Random Thread ～Owaranai Insomnia '25 ver.～

[esm]

I was in Salt Lake City for a couple of days to see The Cure. Super amazing show, and I also loved the city. It’s amazing being surrounded by mountains. The light rail/streetcar system was decent, the streets were very clean with wide sidewalks and good bike lanes, and the city had a pleasantly introverted vibe with lots of people just walking around or chilling by themselves. Being in the south I sometimes feel like people talk too much and they’re always in groups.

Sugar House Park also had a great pond with lots of ducks.



Came home last night and am flying to Japan tomorrow.

[Zunu]

The Cure still exist? Wow.

[Moh]

Oh yeah, there was a whole thing when their tickets went on sale. Verified Fan tickets were 20 bucks (hella cheap!), but TM and their fees... Robert Smith was pretty pissed about the whole thing, lol.

Safe travels to Japan, esm!

[esm]

They’re releasing a new album too.

And I’ve been going back and forth with Ticketmaster via email the past week because I’ve been trying to buy a ticket to the Premier League matches happening in Atlanta next month but I kept getting an error message.

[rikkikow]

Gump was right!



“Though some historians trace the event back to Britain’s Roman era, the earliest date on record is 1837, according to food historian, Emma Kay.”
from The Cheese Professor

[esm]

I just got to Kyoto from Tokyo. I was pleasantly surprised how I had no problem navigating Tokyo. I just used Google Maps and followed signs in train stations. I was probably more confused trying to figure out the subway in NYC.

[erilaz]

Yeah, it's remarkably easy to find your way around Tokyo. I think the only times I had any difficulty finding my destination were when I was looking for a record shop that turned out to be on the third floor of a nondescript building and a post office that no longer existed. I got lost in the labyrinths of the larger train stations (Shibuya, Ueno) a couple of times, as well.

I didn't have any trouble navigating Kyoto, either, but one big difference was that the subway system in Kyoto is much more limited, so I took a lot of buses. And I walked a lot, but I did that in Tokyo, too.

[esm]

I was trying to meet up with a night tour in right outside Shinjuku station Friday night and I don’t remember how many times kept going in and out of the station, and at certain points I had no idea whether I was in or out (in terms of inserting my ticket). But I made it and it was super interesting. There were some kids on the tour but the mom sent them back to their hotel once it started becoming so much about the red light district there.

It’s so easy to walk a ton here because the streets are so clean and safe. I walked 30k steps the other day and earned a new badge on my Fitbit app.

I love how cheap the food is here. Like it’s not worth paying for mediocre stuff in the US anymore (especially since I don’t live in a place with a Japanese community). Also when it comes to seafood I’d eat literally anything, so I’ve been trying various dried seafood from convenience stores.

[erilaz]

I love how cheap the food is here.

Amen to that! Last time I was in Japan (2015), I was there for 18 days and spent only ¥34,408 on food and drink.

Gyūdon and Japanese-style curry, two of my go-to fast foods over there, generally cost about twice as much in the Bay Area as they do in Japan, and that's not even counting the tip. Last time I ate at Keisei-Yūzen, I got everything you see in the photo below — ebi ten-don, two pieces of maguro nigiri, two pieces of ebi nigiri, two pieces of negi-toro maki, miso soup, tsukemono, green tea, and a bottle of Asahi Jukusen beer — for ¥2870. Even with the horrendous exchange rate at the time (October 2011), that was still under $40 in American money. I should note that this was at a restaurant inside Narita Airport!



Of course, if you want to pay a lot for food, there are places in Japan where you can do that, too.

[erilaz]

Time for some clickbait fail!

There's more than one thing wrong with this online list of the "Best Female Vocalists of Classic Rock." Bonnie "Rait"? Though Suzi Quatro has spent many years of her life in England, I'd hardly call her a Brit. And so on. But I got my biggest laugh from Number 6: