Using Prog Rock to Combat Existential Dread
This is going to be a bit on the rambling side. Sorry about that.
When I announced to my friends and my family that I would be packing up everything and moving across the world to a country where I know no one and don’t speak the language, most of them said the same thing: “Oh my god, are you freaking out!?”
And the funny thing was that, no, I wasn’t freaking out. I was relieved! I was ecstatic! I was stoked! I was about to fulfill a dream that I worked my ass of for! To this day, nearly one month into my move to Tokyo, nothing about the move itself has made me “freak out.” At the most, I’ve felt confused (mostly because of language barriers) and at times daunted at all that had to be done, although that was widely before the move, now I’m in an easily-manageable routine.
To say I never freaked out though would be a bit of a lie. Because during this entire process I learned something about me that I had not previously suspected.
My brain is fucking stupid. Continue reading
Tokyo Toy Stores: Godzilla-Ya and 2000 Toys
Alf. Alf knows where’s all the rad shit in Tokyo is.
As a six-and-a-half foot tall giant white man living in Tokyo, Godzilla isn’t just a hero of mine, he’s a role model.
So when I found out about Godzilla-Ya, a toy store in the neighborhood of Koenji that specializes in retro Godzilla goods, I knew I had to make the trip – and it was totally worth it. Continue reading
Reviews of Stuff i Bought Before I Moved To Japan
In the weeks before my move to Tokyo I bought a few ridiculous high-end LPs and special editions with the intention of reviewing them for this website. However, in my efforts to maintain two websites, a part-time job, sell my house, pack my things and plan my move to Tokyo, I damn near had a nervous breakdown and decided that something had to give – so no reviews.
But now that I’m finally starting to settle down into a somewhat comfortable routine in my new home, I’d thought I’d catch up and offer some quick reviews of everything I bought up until my move to Japan. Continue reading
I Am Literally Big In Japan
Earlier today I was sitting in my new apartment in Tokyo, steaming my suits and listening to Yes when I realized that my life has taken some pretty unexpected turns as of late.
I mean, I never thought I’d be listening to Yes.
Seriously though, just six months ago I was an underemployed bum slacking off with various lazy writing jobs and with almost no ambition or drive to really do anything – working from home and sitting in front of a computer, barely talking to anyone in the outside world all day. Tomorrow I have to wake up at 5:30 in the morning and put on a suit for my first day at “the office!” I would have never imagined I would be doing anything remotely like that, let alone looking forward to it.
My point is that things change. In the past year I’ve changed, my life has changed, and now this site is going to change.
When I started this site a few months back, my goal was to have it be something dedicated to covering everything I like – which is mostly retro (see what I did there?) games, music and movies. But I just don’t have the time to do that anymore, nor the drive. Let’s be honest, this site pretty much became “audiophile nerd review weekly” within just a few months time anyways, and while I’m hopefully going to continue to write those types of reviews, I think it’s time to expand my horizons.
From this point forward, Mostly-Retro is going to be more of a personal blog recounting my experiences, lessons and adventures living in Japan. As it’s MY personal blog, it’s probably going to have a heavy pop culture focus, with plenty of reviews, but don’t be surprised to read a lengthy post about something like walking around Shibuya, the perils of Japanese apartments, or the highs and lows of being a six and a half foot tall giant living in a country populated with exceptionally tiny people.
Anyways, I hope it will be interesting! Both for you and me, and expect more content here coming soon!