Wayne O'Cohen / 上野公園
@wayneocohen.bsky.social
Maryland native, adopted New Jerseyan, current Tokyoite whose heart's in Hong Kong. Syracuse grad; postgrad at Gutenberg Universität Mainz. Entertainment writer formerly of Japan's Mainichi Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun. Interests: Media biz, Asian history
The Mediterranean Dish, a very useful blog by an Atlanta-based Egyptian woman, has lots of vegan recipes. I correctly guessed that she's a Coptic Christian, who are plentiful in Jersey City. Her detailed explanation of how to cook bulgur is the best I've seen: www.themediterraneandish.com
Mediterranean Recipes & Lifestyle
The Internet's #1 source for Mediterranean Diet recipes, resources, and lifestyle information. Eat with the seasons, use whole foods, and share. Join us today!
www.themediterraneandish.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:36 PM
The Mediterranean Dish, a very useful blog by an Atlanta-based Egyptian woman, has lots of vegan recipes. I correctly guessed that she's a Coptic Christian, who are plentiful in Jersey City. Her detailed explanation of how to cook bulgur is the best I've seen: www.themediterraneandish.com
I love falafel, but have to go without. For a while, I was buying lots of Jordanian-made hummus, but the importer, a major Japanese trading house, seems to have run out. Look around for sabich, a fried eggplant sandwich that's likely Israeli in origin. Just ask them to skip the hard-boiled eggs.
November 15, 2025 at 4:36 PM
I love falafel, but have to go without. For a while, I was buying lots of Jordanian-made hummus, but the importer, a major Japanese trading house, seems to have run out. Look around for sabich, a fried eggplant sandwich that's likely Israeli in origin. Just ask them to skip the hard-boiled eggs.
Falafel is hard to find in Tokyo, at least in the vicinity of where we live. Kebab shops, mostly run by Turks & Kurds, have sprouted like mushrooms around town, but few sell falafel, something I don't care to cook. A newish place near us has an extensive menu, including vegetarian "pizzas" & dips.
November 15, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Falafel is hard to find in Tokyo, at least in the vicinity of where we live. Kebab shops, mostly run by Turks & Kurds, have sprouted like mushrooms around town, but few sell falafel, something I don't care to cook. A newish place near us has an extensive menu, including vegetarian "pizzas" & dips.
Sean Insanity! Gotta remember that and use it often.
November 14, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Sean Insanity! Gotta remember that and use it often.
Come to think of it, I don't see as many "platform pizzas" as I did in the more distant past. Nor do I encounter as many sawdust-covered piles of puke on trains anymore. Either people aren't drinking to excess anymore, which I think is true, or I don't get out enough.
November 14, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Come to think of it, I don't see as many "platform pizzas" as I did in the more distant past. Nor do I encounter as many sawdust-covered piles of puke on trains anymore. Either people aren't drinking to excess anymore, which I think is true, or I don't get out enough.
Mulberry trees are a different story because they make a huge mess. That's why many people consider them a nuisance. But back in Jersey City, I made note of where they were, so I could come back & pick the ripe fruit. Trouble is, some Chinese families had the same idea. It led to a competition.
November 14, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Mulberry trees are a different story because they make a huge mess. That's why many people consider them a nuisance. But back in Jersey City, I made note of where they were, so I could come back & pick the ripe fruit. Trouble is, some Chinese families had the same idea. It led to a competition.
I'm kinda used to gingkos now. Bradford pear trees were another popular ornamental tree imported from Asia--until it was discovered that their blossoms smell like rotting fish, their branches easily break during storms, & their tiny fruits contain cyanide-laced seeds. They now have invasive status.
November 14, 2025 at 12:46 PM
I'm kinda used to gingkos now. Bradford pear trees were another popular ornamental tree imported from Asia--until it was discovered that their blossoms smell like rotting fish, their branches easily break during storms, & their tiny fruits contain cyanide-laced seeds. They now have invasive status.
