Wayne O'Cohen / 上野公園

Thanks. That helps. I recall reading about the two Jews left in Kabul, Afghanistan. If memory serves, they hated each other. One accepted relocation assistance; the other refused to leave. Don't take my word on this. My memory might be faulty. Gotta go check.

And I was equally sick of my boss's defense of them. Chance restroom encounter, my ass. Sounds like something the late and very charitable George Michael might've been involved in--and I told them so. But "in the end," so to speak, I cleaned up the text and we went to print.

We published a feature about the Japanese acquisition of 7-Eleven that chalked up the deal to a "chance restroom encounter," thanks to two Vancouver-based non-native English-speakers that the Asahi employed as overnight translators. I could've left the copy as it was because I was so sick of them.

BTW: The Japanese-owned worldwide 7-Eleven chain is pretty incredible on this side of the Pacific, both in Japan and elsewhere in East Asia. But, as far as I know, Slurpees are mostly a Stateside menu item. The heat 'n' eat offerings here are really good. No hot dogs on an endless rolling thing.

Edit: "wasn't"

I was looking closely at first, so I thought the person depicted in the drawing was John Denver. I bet a lot of other folks did, too.

Remember this guy, @gcgeek.bsky.social? He wrote quite a few memorable--if cheesy, from my point of view--songs back in the '70s. He was also all over TV and the movies, including all things Muppets-related. And, yes, I believe he was, ahem, height deprived. He's still going, too.

YouTube video by CountryDan Jason and the Scorchers - Absolutely Sweet Marie

And what's this about her hating country music? Be more specific, Donny Boy. Y'mean that redneck shit ridiculed in that recent "cold beer" parody? Or don't ya know that N'ville is now a major rock 'n' roll town? Seriously. Since at least '83: youtu.be/p-cF40OWeak

Democrat underdog & rising star Aftyn Behn, who might just upset her GOP opponent in Tennessee's deep-red 7th Congressional district, clearly doesn't "hate Christianity," as Trump & his pseudo-xtian allies claim. Even a secular Catholic like me sees them for the sacrilegious phonies that they are.

What's more, even non-Swiss users are protected by strict Swiss privacy law--even though Proton has no way of accessing user emails & other items due to the way that encryption works. Switzerland isn't an EU member & is not part of the 5 Eyes, 5 Eyes+, 9 Eyes or 14 Eyes. It's worth it.

I used the free tier for 4 years or so. I've been a paid subscriber for 4, & I'll renew my subscription in Dec. It ain't cheap. For the whole shebang, figure on about US$170 for 2 years, discounts included. That's for email, VPN, cloud storage, password manager, 2FA authenticator, calendar & more.

BTW: I first learned about Proton, which was then just an encrypted email service created by a Taiwanese American & others working at the CERN nuclear research facility in Geneva, during or after the 2014 Umbrella Revolution. HK'ers quickly realized the value of encryption. It's now a nonprofit.

You can bypass YouTube's data piracy by downloading the DuckDuckGo browser & search engine combo. I copy & paste URLs into the search field & can view most YouTube videos w/o being tracked by Google. Otherwise, I use Safari & the rest of the Apple ecosystem, bolstered by Proton VPN & email.

I'm guessing the app is built w/ proprietary tech, not open-source tech. In any event, the ICE app's creator warned his app is no longer available online & to avoid downloading fakes possibly loaded w/ malware. Back in '17, WaPo's tech editor warned that Chrome is surveillance ware. Ain't worth it.

Not so long ago, a friend of yours posted about Apple's App Store removing an ICE-related app. What she didn't mention is that Google's equivalent did the same. I checked to see if that warning app was available via GitHub, a repository of open-source apps, but it isn't.

I don't use Google products for any purpose, but I'll see if "Huang Xinyan" or variations thereof appear in my Apple News feed. While I maintain a Gmail address to access YouTube & stay in touch w/ entities that refuse my encrypted Swiss-based Proton email account, I otherwise refrain from Gmail.

Same w/ Taiwan news. Tried changing regions for the LG Content Store on our LG bilingual smart TV, but It appeared that doing so might've had consequences I'd regret. (EU users on Reddit say it makes a big difference.) Gotta check if any HK/Taiwanese news apps have been added to LG's J-app store.

I haven't seen or read remarks by this individual. Not sure why, though I haven't been streaming news as much as I usually do lately. I typically stream N. American & Euro news via the free Haystack News app, & I watch at least 1 of S'pore's CNA newscasts every day. Getting HK news takes effort.

Expats & others outside of Nashville, Tenn.-based WTVR's broadcast market should be able to view Phil's reports via the CBS affiliate's website. Haven't yet checked to see if it's available for free via the Haystack News app, Just wish owner Scripps would make the cookie banner EU GDPR-compliant.

Follow Phil's thread to the end. I'm impressed by the way he confronts this coonskin cap-wearing, basement-dwelling douche right to his face. Phil's posts offer ways to report this gun-toting, kid-grooming creep. As one parent notes on air, this guy pushes free speech to the limits w/ his hate.

If any of my fellow Americans need a reminder of the importance of local news outlets, here's one that truly matters. I've been following Phil Williams of Nashville's NewsChannel 5 for a while now, & it's clear he's not a "happy talk" local reporter. He digs deep into stories w/ nat'l implications.

For example, I'm shocked to learn that there are only 20 Jews left in Lebanon, a diverse country w/ complicated internal ethnic and religious dynamics, but one that is still relatively cosmopolitan compared to the rest of the Middle East, despite its considerable corruption-related economic woes.

Roy: I've followed you on FB, LI & here and noticed that you often post w/o providing commentary or context. Please give us a hint as to why & where the Jews from these nations emigrated? Persecution? Lure of life in Israel, N. America or Europe? Other factors? Doing so aids understanding.

Yes, illuminations. That word was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't quite remember it. Been so long since I had to edit holiday events schedules. I really need to get out & about, if only to get in a daily walk. T-Market sounds like just the trick. Thanks for the tip.

It does indeed give off foresty vibes. Nice! Haven't been there in ages, so might pay a visit. BTW: Remind me what those large outdoor Xmas light displays that the Japanese love so much are called. We once got in line to shuffle through one in Yurakucho that really tested my patience. Very crowded.

My Lithuanian immigrant grandma had old cookie tins in the cupboard, but if she brought one out, it was usually filled with 𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘶𝘴́𝘤𝘪𝘬𝘪, fried dough cookies dusted w/ powdered sugar. They're called 𝘻̌𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘦̇𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘪 in Lithuanian, but she used the Polish name because of my step-grandfather. I feel left out.

I recall a nostalgic Facebook thread started by a Hispanic American who recalled that his grandmother kept her sewing supplies in such tins. The thread quickly grew as others, often of Latinx heritage, described how the tins were used in their families. Made me wonder if it was a cultural thing.

A rap sequence? Not much of a fan of those. Haven't listened to Avril in years, though I've got a bunch of comp copies of her old albums from work. Never knowingly heard anything by Billie Eilish. Time to start listening to more music. DDG's Duck Player covers a lot of YouTube ground.

N. American kids back then bonded over music, fashion, love or hate of academics, sports, drugs, alcohol & smoking, among other things. Classism, racism & religion played roles in the recently desegregated town where I grew up, but not big ones. Some kids were rooted there; I wasn't & wanted out.

I don't know your background, Kate, so I should explain that my high school social life was regulated in part by what I call "teenage tribalism." If you've seen the late John Hughes' 1985 film "The Breakfast Club," you'll have some idea of what I'm referring to. Hughes captured the teen zeitgeist.