Pro-Wrestling On My Mind

If you were unaware, LIJ’s Bushi has a karaage * shop in the north-east section of Tokyo** called Marubu Shouten. Now that you know that, hold that thought. A Tumblr post I have come across multiple times on various platforms discusses a drink called “The Flavor.” The original poster, heedra, describes how they have mixed the cranberry flavor of Mike’s Hard Lemonade with Lime Cucumber Gatorade to create a drink that has a taste. What that taste is, however, is unknown. The taste buds recognize a flavor, but you experience a mental 404 error when you try to piece together what exactly that flavor is. As someone who loves to try new and... unique flavors, I have longed to drink “The Flavor” ever since I first read about it. Unfortunately, the ingredients are hard, if not impossible, to come by in Japan. That’s where Bushi and his shop come in. Dear reader, let me introduce you to “クロピス.” Read as kuropisu in the Latin alphabet, it would probably be written as Curopis for a brand name. T...

My dream job is to work from home, being paid to read, play games, write, and sleep. Unfortunately society has yet to see what a major contribution this would be from me and I have not found someone willing to pay me for these valuable skills. Thus I am daily forced to leave the comfort of my bed to do a “real job”. Fortunately, I quite like my real job.* That job, if you were wondering dear reader, is teacher. English teacher, to be specific. One of the things I like about my job is that we are allowed, and encouraged, to show our personality when teaching. Liking pro-wrestling is a significant part of who I am, so mentions of it pop up during lessons from time to time. Take, for example, when I had to teach about the past tense. One unit addresses usage of the past tense in relation to changes in states of being (e.g. "In spring it was X, now it is Y.")  This was being taught in October and King of Pro-Wrestling happened during the lessons in the unit, so I used the results...

An allegedy 36 year old man (if you're one of those sheeple who believes time is real). Photo from Super Junior Tag League at Korakuen Hall on 10/27/2024, by me. I was chatting with one of my dear friends about her kids (for whom I have wholeheartedly accepted the role of Wine Aunt) and was once again reminded that time, as both a fact and a concept, is just a bunch of nonsense. Me: So your oldest is in 1st grade this year, right? Friend: ... Sweetie, no. He's in 4th grade. He's turning 10 soon. Me: *Brain blue screens for a solid minute* After arguing about whether or not the Covid years should actually count, I was forced to accept my new reality regarding the supposed  passage of time.  Incidentally, I had a similar conversation about YOH around the same time (after his return at KOPW in 2024) with my Tag Team Partner.* This happened over a chat: TTP: YOH’s 36!? Me: ??? No?! Me: *Checks one of my many NJPW live event pamphlets* Me: Oh my God, he is. Born in 1988! Reader,...