to" be symbols and a precursor of writing. The paleontologist with whom I discussed this - as a good scientist - refused to jump to conclusions from lack of evidence, but kinda agreed (but that was not his field of research). Now, I don't find it surprising at all they'd be found all over the world, most are the most basic symbols the human mind can think about ⤵️
#note1pgr…yzwt

2026-04-22 22:05:53 UTC

- reply

I don't know if "cool" is the word. English is compulsory during their first two years at the uni, and while it gives me a job I love, I sometimes wish it wasn't compulsory. Many of them don't care and are hopeless (blame the 7 years of terrible education in junior and senior high school) and my job is almost to make their experience as little painful as possible for them.

2026-04-22 21:59:00 UTC

- reply

Also, while it's different as they're not English majors, except in some very high level classes, the number if my students who will become fluent in English is probably around 5%. A bit disheartening, but I'm telling myself that I do it for them basically.

2026-04-22 21:58:47 UTC

- reply

I think it's part of the job. I never thought I'd become an English teacher, it just happened (biology major in high school, my first uni degree is computer science, then I wanted to be a journalist (probably), etc.
⤵️

2026-04-20 22:23:58 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.social/@madduci/116437669181277009
Hoping my phone lasts one more year (and that plane tickets don't cost two arms and two legs anymore) so I can buy one there next year.
Or even better, hoping that it forces phone companies to just change the design of their phones worldwide. I don't imagine them building EU phones and non-EU phones. I do imagine them moving the planned obsolescence of the phone to another part of the device, though...
#note15zl…c6m2

2026-04-19 02:20:21 UTC

- reply

I think it's at 12pm Japan time, so I guess that's 1 or 2pm for you. Basically in 40 minutes as I'm typing this.

2026-04-18 21:52:27 UTC

Note to self: double check and triple check what time Nine Inch Nails is playing at Coachella today (Japan time) so that I don't miss them like last week.
#music #NineInchNails #Coachella

2026-04-17 22:13:39 UTC

- reply

Please don't give them ideas. This is how I can easily spot my students who cheat.

2026-04-15 23:56:18 UTC

RE: https://famichiki.jp/@mainichi/116411262712631847
Fun fact: The Japanese Alps is one of the places with the most snowfall in the world.
#Japan
#note1avc…pqx3

2026-04-15 13:34:22 UTC

I can't wait to hear and watch the entire set of Nine Inch Noize at Coachella. Next weekend if I time it right? Maybe?
https://davidbilla.net/nine-inch-noize-heresy-coachella-2026/
#Music #NineInchNails #NineInchNoize #Coachella

2026-04-15 09:29:28 UTC

- reply

If you watched the previous video, here is this one as a token of goodwill from me:
https://youtu.be/Vm6k0geoynQ?si=aMb9z9oed-6WSD98

2026-04-15 09:27:58 UTC

🤣 I'm triggered.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/E0W7j-JKTgU
#Music #NineInchNails

2026-04-13 14:20:37 UTC

Apparently, Coachella has been a banger this weekend, and this new unknown band stole the show. You probably never heard of it, it's called Nine Inch Noize.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hul0_VpIg4s
#music #Coachella #NineInchNails #NineInchNoize

2026-04-12 05:27:30 UTC

When I first moved to Japan, I used to try as many "unknown" (to me) soft drinks I could get my hands on, and then report on whatever social media I used at the time. I haven't done it in years, but yesterday at the supermarket, one drink grabbed my attention. Mostly the "É" in the name.
Verdict: imagine a bitter Aquarius, kinda like Schweppes but not carbonated. Not great, but not terrible either.
#SoftDrinks #Japan #LifeInJapan
https://cdn.masto.host/setouchisocial/media_attachments/files/116/390/076/211/896/399/original/2a7e94aa77e2d431.jpg

2026-04-11 00:24:39 UTC

We're watching live a truly historical event using devices with more computing power than what the last similar historical events had and that's blowing my mind..
#Artemis

2026-04-10 01:12:25 UTC

Me: "okay, too much dystopia online today, and it's time to work anyway."
I check my work email. First email? An invitation to a talk called "AI for Science." 🤦
#Dystopia #AI #NoAI

2026-04-09 07:09:32 UTC

- reply

Oh, they're back already? I thought it was going to take a couple more days. Wait? Saturday morning? They're keeping the orange suits for two days?

2026-04-07 07:25:47 UTC

- reply

Do machines even "learn"?

2026-04-07 06:12:37 UTC

One of the inventions that truly blows me away and that we all take for granted is fabric.
Ages ago, people decided to weave strings to create soft surfaces that you could use as clothes, mats and more, and I just can't comprehend how someone had this idea, not just once, but in many parts of the world independently from each other.
(okay, now I want to go down the rabbit hole that is the history of fabric, but I don't have the time right now!)

2026-04-07 00:03:07 UTC

Nasa is talking in miles? And miles only?
Seriously?
#NASA #Murica

2026-04-06 04:55:51 UTC

- reply

True. For a minute I forgot that they're actually practicing for the next crew who's actually land, they're not just on a fun trip.

2026-04-06 04:47:27 UTC

- reply

Wait? Is something happening right now that I should be watching? Are they flying around the moon already?

2026-04-03 23:36:35 UTC

- reply

What's pakodas?

2026-04-03 13:02:14 UTC

- reply

Thanks for the extra details.
I know nothing about the technical side of those things, but I'm very surprised when you say Mastodon posts missing is not easily fixable when the Fediverse has many clients who do that fine. 🤔
(but that's okay, I'm not asking for an explanation as I probably wouldn't understand it). I'm just disappointed because I was really hoping to use Surf as my main Mastodon+Bluesky client. (my interest in custom feeds being quite secondary) Oh well.

2026-04-03 03:08:34 UTC

- reply

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate.

2026-04-03 02:24:00 UTC

- reply

Stay tuned for how long?
Sorry I don't want to grumpy, but Mastodon posts not showing up is a pretty big issue in my opinion, and one that you guys have been aware of for months if not more.

2026-04-03 02:16:23 UTC

Well... That's a disappointment.
I've been waiting for @npub1ekk…vy6m to be on the web for as soon as I heard about it (two years ago?) and they haven't fixed the issues that make it unusable for me. (namely most Mastodon posts not showing up, people whose boosts I've muted still appearing there, not sure about my filters (because most of my Mastodon posts are not appearing).
It's really frustrating, because I love the idea and the design so much, it could be my main client.
cc: @npub17fe…w0a6

2026-04-03 02:03:06 UTC

- reply

Not in Japan. I don't even know when it is. Is it this weekend?
(Is Friday a holiday for Easter in Australia? In France we get the Monday off usually, not the Friday, but I guess some countries do?)

2026-04-03 00:32:09 UTC

Me, walking leisurely to work and suddenly I realize that I have a meeting this morning! It's Okay, I won't be late for it, but I must cut the leisurely part of my walk, as well as my morning coffee.

2026-04-02 08:01:08 UTC

Just an interesting machiya (traditional Japanese townhouse) that I encountered this morning.
https://davidbilla.net/machiya-in-takamatsu/
#Japan #LifeInJapan #house

2026-04-01 01:13:24 UTC

- reply

So, I forgot my bottle and all because I had forgotten to shave this morning. Ironically, the head of department hadn't shaved!!! Despite a small official ceremony! It is the first time I see that in Japan.
Fun fact: the first years I was at the uni, I would shave every day, because Japan, until I decided that "fuck that." Since then, I've seen more and more teachers of Japanese nationality being more lax with shaving. ⤵️

2026-04-01 00:21:32 UTC

- reply

So yeah, about three emails were useful today (two more if I had been there last week, but not anymore).
Oh no, two more emails have arrived in the meantime!!!

2026-04-01 00:17:09 UTC

- reply

Oh there was an email about the vending machines (of course there was). They're changing contractors, so they removed them Monday and yesterday, but no dates as to when the new ones will be here.
No biggie, I'd rather give money to the co-op rather than Asahi or Suntory or whatever, but... it's raining now and I need to check all those emails before 9h45.

2026-04-01 00:12:15 UTC

- reply

Of course, I forgot my water bottle this morning (because I realized 20 minutes before leaving home that I had forgotten to shave, not good on this day full of meetings with big honchos and whatnot). No big deal, right? Japan is the land of vending machines except that... all vending machines in and around my building are gone!!! 😱 Is it even possible in this country? It's a Shindo 5-6 level of disaster!!! I have no time to go to the co-op right now. (at least I still have my coffee machine!)

