“Sir, Beth is one of the wolves that haunts the mean streets of New York City.”

broderic on September 4, 2021

September 4, 2016 Nogizaka46 introduced the Third Generation. At its center was a weak, easily rattled member, Ozono Momoko. She was always crying, which was endearing and frustrating at the same time. How can they have such a center for what was an important addition to the group?

Fast forward to today. Not just their 5th Anniversary, but also Ozono’s graduation day. One reason to follow Japanese idols is to witness their growth as members and as a person. Certainly, Momoko’s growth is one of the more satisfying to witness. She’s not so quick to cry anymore, and it shows how genuine of a person she was as an idol. That was really her as a person and not a character she put on for privacy. Congratulations on your graduation Momoko!

Our final gift from her is this MV for “Omoide First,” the 3rd Gen’s 2nd song which can be found on Nogizaka46’s 3rd album from 2017. Please enjoy and watch over the 3rd Gen members with a smile.

This May Be Problematic

broderic on April 17, 2021

We’re running out of disk space. How will I ever download those bootlegs? Nowhere to put them.

But I wiped out my NAS and should be finding transferring things to it. I guess. Except maybe I might want more space on that thing. We’ll have to see. I guess.

Covid-19 Days – 256: Happy Thanksgiving!

broderic on November 26, 2020

Can you imagine we’d still be in the midst of the pandemic even so far a long? Yet, here we are and the threat is even worst. We let our guard down and did not remain vigilant so now, we’re not spending the holiday with family and friends, but alone in our pods. What’s for dinner?

In this troubling year there are still a few things to be thankful for…

Yamashita Mizuki, Kubo Shiori, Umezawa Minami — 3rd Gen frontline. Mai Channel. Karin Channel. Saito Yuuri. Kitagawa Yuri our all-American girl. 963-chan. Kurokami, ponytailed Erika-sama. Captain Midsummer. The members of Nogizaka46. Sakurazaka46 variety explosion. Hinatazaka46 enthusiasm. Idol otaku idol. Coffee. Coca-cola. BBQ ribs. French fries. Popeye’s spicy chicken sandwich. Books. Travel stories. Ghost stories. Patagonia wear. Track suits. Long, arduous walks. Short walks, quick around the block. Family. Friends. Friendly dogs. Sunny days. Rainy days. Season appropriate weather. Early 2013 MacBook Pro. Nogizaka46. Haruhi. Regular expressions.

Still, we are alive. We can survive for another year. Plenty to be thankful for. Looking forward to be thankful again for another trip around the sun.

Dumb Donald Does Covid

broderic on October 2, 2020

News circulated late last night that Donald Trump contracted the Corona Virus along with his wife, Melania. To be a better person and not say out loud my true thoughts, I can only think of two words: karma and justice.

Downplaying the impact of the Corona virus for the better part of the year while secretly knowing its impact, karma has come for Donald Trump.

Maybe too there will be justice for those that have died from Donald Trump’s abominable mishandling of the response to it.

If you don’t know, the election is coming up. One way or another it would be good to know that Donald Trump won’t be in DC next year or the years after.

Covid-19 Days – 95

broderic on June 16, 2020

So long. So, so long. We can do it. If you be better, you can do it. If you work on it, you can do it. Stay safe and stay home. You can do it.

Covid-19 Days – 73 [Memorial Day]

broderic on May 25, 2020

Traditionally, the start of summer happens today on Memorial Day. I don’t even know where spring went. Or even winter. 2020 is just one of those horrible years.

Anyhow, this day is supposed to support those who died for our freedom. I think we’ll count the dead from the rona amongst them.

iPhone SE

broderic on April 16, 2020

iPhone SE is dead. Long live iPhone SE?

Yes. No. Maybe. It’s still too big for my taste. Just like my 6 year old MacBook Pro, I think I’ll hold onto my SE a little longer.

I was tempted at the tail end of last year, but I held onto the hope that we’ll get an update to the SE that would’ve kept its size but with modern internals. Sadly not happening.

Maybe in the future when quality components can be shrunk down to fit the smaller SE case size. For now, that is just a dream and a hope.

They Got It From Here. You’re Welcome.

broderic on August 17, 2019

Notes on a book bought in the spring and finally finished this week. The book: Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest by Hanif Abdurraqib, a poet and critic. He grew up listening to the great rap group, A Tribe Called Quest. The book is his attempt at placing that love into words. It is a dialogue that he has with the members of group, fans of rap, and the reader. He makes sense of the nostalgia for the group for the time that was as he grew up with their cassettes and CDs. What they meant to him and to the genre and to a young black man.

It is good.

I grew up with A Tribe Called Quest as well. I grooved to this nostalgic trip of a book. I bopped to ‘People’s Instinctive Travel and the Paths of Funk and Rhythm’ my sophomore year in college. ‘The Low End Theory.’ That’s my jam. It blew my mind my senior year. ‘Midnight Marauders’ is the sound track to my post college malaise. Head nodding along with the beats.

Their last two albums don’t register much with me as hip-hop evolved and as I grew older and looked for an identity to call my own. I blaze a few tracks from them now and then, but like all Tribe fans don’t really like the two.

2016. R.I.P. Malik Taylor. And they drop ‘We Got It From Here: Thank You 4 Your Servic’e days after the Donald was elected. The Donald is also a track on that album. I remember grinding on coding problem at work, earbuds in listening to that album knowing that it was call to action, resistance. Head nodding. Just something special to keep the head up as the darkness seemed to envelope us all.

The dark is still here. The albums of A Tribe Called Quest are still, too. Put them on once in a while.

Good Buds Good Byes

broderic on June 14, 2019

Was a pretty fun happy hour this past Thursday. Good to see some old buddies. “We need to hang out more,” is what we say. Do we hang out more? Not really. But we should try. We should try.

If you stay at a job past five years, then you are never leaving. It’s well known. I’ve been at my job for 19 years. I am never leaving. Because I am dumb.

Strive to continue being good. But keep going. Going. Going.

Need another happy hour with those buds.