Hmm. Maybe I should look into some sort of hygienic storage case for my mask when I'm not wearing it. One thing I'm really sick of is having Western tourists stare at me when I wear my mask in public. None of them bother to mask up, & they eyeball me like a freak when they see me with one.
November 14, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Hmm. Maybe I should look into some sort of hygienic storage case for my mask when I'm not wearing it. One thing I'm really sick of is having Western tourists stare at me when I wear my mask in public. None of them bother to mask up, & they eyeball me like a freak when they see me with one.
Well, the festival is over, and I'm not in Berlin. But I will have a look around to see if any of the featured films are available to stream online somehow somewhere.
November 14, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Well, the festival is over, and I'm not in Berlin. But I will have a look around to see if any of the featured films are available to stream online somehow somewhere.
The accounts in my Language / Linguistics / Usage list have gotten me interested in the languages & major dialects still spoken & regionally important in western & NW Europe, including Dutch, Flemish, Brabantish, Frisian, Low Saxon, Alsatian, Lëtzebuergesch & Lottrìnger Plàtt (Lothringen/Lorraine).
November 14, 2025 at 12:08 PM
The accounts in my Language / Linguistics / Usage list have gotten me interested in the languages & major dialects still spoken & regionally important in western & NW Europe, including Dutch, Flemish, Brabantish, Frisian, Low Saxon, Alsatian, Lëtzebuergesch & Lottrìnger Plàtt (Lothringen/Lorraine).
I can understand a lot of what this guy says, although the volume is a problem & the French subtitles are distracting. I can read most of the Elsässich questions posed to him. (Uff = Auf, and so on.) One problem is that he incorporates some French not used in High German. youtu.be/jtZpGi3-AKk
Uff elsässisch mìt’m Rémy - "En alsacien avec Rémy"
YouTube video by Toute l'Alsace
youtu.be
November 14, 2025 at 11:08 AM
I can understand a lot of what this guy says, although the volume is a problem & the French subtitles are distracting. I can read most of the Elsässich questions posed to him. (Uff = Auf, and so on.) One problem is that he incorporates some French not used in High German. youtu.be/jtZpGi3-AKk
Despite longtime official suppression, it's still spoken by about 600,000 people in France, making it the second-most widely spoken minority language after Occitan. It's had official recognition as a regional language since '92 & the central gov't began allowing immersion school classes in 2023.
November 14, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Despite longtime official suppression, it's still spoken by about 600,000 people in France, making it the second-most widely spoken minority language after Occitan. It's had official recognition as a regional language since '92 & the central gov't began allowing immersion school classes in 2023.
It's not exactly a language. Elsässisch, aka Elsässerditsch & Elsässerdeitsch, is actually a group of Alemannic & Franconian German dialects related to similar dialects spoken in Switzerland & the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It's also distantly related to Swiss Amish spoken in Indiana.
November 14, 2025 at 11:08 AM
It's not exactly a language. Elsässisch, aka Elsässerditsch & Elsässerdeitsch, is actually a group of Alemannic & Franconian German dialects related to similar dialects spoken in Switzerland & the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It's also distantly related to Swiss Amish spoken in Indiana.
On the other hand, I've found my comprehension of written and spoken Elsässisch (Alsatian) isn't so bad.
November 14, 2025 at 9:48 AM
On the other hand, I've found my comprehension of written and spoken Elsässisch (Alsatian) isn't so bad.
That's a valid point. But I think the journalists you describe have crossed the line from honest, well-researched, ethical reporting into subservient spreaders of false, misleading, & inaccurate messaging, making them mouthpieces & propagandists. In other words, they're no longer journalists.
November 14, 2025 at 9:38 AM
That's a valid point. But I think the journalists you describe have crossed the line from honest, well-researched, ethical reporting into subservient spreaders of false, misleading, & inaccurate messaging, making them mouthpieces & propagandists. In other words, they're no longer journalists.
