Found a great new board game
I ordered a copy of Arcs a while back after seeing some enthusiastic YouTube videos about it.
It arrived last week, and I finally managed to play half a game with my granddaughter.
Wonderfully nuanced. I got the gameplay completely wrong in this first game, instinctively trying to dominate the territory which has nothing to do with getting victory points in this game.
My granddaughter wiped the floor with me, so I’m looking forward to a rematch this week.
If you’re into board games and have 1-3 people who are willing to play with you, this might be worth checking out.
Daylight Saving Time
Aweber (our mailing list host) is a US company, so if you were wondering why the weekly email was late this week it’s because the clocks went back. So we’ll be going out at 11am on Mondays until the end of March, when we’ll go back to our summer schedule of going out at 10am JST.
RetireJapan TV
RJTV returns tonight (Monday Nov 11th) for Season 3! Join us as we take a look at what we missed over the last couple of months and look ahead to 2025.
RetireJapan on tour
I’ll be giving a presentation in Nara on December 1st. Details below.
YouTube
Thank you for your support of the RetireJapan YouTube channel. We published a new video on Wednesday, and also on Friday (what is going on?).
The second will mainly be of interest to teachers, public servants, and kyosai members.
The Forum
Speaking of which, the Forum is doing well (38,363 posts so far). The forum rules are here. In essence, they are:
- Be nice
- Ask any question you like
- Only answer questions when you have relevant knowledge or experience
Here are the latest active threads:
This week’s books
Finished Transition, by Iain M. Banks. Wonderful, if a little confusing. Still don’t really understand the underlying mechanic of the book, but great ending.
Started reading Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville. Heard great things, seems good so far. Just found out it is book one in a trilogy though. Eeek.
TV show of the week
Saw La Cage on Georges St-Pierre’s Facebook feed, and was really pleasantly surprised. A short 5-episode French drama about MMA with great characters, decent acting, some cool cameos (GSP! Firas Zahabi!). Big recommend, especially if you are into MMA or martial arts.
This week’s links
- The numbers are completely shocking: Japan births fall under 330,000 in Jan-June, down 6.3% from 2023
- My biggest concern regarding the new US government: Donald Trump can’t stop global climate action. If we stick together, it’s the US that will lose out
- Selfish superpower has a nice ring to it: “A long four years begins” Japan braces for Trump again
- Martin’s thoughts: Full send – what the US election means for risk assets
- Really informative interview (YouTube): Union secretary breaks down Japan’s labor laws
(more links next time! It’s been a busy week)
What do you think? Anything interesting in there?
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The Interview with Dennis Tesolat was fantastic. I know him personally through union work together, but I still learnt a whole lot.
I think an interview with him on your channel would be great, Ben. The General Union is doing a lot of work around Shakai Hoken and pensions, and as the post 1990 cohort coming to Japan reaches retirement age, it could be great for both sides to learn more about what you each do.
That’s a great idea. Are you still in contact with him? I’d be happy to do an online interview for our podcast ^-^
Well, what is interesting or worrying is who will replace Trump after his next term. If his next term does well politically, the economy ticks over, and the war in Ukraine ends, it may be proof to the voters that another mad MAGA candidate would be good for them and the U.S, Especially with the rhetoric that Trump and any future republican president may throw out there at the next election. The voters just won’t believe anything the Democrats say. They will also have the advantage of inheriting an economy with low inflation, being an incumbent, and possibly proving that the THREAT to democracy was all a hoax as Trump leaves office. Furthermore, Trump and the next republican president may get to pick another 2 Supreme Court justices. And 8 years is a long time when you’re getting old. Sotomayor is 69, and Justice Thomas is already 76. Will they retire? pass away? and allow another two right-wing judges to get in? So, for Climate change, it may be a lot longer than 4 years.