Pro-Wrestling On My Mind

One of the most interesting parts of my re-watch of "Lucha Underground" has been catching references. I had not yet started watching NJPW while "Lucha Underground" was airing, so occasional mentions by commentary to New Japan wrestlers meant nothing to me. During this re-watch, however, I have more than once quoted Captain America because "I understood that reference!"  This reminded me, though, of the case of one New Japan wrestler I was aware of before I became a fan, and how that knowledge came from an unexpected source. I like browsing the shelves at a store in Tokyo that has many books in English I often come across some fascinating titles. Back a dozen or so many years ago, the following book caught my eye: In "Lovesick Japan," author Mark D. West looks at court cases and legal decisions to analyze how love, romance, and all its complications are viewed and dealt with in Japanese society, both generally and in the judicial system. One incid...

Portrait of Jean-Jacques Rousseau by Maurice Quentin de La Tour, 1753. New philosophical debate: Which is worse, having your book burned or your head curb stomped? Rousseau may one day have an answer for that! A much more wrestling-adjacent than pure wrestling content post today. I spend a fair amount of time on the train for my commute, and I like to pass the time by reading. There's a great app called Hoopla that lets me access my home library in the US and borrow stuff from their online catalog. It's fantastic and I love it. Yeah libraries! Anyway, I am currently reading "Emile," aka "On Education," by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It's a treatise on education (obviously) and has had a major influence on the way students are taught even to this day. It is divided into five sections, and the first three are pretty solid (with some weird, understandable because it's ye olden times, stuff thrown in). The fourth section would be fine if not for the inclusion...