Podcasts about Japanese

Chapter 1 What's the In Praise of Shadows"In Praise of Shadows" is an essay written by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, a Japanese author, in 1933. This essay explores the concept of aesthetics and beauty in traditional Japanese culture, focusing on the importance of shadows, darkness, and the play of light.Tanizaki contrasts the traditional Japanese aesthetic with the modern Western style, emphasizing the preference for simplicity, subtlety, and the beauty found in imperfections. He discusses various aspects of Japanese architecture, interior design, cuisine, theater, and literature to illustrate his views on the intrinsic value of shadows and darkness.According to Tanizaki, shadows add depth and texture to objects, creating a sense of mystery and allure. He argues that excessive light, as seen in modern Western design, can be harsh and blinding, removing the subtlety and nuance that shadows bring. In contrast, the dimly lit rooms, lacquerware, and ornate screens of traditional Japanese tea houses create an atmosphere of tranquility and introspection.Furthermore, Tanizaki explores the cultural significance of shadows, suggesting that they represent the transience and impermanence of life, as well as the mystery and the hidden aspects of existence. He laments the encroachment of Western influences on Japanese culture, which he believes led to the diminishing appreciation for shadows and a loss of traditional aesthetics."In Praise of Shadows" is a reflective and contemplative essay that encourages readers to reexamine their perception of beauty, challenging the ideals propagated by modern society. It offers a unique perspective on aesthetics, emphasizing the value of darkness, shadows, and the understated elegance found in traditional Japanese culture.Chapter 2 Is the In Praise of Shadows recommended for reading?Yes, "In Praise of Shadows" by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki is considered a highly regarded and influential book. It explores aesthetics and cultural differences between Japanese and Western cultures, specifically focusing on the appreciation of shadows and the subtleties of traditional Japanese architecture and design. The book is praised for its unique perspective, poetic prose, and thought-provoking insights into the concept of beauty.Chapter 3 the In Praise of Shadows SummaryIn "In Praise of Shadows," Jun'ichirō Tanizaki explores the traditional Japanese aesthetic philosophy of beauty in the shadow and darkness. He contrasts it with Western aesthetic values, which prioritize light and brightness.Tanizaki starts by describing the traditional Japanese house, with its dimly lit rooms and wooden interiors, as a place where the beauty of shadows can be fully appreciated. He praises the darkness and shadows for creating a sense of mystery and depth, allowing one's imagination to fill in the blanks. He also argues that the subdued lighting enhances the texture and colors of objects, making them appear more vibrant and appealing.The author then discusses various aspects of Japanese culture and the way they embody the aesthetic of shadows. He explores the traditional art forms, such as Noh theatre, Kabuki, and tea ceremonies, which rely on subtle lighting and restrained performances. He also talks about the appreciation of worn and aged objects, as they acquire a certain beauty over time.Tanizaki further contrasts the Japanese aesthetic with the bright and modern Western style, which he sees as too focused on functionality and efficiency. He criticizes the excessive use of artificial lighting, especially in public spaces, which he finds harsh and uncomfortable. He argues

It's Day 2 of the MLB Winter Meetings and the few rumors surrounding Shohei Ohtani's free agency are not favoring the Chicago Cubs. One tweet from Bob Nightengale specifically says the team's hopes in signing the Japanese superstar have “significantly” decreased. What does this all mean? Join Kevin Kaduk, Herb Lawrence and Cody Delmendo from the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville as they bring you up to speed on the latest Hot Stove news. An ALLCITY Network Production PARTY WITH US: https://bit.ly/3SRS03z  SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/CHGOSports ALL THINGS CHGO: https://linktr.ee/chgosports  WEBSITE: http://allCHGO.com/ BUY MERCH:  http://CHGOLocker.com  FOLLOW ON SOCIAL:  Twitter: @CHGO_Sports Instagram: @CHGO_Sports  GET OUR FREE NEWSLETTER:  http://www.allchgo.com/newsletter WATCH YOUR FAVORITE TEAMS: https://www.fubotv.com/chgo  Head over to https://Midtown.com/CHGO to tour the Midtown Athletic Club nearest you. Schedule a free in-home estimate today with Empire! All listeners can receive a $350 OFF discount when they use the promo code CHGO. Restrictions apply. See https://EmpireToday.com/CHGO for details. Get 20% off your next OLIPOP purchase at drinkolipop.com/CHGO20 Go to https://www.hero.co and use code CHGO for 10% off your first order!  Head to https://www.sunnyside.shop/ and use code CHGO25 for 25% off your total order at check out for everything you need to elevate your Summer! Must be 21+ or an Illinois med card holder.  Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CHGO for $20 off your first purchase. Check out FOCO for merch and collectibles here https://foco.vegb.net/CHGO and use promo code “CHGO10” for 10% off your order on all non Pre Order items. AG1 is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. Just visit https://drinkAG1.com/CHGOCubs  https://shadyrays.com: use code ‘CHGO' for 50% OFF 2+ pairs of polarized sunglasses! Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. #Cubs #ChicagoCubs #FlyTheW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Helen Hong (Family Switch, The Thundermans) stars in a tale with English, Welsh, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Indian roots about how imagination and effort affect supply and demand.

In ‘Overreaction Tuesday' Rich weighs in on Jake Browning's star turn for the Bengals, Trevor Lawrence's ankle injury, Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill, the 49ers chances to win the NFC's 1-seed, Jordan Love and the Packers' playoff chances, if the Carolina Panthers will win another game this season, and more. ‘Nothing Personal' podcast host David Samson and Rich discuss which team will land coveted MLB free agent Shohei Ohtani and which factors could determine the two-way stars' decision, if some MLB team should spend $200M on untested Japanese free agent pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and more. Rich breaks down the NFL Week 14 playoff clinching scenarios for the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles. Please check out other RES productions: Overreaction Monday: http://apple.co/overreactionmonday  What the Football with Suzy Shuster and Amy Trask: http://apple.co/whatthefootball Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

l⁠inktr.ee/CatchingUpOnCinema⁠ This week Trevor is joined by Richie AKA MdntAgntRAW from the ⁠Super Media Bros.⁠ Podcast to review Takashi Yamazaki's, Godzilla Minus One (2023)! Released domestically in October, Godzilla Minus One (2023) is the the most recent Japanese produced Godzilla film since Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi's critically acclaimed, Shin Godzilla (2016). A post-war period film, Godzilla Minus One returns the franchise to its roots, exploring not only horrors of nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but also the painful process of rebuilding following the nation's unconditional surrender. While Godzilla Minus One exceeds expectations in terms of the quality and breadth of its effects driven destruction sequences, in truth, the film's greatest strength comes in the form of it's very raw, and compelling characterizations and themes. At times feeling like an apology to the Japanese public for the intentions and actions of the long since defunct Empire of Japan, Godzilla Minus One boldly confronts many of the traumas endured by the Japanese, both civilian and military, during and immediately after the Pacific War. Horrifying, beautiful, uplifting, and occasionally quite funny, Godzilla Minus One is a fantastic film that deftly utilizes the franchise framework to unexpectedly deliver a compelling human drama that exceeds all expectations. An truly exceptional Godzilla film, fit for the Big G's 70th anniversary. Check out Richie's podcast at ⁠https://www.supermediabrospodcast.com/⁠ Follow them on Twitter ⁠@SuperMediaBros_⁠ Follow them on Instagram ⁠@SuperMediaBrosPodcast⁠ Also, check the ⁠Odd Pods Media Network⁠ while you're at it! Follow us on Instagram ⁠@catchinguponcinema⁠ Follow us on Twitter ⁠@CatchingCinema⁠ Like, share, subscribe, and we'll catch you next time!

Join us on a journey as our special guest, Ritu Java, takes us from her beginnings in India to her experiences in Japan, ultimately transforming her into a data-driven entrepreneur. With a unique perspective on the blend of culture and commerce, Ritu shares insights on how she leveraged her expertise in data and analytics to excel in Amazon PPC strategies. You'll also hear her intriguing tales of running an Etsy store from Japan and overcoming the complexities of helping Amazon sellers worldwide. The conversation doesn't stop there. Discover how AI has become a game-changer in running Amazon PPC campaigns as we discuss our personal experiences combining AI with other data sources to optimize campaigns. Listen as we unveil the advantages of using chat GPT for keyword research and translation over traditional methods like Google Translate. This episode offers a unique perspective on integrating AI into workflows and SOPs, driving efficient and effective results. We also underscore the value of incorporating AI into Amazon PPC strategies for successful product launches and campaign management.   To cap off this enlightening conversation, we tackle the future of Amazon selling and the role AI plays in it. From generating keywords for Amazon searches to creating images for sponsored brand ads, we unravel how chat GPT and mid-journey can elevate your selling game. Don't miss out on our tips for creating effective lifestyle photos and the significance of close-up product images. We also shed light on the evolution of Search Query Performance on Amazon and share our strategies for effectively managing and analyzing data. In episode 515 of the Serious Sellers Podcast, Bradley and Ritu discuss: 00:00 - AI Power for E-commerce Sellers 07:54 - Utilizing AI for Amazon Sellers' Success  09:05 - AI in PPC Strategy With Chat GPT 20:52 - Search Term Modifiers and Word Order  23:04 - Enhancing Amazon Ads With AI 31:24 - Generating Posts Using Canva and Amazon  32:19 - Utilizing Search Group Performance Data 33:47 - Optimizing Data Strategy for Efficient Analysis  41:23 - Convert Snapshot Data to Time Series ► Instagram: instagram.com/serioussellerspodcast ► Free Amazon Seller Chrome Extension: https://h10.me/extension ► Sign Up For Helium 10: https://h10.me/signup  (Use SSP10 To Save 10% For Life) ► Learn How To Sell on Amazon: https://h10.me/ft ► Watch The Podcasts On YouTube: youtube.com/@Helium10/videos Transcript Bradley Sutton: Today we've got a first time guest who I think is probably top five in the world these days as far as actionable Amazon strategies, and she's going to give us an absolutely value-packed episode full of tips on generative AI, PPC and more. How cool is that? Pretty cool, I think. How can you get more buyers to leave you Amazon product reviews? By following up with them in a way that's compliant with Amazon terms of service? Bradley Sutton: You can use Helium 10 Follow-Up in order to automatically send out Amazon's request, a review emails, to any customers you want. Not just that, but you can specify when they get the message and even filter out people that you don't want to get that message, such as people who have asked for refunds or maybe ones that you gave discounts to. For more information, visit h10.me forward slash follow-up. You can sign up for a free account or you can sign up for a platinum plan and get 10% off for life by using the discount code SSP10. Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of the Serious Sellers podcast by Helium 10. I'm your host, Bradley Sutton, and this is the show. That's a completely BS free, unscripted and unrehearsed organic conversation about serious strategies for serious sellers of any level in the e-commerce world. We've got a special guest today Ritu. So, first of all, we're going to get into your backstory about how we can even talk in Japanese, because that's something that's crazy. Were you born in Japan or were you born? Ritu: I was born in India, but I lived in Japan for 17 years. Bradley Sutton: So from what age? Ritu: You want to know how old I am. Bradley Sutton: No, no, no. From what age were you living in Japan? Ritu: Mid-20s. Yeah, so mid-20s. Bradley Sutton: Also was, so you didn't go to school in Japan. Ritu: No, I didn't. I went there as an adult. I was working at a company and I take company 17 years. Bradley Sutton: Yes, that means you had to have gone there when you were a child. Then because you can't be over 25 years old. So I don't know what's going on here. Ritu: That is very cute. Bradley Sutton: I was all the reason. I was asking if you grew up because I wore this shirt today. Do you recognize this character here?  What is this? Ritu: Yes Doraemon. Yes, I grew up with Doraemon when I was a little over there, that's awesome. Bradley Sutton: Yes, I grew up with Doraemon when I was a little over there, that's awesome. I know a little bit about you, but I for some reason had this idea that you actually grew up in Japan and that was why you were so fluent in language. Once you go as an adult, it's a little bit harder, unless you really immerse yourself in the culture. Ritu: I did. I really immersed myself in the culture. I went there just for a year, honestly, and ended up staying 17. It's so crazy how that place had such a big impact on me. It was such a stark contrast to where I grew up, which was India. Bradley Sutton: Whereabouts in India. Ritu: In Delhi, the capital city of chaos that's how I describe it from chaotic to super orderly. You can imagine what a difference, that is A stark difference from the world I knew. I was just drawn to the calm and the orderliness of that place. How things were punctual, everything happened as expected, there were no surprises, everything was planned in so much detail, which I kind of liked. I think where I'm at right now is a nice middle ground, because I think I like the chaos. It has energy. It has a certain type of progressive energy that all of us need, especially as entrepreneurs. We need that energy to be able to kind of keep moving forward. But then I also like the organizational skills that I picked up while I was in Japan, because you need that to have good execution. I think best of both worlds is what I'm trying to be at right now, trying to draw from both my cultures. Bradley Sutton: Then did you go to university in India. Ritu: I did. I'm an engineer. I did my electronics engineering from India. I went back to school much later in life. I went back to school in the US and I did a course in data science, which is why I'm very attracted to PPC and data and data analytics and that sort of stuff. Bradley Sutton: When you graduated with the electrical engineering degree, did you start working in India, or is that when you went to Japan? Ritu: Yeah, I started working right away and I started working in India and I worked for an IT company and it was a pretty long stint there as well, like I was very interested in technology right from the start and it kind of aligned with my life's goals and stuff like that. At the time. I mean, little did I know that I would completely switch at a certain point. When I was in Japan I worked for not only the company that I was in India, I kind of went to their Japan office and I started helping them out. But then later on I switched to a more technical role at a school, at a high school, American school in Japan, and then I had my kid and took a break from work and then I kind of dealt in a little bit of entrepreneurship. I started running my own business. I had an Etsy store. Yes, in Japan, while I was in Japan, I started my Etsy business selling jewelry. It was like kind of one of a kind jewelry and I realized that, gosh, it's not enough just to create a listing and people are not going to flock to that listing. So I had to teach myself a whole lot of stuff like marketing advertising. So I learned Facebook ads, Google Ads, blogging, YouTube, all of that stuff. Bradley Sutton: So Etsy in the United States, or is there an Etsy in Japan? Ritu: No, there's an Etsy in the United States, but I was selling on the US market from Japan. So I was producing my stuff there, but I was shipping it worldwide wherever there were shoppers. But shipping costs are exorbitant. Sending stuff from Japan it's very expensive. Yeah, so mostly was attracted to the data side of things. Yes, I have both left and right brains, because the creative side was just all my creations, the jewelry that I made. But then I needed the data science side of things to kind of round things off and make money out of my business, because everything we do here is based on data and I know he's intended the data company. So is PPC Ninja. We might think that we're in the business of selling goods, but actually we're in the business of leveraging data. So that's why it was so important for me to get that knowledge and make sure that I'm kind of ready to go with my own endeavors. Bradley Sutton: Now. So, Etsy was kind of like your first online marketplace. Now, did you ever end up selling on Amazon or did you go straight into software and consulting etc. Ritu: Yeah, so I've never sold on Amazon, but I've helped businesses sell on Amazon. So it's basically the data side of things. So, I only sold on Etsy. I sold on my own website for a bit, but then I have never sold on Amazon myself. But PPC is where I'm focused on. Bradley Sutton: Okay, cool. Now you talked about having an analytical mind, and that's kind of like what you're known for. When you've spoken at events like Billion Dollar Seller Summit and others is especially in the last couple of years, you're one of the go-to people as far as AI and things like that, now me, I'm a little bit behind. I use even on this podcast, we use AI to generate title options and transcripts and things like that, but I would say I'm not one of those full force ahead like, hey, ai is going to replace hours and hours of work. I haven't really adopted it to that effect. So, the typical Amazon seller what are some things that you don't have to be a seven, eight, nine figure seller but just like any Amazon seller if they have not started utilizing AI to help them in their operations or business? What are? Let's take it to that spectrum first. What are some things that you think that any Amazon seller could benefit by utilizing AI? Ritu: Yeah, there's so much. Actually, the magic happens when you start combining things. So AI by itself may not be the be all and all of things, because it's not going to operate in a silo. You've got to combine it with other pieces of data that you have access to. For example, just this morning I was preparing for a new product launch for one of our clients and I'd got all my data from Helium 10. I was at the stage where I have to come up with some keywords for broad match campaigns. I wanted to make sure that all the right keywords are in there, not just the long tail ones with high search volume, but I wanted to make sure that I'm capturing all the seed combinations of important words that make sense. So what I did was I exported the Helium 10 cerebral analysis and I fed it to chat GPT and asked it to come up with two words and three word combinations of seed keywords that would perfectly describe this product. Now what I'm going to do next with that is basically convert that into broad match modifiers, which basically means you add a plus sign in front of all the seeds and then I'm going to create campaigns with it. So that's something that I do at every launch. I generally don't skip that step. It's an important one for me. So, in addition to all the long tail keywords, I will come up with enough seed words that will run at a slightly lower bid but will be like a discovery campaign for me through the broad match modifier channel. So that's kind of one thing that I do. Ritu: Then, like yesterday, I was doing another one for another client, where we have a list of keywords that we discovered from the search query performance report, which is kind of this new, very valuable piece of data that Amazon is giving us these days. So from there I was able to come up with a structure for sponsored brand headline ads and I didn't have to do the work. I just fed that entire list to chat GPT and said, hey, organize this into groups of very related words and then give me a headline ad which is less than 50 characters, because that's the amount Amazon will give us. And then it did that for me. I also gave it one other important instruction, which is to make sure that one of the keywords or a very close variant of that keyword in the group must be included in the title, and that's basically my way of saying, hey, I want this to be a lower funnel ad, not a generic kind of upper funnel ad, because my sponsored brand ads tend to be more focused on ROAS rather than brand discovery and brand awareness. So those are some of the ways that I'm using it almost on a daily basis. I had switched to chat GPT plus a long time ago. I've been paying for it and it's totally worth it. Bradley Sutton: So there's how much is it for somebody to subscribe to? Ritu: that it's about $20 a month. It's not much at all, yeah, it's just $20. And what it gives you is all the beta features, all the new stuff. So right now you can actually upload files very easily. You can upload any kind of file to almost any kind of file to chat GPT and then ask it to analyze, analyze the file and then you can ask it a bunch of questions. So it's just made life so much easier. And I mean I think sky is the limit with what you can do with AI. It's like I always, always feel like I'm not using it enough, even though I'm using it probably quite a bit more than a lot of people, but I still feel cautioned to use it more. Bradley Sutton: Okay, interesting, interesting. So there's some of the ways that you can use it in PPC. Now I remember you presented something. I've seen you speak, you know, various times, but I don't remember which event, this or what it was. That might have been a billion dollars, but where were you doing? You were doing like translation, using like Helium 10 because, like you were doing research, you weren't translating the English keywords. That's obviously a big mistake that some sellers make. Hey, I've got my Amazon USA listing, let me just translate it. Or let me just translate the keywords. No, you need to do the research in that marketplace. So you switch Helium 10 to Amazon Germany, for example, but if you're not a German speaker, you just see all this Deutsch keywords and you don't really know what it means. Or so they're doing it in Amazon Japan and they don't speak Japanese like you, so they might not know. So what's your? I'm not sure if it was AI or just something in Google you were doing to kind of like make that process a little bit easier. Ritu: Yeah. So what we've done is we have integrated chat GPD right into Google Sheets, and we had to write a little bit of code for that. But once we did that, what's happened is that we have these ready to go sheets where we simply change the prompt and add a bunch of keywords and then it will just translate into whatever language, right? So? And I've noticed that any translation done by chat GPD is way better than Google Translate and I've tested it, especially in Japanese, because I can read it. I know that the quality is much better. Ritu: Just to give you an example chat GPD will use the right combinations of Kanji and Hiragana, whereas Google Translate will not. It just doesn't do a great job. And if I tell chat GPD to give me a translation in all four different scripts, that's, kanji as well as Hiragana, Katakana and the Roma G, it will give all those to me. It's a no-brainer to use chat GPD for that sort of thing rather than Google Translate and then other languages as well. Like we're just onboarding this client that has four markets and we have no speakers of those languages on our team. But with chat GPD, we can simply include that into our SOPs, into our workflows and just use those sheets to kind of get the final product out. So it's really great the combination of Helium 10 and chat GPD workflows. They work really well for us. Bradley Sutton: Okay, cool. Now going back a little bit, just remember you were talking about broad match modifiers. There might be people out there who don't know what that means. Can you explain that a little bit? Ritu: Yeah, yeah. So a broad match modifier is a type of broad match, so when you're setting your add up, it'll still be a broad match. However, by simply adding a plus sign before every part of the keyword which means if it's a two word keyword, then both the parts will have a plus sign in front of them what you're gonna ensure is that the buyer search must include those words in exactly that format in order for that match to happen. So this eliminates any kind of kind of synonyms or related words that Amazon might try to kind of connect to, which you don't think need to be there. So at this point, amazon is even replacing exact matches with weird sort of words that it thinks are similar. So we don't want that, because we've done all of the research to find out which exact version of that keyword is giving us the highest search volume, so we wanna stick to it. Ritu: In order to make that happen, we're actually finding ourselves doing more and more work with broad match modifiers, because all the other match types are being weird anymore. Like exact matches are not behaving like exact matches. Same thing with phrase match and broad match anyway, always was a bit too broad and it was always kind of giving you all kinds of weird matches for sponsored brands, but then it started doing the same thing for sponsored products as well, and that makes it a little challenging. It can be wasteful. So yeah, broad match modifiers is a great way of making sure that your matches are clean and that they don't bring in kind of extraneous, superfluous words that you shouldn't be targeting. Bradley Sutton: Do you use that 100% of the time when you have a broad campaign? Ritu: So you always have if it's a three word phrase. Bradley Sutton: You'll put the plus in between each of the. Ritu: Yes, 100% of the time. We've been doing it for the past two years and we actually future proved ourselves because we knew this was coming. It's kind of like Amazon always follows Google. So we knew this was coming because Google introduced broad match modifiers first. Now they've already sunset it. So I don't know where this is gonna end up for Amazon, because what I've heard and I don't wanna just speculate, but what I've heard people say is that Amazon might be moving toward a future where there aren't any match types. There's only a word, there's only a keyword, and then it figures out how to match it the best way. Now it's plausible, especially in this AI world. It's plausible that that might happen. But in the interim, I'm betting on broad match modifiers and exact match. Of course, can't do much about the fact that Amazon isn't treating exact matches the way they ought to be treated, but that's the best we have right now. Bradley Sutton: So what would the difference be between using broad, doing broad target with modifiers compared to phrase for the same, the same, you know, like coffin shelf, like. So if I do coffin plus shelf in broad or coffin shelf in phrase, what's the difference in the potential? You know showings of that keyword. Ritu: Yeah, no, I think the showings of that keyword might totally depend on the bids and they might also depend on relevancy. So it's very hard to predict which of the three match types are gonna win. You know that's been a struggle. I mean you can't really say if you put coffin, what was it? Again coffin shelf. Bradley Sutton: Yeah, coffin shelf. Ritu: Yeah, if you say coffin shelf broad coffin shelf phrase and say coffin shelf exact, what we would want it to do and what would be logical is that if I had a higher bid for exact match, then you know all the searches should come in match through exact match. But that's not always the case. You know, we've seen so much variability there. It also depends on which campaign, you know, starts out those keywords and then each campaign has its own story, its own history. Because let's say, you combine that keyword with a bunch of other keywords and let's say those other keywords got a majority of the early data points, like it started hitting some other words coffin longtail words Before it hit your coffin shelf word, then what happens is that this word starts getting starved of impressions, the other words start to take dominance and these words that get starved of impression give you the false impression that they're not working, whereas it's just a matter of how things started off, like what were the set of searches on that day, on that very moment that Amazon decided to match? Ritu: And then it's going to just take its cues from whatever little data it has in the beginning, because that's all it has to play off of, and then it just keeps giving more and more and more impressions to the early data points and everything else just gets ignored, you know. So it's like a game Like PPC is a game that you know you've got to be able, you've got to be willing to keep playing, trying different things, different ways, moving things, you know, trying it in a different match type, in a different campaign, restarting, stopping, all of that you know. Bradley Sutton: Okay now you know like, for example, if I just do you know, going to this same example, you know coffin shelf, no modifier and broad. You know, yeah, nowadays you know something crazy can come up with, like, you know, spooky decor.You know, potentially it could even come up not even including the word, but ones that are traditional, would be like, you know, coffin shelves for men, coffin shelves for women, but then also it could be coffin shaped shelf, like it could insert a word, or shelf shape like a coffin. You know, like changing the order, but if I put that modifier in there, does that force it, in your experience, to be only longer tail, like it's coffin shelf has to be in there as a phrase and then it's only putting words at the beginning or the end, or still. It could switch it up a little bit. Ritu: Yeah, it will switch it up. So coffin shelf could be shelf coffin even. As long as the word shelf and the word coffin both exist in the match, it will match. Yeah. Bradley Sutton: Okay, going back to Helium 10, now I was looking at, I did it. I still haven't seen your replay of your presentation you did for Helium 10 Elite a few months back. But I was looking at your slides and there was something that you were talking about magnet and seed keywords and just by looking at the slide I couldn't tell what the strategy was. So can you explain what are you doing? I'm not sure if this has to do with chat, gpt or, but just how are you using magnet in a unique way? Ritu: Yeah, so what I do is basically I start off my keyword research by looking at audiences, like who is the right target audience for a product, right? So that's my first step. Now the audience list will help me figure out what words these people use. So if it's a garlic press and let's say there's five different types of people, there could be just regular straight up chefs, there could be restaurant owners, there could be whatever. So there's like five or six different types of people who might use a garlic press. Ritu: Now I ask ChatGPT to tell me all the words that these audiences or avatars are likely to use when they search on Amazon. So I'm actually starting from a suggestion of a seed keyword. That's my starting point, and then I use those seed keywords that chat GPT generates to go and dump that into magnet. And then I use the expand option the second one, not the first one and that basically gives me all of the keywords and their search volumes, and that's what I need Basically. Ritu: I wanna kind of run it by search volume information to figure out if it is really a word that I should be going after. Now I don't always come up with those words, probably because the search volume is too low, in which case I don't need to worry about it, but I can still use that information as broad match modifiers to just generate some sort of discovery. So like, for example, eco-friendly. I don't know if there's any sort of garlic press that's eco-friendly, but let's say someone in that audience wants an eco-friendly garlic press made out of bamboo or whatever. I will still create broad match modifiers that have those important words in that combination so that I can at least start to do some keyword research through an ad rather than through existing search volume data. Bradley Sutton: Okay, cool, switching gears from keywords now to images. I know you've talked about mid-jurdy Canva. Have you played around at all with the new Amazon one that they made kind of for sponsored brands? And then, if so, what's your results? I've had very different, like some of it are absolutely terrible, but then I know that part of it's because I don't really know how to prompt them. I'm not very good at prompting, but what's your experience with the new Amazon AI image generator for sponsored brand ads? Ritu: Yeah, I mean it's not bad for someone who's really struggling with image creation in general, but it's not really usable for every case right? In some cases, it's gonna be hard to come up with the perfect background for your image. The other trouble I have with it is that the product image is too small on the canvas, and that's not how I like my sponsored brand headline ads Generally. This is a tip actually for our listeners when you create a sponsored brand lifestyle photo, the biggest mistake people make is that they fully capture the lifestyle setting in which that product is being used, but then the product itself is so tiny. That's a big mistake. That shouldn't be the way right. The way to do it is to have the product front and center. It has to be blown up right in the middle and then you could maybe suggest what the background is. You might just use suggestive creatives rather than have it in absolute terms. It's being used in the setting that it's being suggested, so for that reason I generally like to request for zoomed in, highly close up type of images so that we can have better conversion rates. Ritu: And there's a story that I just wanna share here real quick. We had one client with a dog product and the product was being used on a dog that was sitting in the lap of a woman on a sofa, and then there's a living room in the background so you can imagine the size of the product. It's like so small you can't see it right. So then what we said to this client was give us a zoomed in image. So then they zoomed right in, so all we see now is the pop and we see the product. Right. So it completely changed the metrics for that ad and then we started using that particular image for many other of their sponsored brand headline ads, and then the rest is history. Ritu: They really started growing after that. But the point is that close up images are more important than pretty images, right? So pretty images anyone can create pretty images. You wanna make them highly converting images and for that reason I might not use the Amazon's AI generated images right away, unless they become better, unless they can kind of keep the product as the hero it needs to be, front and center. Yeah, I'm trying to figure out any prompt that can help me get to that stage, but I'll keep testing. I'm not sure yet. Bradley Sutton: Yeah, so then what outside of Amazon? Then, like I said, I know you're using like mid journey, which is another one that's not too expensive it isn't like 10 bucks a month or something like that to use mid journey, or yeah. So then what if somebody is like all right, you told us what some basic stuff that people how chat GPT for 20 bucks a month can help Amazon sellers. What is something that Amazon sellers of any level can use mid journey for? That's kind of simple and definitely adds value. Ritu: Yeah, I think mid journey is definitely the leader and if you can learn to use it, there's nothing like it yet. But even straight up, chat GPT is now getting pretty good with images, so you can describe whatever you want and then it is connected to dolly in the back and then it generates those images and gives them back to you right in your chat GPT prompt, right. So if you have the paid version, then you can start testing that as well. Bradley Sutton: Okay, so let's say I've got all right, I've got a pretty nice image. You know, maybe it's a white background image or something of my product. Would the first thing I should do with experimenting with AI and mid-journey and things? Would it be making an infographic? Would it be trying to make a lifestyle? Like I remember in the early days of AI, like you could never put a human being in there because they would have like 17 fingers and just crazy faces and stuff like that. But like what should I do then? What kind of images? Or is it not really don't use it for your main images, but use it for, like, the sponsored brand and sponsor display, things like that? Ritu: Yeah, so okay, I think we need to think of images as layers, just like we think of layers in Photoshop. Right, there's layers like a background layer. So if you want just the ambience, the mood, the background, you generate that layer independent of anything else. That's one way of going about it. And then you layer in your product. You have your kind of no background product. Then you can always place it right in the middle, do those sorts of things. So it would probably be a two or three step process where you think of each layer separately, even the humans. You could bring humans in from a different source. You can get humans from there, you can get your backdrop from somewhere else and then you can get your product from your own product images and put them together. That would probably give you the best results. Ritu: But if you tried to have mid-journey to all of that, you might experience some failures there or some surprises with, like you said, 17 fingers and stuff. Now, mid-journey, the latest versions of it are getting better and better, so it's very human-like and it doesn't appear awkward. The facial expressions aren't awkward anymore, so that's good news, just means that we're going in the right direction. It's only gonna get better from here. So I would think of layering as one concept, and then, of course, where you wanna apply it is another thing infographics. I don't think chat, gp or even mid-journey would be good for infographic other than just generating the background for it, because text it still doesn't do a good job with text. You'll have to use some of your other tools for text. So again, it's layering, combining tools and coming up with the concept. So yeah, those are some of the ways in which you can use images. Ritu: Now posts is another interesting one. A lot of people are using mid-journey for generating posts, and that's a good way of generating lots of posts content, because Amazon doesn't allow you to repeat an image twice. So what you can do is you can have Dali or even Canva. I've used Canva AI, which is different from Canva normal. I can explain the difference, but anyway. So Canva AI can generate based on your description of what kind of backgrounds you want, and then you just slap in your photo your kind of hero image on top of it and there you have your posts. It takes barely any time to create like 20 different posts and most people don't realize this, but posts are free advertising. I would highly recommend generating posts on a regular basis and take advantage of it. Bradley Sutton: I've seen them more in search results lately too. Ritu: Posts. Exactly, it's one of those widgets that comes up. Bradley Sutton: That never happened, like six months ago or something. But, now it's right there on page one, so it's important to do, I agree. Ritu: Yeah. Bradley Sutton: All right. So earlier you talked about search group performance. I love search group performance. My self is just like it's stuff that three, four years ago we would have. I would have bet a million dollars that Amazon would never release this kind of data to the public, and Amazon definitely has come a long way. What are some other ways that you're using search group performance, analyzing the data that Amazon gives? Ritu: Yeah, so search group performance. Like you said, it's unbelievable that Amazon is actually sharing this information out, so it's really up to us to take advantage of it as soon as possible. Almost feel like time is of essence here, because everybody's going to have access Everybody has access to that information. But right now most people are in the state of overwhelm. They're like, oh, I have this great data, but I don't know what to do with it. So most people are stuck at that stage. Ritu: But if you want to take the next step, then I would suggest start downloading those reports right away, because these things also get lost. Amazon discontinues things that you think they're going to be giving us forever and forever. For example, the brand analytics data that used to be I don't know millions of rows has certainly been compressed to just 10,000, and so on. So I mean there's a loss there that cannot be replaced. So I would say, number one start downloading your at least your monthly data at the ASIN level and then stitching all that data together, and by stitching I mean maybe putting it into a data warehouse. We use BigQuery in order to bring data in, and the way to stitch it is by making sure that your reports have some extra columns like the date column has to be there Then you have to make sure that you have the brand name in it and you want to make sure that your market is in this, so that when you stitch all that information together, then you can use a single report like a looker studio to dip into the data warehouse and you can basically use switch filters to switch between your different markets. So if you plan your data strategy well, then you will be able to use it more efficiently than just using it in a throwaway style, which most people do. Ritu: Most people go download a report, they look at it, they stare at it and they're like, ok, whatever Done, and it's thrown away. You don't want that. You want a system. You need an ecosystem for managing your data so that you can look at those from time to time. You get a month over month review. You get a month over month trend. You can see if anything has lost its search volume over time. It's so easy to check that at a search term level. Once you have stitched all that information together and is available in maybe something like a looker studio, how about something that's good? Bradley Sutton: it's important to understand the you know, like how to get started and not just like, all right, let me. Let me just look at search career performance or this data, just, you know, in the UI on on Amazon. But then what's the next step? Now I've got everything in my data warehouse and stuff like, for example, me. One of the things I like to look at in search career performance is comparing the conversion rate by the keyword for for just the overall niche, compared to my own. You know my own conversion rate. But you know, I think that's probably one of the most no brainer things. What are some other maybe not so common things that you're looking at when, when you get all of that data into your, your data warehouse, and start you know, start looking up stuff? Ritu: Yeah. So one of the things that I find really interesting is the average price per search term. So this is you know, amazon gives you the average price and that, basically, is a good indication of whether that search term is going for cheaper products or is it going for slightly more expensive products. Just to give you an example, let's say you have the word lotion right Now. You have a $50 lotion by L'Oreal, maybe, and you have a $5 drugstore brand Same thing, selling lotion. But if you're going after, if you're looking at the search term lotion, whatever, daily lotion or whatever and if you see that the average price for that search term is going at $6, let's say that's the average price of the product being sold. That is telling me that, no matter what I do to compete on that, on that search term, it's going to be hard because I'm going to be competing with lots and lots of cheaper brands. So we actually have filters on our search terms or search query reports, so that we only look at those searches that are in the ballpark of our products price point. That basically eliminates a lot of the noise, because otherwise you might be led into thinking that gosh, this is a great keyword and then you spend lots of money on it and ends up being a high cost scenario. You don't want that. So you look at both of the things one that you mentioned, which is what we call strength, keyword strength, which is determined as a ratio of purchase share and impression share. If you can get that ratio to be above one, then that's a good keyword. That is strong, inherently strong, because you're winning more of the purchase share than you're winning of the market, which basically puts it in a good spot. Ritu: And then the second one would be the filter on price. The third filter I would put is search volume, because, again, we don't want noisy, insignificant terms to distract us. And I think the fourth filter I would put there is data sufficiency, like how many sales have you had for that keyword over that period of time? So yeah, those would be the four filters to kind of get everything else out. And then, yeah, I mean that would be our way of figuring out which search terms are good. Then the other use cases of that would be to stitch that data with your ad data. So when you stitch those two together you can find gaps in a systematic sort of way, not just like a one off, throw away kind of way, where it's always being merged and it's always coming together and you can always see these are the ones that I'm not advertising yet. And then, yeah, I think those were the two main ones. Ritu: The third, slightly more advanced one, is when you want to figure out if a search term is good for product A, product B, product C, product D off your catalog because they might be sharing those keywords. Then you can see relative strength across your different products and see where you want to channel your information. Now that comes with the caveat, and that caveat is that there's a very high halo sales ratio on Amazon, which means you might be directing traffic to one of your product variations and something else is actually getting picked up eventually. So you need to know all of the. You need to know all those pieces in order to make the right decision and essentially in terms of using your, your traffic source as a fire hose, literally, and saying, okay, I want to direct it to this product and not to this product. Unless you know what the halo sales are, you could be off. Bradley Sutton: Yeah. Yeah, well really great stuff. Now, before we get into your last strategy you know, maybe it could be a PPC strategy, since that's your specialty how can people reach out to you if they, you know? How can they find you on the interwebs if they want to? You know, get some help with some of the stuff that you've been talking about today. Ritu: Yeah, absolutely so. I'm on LinkedIn. I'm pretty active there, so just look up my full name, Ritu Java, and you should be able to find me there and just say hi and I'll be happy to help. Yeah, and other ways, you can just reach out to our website, ppcninja.com or anywhere else. You see me. Bradley Sutton: Awesome, awesome. Now we have some of we do on our show. We call it TST. That's the 30 second tip. So you know you've been giving us lots of great tips and strategies, but what's like a hard hitting one you can give us in 30 seconds or 60 seconds or less. I'm not going to cut you off, go ahead. Ritu: So I think that you know we're all sitting on tons and tons of data and we don't know how to use it. I would suggest start thinking of strategies to use your data by connecting them up. Every piece of data that we get from Amazon or other sources, whether it's keyword rank tracking or search volume data, or your ads data or organic data. Also, you know competitor data and stuff like that. It's in different locations, it's hiding behind wall gardens and stuff like that. Ritu: You want to figure out a system to bring it all together, and I would recommend using a data warehousing strategy to start bringing everything together so that you can start looking at it holistically. So I would recommend start to think of simple ways in which you can convert your snapshot data into time series. That that would be my advice, and time series is basically for people who don't understand that. It's basically assigning dates to all your downloads. If you're downloading a business report, make sure you add a column and put the date there so that that becomes a way of identifying when that event happened. When you're connecting so many pieces of data together. Bradley Sutton: Awesome, Awesome Well thank you very much. Thank you so much for your time. Ritu: Than you so much Bradley. Bradley Sutton: This was really awesome, awesome and we'll definitely be having you back on the show sometime next year to get your latest strategies. Ritu: Awesome, we'll look forward to that. Take care, Bradley, have a good one.  