Good for you! The vegan lifestyle isn't for me, but I've cut way down on meat consumption & boosted my consumption of plant-based proteins, some of which have been staring me in the face forever on Japanese supermarket shelves. Others have come my way via South & Southeast Asian grocery stores.
November 14, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Good for you! The vegan lifestyle isn't for me, but I've cut way down on meat consumption & boosted my consumption of plant-based proteins, some of which have been staring me in the face forever on Japanese supermarket shelves. Others have come my way via South & Southeast Asian grocery stores.
Oh, and I started following the "Dear Alana," podcast mentioned during the PBS news segment: dearalana.com
Dear Alana, Official Website
The #1 podcast from Tenderfoot TV. Hosted by Simon Kent Fung.
dearalana.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Oh, and I started following the "Dear Alana," podcast mentioned during the PBS news segment: dearalana.com
Don't know about you, but I'm always suspicious when self-described Christians don't identify themselves by denomination. Y'know, Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, Maronite, Chaldean, Greek Orthodox, Syro-Malabar, Methodist, Mennonite, Ukrainian Greek Catholic, Coptic, Tewahedo & the list goes on.
November 14, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Don't know about you, but I'm always suspicious when self-described Christians don't identify themselves by denomination. Y'know, Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, Maronite, Chaldean, Greek Orthodox, Syro-Malabar, Methodist, Mennonite, Ukrainian Greek Catholic, Coptic, Tewahedo & the list goes on.
What's more, it's ironic that the "Christian" plaintiff makes a big deal about the government "listening in" on confidential counselor/patient conversations. Funny how that rule doesn't apply to the gag rules some states apply to confidential conversations about reproductive health & abortion.
November 14, 2025 at 9:22 AM
What's more, it's ironic that the "Christian" plaintiff makes a big deal about the government "listening in" on confidential counselor/patient conversations. Funny how that rule doesn't apply to the gag rules some states apply to confidential conversations about reproductive health & abortion.
I think it ought to be clear that there's a huge difference between freedom of speech and professional conduct based on empirical evidence in a clinical setting. But I don't have high hopes for a just decision from this ethically and morally compromised Supreme Court.
November 14, 2025 at 9:22 AM
I think it ought to be clear that there's a huge difference between freedom of speech and professional conduct based on empirical evidence in a clinical setting. But I don't have high hopes for a just decision from this ethically and morally compromised Supreme Court.
My French isn't what it used to be.
November 13, 2025 at 8:14 PM
My French isn't what it used to be.
Finally, a detailed statement in PDF form from the @europarl.europa.eu on the status of anti-conversion laws on the nations and regions (in Spain) that have adopted them. The briefing was issued in December 2024: www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etud...
www.europarl.europa.eu
November 13, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Finally, a detailed statement in PDF form from the @europarl.europa.eu on the status of anti-conversion laws on the nations and regions (in Spain) that have adopted them. The briefing was issued in December 2024: www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etud...
Writing in June, @euractiv.com goes into greater detail about what's going on behind the scenes, paying particular attention to the situation in Hungary: www.euractiv.com/news/commiss...
Commission under pressure amid push to ban conversion therapy | Euractiv
More than a million EU citizens are pressuring the Commission to ban conversion therapies – but the path to a ban is anything but straight.
www.euractiv.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Writing in June, @euractiv.com goes into greater detail about what's going on behind the scenes, paying particular attention to the situation in Hungary: www.euractiv.com/news/commiss...
An update from October 7 that explains why a bloc-wide will prove difficult to put in place via @en.france24.com: www.france24.com/en/live-news...
EU wants to crack down on 'conversion therapy'
The European Union wants to clamp down on "conversion therapy" targeting LGBTQ people, the bloc's equality chief told AFP on Tuesday, but Brussels will stop short of introducing a ban on such practice...
www.france24.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:49 PM
An update from October 7 that explains why a bloc-wide will prove difficult to put in place via @en.france24.com: www.france24.com/en/live-news...