2026-03-31 23:59:26 UTC

- reply

Among the useless emails, an invitation to a talk next week called "AI for science".
Are they trying to make me angry on day one of the academic year or what?

2026-03-31 23:45:52 UTC

Back to work... One of the two, sometimes three, days a year when I wear a tie (I know we said "no kink shaming" but WTF with this tie thing? That's some serious capitalistic kink, and Japan sure jumped on the bandwagon with it - It's okay, it's not a full day thing).
33 emails (I'd say less than 10 matter)
Hmmm... Not cleaning my office on the last week before vacation and leaving that for this week sounded like a good idea at the time. I'm not so sure anymore.

2026-03-31 02:23:15 UTC

- reply

I heard it being used as some sort of dish, including vegetables and cheese and other things that are definitely not "charcuterie."
Charcuterie, originally means "meat that's being carved" and nowadays it means either "pork meat" or more specifically "pork that's eaten cold". (or a shop that sells pork)
@npub1kyd…jltj

2026-03-31 02:19:36 UTC

- reply

Charcuterie IS the meat.
... or the shop. Nothing else.

2026-03-31 02:09:11 UTC

One of my current pet peeves is how North Americans are currently use the word "charcuterie."
(yes, I know the meaning of loan words change when crossing languages, but the word "charcuterie" has been in the English language for quite some time, it's only a recent trend to use it the way it's being used nowadays)
#food #charcuterie

2026-03-30 23:23:09 UTC

RE: https://famichiki.jp/@mainichi/116320665777944230
All... Except probably the only obvious one: drop dependency on fossil fuels.
#note172y…mgpg

2026-03-27 02:28:36 UTC

#Naoshima #art #Pumpkin
https://cdn.masto.host/setouchisocial/media_attachments/files/116/298/773/725/523/553/original/52e5f79199f86183.jpg

2026-03-27 01:15:49 UTC

- reply

Western tourists in Japan: probably full of Orientalist stereotypes, are very quiet, very respectful. They look like they constantly walk on eggshells. I want to tell them to chill out a little bit.
Chinese tourists in Japan: don't give a fuck, seem unaware that they're not the only ones in the room, act as if they own the place.
I only have to deal with either only a few times a year, but they're both exhausting in their own way. But at least one group is quiet.

2026-03-27 01:11:21 UTC

- reply

Me: Wow, not many people on the ferry to #Naoshima today. Did I luck out?
And then the buses (plural) full of Chinese tourists arrived. Quiet relaxing days on Naoshima definitely are a thing of the past. Probably never to return. 😢

2026-03-27 00:55:19 UTC

- reply

And then you have the Anglo backpackers. Has Japan become so cheap that it now attracts so many backpackers?

2026-03-27 00:54:09 UTC

One of my favorite things to do when I go to Naoshima is .. spot the French!
I never really understood what other Westerners meant when they said someone looked so French before living in Japan. Now I do.

2026-03-26 01:55:40 UTC

- reply

That's why I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt, and I'll try to forget I ever read it. 😉

2026-03-26 01:50:24 UTC

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@Javvad/116291692337650801
My job is trying to kill me!!!
#note1pdd…6j0y

2026-03-26 01:43:31 UTC

I just saw someone implying that mayonnaise was Catalan, and I'm triggered.
(I don't even like mayonnaise that much)
(No, I didn't become a reply person about it, their post was ambiguous enough that maybe that's not what they were implying)
(the only thing that will make me nationalist is people disrespecting French food one way or the other)

2026-03-25 13:04:06 UTC

Earthquake double feature is a first for me (I only felt one, the other one was too far).
#Japan #LifeinJapan

2026-03-25 10:27:02 UTC

- reply

I always do, but while the previous ones did help my mood, they made me constantly sleepy, so the doctor recently changed to a new sort, but those things work in mysterious ways, and I'm not sure the new ones do much for me.

2026-03-25 10:02:10 UTC

- reply

I've been in one of the worst moods I've been in quite a while today. I've been annoyed by not one, but several Americans (it's always them), and I'm afraid my new meds don't work that well.

2026-03-24 23:15:46 UTC

- reply

Some of he time, I don't know if it's my TV or what, but voices are always so low compared to other sound effects. It's incredibly annoying.