Temple Dedication  Okinawa Japan Temple – #186 November 12, 2023 by Gary Stevenson One dedicatory Session in Japanese, one in English Stevenson has lived 9 years in Japan  2 years as missionary (Fukuoka and Okinawa)  3 Years as mission president... The post 748 Temple Ticker Manti Temple Re-dedication appeared first on The Cultural Hall Podcast.

We all long for purpose, direction and a reason for being. In this episode I share a Japanese concept that will help you find your meaning, purpose and direction.  You Got This,  Ryan 

Benny Lewis opens this episode of the Language Hacking Podcast with a brief but impactful message for language learners who might be feeling stuck in the intermediate stage. Drawing on an analogy from other fields, Benny likens the language learning journey to melting ice. He highlights the challenge of not seeing immediate results despite putting in months or years of effort.Follow Benny's progress on his Korean mission on our YouTube channel, and don't forget to check out the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp.To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Instagram (@‌languagehacking), X (@‌fi3m), Tiktok (@irishpolyglot), or you can email ask@languagehacking.com.

皆さん、日本語ポッドキャストLearn Japanese with Noriko season 3、ホストののりこです。最近ね、あんまりたくさん更新ができていなくてごめんなさい。本当に私の人生いろんなこと起きてて大変なんですよ。皆さんご存知のように私は12月、北アイルランドのベルファストからイングランドのリバプール（Liverpool）に引っ越します。 そして今日これを録音しているのは10月24日。2023年10月24日に話しています。皆さんがこれを聞くのはいつかわかりませんけどね。私のポッドキャストはもうたくさんエピソードがあります。そして最初から長く聞いてくださっている方も多いんですが、私はこのポッドキャストで私の考えもシェアしているし、私の生き方、考え方、人生もシェアしています。そしてこれから私が始める新しい人生の旅。リバプールでの生活もちょくちょく皆さんとシェアしていきたいんですね。 Season 3 日本語のポッドキャスト（中級以上）

On the latest episode of Asians Represent, Daniel, Emma, and Jeremy reviewed the latest Japanese kaiju epic...Godzilla Minus One!  //COMMUNITY Join our Discord community! Check it out here: https://discord.gg/aznsrepresent //SUPPORT  Help us produce new and exclusive content! Join us on Patreon for exclusive audio and series! https://www.patreon.com/aznsrepresent //SPONSOR  Head to diceenvy.com/aznsrepresent and use code AZNSREPRESENT to get 10% off!  Check out VALOROUS GAMES and the Valor Tabletop system, a high-action roleplay experience that offers high levels of customizability and excitement, at valorousgames.com! //FOLLOW  Website | aznsrepresent.com  Twitter | @aznsrepresent  Twitch | @aznsrep  Follow Daniel @danielhkwan, Emma @starchaeologist, and Jeremy @PixelGrotto on Twitter! Music: Euphoria by PAVALON //CONTACT  If you have questions about this episode's themes, suggestions, or anything else related to Asians Represent, get in touch with us at aznsrepresent.com

