don’t touch that dial

Warning: To follow, totally purposeless rant.

Why do radio stations think that people want to listen to oldies while eating lunch? It seems like they all have some cute version of “the retro cafe.” Do people think, “mmm, this turkey sandwich sure is good, but it would be even better with Eric Clapton!”? I spend my entire morning locked in the radioless recesses of a steel and concrete building, fighting an ancient mindset chiseled into the fabric of the organization; I have no desire to be assaulted by Joan Baez when I go out for lunch. You can’t escape it – even on the Japanese language stations they play enka (traditional music). Where is the new music? It certainly isn’t being played during lunch. It isn’t being played on the way home, for that matter, either. What is this “drive time traffic news” stuff? We live in Japan, for pete’s sake – the traffic is the same everyday! I could do the traffic. It would sound something like this: Short version – Everything is jammed; it will take at the very least an hour to go ten km in any direction. Long version: The Chuo Expressway is jammed. The Tomei Expressway is jammed. The Ken-o Expressway is jammed. The Kanetsu Expressway is jammed. The Joshinetsu Expressway is jammed. The Yokohama-Yokosuka toll road is jammed. (I think you get the idea here.) Somewhere great new music is being played and I am not hearing it! I have decided to boycott all of the products advertised during “retro cafe” and “drive time traffic news” until such time as new music is freed from its lunchtime/drivetime confinement. That will show them! Call amnesty international!

I had a wildly productive day, though my loved one had a minor relapse around 1000 this morning. For dinner I attempted to recreate a Chinese dish we had not long ago – Ebi Chili (Shrimp and Chili Peppers). It seemed to turn out OK. I’ll keep trying 🙂

I hope you have a great day!!