2026-03-23 23:48:34 UTC

RE: https://flipboard.social/@NewsDesk/116281136605243478
"The Art of the Deal" (well, I wish it was France getting the money and not one of its most evil companies, but that's still one billion USD away from the US, so still good news)
#France #UnitedStates
#note1yte…3hps

2026-03-23 01:12:44 UTC

Everyone, be careful, phishing accounts are roaming the #fediverse again.
The one I just "caught" comes from your instance @npub1lcc…lcye.
Their @ is Notification_NA
As a reminder to all #Mastodon and Fediverse users, there is no "Mastodon Team" that will send you messages telling you that you won something or that there is a problem with your account (know who your admins are, only them can do the latter) or anything else like that.
#spam #phishing #security

2026-03-22 11:48:45 UTC

So, I finally started watching #Atlanta (I don't think I'm gonna binge it, I think I'll savoir it) and I'm only at the third episode and the drug deal scene is... the best drug deal scene in cinema/TV history?
#TVShows #TVSeries

2026-03-22 08:24:36 UTC

- reply

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the hair around my mouth either.
The longest I've been without shaving was three weeks, about 20 years ago... I still didn't have an actual beard. (not that I ever wanted one, I was just curious, same as today)

2026-03-22 08:12:52 UTC

People with hair on your face (aka beards) how do you do it?
A few days ago, I decided to go as long as possible without shaving, to see what happens (younger I couldn't grow a beard, but getting older, my facial hair seems thicker, so I got curious), and... it's about Day 10, and I can't stand it anymore. It itches like crazy, my cheeks are too hot, and my face just feels overall very uncomfortable.
Shaving may happen before nighttime.

2026-03-21 22:50:23 UTC

RE: https://toot.community/@openculture/116268508076457745
At 99 years old, Metropolis is one of the most important movies ever.
If you've never watched it, please do yourself a favor and watch it as soon as possible.
#note18x6…zz2k

2026-03-21 05:32:13 UTC

I'm hearing some of you know a thing or two about the internet, and I hope you can help (reply people, please don't try to push your current obsession, if you feel you MUST reply, please read the question first and reply to it, not something else).
My wi-fi at home sucks more and more. It feels slower, but the main issue is that it keeps on disconnecting constantly, several times a day. I basically need to restart the extender to have it work again for some devices and... ⤵️
#Internet #WiFi

2026-03-18 02:22:11 UTC

Apparently this conversation happened with actress Bai Ling upon getting cast on "The Crow." (I'm paraphrasing)
- Agent: "and the lead is Brandon Lee."
- Bai Ling: "Who's that?"
- Agent: "Bruce Lee's son."
- Bai Ling: "Who's Bruce Lee?"
- Agent: "but... he's the most famous Chinese actor ever, how is it possible that don't you know him?"
Later, Bai Ling talks with a family member and recalls the conversation.
(1/2)
⤵️
#Movies #TheCrow #BruceLee

2026-03-17 05:05:51 UTC

- reply

Right?
Nine Inch Nails being old people's music was not actually on my bingo card.

2026-03-15 11:09:40 UTC

I've lived almost 15 years in Japan, and for the first time in 15 years, I've seen a "food eating" TV show that actually made me want to eat the food (and where participants had genuine reactions to eating it).
The chef was designing dishes mixing various dishes from different countries (Spain and Korea, Russia and Malaysia, Uzbekistan and Australia and so on).
I wanna try those, where can I?
#Japan #LifeInJapan

2026-03-15 00:12:05 UTC

- reply

"didn't know there was a remake!"
Lucky you.

2026-03-14 15:29:15 UTC

- reply

I was afraid it had aged poorly and... I don't know how someone watching it for the first time today would enjoy it, but it will never age for me...
It's one of these movies that is attached to me and will always be, somehow. I can't even start telling you what it means to me, it'd be too long (let's say that 1994 was one of the most important years of my life in many aspects)...
And well, the point of this mini-thread is to remind yo to watch the #movies that matter to you, I guess.

