Pro-Wrestling On My Mind

I love art in all its mediums. Paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, anything that captures and conveys emotion and beauty. One of the things I miss most about being a student in Tokyo is that my student ID got me into many museums either free or at a great discount. I don't get to go to as many exhibits as I used to since I am no longer a student and I miss it (and believe me, I have reconsidered going back to school in part to get that access again). Perhaps that is why it is one of my dreams, if I ever get obscenely wealthy, is to have two galleries. One would be in my home for me to enjoy and one would be a room or building I donate so that everyone can enjoy some art. For my own gallery, I already know at least one piece I would want adorning the walls. I fell in love with this image the moment I saw it. It's a Renaissance painting transported to the social media era. There is so much going on here to dissect. The location, the perspective, the positioning. Was thi...

I like to think, Dear Reader, that I am a person of, at minimum, average level intelligence. However, every now and then something happens that gives me the feeling that even a circle is sharper than I am. Case in point: Wrestlers and their teeth. Specifically, Shinsuke Nakamura and his teeth. When I first got into New Japan, Nakamura was still a member of the roster (though his tenure would soon come to an end). I also watched a fair number of old New Japan events online to catch up with who was who, faction histories, etc. One of the first things I remember thinking about Nakamura is “Huh, he has no teeth.” I would see close-ups of him during matches and there would always be a solid black line where his teeth would normally be. I thought it looked kind of odd, and my brain just assumed he’s lost his teeth as part of his MMA exploits, some match with a crazy stipulation, through an accident or who knows what and never bothered to get any kind of replacement. It never occurred to me 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...

Pictured: Yota Tsuji's nickname on full display as he makes his entrance at Wrestle Dynasty.  Not pictured: The author-photographer once again shaking her head and wondering who in the hell thought this was a good idea. “Gene Blast.” Ugh. Every time I hear it, or even just see it, I cringe HARD. It is SUCH a BAD nickname. How did it ever get past quality control (I assume New Japan has some level of quality control)?! Did no one workshop this nickname among other wrestlers/staff (Chris Charlton is RIGHT THERE!)? Among a sample selection of fans? I really like Tsuji and his 1,000 watt smile. But “Gene Blast” makes me want to bang my head against the wall until I forget I heard it. There is no way a native English speaker was asked about this moniker before it was approved, unless it was a completely pure soul who has never had a dirty thought in their life or someone who heard “Gene Blast” and thought “Oh, they can’t be serious. This is going to be HILARIOUS.” If it’s the latter cas...

Two posts today because I spent 9/10ths of yesterday sleeping and the remaining 1/10th doing nothing! I love when pro-wrestlers get cute and creative. Like the book on his opponents Hiromu makes for BOSJ every year. Fantastic stuff. I saw a picture on Instagram the other day of Yota Tsuji with an "A Gedo a Day" calendar that he made for David Finlay. Fabulous. I sent it to my Tag Team Partner and, in response, he sent me the following screenshot:  "Speaking of homemade merch..." My mind is showing me such a clear image of Sanada, sitting in his home on the floor with one of those short ironing boards before him, carefully ironing the letters and numbers onto this shirt, chuckling evilly to himself. Thinking "This will show Taichi and those other bastards." Can you hear the "Hehehe?" I can. I love it. That image is going to be popping in and out of my head all week. Also, thank you to the shirt for distracting me from those creepy-ass... sunglasse...

Watched New Year Dash. TJP should be on commentary more often. He should also be on the red carpet at major awards shows criticizing the fashion of attendees because his analysis is spot on. When Yota Tsuji came out, TJP gleefully exclaimed: "I just found Carmen Sandiego!" And by God, he was right!        This is the same person! NJPW, find a way to capitalize this with some weird new YouTube series! In the meantime, my inner child is going to give me giggle fits for at least the next week every time I think of this.