Anjali Prasertong joins me on this week's episode to explore what it means to approach nutrition through the lens of culture, antiracism, and food equity. Tune in as Anjali helps us think through social justice in food systems, debunk white-washed fantasies of the “perfect” diet, and examine how cultural appropriation shows up in the culinary world. Topics discussed include… Cultural influences on our relationship with food Talking to kids about culture and violence  Popular chefs and culinary appropriation  The “ick” of telling people how to eat as a dietitian The fantasy of the Mediterranean Diet MyPlate and dairy Veganism and diet culture  Racism in nutrition recommendations   Anjali's approach to food now in the context of anti-racism and food systems Making family meals easier  About Anjali:  Anjali is a writer and registered dietitian who focuses on racial equity, public health, and food systems. For several years, she was a contributing editor to the award-winning food website The Kitchn. Her work has appeared in TIME.com, The Chicago Tribune, Yahoo, and HuffPost, and I contributed to The Kitchn Cookbook – a James Beard Award winner – and Food52's Simply Genius. Her path has been circuitous, but it has always included food. She taught English in a small city in Central Japan, and wrote weekly reviews of Japanese candy. She was a personal chef for a family in Malibu. She coached BIPOC food entrepreneurs in New Orleans, and ran a program that helped corner stores in low-income neighborhoods sell more fruits and vegetables. She worked with chef Tunde Wey on a social experiment that charged white diners almost three times more than diners of color for the same lunch. At one point she studied global food security from an old convent in Italy, and ate so much pasta. She also has an undergraduate degree in film, which was perfectly useless when she returned to school to become a dietitian. She brings a wide-ranging and nonlinear experience to her perspective on food and nutrition, and to her writing. Anjali currently lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband and two children. Anjali's Substack: https://anjaliruth.substack.com/  Support the show: Enjoying this podcast? Please support the show on Patreon for bonus episodes, community engagement, and access to "Ask Abbie" at Patreon.com/fullplate Transcripts: If you're looking for transcripts, you can find those on my website, www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/podcast  Social media: Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness   Group program: Looking for more support and concrete steps to take to heal your relationship with food and your body? Apply for Abbie's next 10-week group program: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/group-coaching   Group membership: Already been at this anti-diet culture thing for a while, but want community and continued learning? Apply for Abbie's monthly membership: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/circle-monthly-group    Podcast Cover Photography by Anya McInroy Podcast Editing by Brian Walters This podcast is ad-free and support comes from our Patrons on Patreon: Patreon.com/fullplate

Mike and Kelsey share their picks for the Best and Worst films they've seen this month. They let you know what you should check out that you may have missed and what to avoid to save you time and money. Mike and Kelsey also share their favorite movie news story including a report on why Disney hasn't had a billion-dollar movie this year. In the Movie Review, Mike gives his thoughts on Godzilla Minus One and why it's one of the best movies of the year. In this story, Japan is already devastated by the war when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster. Mike shares why he oddly loves Godzilla, how the movie was more dramatic than he was expecting, how it crushed it on a 15 million dollar budget and why you shouldn't let the fact that the film is in Japanese keep you from seeing it. In the Trailer Park, Mike talks about Furiosa which is a part of the Mad Max saga. The film stars Anna Taylor Joy and Chris Hemsworth and looks stellar but does it have a story to match Mad Max Fury Road? New Episodes Every Monday! Watch on YouTube: @MikeDeestro Follow Mike on TikTok: @mikedeestro Follow Mike on Instagram: @mikedeestro Follow Mike on Threads: @mikedeestro Follow Mike on Twitter: @mikedeestro   Email: MovieMikeD@gmail.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dax sits down with McLaren driver, Oscar Piastri. Oscar explains his journey to F1, where he met his girlfriend, and if it's lonely being a Formula One Driver. Oscar asks Dax for his phone number in Japanese and Dax tells Oscar how he's helped fund his driving career through HP Tuners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Muniqui Muhammad and Lena Takahashi are both Usui/Holy Fire®︎ III World Peace Karuna Reiki®︎ Master Teachers. Both are Professional members of The Reiki Membership Association and are students in the ICRT Licensed Reiki Master Teacher Program.  Muniqui is also a Certified Reiki Healing Drumming Teacher, a Reiki SonicsTM (Sound Healing) Practitioner, and a Certified Life Coach. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of Arizona and has taught English in Japan full-time since 1998. His passion is to expand Reiki awareness, knowledge, and training in communities that have not known about the accessibility, practicality, and helpfulness of Reiki. Muniqui speaks English, Spanish, and Japanese. Lena was born in Ukraine and moved to Japan when she was 18. Since her arrival in Japan, she has naturally learned Japanese so well that many people relate to her as a Japanese person. She has worked for a Japanese cell phone company for 12 years.  In addition to Reiki, Lena is a certified Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant and loves to explore other parts of the world. Her goal is to provide high quality training in all levels of Holy Fire®︎ Reiki (Usui and Karuna Reiki®︎) for Japanese people and everyone from all over the world. Lena speaks Ukrainian, Russian, English, and Japanese fluently. Her language skills have enabled her to work in various domains. She has led reiki groups and organized their reiki trips, in addition to facilitating groups that have come to Japan for training.  Healing Land Reiki is based in Sendai city, Miyagi prefecture, Japan. Connect with Lena and Muniqui: Web: www.healinglandreiki.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/healinglandreiki Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healinglandreiki/ Email: holyfire_japan@healinglandreiki.com Twitter: @reiki_land The Reiki Lifestyle® Podcast: The podcast where we talk about all things Reiki! The Reiki Lifestyle Podcast is for all members of the Reiki community, lineages, and levels of training! Reiki questions and topics can be about everything; personal development, spiritual growth, Reiki healing techniques, teaching Reiki, Reiki training, and other professional Reiki business practices. https://reikilifestyle.com/podcast/ **DISCLAIMER** This episode is not a substitute for seeking professional medical care but is offered for relaxation and stress reduction which support the body's natural healing capabilities. Reiki is a complement to and never a replacement for professional medical care. Colleen and Robyn are not licensed professional health care providers and urge you to always seek out the appropriate physical and mental help professional health care providers may offer. Results vary by individual. Colleen and Robyn can be reached at: ReikiLifestyle.com Contact Colleen: colleen@reikilifestyle.com Facebook: @reikilifestyle Instagram: @colleenbenelli Contact Robyn: robyn@reikilifestyle.com Facebook/Instagram: @robynbenellireiki

Today's wrestling news, including...WWE Legend Could LEAVE In 2024!Top WWE Star Doesn't Think CM Punk Will Last 6 Months!Japanese Star Returning To AEW Full-Time?The Real Reason Christian Cage Was Never A Top WWE Star?!ENJOY!Follow us on Twitter:@AdamWilbourn@AndyHMurray@WhatCultureWWE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon It's a well known fact that we love signalwave, not just because it's great music, but because it also provides unique insight into how other artists process their own media and nostalgia. In this episode, we're exploring signalwave produced by artists in Japan with the help of 直子coed. We're checking out one of her albums along with another from her list of recommendations. It was tough to choose just one!Thanks again to 直子coed for all of the great recommendations. Make sure to check out her other albums!Albums Discussedsummer station by 直子coed[（ （ （​低​） ） ）by 予報士`94](https://torash.bandcamp.com/album/--7)Recommended by 直子coedThe Music of fumare今​日​の​天​気​図 by 沢NaN止​ま​ら​な​い​か​ら​止​め​て by DJ CHOPNSCREWフ​ラ​ワ​ー by トレンド世紀NoRIP-E, The Philosopher / Dec-Affe-Inated RECORDSRelated Linksaction button reviews boku no natsuyasumi直子coed on YouTubeCreditsMusic by: 2MelloArtwork by: Patsy McDowellRoss on TwitterBirk on TwitterNight Clerk Radio on Twitter

An abducted baby was found dead in the woods in Idaho on Saturday. Bodies found at JBLM believed to be missing couple. Doug Burgum exits the presidential race. Trump says if Jesus oversaw elections he would win California and Bryan thinks he might be misreading the book of Revelation. Alaska Airlines has merged with Hawaiian Airlines. // Floods are putting WA historic documents at risk. Fire suppression is a major problem for Washington's forests. // Bryan fact-checks Quentin Tarantino's Ezekiel 25:17 from the movie Pulp Fiction. Bryan tells a historical anecdote about the Japanese and Pearl Harbor as we approach the 82nd anniversary of the attack.   

Our guests are Brandon Doughan and Brian Polen, co-owners of Brooklyn Kura, the very first sake brewery in New York, which opened in 2017 at Industry City in Brooklyn, New York.Brandon and Brian joined us on episode #105 in December 2017 and episode #178 in November 2018, where they discussed the unique concept of Brooklyn Kura and how they naturally incorporated the spirit of traditional sake-making into their craft-style sake.Since then, Brooklyn Kura has been growing exponentially, and you may have seen its sake labels at Japanese and non-Japanese restaurants and local retailers. Brian and Brandon join us today to discuss their newly expanded sake brewery, along with what has and hasn't changed about their sake production since they opened the brewery 6 years ago. They also discuss their collaborations with Japanese sake breweries, including the premier brand Hakkaisan, the future of the American craft sake industry, and much, much more!!!Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.