2026-03-14 15:26:23 UTC

I was recently reminded that there was a Crow "remake" and that it was terrible. I just remember seeing just a few pictures and be like "nope, I don't need to see more. Reviews will have to be stellar for me to not erase that thing from my memories asap." Narrator: "Reviews were far from stellar."
So, yeah, I was reminded about the movie's existence (it was released last week in Japan) so to cleanse myself, I watched the original movie for the first time in more than a decade. ⤵️

2026-03-12 22:08:01 UTC

You'd think that Japanese small talk is easy: the older person talks about the weather, you sympathetically agree and that's all.
It's not that easy. Yesterday, as I was taking out the trash, my old neighbor told me how nice the weather was. All I had to do wa to reply "indeed, it is." Instead, I fell victim to one of the classic blunders. I reply "Well, it's quite cold." I realized my major faux pas instantly, tried to save myself by saying "but the sky is of a nice blue." But... ⤵️

2026-03-12 03:11:45 UTC

The "old crow" on campus a few minutes ago. It was awake but keeping its eyes mostly closed. I think that's the best picture I took of it with its "disheveled" feathers and its strangely very long and pointy maxilla.
Disclaimer: I call it the old crow, because that's the feeling it's been giving me, but it also could "just" be very sick and not that old. I really don't know.
#CrowUpdate #Crow #Bird
https://cdn.masto.host/setouchisocial/media_attachments/files/116/214/008/503/019/261/original/425122dca6272252.jpg

2026-03-11 12:44:15 UTC

- reply

"The Fukushima disaster, in which 23,000 people died." Why are you uttering such misleading sentences?

2026-03-11 00:14:01 UTC

It's this weird day again when people in Japan remember and commemorate the earthquake and tsunami that devastated an entire region, and then in a few hours, Westerners will wake up and will only talk and remember the nuclear disaster because fearmonger is better for engagement (the nuclear disaster that killed exactly zero people directly - and only killed old people who were displaced when they didn't need to be indirectly - a thing Western media never mention for some reason)

2026-03-07 00:43:32 UTC

Being sailor... Traveling the world... Seeing new places... The sense of freedom...
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/96CjxlCMER8

2026-03-06 12:00:21 UTC

- reply

But once you're passed all of these hurdles, you find music I never expected to find in Japan. I brought back some David Bowie, Nick Cave, the Pogues and Depeche Mode CDs (the cheapest for 660 yen) and I need to go back for more, including Sonic Youth, Slowdive, Dinosaur Jr and who knows what else I have spotted yet!!!
I didn't realize how much I missed the joy to rummage through CDs in a shop. I had done it once in the past 15 years.
⤵️

2026-03-06 11:57:52 UTC

- reply

Well, you guessed it, this week, it's this record shop that set camp over there. I was there today and... OMG... Once you're past the mess that it is to find anything because everything is in katakana, when it's ordered alphabetically, you have to follow the Japanese logic (David Bowie is filed under D and not B for example), also there are three completely separate "rock" sections and I'm not sure why, and then you have surprises such as Radiohead or Nick Cave in the "Metal" section. 🤷‍♂️
⤵️

2026-03-06 11:54:52 UTC

Japan still surprises me at times. So, there's this used record store in town that I heard was good, but I had never been for no specific reason, beside the fact that I never really found my styles of music in a record store in Japan and when I did the prices were scary.
Well, if you don't go to the record store, the record store sometimes comes to you. Attached to the train station there's a shopping center, and on the first floor, they often have temporary shops. ⤵️
#Japan #Music #JapanLife

2026-03-03 00:01:53 UTC

- reply

Ok. Why do you think they did it then?

2026-03-02 22:26:56 UTC

- reply

I'm not saying it's that, but it could be because the swastika is a Buddhist symbol that's very common in Japan, and the Japanese audience could be confused or even offended that's it's used as a symbol for bad guys.
(You'd be surprised how ignorant Japanese people are about history beyond their borders... Or even within their borders at times).

2026-02-25 21:57:13 UTC

- reply

I remember him. He was the PM when I was at the uni and I took a class of "Australian civilisation."
I couldn't understand how this guy could stay in power. But then again it was right after Reagan and Thatcher.

2026-02-25 01:25:17 UTC

I've been chilling all morning until I realized that I was not finished grading final presentations and tests (but you see, I've been good, I also stayed away from social media... I'm only back now that I remembered I needed to grade).

2026-02-24 11:40:41 UTC

- reply

Thanks. However, my question is not as much as about how y'all conceptualize seasons (a somewhat arbitrary concept anyway, Summer solstice used to be Midsummer in the British Isles a long time ago) but about the official dates, the ones written on the calendar.

