Hello,
First of all, I have set up a paid option for this newsletter. Not that I think it’s worth any money, but on the other hand, I don’t think my work on my blogs is worthless.
However, I don’t intend to produce “paid subscribers only” content in the foreseeable future. So you should be able to read this newsletter and the future ones no matter what. (but if you can afford to become a paid subscriber, do not hesitate, it will be greatly appreciated). :-)
Regarding the title, while April Fool’s exists in Japan (an import from the West) it’s not that much of a big deal, especially because April 1st is usually the beginning of the year for many things: new hires usually start on that day, the new school year too (although the date of the first day of school will vary and is usually a bit later), and a bunch of many other new things.
It’s also cherry blossom time, although today it’s raining, here is a picture that I took yesterday morning:
Apart from that everyone and their mothers have an opinion on the Oscar incident. You know which one.
So if you want to know what I think about it, here it is:
Will Smith was wrong to slap Chris Rock. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explains why perfectly.
Also, Will Smith was right to slap Chris Rock. You know when someone says or does something stupid and we say that they deserve to be slapped for it. Well, Chris Rock deserved to be slapped for this “joke.”
The scariest part of this whole incident, the one that made me feel the most uneasy is that from the reactions online, many many people think that a grow-up man slapping another grown-up man is unacceptable violence, but bullying a woman, mocking her appearance and her disease is not violence as long as you label it as a joke. That’s the worst part of the incident for me.
The pandemic is not over (no, America and Western Europe, the pandemic is not over whether you like it or not). The climate crisis is slowly killing us all. There is a war that could devolve into world war three going on. So, two multi-millionaires having a strong disagreement should be the least of our worries and it’s hopefully the last time I’ll talk about it.
On my blogging activity and more.
I’m still unsure about what format to use for this newsletter. This current one, or Revue. If you want to help, you can subscribe to both, compare and tell me. Subscribe there through the link above. Subscribe here with the button below if you haven’t done so already.
Japan
The Setouchi Triennale 2022 is starting in two weeks, so I’ve finally been a bit more active on my Japanese blogs lately.
I have not one, not two, but four blog posts for you!
For the first decent day of Spring, we went to Negoro-ji, one of my favorite temples in Takamatsu. (OK, this has nothing to do with the Setouchi Triennale)
Another Rebirth by Kimiyo Mishima, an artwork on Naoshima. Some people say that it is trash!
I went to Ogijima, not once, but twice (on Sunday and Tuesday) during the past few days. It was good to reacquaint myself with the island (I hadn’t been since October) I wrote this “Back to Ogijima” about Sunday’s trip.
I also posted a small post about Rikuji Makabe and Takashi Kawashima installing their new art for the 2022 Festival.
And because I’m going all out with Newsletters, I also started one devoted to the Setouchi Triennale and its islands, if you’re into Japan, art, and small islands!
With all these newsletters to set up (I also did some in French, I know that’s a lot, but I assume that there will be some sort of survival of the fittest thing happening with them: I started a bunch, I won’t write them all on the long term), I haven’t updated my other blogs, but if you’re not too acquainted with my Japanese adventures, now is the perfect time to acquaint yourselves with them.
Stay tuned for more soon.