Last time we spoke about Admiral Togo's struggle to destroy or firmly blockade the Russian fleet at Port Arthur and the bloody battle along the Yalu river. Togo had a tough time getting the Russians to come out to play with him. Ultimately Admiral Makarov had been a gleaming hope for the Russian navy, but his death spelt utter doom to them as well. Now that the Russian navy was effectively bottled up in Port Arthur and unwilling to come out again, the land campaigns of the war could begin. As the 2nd IJA were landing along the Liaodong Peninsula the 1st IJA of General Kuroki were going to have their first great battle of the war, at the Yalu river. Kuropatkin did not want to defend so south near Korea, but Alexeiev forced the issue and thus the Russians made a doomed defense at Yalu. Utterly defeated the Russians now had to flee north.    #76 The Russo-Japanese War part 3: the battle of Nanshan   Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. The Russians collapsed at Yalu and now were fleeing northwards towards Liaoyang. It was shocking. An oriental army had beaten a european one. The Japanese confidence exploded and the Russian morale imploded. As the Russians fled they chose not to set up intermediate defensive positions in the mountains overlooking the road to Fenghuangcheng nor the Great Wall due south of the town. Instead they bypassed it all to head for Liaoyang as quickly as possible. Thus the strategically important town of Fenghuangcheng was wide open to the Japanese who would bypass it as well and kept a even pace also heading for Liaoyang. The reason for this was simple, the 1st IJA's job was to cut off the retreating Russian force from Port Arthur as their comrades in the 2nd IJA landed on the Liaodong peninsula to hit port arthur. The victory at Yalu had removed any threats upon Korea. Russia had demonstrated her inability to go on the offensive both at sea and on the land. Desperate times called for desperate measures. With the Russian pacific fleet stuck in Port Arthur, attempts began to be made for their rescue. The first idea put forward was to release the Russian Black Sea fleet, but this was problematic. Russia had recently fought a war with the Ottomans in 1877. They approached the Sultan about the issue as treaties had been made to keep the Russian fleet north of the Dardanelles forts. 12 warships would have to depart the Black Sea, and take a trip via the Suez Canal to get over to the Indian and then Pacific Oceans. It would take at least 63 days and over 65,000 tons of coal. It was an incredible gamble. If the fleet made it to the Pacific too late they may find Port Arthur captured and Vladivostok blockaded spelling catastrophe. Despite the naval losses and the loss at Yalu, Russia was still strong and could manage a defensive campaign. It was hoped if the Japanese extended further into the Kwantung peninsula and Liaoyang the Russians could recoil a bit, grab their immense reserves and launch counter attacks. But such maneuvers would require Russia to abandon Manchuria and then launch large scale counter offensives, something they were unwilling to do. On the other side, the fact the Russian fleet was not destroyed within Port Arthur was a thorn in their side. Rumors spread that the Baltic fleet would come over. Together the two fleets could overwhelm the Japanese. The Japanese had to seize Port Arthur strategically, and emotionally it was of the utmost importance to take revenge for the slighting she received during the Triple Intervention. On May 5th the 2nd IJA began to unload near Pitzuwo which lies between the Tasha and Lilan rivers. The Japanese newspress began to write of the landing and how the Japanese would next strike Nanshan. The Russians reading all the news trying to figure out the Japanese strategy began to believe they would strike anywhere but Nanshan. Meanwhile Admiral Alexeiev was ordered by the Tsar to take a train from Port Arthur for Mukden. This left General Stoessel in command of the Kwantung Peninsula, General Smirnov in command of Port Arthur's fortress and Admiral Witgeft to lead the trapped naval forces. On May 6th Alexeiev gave firm advice to Witgeft that performing attacks upon the Japanese transports currently unloading freely upon the Liaodong peninsula just some 60 miles east of him, would be “desirable”. He did not give him a direct order to do so however, so Witgeft got his war council together to discuss the matter. No senior naval officer was willing to take initiative on their name. As you can imagine it was a case where no one wanted to give the order fearing repercussions, including Alexeiev. Thus Witgeft calculated the safest decision was to do nothing and await the baltic fleet. The naval officers watched as most of their high caliber guns were removed from the ships and added to the land defenses of port arthur.  General Oku's 2nd IJA consisted of the 1st, 3rd and 4th division. Their first order of business was to seize Dalny so it could be used a landing and base of operations. To get to Dalny they would have to pass over Nanshan. It was a risky endeavor as the Russians could potentially received reinforcements from the north, thus Oku began his campaign by requesting reinforcements in the form of the 5th division and 1st cavalry brigade, though he would start his campaign before they could arrive. Oku ordered the 3rd and 4th divisions to block the potential threat from the north while the 1st division advanced southwards to Chinchou. Oku's intelligence indicated the 2nd brigade of the 4th siberian rifle division led by major General Nadyein had recently been reinforce to roughly divisional strength from Port Arthur. At around 12:30pm Oku's 1st division and the Nadyeins force ran into another and after losing 150 men Nadyein pulled back to Nanshan. Oku's small victory here managed to sever rail communications of the Kwantung peninsula from the north. For those of you without a map on hand, the Liaodong peninsula and Kwantung peninsula are connected by an isthmus around 4000 yards wide. On both sides are muddy foreshore which at lower tides adds another 4000 yards of width. To the east is Dalien, to the west Chinchou bay. Southwest some 35 miles is Port Arthur with various large hill controlling its land approach. The most forward of these is Nanshan, a feature to the sea with large guns, that had to be overcome to get to Port Arthur. The position overlooked 4 miles to the east where there was the 2200 foot tall Mount Sampson and to the southwest was Nankuangling. The defense of Nanshan fell technically upon the commander of the 4th East Siberian rifle division, Lt General Fok, but in reality it would really fall upon Colonel Tretyakov of the 5th east siberian rifle regiement. General Fok was what was commonly referred to as a “police general”, a general produced during peace times. Like so many of these type of men, he rose through the ranks as a military trainer, as an administrator or just brushing the right shoulders. He was extremely suscepitable of other commanders ideas and this would really mess things up. Kuropatkin wanted to avoid another Yalu debacle so he cautioned Fok against against fighting the enemy too long at the cost of a proper withdrawal. Kuropatkin did not mean to imply Fok should withdraw at all, just that he must not allow his forces to be obliterated. Now General Stoessel also advised Fok. He told him to hold at Nanshin and go on the offensive as soon as the Japanese approached. These two contradicting pieces of advice would greatly confuse the battle for Nanshan.  Two miles behind Nanshan was a small town called Maoyitui where the 13th east siberian rifle regiment and another two miles behind them was the 15th east siberian rifle regiment. South east of them was the village of Lower Nankuanling where the 14th east siberian rifle regiment were stationed. Upon the narrow point of Dalienwan was a battery of heavy guns looking over Hand Bay where the gunship Bobr was also patrolling. Bobr was sealed in by minefields hoping to lure in some IJN warships. Colonel Tretyakov had 8 companies in his front line, one and half companies in local reserve, two companies of the 13th east siberian rifle regiment in general reserve and some scout forces of the 13th and 14th east siberian rifle regiment. In all he had roughly 2700 riflemen. North of him lay 3 IJA divisions of the 2nd IJA, the 3rd IJA division was just released from her holding position as the 5th IJA division just arrived to the scene.  On the 19th of May, the 10th IJA division landed at Takushan completely unmolested. The landing was done to confuse the Russians and offer flank protection. The 4th IJA division advanced from the direction of CHinchou taking the right flank, the 1st took the middle and the 3rd the left flank. The 2nd IJA had a total strength of around 38,500, 31,000 or so were riflement. The Russians had a potential 17,000 men to toss at the incoming Japanese but ultimately only 3000 would participate in the battle for Nanshan. Colonel Tretyakov had personally aided in the fortification of Nanshan during the Boxer Rebellion and war in Manchuria. At its height Nanshan was equipped to be garrisoned by two battalions and 90 guns, but its maintenance had really fallen apart. When the war broke out with Japan the Russians sought to repair and refortify Nanshan and hired 5000 Chinese coolies for the work, amongst them in disguise was Colonel Doi of the IJA. The eastern face of Nanshan held minefields and barbed wire fences over which Russians held excellent fields of fire. The western side was also defended by barbed wire fences laid across ravines, but the Russians found it unlikely the Japanese would advance from there. A continuous line of shelter trenches ran around the top of the hills providing a depth of four lines of alternative trenches. The Russians had learnt their lesson at Yalu and now dug their artillery in and connected them to telephone. Despite the excellent state of its defenses, Tretyakov was not fully happy. He recognized his western flank was a bit weak and his prospects for counter attacks or a withdrawal were unfavourable. What Tretyakov wanted and pleaded for was to release more men so he could close up his southern face and add more options to the battle, but General Fok rejected this and said to him “less heroism is required to defend this position than to retreat from it”. The 2nd IJA had 198 field and mountain artillery at their disposal, ut none of the enormous 4.72 inch howitzers at this time. The Russians had 48 quick firing field guns out of a total of 114 artillery pieces of various calibers between 3.4 to 6 inches. The Russians would enjoy the advantage of cover but only had around 150 shells per gun. This time it would be the Japanese obliged to expose their artillery when firing. Oku chose the 24th of May to begin the attack. A signal was sent to the IJN who dispatched the Akagi, Chokai, Heiyen Tsukushi to bombard the Russian positions over the next 2 days. The main assault would kick off on the 25th after naval and land artillery and softened up the Russian positions and the 4th IJA division had seized Chinchou, garrisoned by no more than 400 men. Terrible weather prevented the IJN forces from performing their naval bombardment on time, thus Oku postponed the main attack until the 26th.  Up on his HQ lookout, Tretyakov watched as the torrential rain tore at the mud, uncovering countless mines. There was no time to rebury them, the rain would continue to pour until the night of the 25th. Meanwhile the 4th IJA division was trying to break through the north gate of Chinchou and failing at the task. Because of the holdup, the 1st IJA division lent two battalions who hit Chnchou's eastern gate and at 5:20am sapper blew in the gate as the Japanese stormed the city. The Russian defenders fled through the south gate, only to be cut down by the 4th IJA divisions fire. Around half a company would manage to survive and reach Nanshan's trenches. The main attack finally kicked off at 4:30am with a 3 hour artillery duel. The Japanese focused their artillery upon the exposed minefield. The IJN flotilla arrived to Chinchou bay at 6am and began adding their cannons. The gunfire was so thunderous, the 3rd IJA landing at Pitzuwo could hear it. The 4th IJA division advanced from Chinchou along the beach. The Russians took notice to the threat to their left flank and began withdrawing two batteries from hills on Nanshan to the southwest to better hit the 4th division. The IJN flotilla saw this and mistakenly believed a retreat was in progress so they moved further south intending to bombard the Russians fleeing. This left the 4th IJA division without proper artillery support and they were torn to pieces by the batteries that had been moved. Signals were frantically tossed at the IJN who moved back to their original position by 10am and resumed their bombardment. The warships would remain there until 2pm, when the tide changes forced them to pull out. The Japanese had a terrible time advancing three divisions in a narrow front. Military advice of the day would have been something along the lines as “Algerian Tactics”, a colloquial term for the type of frontal attacks the French had made during their campaign in north africa. It was basically like a Prussian advancing phalanx, but these types of tactics had become useless with the advent of trench warfare. Oku preferred a three pronged simultaneous advance. By midday, the Japanese believed the Russians were shell shocked by the artillery and IJN fire, so two battalions were sent forward to seize the first row of trenches. A correspondent for the time had this to say “At first the straggling walls of Mauchiaying give them some cover, under which they have a moment's breathing space. Then the gallant little infantry press on again up the breast of the slopes of the Russian position. It is an almost impossible task. As yet the defenders are not sufficiently shaken. An avalanche of concentrated fire from the infantry in the trenches, the machine guns in the Russian works, and the quick firing field artillery supporting the defences strike the Japanese to the full. They melt away from the glacis like solder before the flame of a blow pipe. A few who seem to have charmed lives struggle on till they reach the wire entanglements. It is a vain, if heroic, effort. Wasted within fifteen minutes, these two battalions cease to exist except as a trail of mutilated bodies at the foot of the Russian glacis.” The 1st IJA division was now halted 300 yards from the Russian trenches. Two out of the three battalions in the reserve were moved forward. The 3rd division was under enfiladed fire coming out of the southern shore. The 3rd division received the last reserve battalion to keep up their advance. The Japanese tossed over 9 charges at Nanshan throughout the day, but by 6pm the battle had reached a stalemate. Both sides had exhausted the majority of their artillery munitions. Tretyakov tossed his local reserve to his right flank and had held off the 3 Japanese divisions quite well. To his rear, General Fok held the reserve 13th, 14th and 15th east siberian regiments. Tretyakov had requested two companies, and although Fok promised to hand them over they had not come. Fok refused to hand over the forces because he was convinced the Japanese were going to land behind Tretyakov. Tretyakov's right and center were holding well, but the constant shelling was taking a toll upon his left flank. The 5th and 9th companies were down to half their numbers under the intense artillery fire and the 4th IJA division was beginning to drive them out along the coastal area. The 4th division had waded through deep water and mud under fire against the Russians. Tretyakov had asked for his expected two companies from Fok to reinforce the left flank, but only arrived at the last minute and were useless. A dispatch from Reuters said of the collapse of the left flank “when the Russians finally retreated, the water was literally crimson”. Upon breaking the left flank, the Japanese turned inland to pursue them as they fled through ravines. General Fok was at his forward flank and saw this and immediately ordered his companies to withdraw, but he failed to pass this knowledge over to Tretyakov who was trying to salvage the situation. As the Japanese advanced up the feature, their comrades in the other flank and center surged forward causing an onslaught. The Russians were tossed into confusing seeing some of their forces in the failed flank withdraw. Some began to withdraw to the next line of trenches without orders, some stood their ground. Tretyakov toured the front to assess the situation and saw a munition dump at the railway station of Tafangshen suddenly explode killing nearly 20 men. He was enraged to find out Fok ordered the dump destroyed fearing it would fall to the Japanese. He also found out for the first time, forces he had requested from Fok, around 3 regiments who were to man defenses in the south had never been committed. He had planned to use such a force in the south to swing a counter attack against the Japanese.  Panic was overcoming the defenders, men began to rout, many fleeing south. Many Japanese began to bivouac on captured hills. Tretyakov attempted to restore order and managed to pull his forces together to make a more orderly withdrawal. His men had fought very well, losing 450 during the proper combat, but when the routing began he had lost 650, he was enraged and threw scorn at Fok. At 7:20pm the rising sun flag was raised over the heights of Nanshan, by 8pm the Japanese were eating their dinner upon their prize. The Japanese had 739 deaths and 5459 wounded. Amongst the dead was the 26 year old Katsusuke, the eldest son of General Nogi, a veteran of the battle for Port Arthur in 1894. He died of his wounds on May 30th of 1904. When Nogi received news of this he was about to travel over to take command of the 3rd IJA. He said this “There is to be no funeral ceremony, no mourning until the end of this war. When my surviving son and myself will be among the mourners or the mourned.'  The Japanese counted their munitions, they had expended 174 rounds per gun. Thus they had expended more rounds in a single battle than what was used during the entire Sino-Japanese war. At Nanshan 34,000 shells had been tossed alongside 2.2 million rounds of small arm munitions. Such news shocked Tokyo, but it was lessons the world would soon face in 1914. To give you an idea, at the third battle of Ypres in 1917, the British would expend 4,283,550 shells within two weeks. Basically war had evolved. The Japanese had to wait for their munition columns to reach them, which would occur by May 27th and then they resume their advance to Nankuanling junction and Dalienwan.  Dalny lying 8 miles away from the Nankuanling junction remained a well fortified position that could serve perhaps superior to that of Nanshan. Tretyakov's men withdrawal was in the direction of Dalny as they abandoned 82 pieces of artillery and 10 machine guns in the process. They expected to take a rest and eat at Dalny, but General Fok ordered the entire echelon to make for Port Arthur with haste. The residents of Dalny found out Nanshan had fallen when the soldiers arrived, panic broke. Over 600 Russian civilian began to flee southwards as Dalny's facilities were destroyed. General Stoessel made an official report that it had always been his intent to abandon Nanshan and dismissed the rumors of so much abandoned equipment as “old pieces of Chinese equipment from 1900”. When Tretyakov's men arrived to Port Arthur on May 30th, Stoessel shouted at them “You are a wretched undisciplined corps of traitors, cowards and blackguards. I will try the lot of you by court martial. How did you dare leave Chinchou? Don't dare to show yourself in Port Arthur, lest by your presence you infect the whole garrison with your cowardice.' Stoessel than with reluctance handed out the Cross of St George to the wounded because it was the Tsar's orders to do so. Tretyakov would later write in his memoirs ‘These were the sole recipients of rewards for the Nanshan battle, those slightly wounded receiving nothing for their bravery.' It should be noted there were three unwounded men who received the Cross of St George for their bravery and one was General Fok. On May 3th, the 3rd IJA division entered Dalny uncontested, finding the town had been ransacked heavily by local Chinese. Much of the food provisions had been dispersed, but the dockyards, 290 railway wagons, workshops were all fully intact. The great port of Dalny was now in the 2nd IJA's hands. The Japanese 1st and 11th division advanced through the 2nd IJA enroute to the 3rd IJA of General Nogi. Nogi was given the daunting task of bringing Port Arthur to her knees. Now the Russians had fallen back to a 15 mile long line of defence that ran from Shiapingtao on the east coast all the way to Anshishan on the west coast. Shiapingtao was roughly 18 miles south west of Dalny and Anshishan was around 18 miles away from Port Arthur. The first line of Russian defense was around the 800 foot high Waitoushan and 1000 foot high Prominent Peak. Prominent Peak which would later be named Sword Hill or “Kenshan” by General Nohi was vital to the security of Port Arther as it held an observation point that could see the movement of ships and overlooked Dalny. So it was one of the first major objectives required to be taken before a proper siege could be erected against the city.  On June 26th, Nogi had his men fight through the passes who easily dislodged the Russian defenders upon Waitoushan, but found Kenshan a much tougher nut to crack. A Russian naval force appeared around Shiapingtao, caused a delay to the seizure of Kenshan. The Russians launched 5 counter attacks to try and retake Waitoushan and secure Kenshan but they failed. When the cause seemed hopeless, Stoessel ordered the men to fall back 4 miles to the Green Hills to prepare the next line of defense. Meanwhile General Nogi was biding his time, awaiting reinforcements and further supplies to be brought over to Dalny. By mid July he would receive the 9th division to add to his 1st and 11th. Along with this he would get two independent reserve brigades, a naval brigade and an independent mixed artillery brigade. The 3rd IJA were soon 60,000 men strong.  On July 26th the 3rd IJA began an advance against the Russian defenses along the Green Hills. They would be formidable if it was not for their length and proximity to the railway offering the Japanese excellent outflanking options. It took three days to break the Russian lines. The Russians had fought very well suffering around 1000 casualties for the 4000 the Japanese incurred. Nogi ordered the men to advance quickly to not give the Russians a breath. The Russians pulled back to Fenghuangshan known also as the Wolf Hills. Tretyakov had this to say “I learnt that our men on Fenghuangshan had hurriedly retreated into the fortress without offering any serious resistance to the enemy. This was extremely unwelcome news, for now we should have to come into direct touch with the enemy round the fortress itself. “ General Nogi's men were only receiving the first appetizer of the horror to come. The hill filled path to Port Arthur enacted devastating casualties upon the 3rd IJA, but when they would face the real defensive lines of Port Arthur, such as the Orphan hills and 203 meter hill, the Japanese would learn what 20th century warfare truly had become.  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. General Nogi lost countless men and even his eldest son taking the formidable position of Nanshan. The Japanese were bleeding themselves in a new era of warfare to take back what they felt was theirs, the formidable Port Arthur. What more would it could the Japanese, and that of Nogi? 

