June 2016

Life is super hectic at the moment! Instead, have some links I've enjoyed in the past month:

- I've been feeling natsukashii (nostalgic) about Japan recently, and then the NYT does an article about the Kumano Kodo, which I have hiked because it's located in my prefecture! My town, Tanabe, even gets a shout out.

- Musical theatre fans, you must watch this Carpool Karaoke video with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Audra McDonald, Jane Krakowski and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. I had the same reaction as they did when I heard the first two notes of "Seasons of Love," and their rendition of "One Day More" is ah-mazing.

- On a more sombre note, if you haven't already, please read the powerful letter the Stanford rape victim read aloud to her attacker. The amount of victim blaming that occurs when a female is sexually assaulted is infuriating. I don't know what's more disgusting about this whole case: that the offender's father didn't think his son should be punished for "20 minutes of action," that the offender is blaming alcohol for his actions and that HE will have to live with this for the rest of his life, or that the judge gave him such a light sentence.

- The immigrant history of small-town Chinese-Canadian food. It's all about the families.

- One of the most tragic things I've read recently: the underground race to spread medical knowledge as the Syrian regime erases it.

- I was obsessed with The Baby-Sitters Club as a kid so I enjoyed this ode to the series.

- If you are a West Wing fan, The West Wing Weekly is for you. It's a podcast hosted by Josh Malina, who played Will Bailey on the show, and he gets the best guests. My favourite episodes so far: "1.10 - In Excelsis Deo with Richard Schiff" (Toby was my favourite) and "0.01 - West Wing Reunion, Live from ATX" (featuring Aaron Sorkin and a good chunk of the cast).