2026-02-24 07:11:59 UTC

- reply

What do you mean? Doesn't it start on March 21st when Spring starts in the northern hemisphere?

2026-02-23 07:58:04 UTC

- reply

Okay, I read the part where they mention the use of "ſ" and there is no justification for it, it's an artifice to make the English look older than it is or something like this. Why use "ſ" and not "ﬆ" to only mention this one?

2026-02-23 07:54:12 UTC

- reply

What embarrassment? Why should I read the thing til the end if I find it unsound?
Also, why the aggressive tone? Oh yes, sorry, we're on social media, where one can't disagree with someone without making it personal. I thought we were supposed to be better than that here. No?

2026-02-23 05:49:19 UTC

- reply

Meh. You can make the whole thing more or less difficult depending on graphic conventions. Why use "ſ" for "s" for example? That was not a rule and it's not a difference in language just in typography. Both co-existed depending on the publisher. Same with handwritten "u" and "v" before printing.
Finally, between the 11th and 15th Centuries, English was not standardized at all.
This whole thing is more clickbait than anything accurate or historical.

2026-02-21 03:39:46 UTC

This one is for native speakers of English.
In my newsletter, I recently created a section named "the Butlerian Handbook" to help my readers (some of you may call them "normies") be a bit less addicted to Big Tech. But I was thinking about changing the name. "Butlerian" is too anchored in sci-fi (Dune) and a bit too obscure maybe.
A simple replacement would be "Neo-Luddite Handbook." However, I'm not too sure of the connotation among native speakers and it's probably negative, is it? (1/2) ⤵️

2026-02-21 02:37:35 UTC

A few days ago, I got attacked and then blocked by a (crazy cat?) lady because I dared reminding that cats are the main cause of bird deaths related to human activities.
So, here are facts (that's just for the US, but I'm sure we can extrapolate, I'm even afraid it's worse in Europe, there are more outdoor cats there):
source: https://usafacts.org/
#cats #birds #environment
https://cdn.masto.host/setouchisocial/media_attachments/files/116/106/288/569/585/697/original/82941d508f67d250.jpg

2026-02-20 03:29:07 UTC

- reply

Definitely not. This is how you end up with grade inflation.

2026-02-20 02:51:41 UTC

I hate letter grading with a passion.
I have no less than 7 students in the same class who final grades are between 79 and 81% And depending on how I adjust (because it's a presentation class were grades can't be 100% objective depending on how hard I try) all of these students can have either a A or a B. I even have two students, who are good friends with a 79.4 and a 79.5 which means one should have a B and the other one a A.
This is all so very stupid. Why can't grades be plain numbers?

2026-02-17 00:45:31 UTC

Good morning.
#seascape #morning #Japan #SetoInlandSea
https://cdn.masto.host/setouchisocial/media_attachments/files/116/083/195/966/474/500/original/e26530bc34503567.jpg
https://cdn.masto.host/setouchisocial/media_attachments/files/116/083/195/970/920/526/original/cae6a467437cc72d.jpg

2026-02-17 00:18:52 UTC

- reply

I feel seen. ;-)
I remember when the 6 hours it took to fly to North America was the longest flight I thought I could take without going insane.
Well, I recently tried the 15 hour long version of going from Japan to France above the Arctic instead of flying over Russia, and... well, I guess that after a while, you just resign yourself and your brain tunes out (I even managed to sleep a little)
(I'm talking one flight here, the whole trip is around 24 hours)

2026-02-16 12:04:16 UTC

For people not following the news in France, a fascist militant was killed this weekend. The identities of the killers haven't been fully established yet. However, the government, the oligarch media and every "official" voice is attacking the Left as if they were terrorists.
The oligarchy is preparing France for a fascist regime next year. It has been doing it for many years now, but the propaganda has been intensifying lately.
⤵️
#France

2026-02-16 03:03:27 UTC

- reply

🖐️
(I tend to know a lot of random trivia)
Also, did you know that human gestation is much shorter than it should be (most newborn mammals can walk at birth or shortly after) because somewhere along the way evolution "decided" that the earlier the baby is born, the more social skills it'll get (including language) other skills like walking or pooping properly can wait.