Forget everything you know about the Monsterverse. Godzilla X Kong, Monarch, etc and whatever because this week we talk a genuine modern classic Japanese monster movie with Godzilla Minus One. Plus we get into the danger of the XMas box office, Zach Snyder's comments on the DCEU/DCU, a new writer for Avengers: Kang Dynasty, a new segment on three normal men, a trailer for Furiosa and more! Thanks for listeningVisit bigsandwich.co for a bonus weekly show, lets play videos, exclusive movie commentaries, early stuff and ad-free podcast feeds for $9 per month.Please be aware timecodes may shift due to inserted ads.00:00 The Start03:42 Spotify Wrapped05:56 Christmas Box Office Danger09:55 Zack Snyder Comments on DCEU11:58 New Avengers: Kang Dynasty Writer12:58 Three of the Most Normal Men22:27 Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Trailer27:20 Actors on Actors Line-Up with Barbenheimer29:22 Batman Dark Knight Returns Comic Controversy31:27 Godzilla Minus One Review (spoilers 49:02 to 57:10)57:10 What We Reading, What We Gonna Read01:05:28 Letters, It's Time for Letters (feat. Kong: Skull Island Details from Jordan Vogt-Roberts)James' Twitter ► http://twitter.com/mrsundaymoviesMaso's Twitter ► http://twitter.com/wikipediabrownMaso's Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/nickmaseauThe Weekly Planet Twitter ► https://twitter.com/theweeklyplanetPatreon ► https://patreon.com/mrsundaymoviesTWP iTunes ► https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-planet/id718158767TWP Direct Download ► https://play.acast.com/s/theweeklyplanetTWP YouTube Channel ► https://goo.gl/1ZQFGHAmazon Affiliate Link ► https://amzn.to/2QbmwGjT-Shirts/Merch ► https://www.teepublic.com/stores/mr-sunday-movies Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Full Text of ReadingsFirst Sunday of Advent Lectionary: 2The Saint of the day is Saint Francis XavierSaint Francis Xavier's Story Jesus asked, “What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” (Matthew 16:26a). The words were repeated to a young teacher of philosophy who had a highly promising career in academics, with success and a life of prestige and honor before him. Francis Xavier, 24 at the time, and living and teaching in Paris, did not heed these words at once. They came from a good friend, Ignatius of Loyola, whose tireless persuasion finally won the young man to Christ. Francis then made the spiritual exercises under the direction of Ignatius, and in 1534, joined his little community, the infant Society of Jesus. Together at Montmartre they vowed poverty, chastity, obedience, and apostolic service according to the directions of the pope. From Venice, where he was ordained a priest in 1537, Xavier went on to Lisbon and from there sailed to the East Indies, landing at Goa, on the west coast of India. For the next 10 years he labored to bring the faith to such widely scattered peoples as the Hindus, the Malayans, and the Japanese. He spent much of that time in India, and served as provincial of the newly established Jesuit province of India. Wherever he went, Xavier lived with the poorest people, sharing their food and rough accommodations. He spent countless hours ministering to the sick and the poor, particularly to lepers. Very often he had no time to sleep or even to say his breviary but, as we know from his letters, he was filled always with joy. Xavier went through the islands of Malaysia, then up to Japan. He learned enough Japanese to preach to simple folk, to instruct, and to baptize, and to establish missions for those who were to follow him. From Japan he had dreams of going to China, but this plan was never realized. Before reaching the mainland, he died. His remains are enshrined in the Church of Good Jesus in Goa. He and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux were declared co-patrons of the missions in 1925. Reflection All of us are called to “go and preach to all nations—see Matthew 28:19. Our preaching is not necessarily on distant shores but to our families, our children, our husband or wife, our coworkers. And we are called to preach not with words, but by our everyday lives. Only by sacrifice, the giving up of all selfish gain, could Francis Xavier be free to bear the Good News to the world. Sacrifice is leaving yourself behind at times for a greater good, the good of prayer, the good of helping someone in need, the good of just listening to another. The greatest gift we have is our time. Francis Xavier gave his to others. Saint Francis Xavier is a Patron Saint of: JapanJewelersMissionsSailors Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

On this week's episode of The Waves, with the emergence of streaming more Americans are becoming fans of Japanese anime. Within that media, viewers can see wide ranges of LGBTQ+ representation and gender presentation that often isn't found in American animation. But like American media, not all of these representations are as nuanced as they should be. Host Vic Whitley-Berry is an avid anime fan, and they sit down with journalist Princess Weekes on femme representation in Japanese anime. In Slate Plus the messiness of shipping and fandoms.  If you liked this episode, check out: Can Fairy Tales Be Feminist? Podcast production by Cheyna Roth and Vic Whitley-Berry with editorial oversight by Daisy Rosario and Alicia Montgomery. Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now at slate.com/thewavesplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan 11:2-35, 1 John 3:7-24, Ps 122:1-9, Pr 29:1

Today on the podcast host Jackson talks with Brad St.Croix about the role of Fifth Columnists in the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941. Brad details to us why people from Hong Kong supported the Japanese, the descriptions of Fifth Columnists in Primary Sources from the Battle, and also the interesting position and actions of Criminal Organisations in this battle.To read Brad's work head to:To keep up to date with Brad head toHis Instagram: otdmilhistoryHis YouTube: @OTDMilitaryHistoryHis X: OTDCanMilHisIf you want to get in touch with History with Jackson email: jackson@historywithjackson.co.ukTo support History with Jackson to carry on creating content subscribe to History with Jackson+ on Apple Podcasts or become a supporter on Buy Me A Coffee: https://bmc.link/HistorywJacksonTo catch up on everything to do with History with Jackson head to www.HistorywithJackson.co.ukFollow us on Facebook at @HistorywithJacksonFollow us on Instagram at @HistorywithJacksonFollow us on X/Twitter at @HistorywJacksonFollow us on TikTok at @HistorywithJackson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A huge thank you to our presenting sponsor for The Herbalist Hour, Oshala Farm Oshala Farm is a beautiful and vibrant certified organic herb farm based in southern Oregon where they grow and sell over 80 different plant species.  LEARN MORE AND BUY | OshalaFarm.com In this episode of The Herbalist Hour I'm joined by Jade Alicandro.  Jade weaves a love of bio-regionally abundant herbs and kitchen medicine into her work as a community and clinical herbalist.  In this conversation we chat about how she got into herbalism, dandelion, rose, Japanese knotweed, her Spice Rack Medicine Winter Online Series, advice for the budding herbalist, food as medicine and a whole lot more! Thanks to Jade for joinin' me on the show, and thanks to you for listening.  See you in in the next episode, ~Mason PS - WATCH THIS INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE LINKS & RESOURCES Spice Rack Medicine Winter Online Series | LEARN MORE & REGISTER Milk & Honey Herbs | MilkandHoneyHerbs.com Milk & Honey Herbs on Instagram | @milkandhoneyherbs Jade's Patreon | LEARN MORE  

Community Prayer and Encouragement

Welcome back for episode 198 of The Bodybuilding Dietitians Podcast! On this week's episode Tyarra and Jack answer a bunch of listener questions! Topics include: - What to do if you overshoot your calories post-show for a number of weeks and gain an excessive amount of weight? - Thoughts on photos vs skinfolds in a bulking and cutting phase - Should you trust the buttons on a Japanese toilet? Link for Aussie Bodybuilding Tees: https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/tbdapparel/aussie-bodybuilding-tee Thank you again for tuning into the podcast and we hope you enjoy! We would greatly appreciate if you would please subscribe to the channel, give us a rating, leave us a review and tell your friends about the podcast! The more people we can reach out to and help the better! Stay tuned for more podcasts released on a weekly basis! Business Website: www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com Tyarra's Instagram: www.instagram.com/tyarranelson/?hl=en Jack's Instagram: www.instagram.com/jack.radfordsmith/?hl=en The Bodybuilding Dietitians Instagram: www.instagram.com/thebodybuildingdietitians/?hl=en YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Why7CvHSXNMG8Aws6dnww 10% Off Marmadukes Peanut Butter Powder (discount code TBD10): www.marmadukes.com.au/discount/TBD10 VPA 10% off codes used at checkout: www.vpa.com.au/ TYARRA JACK

At MrMaple.com we are passionate about Japanese maples! You can support our channel by shopping on MrMaple.com  The best information source for Japanese maples on the internet are the MrMaple Files on MrMaple.com. These photos and descriptions are written by the MrMaple brothers who love Japanese maples and have a lot of experience with these trees. The MrMaple Files are best information on Japanese maples on the web!  If you enjoy this content please:  LIKE ✅ SUBSCRIBE ✅ COMMENT ✅ Buying Japanese maples has never been easier! Japanese maples are a living piece of art for the garden and landscape. At MrMaple, you can buy over 1000 different cultivars of Japanese maples. Buying the right Japanese maple for your garden has never been easier. Buy the perfect Japanese maple for your yard today! Check out our extensive lineup of Japanese Maples!  https://mrmaple.com/collections/buy-japanese-maples Check out our Facebook group here:

As part of our ongoing series about the Great Shanghai Escape, I had a conversation with my friend and collaborator Dovi Safier, who is a known expert on this topic, as well as having done some original research highlighting new angles of the narrative. Prior to getting to the topic at hand, our conversation covered recent history discoveries related to the family of the Slabodka Yeshiva, bearing witness to history, the recent rally in Washington, before we got to talking about the escape to Shanghai. We discussed the role of Rav Yitzchak Isaac Herzog in facilitating the escape and of Rav Avraham Kalmanowitz in funding the Mir Yeshiva and other rescue activities he spearheaded throughout his colorful career. The arrival of the refugees in Japan was another story we covered, including their reception by the local populace and the local Jewish community, despite the fact that anti-Semitic tropes were prevalent in the Japanese press. In order to create an even more authentic feel, Dovi inserted historic audio of eyewitnesses to some of the events described. Check out a previous episode of Jewish History Soundbites relating to the refugees sojourn in Japan regarding the debate surrounding the halachic International Dateline: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/e/when-shabbos-was-sunday-the-international-dateline-controversy/   Cross River, a leading financial institution committed to supporting its communities, is proud to sponsor Jewish History Soundbites. As a trusted partner for individuals and businesses, Cross River understands the importance of preserving and celebrating our heritage. By sponsoring this podcast, they demonstrate their unwavering dedication to enriching the lives of the communities in which they serve. Visit Cross River at https://www.crossriver.com/   Subscribe to Jewish History Soundbites Podcast on: PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/ or your favorite podcast platform Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites For sponsorship opportunities about your favorite topics of Jewish history or feedback contact Yehuda at:  yehuda@yehudageberer.com

Dan 9:1-11:1, 1 John 2:18-3:6, Ps 121:1-8, Pr 28:27-28

Computer scientist Joy Buolamwini coined the term the "coded gaze" while in grad school at MIT. As a brown-skinned woman, the facial recognition software program she was working on couldn't detect her face until she put on a white mask. She's written a book about the potential harms of AI — which include the social implications of bias and how it affects everyone. Also, we'll talk about UFO conspiracy theories with journalist Garrett Graff. He talks with us about how they've led to other conspiracy theories about the government.And Justin Chang will review the latest film by Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, The Boy and the Heron.

Zoro's play date, Japanese interview, Dariush vs Tsarukyan, Turner vs Green, Font vs Figueiredo, Brady vs Gastelum, Guida vs Silva

Ohayo Gozaimasu! Happy Friday everyone today's returning guest is food content creator Obieats on the show to share with us his recent trip to Japan. Obi spent spent ten days in Tokyo & Osaka. Obi talks about the culture and politeness in Japan, going to the famous Tsujiki Fish Market, Shibuya Crossing, his Go Kart Experience, Edomakasen boat lunch and Doutonburi. Obi breaks down the Japanese pride in the quality of their food- from convenient stores to restaurants, spending Halloween in Shibuya, taking the bullet train, suggestions for first timers traveling to Japan and more! Obieats LinksTimestamp:Subway experiences (8:28)People being very curteous (11:31)Tsujiki Fish Market (22:00)Sushi talk (25:24)Go Kart experience (29:52)Shibuya (38:41)Osaka (44:31)

Bruce Levine and Mike Esposito opened their show by discussing the Cubs' interest in trading for Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow and whether the White Sox could trade right-hander Dylan Cease soon. Later, they pondered the Cubs' chance to sign Japanese star right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

  We had to go back! To the wacky world of Twin Peaks! We're re-reviewing FIRE WALK WITH ME now that Bowman's seen the series, and also reviewing TWIN PEAKS - THE MISSING PIECES (from 2014)! Get ready for a long one! But first! We chat all about every movie David Lynch ever made and produce an extremely comprehensive, mathematical, and official ranking of all the movies! So #DonloydNow and enjoy this bite-sized Junk Food Supper. We got all this plus no Kelly surfer ranch reports, pandemic memories, workplace struggles, finger snaps and saxy saxophones, Kevin Moss remixes, intense subjects, absolutely no Godzilla chat allowed, theoretical theories, Japanese advertisements, burps, sneezes and so much more!! Direct Donloyd Here Got a movie suggestion for the show, or better yet an opinion on next week's movies? Drop us a line at JFDPodcast@gmail.com. Or leave us a voicemail: 347-746-JUNK (5865). Add it to your telephone now! JOIN THE CONVERSATION! Also, if you like the show, please take a minute and subscribe and/or comment on us on iTunes, Stitcher, Blubrry or Podfeed.net. Check us out on Facebook and Twitter! We'd love to see some of your love on Patreon - it's super easy and fun to sign up for the extra bonus content. We'll eat garmonbozia for your love and support. With picks like these, you GOTTA #DonloydNow and listen in!

