Sunday, May 22, 2022

Here's Osaka

So I start a post about something. I write half of it, then life gets in the way, I focus on other things and I forget about the post. A few weeks pass by and I can't pick it up again because I no longer really remember the point of writing it. 

But it's still sitting there, silently waiting for me to finish it. The guilt I feel for not doing it stops me from writing anything else - which is ridiculous of course. I'm the only one who even knows what I was trying to write in the first place.

So forget about that. We've been to Osaka, both over New Year and Golden Week. Here's a few pictures, selected not because they mean anything, but just because I like them:



The old Osaka City Hall on Nakanoshima. Today it's a conference center, and the surrounding park is a popular place for festivals and events. The new Osaka City Hall is a grey concrete box just off to the right.



Umeda JR station in Osaka.


Vending machines — is there anything they can't sell? This one sells COVID antigene tests for 1900 yen, less than 50 meters from home.


This way.


Namba, Osaka. This is obviously a story in the making, and I really want to know what was going on and how it turned out.


Fugitives.


Kawachi-Nagano is less than half an hour away from Namba by train, but as quiet and peaceful as you'd ever want. Feels like going 30 years back in time, in a very good way. A friend of ours works at a ryokan in the area, so we went there for a delicious lunch.


The pinball hall in Big Step, Amermura. Almost a hundred machines, from really old to the newest releases. Well worth a visit if you've ever enjoyed pinball. Even more worth it if you've never done so. Bring 100 yen coins!


Lilo Coffee Roasters is currently my favorite coffee place in Osaka. They do some excellent specialty coffee. You can get your choice of beans brewed almost any way you want, and buy a bag home.


A quiet evening sit down outside the shop. Minamisenba.


You never really see your neighborhood until you leave it for a while. Minamisenba.


Sunset.




5 comments:

  1. Did you really have to mention half-written blog posts? :( Now I feel even worse, my (unpublished) posts end up only somewhere around a slightly expanded idea, way before actually getting anything written down.

    I just checked, and soon there'll be one year since my last post. I don't know what changed in the past few years, but as you say - there's never time to actually finish a blog post. Since one actually wants to make it read somewhat well, and be self-contained, and… it feels like the world has gone crazy and there's no "free" time anymore.

    Happy that you managed to publish this - nice pictures!

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  2. You have a blog? Never realized that - give us a link!

    I agree. Our own lives are going fine, but it does feel the world at large is mentally and culturally circling the drain. It's as if we're living through the backstory retold at the start of a dystopian survival game. I have lots of cool stuff to write about, but for some reason I don't. I almost feel like there's no point talking about good things, when bad things are happening all around. And those I really can't do anything about.

    This is *not* a post that I finally managed to finish. I decided to just give up altogether and post some pictures I like instead. The whole thing is unplanned and almost unedited; I didn't even bother reorder most images.

    I'll probably try doing this again soon; see if this "who cares, just post" approach can get my creative juices flowing again. You should try it as well!

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    Replies
    1. Good point. I personally enjoyed even the unordered pictures, so posting more of this I think it's better than not. Also made me take a look my pictures from Osaka - I've been there once, many years ago. Much more "touristy" pictures, of course - but one from the courtyard of the castle is among my personal favourites - https://photos.k1024.org/Featured/i-RjjKs79/A.

      As to my blog, sure - https://k1024.org/. It's a very random collection of whatever goes through my mind, and a lot of not so successful sport activities :)

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    2. Cool! Two kernel commits - that's 1 or 2 more than me :) I believe my single contribution is long, long gone.

      I'm going to see if I can continue more random posts and see where it leads me. Feels like a shame to let the blog wither.

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    3. Well, I haven't done much open source lately either. Thinking on it, maybe the problem is me :)

      In any case, this was a good conversation - I'll also try to post shorter/more random things, just to get into the habit of it. So thank you!

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