Join Lewis for an all-new Triple Crown Puroresu Podcast discussing the latest in Japanese professional wrestling from AJPW, NJPW, STARDOM, NOAH and more. Leave your thoughts on this podcast in the live chat and comments section. Like, share and subscribe to support! #AJPW #noah_ghc #NJPW

The attitude of our current GOP is so ill-prepared to do battle with the communist, while they're playing to win every hand. How the Japanese prepared vs how we prepared for war in the Solomon Islands. The worst naval loss in the history of the United States. 24 shells in 10 seconds. Hakeem Jeffries doesn't see himself as a Congressman, but a communist warrior. The US government worked hand in hand with PMC's to run psyops against the American people. Republicans fully funded the FBI and DOJ with no repercussions for their actions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

learn how to talk about your occupation

Kimberley: Welcome back, Ethan Smith. I love you. Tell me how you are. First, tell me who you are. For those who haven't heard of your brilliance, tell us who you are. Ethan: I love you. My name is Ethan Smith, and I'm a national advocate for the International OCD Foundation and just an all-around warrior for OCD, letting people know that there's help and there's hope. That's what I've dedicated my life to doing. Kimberley: You have done a very good job. I'm very, very impressed. Ethan: I appreciate that. It's a work in progress. Kimberley: Well, that's the whole point of today, right? It is a work in progress. For those of you who don't know, we have several episodes with Ethan. This is a part two, almost part three, episode, just catching up on where you're at. The last time we spoke, you were sharing about the journey of self-compassion that you're on and your recovery in many areas. Do you want to briefly catch us up on where you're at and what it's been like since we met last? Ethan: Yeah, for sure. We'll do a quick recap, like the first three minutes of a TV show where they're like, “So, you're here, and what happened before?”  Kimberley: Previously on. Ethan: Yeah, previously, on real Ethans of Coweta County, which sounds super country and rural. The last time we spoke, I was actually really vulnerable. I don't mean that as touting myself, but I said for the first time publicly about a diagnosis of bipolar. At that time, when we spoke, I had really hit a low—a new low that came from a very hypomanic episode, and it was not related to OCD. I found myself in a really icky spot. Part of the reason for coming or reaching that bottom was when I got better from OCD into recovery and maintenance, navigating life for the first time, really for the first time as an adult man in Los Angeles, which isn't an easy city, navigating the industry, which isn't the nicest place, and having been born with OCD and really that comprising the majority of my life. The next 10 years were really about me growing and learning how to live. But I don't know that I knew that at the time. I really thought it was about, okay, now we're going to succeed, and I'm going to make money, live all my dreams, meet my partner, and stuff's going to happen because OCD is not in the way. That isn't to say that that can't happen, and that wasn't necessary. I had some amazing life experiences. It wasn't like I had a horrible nine years. There were some wonderful things. But one of the things that I learned coming to this diagnosis and this conclusion was how hard I was being on myself by not “achieving” all the goals and the dreams that I set out to do for myself. It was the first time in a long time, really in my entire life, that I saw myself as a failure and that I didn't have a mental illness to blame for that failure. I looked at the past nine years, and I went, “Okay, I worked so hard to get here, and I didn't do it. I worked so hard to get here in a personal relationship, and I didn't get there. I worked so hard to get here financially, and I didn't even come close." In the past, I could always say, “Oh, OCD anxiety.” I couldn't do it. I couldn't finish it. I dropped out. That was always in the way. It was the first time I went, “Oh wow, okay, this is on Ethan. This is on me. I must not be creative enough, smart enough, good enough, strong enough, or brave enough.” That line of thinking really sent me down a really dark rabbit hole into a really tough state of depression and hypomania and just engaging in unhealthy activities and things like that until I just came crashing down. When we connected, I think I had just moved from Los Angeles to Atlanta and was resetting in a way. At that time, it very much felt like I was taking a step back. I had left Los Angeles. It just wasn't a healthy place for me at that time. My living situation was difficult because of my upstairs neighbor, and it was just very complicated. So, I ended up moving back to Georgia for work, and I ended up moving back in with my parents. I don't remember if we talked about that or not, but it was a good opportunity to reset. At that time, it very much looked and felt like I was going backwards. I just lived for 10 years on my own in Los Angeles, pursuing my dreams and goals. I was living at home when I was sick. What does this mean? I'm not ready to move. I'm not ready to leave. I haven't given up on my dream. What am I doing? I think if we skip the next three years from 2019 on, in retrospect, it wasn't taking a step back; it was taking a step forward. It was just choosing a different path that I didn't realize because that decision led to some of the healthiest, most profound experiences in my life that I'm currently living. I can look back at that moment and see, “Oh, I failed. I've given up.” This is backwards. In reality, it was such a beautiful stepping stone, and I was willing to step back to move forward, to remove myself from a situation, and then reinsert myself in something. Where I am now is I'm engaged, to be married. I guess that's what engaged means. I guess I'm not engaged with a lawyer. I'm engaged, and that's really exciting. Kimberley: Your phone isn't engaged. Ethan: Yeah, for sure, to an amazing human being. I have a thriving business. I'm legitimately doing so many things that I never thought I would do in life ever, whether it had to do with bipolar or more prominently in my life, OCD, where I spent age 20 to 31, accepting that I was home-ish bound and that was going to be my life forever and that I'm “disabled” or “handicapped,” and that's just my normal. I had that conversation with my parents. That was just something that I was going to have to live with and accept. I'm doing lots of things that I never expected to do. But what I've noticed with OCD is, as the stakes seem raised because you're engaging yourself in so many things that are value-driven and that you care about, the stakes seem higher. You have more to lose. When you're at the bottom, it's like, okay, so what? I'm already like all these things. Nothing can go wrong now because I'm about to get married to my soulmate, and my business is doing really well. I have amazing friends, and I love my OCD community. The thoughts and the feelings are much more intense again because I feel like I have a lot more to lose. Whereas I was dismissing thoughts before, now they carry a little bit more weight and importance to me because I'm afraid of losing the things that I care about more. There's other people in my life. It's not just about me. With that mindset came not a disregard but almost forgetting how to be self-compassionate with myself. One of the things that came out of that bipolar diagnosis in my moving forward was the implementation of active work around self-compassion. I did workbooks, I worked very closely with my therapist, and we proactively did tons and tons of work in self-compassion. You can interrupt me at any time, because I'll keep babbling. So, please feel free to interrupt. I realized that I was not practicing self-compassion in my life at all. I don't know that I ever had. Learning self-compassion was like learning Japanese backwards. It was the most confusing thing in the world. The analogy that I always said: my therapist, who I've been with for 13 years, would say to me, “You just need to accept where you are and embrace where you are right now. It's okay to be there. Give yourself grace.” She would say all these things.  I always subscribe to the likes of, “You have to work harder. You can't lift yourself off the hook. Drive, drive, drive, drive.” That was what I knew. I tried to fight her on her logic. I said, “If there's a basketball team and they're in the finals and it's halftime and they're down by 10, does the coach go to the basketball team and say, ‘Hey guys, let's just appreciate where we are right now; let's just be in this moment and recognize that we're down by 10 and be okay with that.'” I'm like, “No, of course not. He doesn't go in there and say that. He goes, ‘You better get it together and all this stuff.'” I remember my therapist goes, “Yeah, but they're getting out of bed.” I'm like, “Oh, okay, that's the difference.” They're actually living their life. I'm completely paralyzed because I'm just beating myself down.  But what I've learned in the last three or four years is that self-compassion is a continuous work in progress for me and has to be like a conscious, intentional practice. I found myself in the last year really not giving myself a lot of self-compassion. There's a myriad of reasons why, but I really wanted to come on and talk about it with you and just share some of my own experiences, pitfalls, and things that I've been dealing with.  I will say the last two years have probably been the hardest couple of years and the most beautiful simultaneously, but hard in terms of OCD, thoughts and triggers, anxiety, and just my overall baseline comfort level being raised because, again, there's so many beautiful things happening. That terrifies me. I mean, we know OCD is triggered by good stress or bad stress. So, this is definitely one of those circumstances where the stakes seem higher. They seem raised, so I need more certainty. I need it. I have to have more certainty. I don't, really. I'm okay with uncertainty, but part of that component is the amount of self-compassion that I give myself. I haven't been the best at it the last couple of years, especially in the last six months. I haven't been so good. Kimberley: I think this is very validating for people, myself included, in that when you are functioning, it doesn't seem like it's needed. But when we're not functioning, it also doesn't feel like it's needed. So, I want to catch myself on that. What are some roadblocks that you faced in the implementation of this journey of self-compassion or the practice of self-compassion? What gets in the way for you? Ethan: I will give you a specific example. It's part of my two-year journey. In the last year and a half, I started working with a nutritionist. Physical health has become more important to me. It may not look like that, but getting there, a work in progress. But the reality of it is, and this is just true, I'm marrying a woman who's 12 years younger than me. I want to be a dad. I can't wait to have children. The reality of my life—which I'm very accepting of my current reality, which was something I wasn't, and we were probably talking about that before—was like, I wanted to be younger. I hated that everything was happening now. I wasn't embracing where I was and who I was in that reality. I'm very at peace with where I am, but the reality of my reality is that I will be an older father. So, a value-driven thing for me to do is get healthier physically because I want to be able to run around and play catch in 10 years with my kid. I would be 55 or 60 and be able to be in their lives for as long as I possibly could. I started working with a nutritionist, and for me, weight has always been an issue. Always. It has been a lifelong struggle for me. I've always yo-yoed. It's always been about emotional eating. It's always been a coping mechanism for me. I started working with a nutritionist. She's become a really good friend, an influence in my life, and an accountability partner. I'm not on a diet or lifestyle change. There's no food off the table. I track and I journal. But in doing this, I told her from the beginning, "In the first three months, I will be the best client you've ever had,” because that's what I do—I start perfectly. Then something happens, and I get derailed. I was like, my goal is to come back on when I get derailed. That is the goal for me. And that's exactly what happened. I was the star student for three months. I didn't miss a beat. I lost 15 pounds. The goal wasn't weight loss, mind you; it was just eating healthier and making more intentional choices. Then I had some OCD pipe up, my emotions were dysregulated, and I really struggled with the nutrition piece. I did get back on track.  Over the last year, I gained about seven pounds doing this nutrition. Over the last six months, I was so angry at myself for looking at my year's journey. This is just an example of multiple things with self-compassion, but this is the most concrete and tangible I can think of at the moment. But looking at my year and looking at it with that black-and-white OCD brain and saying, “I failed. I'm a piece of crap. I'm not where I want to be on my journey. I've had all of the support I could possibly have. I have all the impetus. I want to be thinner for my wedding. I want to look my best at my wedding. What is wrong with me? In these vulnerable emotional states or these moments of struggle, why did I give in?” In the last couple of months, I literally refused to give myself any compassion or grace around food, screw-ups, mess-ups, and any of that. I refused. My partner Katie would tell me, “Ethan, you have to love--” I'm like, “No, I do not deserve it.” I'm squandering this opportunity. I just wholeheartedly refused to give myself compassion. Because it's always been an issue, I'm like, “What's it going to take?” Well, compassion can't be the answer. I need tough love for myself.  I think I did this in a lot of areas of my life because, for me, I don't know, there's a stigma around self-compassion. Sometimes, even though I understand what it is on paper-- and I've read your workbook and studied a lot of Kristin Neff, who's an amazing self-compassion expert. On paper, I can know what it is, which is simply embracing where you are in the moment without judgment and still wanting better for yourself and giving yourself that grace and compassion, regardless of where it is.  I felt like I couldn't do that anymore because I wasn't supposed to. I wasn't allowed. I suddenly reframed self-compassion as a weakness and as an excuse rather than-- it was very much how I thought about it before I even learned anything about self-compassion, and I found myself just not a very loving person myself. My internal self-talk was really horrible and probably the worst. If somebody was talking to me like this, you always try to make it external and be like, “Oh, if somebody talked to you like this, would they be your friend? Would you listen to them?” I was calling myself names. I gave myself a room. It was almost in every facet of my life, and it was really, really eating at me. It took a significant-- yeah, go ahead. Kimberley: When I'm with clients and we're talking about behaviors, we always talk about the complex outcomes of them, like the consequences that you were being hard on yourself, that it still wasn't working, and so forth. But then we always spend some time looking at, let's say, somebody is drinking excessively or doing any behavior that's not helpful to them. We also look at why it was helping them, because we don't do things unless we think they're helping. What was the reason you engaged in the criticism piece? How did that serve you in those moments? Ethan: It didn't, in retrospect. In the moment, I think behaving in that way feels much like grabbing a spear and putting on armor. I don't know if it's stigma or male stigma. I mean, I've always had no problem being sensitive, being open to sensitivity, and being who I am as an individual. But with all of this good in my life, my emotions are more intense. My thoughts are more intense. My OCD is more intense. I felt like I needed to put on-- I basically defaulted to my original state of thinking before I even learned about self-compassion, which is head down, bull horns out, and I'm just going to charge through all of this because it's the only way. It's just like losing insight. When you're struggling with OCD, it's like you lose insight, you lose objectivity. It's like there's only one way through this.  I think it's important to note, in addition to the self-compassion piece, this year especially, there's been some physical things and some somatic symptoms that I've gotten really stuck on. I'm really grateful that-- and I love to talk about it with advocacy. It's like, advocates, all of us, just because we're speaking doesn't mean that we have an OCD-free life or a struggle-free life. That's just not it. I always live by the mantra: more good days than bad. That is my jam. I'm pleased to report that in the last 13 years, I've still had more good days than bad, but it doesn't mean that I don't have a tough month.  I think that in the last couple of years, I've definitely been challenged in a new way because there's been some things that have come up that are valid. I have a lot of health anxiety, and they've been actual physical things that have manifested, that are legitimate things. Of course, my catastrophic brain grabs onto them. You Google once, and it's over. I have three and a half minutes to live for a brown toenail, and-- Kimberley: You died already. Ethan: I'm already dead. I think it all comes back around to this idea of self-stigma, that even if you know all this stuff like, I'm not allowed to struggle, I'm not allowed to suffer, I have to be a rock, I have to be all things to all people—it's all these very black and white rules that are impossible for a human being to live by because that's just not reality. I mean, I think that's why the tough exterior came back because it was like, “All right, life is more challenging.” The beautiful thing about recovery is, for the most part, it didn't affect my functioning, which was amazing. I could still look at every day and go, “I was 70% present,” or “I was 60% present and 40% in my head, but still being mindful and still doing work and still showing up and still traveling.” From somebody that was completely shut down, different people respond in different ways to OCD. From somebody who came from completely shutting down and being bedridden, this was a huge win. But for me, it wasn't a huge win in my head. It was a massive failing on my part. What was I doing wrong? How was it?  Just as much as I would talk every week on my live streams and talk about, it's a disease, not a decision, it's a disorder. I can say that all day long, but there are times when it tricks me, and I stigmatize myself around it.  It's been very much that in the last year, for sure. It's been extremely challenging facing this new baseline for myself. Because, let's face it, I'm engaging in things that I've never experienced before. I've never been in a three-year relationship with a woman. I've never been engaged. I've never bought a house. Outside of acting, I've never owned a business or been a businessperson. I mean, these are all really big commitments in life, and I'm doing them for the first time.  If I have insight now and it's like, I can have this conversation and say, “Yeah, I have every reason to be self-compassionate with myself.” These are all brand new things with no instruction manual. But it's very easy to lose sight of that insight and objectivity and to sit there and say-- we do a lot of comparing, so it's very easy to go, “Well, these are normal human things. Everybody gets married. Everybody works. This should be easy.” You talk about, like, never compare struggles, ever. If somebody walks to the mailbox and you can't, never compare struggles. But that's me going, “Well, this is normal life stuff. It's hard. Well, what's wrong with me?” Kimberley: Right. I think, for me, when I'm thinking about when you're talking, I go in and out of beating myself up for my parenting, because, gosh, I can't seem to perfect this parenting gig. I just can't. I have to figure it out. What's so interesting is when I start beating myself up and if I catch myself, I often ask myself, what would I have to feel if I had to accept that I'm not great at this? I actually suck at this. It's usually that I don't want to feel that. I will beat myself up to avoid having to feel the feelings that I'm not doing it right. That has been a gateway for me, like a little way to access the self-compassion piece. It's usually because I don't want to feel something. And that, for me, has been really helpful.  I think that when you're talking about this perceived failure—because that's what it is. It's a perceived failure, like we're all a failure compared to the person who's a little bit further ahead of us—what is it that you don't want to feel? Ethan: It's a tough question. You've caught me speechless, which is rare for me. I'm glad you're doing video because otherwise, this would be a very boring section of the podcast. For me, the failing piece isn't as much of an issue. It was before. I don't feel like I've failed. In fact, I feel like I'm living more into where I'm supposed to be in my values. I think for me, the discomfort falls around being vulnerable and not in control. I think those are two areas that I really struggle with. I always say, sometimes I feel like I'm naked in a sandstorm. That's how I feel. That's the last thing you want to be. Well, you don't want to be in a sandstorm—not naked, but naked in a sandstorm—you don't want to see me naked at all. That's the bottom line. No nudity from Ethan. But regardless, you're probably alone in the sandstorm. You feel the stinging and all of that. No, I'm just saying that's what I picture it feels like.  Kimberley: Yeah, it's an ouch. That feels like an ouch. Ethan: It feels like a big ouch. I think that vulnerability, for me, is scary. I'm not good at showing vulnerability. Meaning, I have no problem within our community. I'll talk about it all day long. I'll talk about what happened yesterday or the day before. I'll be vulnerable. But for people who don't know me, I struggle with it.  Kimberley: Me too. Ethan: Yeah. We all have our public faces. But vulnerability scares me in terms of being a human being, being fallible, and not being able to live up to expectations. What if I have to say I can't today? Or I'm just not there right now and not in control of things that scare me. Those feelings, I think, have really thrown me a bit more than usual, again. I keep saying this because things feel more at stake, and they're not, but I feel like I have so much more to live for. That's not saying that I didn't feel like I didn't have a reason to live before. That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm simply saying, dreams come true, and how lucky am I? But when dreams come true with OCD, it latches onto the things we care about most and then says, “That's going to be taken away from you. Here are all the things you have to do to protect that thing.” I think it'd been a long time since I'd really faced that.  To answer your question in short, I think, for me, vulnerability and uncertainty around what I can't control, impacting the things that I care about most, are scary. Kimberley: I resonate so much with what you're saying. I always explain to my eating disorder clients, “When you have an eating disorder and you hit your goal weight, you would think we would celebrate and be like, ‘Okay, I hit it. I'm good now.'” But now there's the anxiety that you're going to go backwards. Even though you've hit this ridiculous goal, this unhealthy goal, the anxiety is as high as it ever was because the fear of losing what you've got is terrifying. I think that's so true for so many people. And I do agree with you. I think that we do engage in a lot of self-criticism because it feels safer than the vulnerability, the loss of control, or whatever that we have to feel. What has been helpful for you in moving back towards compassion? I know you said it's like an up-and-down journey, and we're all figuring this out as we go. What's been helpful for you? Ethan: A couple of things. I think it's worth talking about, or at least bringing up this idea of core fear. I've done some recent core fear work, just trying to determine, at the root of everything, what is my core fear? For me, it comes down to suffering. I'm afraid of suffering. I'm not afraid of dying; I'm afraid of suffering. I'm afraid of my entire life having to be focused on health and disease because that's what living with OCD when I was really sick was about. It's all I focused on. So, I'm so terrified of my life suddenly being refocused on that.  Even if I did come down with something awful, it doesn't mean that my life has to solely focus on that thing. But in my mind, my core fear is, what if I have to move away from these values that I'm looking at right now and face something different? That scares the crap out of me.  The first thing around that core fear is the willingness to let that be there and give myself compassion and grace, and what does that look like, which is a lot of things. This fear—this new fear and anxiety—hasn't stopped me from moving forward in any way, but it sure has made it a little bit more uncomfortable and taken a little bit of the joy out of it. That's where I felt like I needed to put on a second warrior helmet and fight instead of not resisting, opening myself up, and being willing to be naked in a sandstorm.  One of the things that I've learned most about is, as a business owner yourself, and if you're a workaholic, setting boundaries in self-care is really hard. I didn't really connect until this year the connection, the correlation between self-care and self-compassion. If I don't have self-compassion, I won't allow myself to give myself self-care. I won't. I won't do it because I don't deserve it. There's a very big difference between time off, not working, sleeping, but then actually taking care of yourself. It's three different things. There's working, there's not working, and then there's self-care. I didn't know that either. It was like, “Well, I didn't work tonight.” Well, that's not necessarily self-care. You just weren't in a meeting, or you weren't working on something. Self-care is proactive. It's purposeful. It's intentional.  Giving myself permission to say no to things, even at the risk of my own reputation, because I feel like saying no is a big bad word, because that shows that I can't handle everything at once, Kim. I can't do it all. And that is a no-no for me. Like, no, no, no, everybody needs to believe that you can do everything everywhere all at once, which was a movie. That's the biggest piece of it.  Recently, I was able to employ some self-care where it was needed at the risk of the optic seeming. I felt like, "Here I am, world. I'm weak, and I can't handle it anymore." That's what I feel like is on the other end.  I was sick, and I had been traveling every week since the end of March. I don't sleep very well. I just don't. When I'm going from bed to bed, I really don't sleep well. I had been in seven or eight cities in seven or eight weeks. I had been home for 24 hours. This was only three weeks ago, and I was about to head out on my last trip, and the meeting that I was going for, the primary reason, got canceled, not by me. I was still going to meet with people that I love and enjoy. I woke up the day before I was traveling, and I was sick. I was like, “Oh man, do I still go?” The big reason was off the table, but there were still many important reasons to go, but I was exhausted. I was tired. I was sick. My body was saying, “Enough.” I had enough insight to say, I'm not avoiding this. This isn't anxiety. This is like straight up.  When I texted the team—this is around work and things that I value—I was like, “I'm not coming.” I said, “I'm not coming.” They responded, “We totally understand. Take care of yourself.” And what I read was, “You weak ass bastard. You should suck it up and come here, because that's what I would have done. Why are you being so lame and lazy?” That is what I read. This is just an instance of what I generally feel if I can't live up to an expectation. I always put these non-human pressures on myself.  But making this choice, within two days, I was able to reset intentionally. This doesn't mean I'm going to go to bed and avoid life. I rested for a day because I needed to sleep to get better. But the next few days were filled with value-driven decisions and choices and walks and exercising and getting back on nutrition and drinking lots of water and spending quality time with people that I care about, and my body and brain just saying, “You need a moment.” Within a couple of days, everything changed. My OCD quickly dropped back down to baseline. My anxiety quickly dropped back down. I had insight and objectivity.  When I went back to work later that week—I work from home—I was way more effective and efficient. But I wouldn't have been able to do that. It was very, very hard to give myself self-compassion around making that simple decision that everybody was okay with. Kimberley: I always say my favorite saying is, “I'm sorry, but I'm at capacity right now.” That has changed my life because it's true. It's not even a lie. I'm constantly at capacity, and I find that people do really get it. But for me to say that once upon a time, I feel this. When I was sick, the same thing. I'm going to think I'm a total nutcase if I keep saying no to these people. But that is my go-to sentence, “I'm at capacity right now,” and it's been so helpful.  Ethan: In max bandwidth.  Kimberley: Yes. What I think is interesting too is I think for those who have been through recovery and have learned not to do avoidant behaviors and have learned not to do compulsions, saying “I need a break” feels like you've broken the rules of ERP. They're different things. Ethan: You hit them down. I was literally going to say that. It also felt when I made that decision that it felt old history to me, like old Ethan, pre-getting better. I make the joke. It was true. I killed my grandfather like 20 times while he was still alive. Grandpa died. I can't come to the thing. I can't travel. I can't do the thing. This was early 2000s, but I had a fake obituary that I put into Photoshop. I would just change the date so I can email it to them later and be like, it really happened. I would do this. It's like, here was a reason. It was 100% valid. Nobody questioned it. It was not based on OCD. It was a value-driven decision, and it felt so icky. My body felt like I might as well have sent a fake obituary to these people about the fake death of my grandfather. It felt like that. So, I wholeheartedly agree with you. Kimberley: I think it's so important that we acknowledge that post-recovery or during recovery is that saying acts of compassion sometimes will feel like and sound like they're compulsions when they're actually not.  Ethan: That's such a great point. I totally agree with you. Kimberley: They're actually like, I am actually at capacity. Or the expectation was so large, which for you, it sounds like it is for me too—the expectation was so large, I can't meet that either. That sucks. It's not fun.  Ethan: No, it's not. It's not because, I mean, there's just these scales that we weigh ourselves on and what we think we can account for. I mean, the pressure that we put on ourselves. And that's why, like the constant practice of self-compassion, the constant practice of being mindful and mindfulness, this constant idea of-- I mean, I always forget the exact thing, but you always say, I strive to be a B- or C+. I can never remember if it's a B- or C+, but-- Kimberley: B-. Ethan: B-. Okay, cool.  Kimberley: C+ if you really need it. Ethan: Yeah. To this day, I heard that 10 years ago, and I still struggle with that saying because I'm like, I don't even know that I can verbally say it. Like, I want to be a B... okay, that's good enough. Because it sounds terrifying. It's like, “No, I want to be an A+ at everything I do.”  I know we're closing in on time. One of the things I just wanted to say is thank you not only for being an amazing human being, an amazing advocate, an amazing clinician, and an okay mom, as we talked about. Kimberley: Facts. #facts. Ethan: But part of the reason I love advocating is I really didn't come on here to share a specific point or get something across that I felt was important. I think it's important as an advocate figure for somebody who doesn't like transparency or vulnerability to be as transparent and vulnerable as possible and let people see a window into somebody that they may look at and go, “That person doesn't struggle ever. I want to be like that. I see him every week on whatever, and he's got it taken care of. Even when it's hard, it isn't that hard.”  For me, being able to come on and give a window into Ethan in the last six months is so crucial and important. I want to thank you for letting me be here and share a little bit about my own life and where I met the goods and the bads. I wouldn't trade any of it, but I appreciate you. Kimberley: No, thank you. I so appreciate that because it is an up-and-down journey and we're all figuring it out, myself included. You could have interviewed me and I could have done similar things. Like here are the ways that I suck and really struggle with self-compassion. Here are the times where I've completely forgotten about it as a skill until my therapist is like, “Uh, you wrote this book about this thing that you might want to practice a little more of.” I think that it's validating to hear that learning it once is not all you need; it is a constant practice. Ethan: Yeah, it definitely is. Self-compassion is, to me, one of the most important skills and tools that we have at our disposal. It doesn't matter if you have a mental health issue or not. It's just an amazing way of life. I think I'll always be a student of it. It still feels like Japanese backwards sometimes. But I'm a lot better at putting my hand-- well, my heart's on that side, but putting my hand in my heart, and letting myself feel and be there for myself. I never mind. I'm a huge, staunch advocate of silver linings. I've said this a million times, and I'll always say, having been on the sidelines of life and not being able to participate, when life gets hard and stressful, deep down, I still have gratitude toward it because that means I'm actually living and participating. Even when things feel crappy or whatever, I know there'll be a lesson from it. I know good things will come of it. I try to think of those things as they're happening. It's meaningful to me because it gives me insight and lets me know that there'll be a lesson down the road. I don't know if it'll pay itself back tomorrow or in 10 years, but someday I'll be able to look at that and be like, “Well, I got to reintroduce myself to self-compassion. I got to go on Kim Quinlan's podcast, Your Anxiety Toolkit, and be able to talk to folks about my experience.” While I didn't quite enjoy it, it was a life experience, and it was totally worth it for these reasons. Now I get to turn my pain into my purpose. I think that's really cool. Kimberley: Yeah, I do too. I loved how you said before that moving home felt like it was going backwards, but it was actually going completely forward. I think that is the reality of life. You just don't know until later what it's all about. I'm so grateful for you being on the show. Thank you so much for coming on again. Ethan: Well, thanks for having me, and we'll do one in another 200 episodes. Kimberley: Yes, let's do it. Ethan: Okay.

Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! Get exclusive Japanese horror merchandise and join the Discord! Four terrifying encounters with the other side that will leave those touched forever changed. Beware what lurks nearby… BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Kowabana: 'True' Japanese scary stories from around the internet by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/kowabana

[School of Movies 2023] Arguably director Hayao Miyazaki's finest hour, and by extension the peak of composer Joe Hisaishi and for Studio Ghibli in general. This one is almost too easy to either sing the praises of, or to dismiss because it was so popular. Disney distributed it in America, and it made $395 million, which might make it the most successful theatrical release for an anime movie. By contrast, My Neighbours the Yamadas two years prior in 1999 made $11 million on three quarters the budget. Spirited away was showered with critical praise and won many awards. It's the popular girl. But this girl is also endlessly fascinating; stirring, whimsical, intelligent, exciting, funny, and unforgettable. She stays with us, and we return to her again and again for comfort and to feel that sense of quiet awe. It's also noteworthy that this has one of the best American language tracks for any Japanese film; Daveigh Chase (Lilo of Stitch fame, Donnie Darko's sister and the girl from The Ring), Jason Marsden (Max in The Goofy Movie), Susan Egan (Megara of Hercules fame and the Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast) Suzanne Pleshette (The Birds) David Ogden Stiers (Lilo & Stitch and Beauty and the Beast) and