Autumn Anarchy Run — A 'Virtual' Race for Those that Love the Fall and Hate the State *(**Click here* *to view on VoluntaryJapan.com)* https://voluntaryjapan.com/2022/10/01/autumn-anarchy-run-a-virtual-race-for-those-that-love-the-fall-and-hate-the-state/ Anarchy is Beautiful in the Fall For the past two fall seasons, I've been doing a solo run here in Niigata I've dubbed the "Echigo Ultra," where I plot my own course, do something that's technically ultramarathon distance,…
Running Through Nanatani Valley — Old Trains, Hills, and Serenity Just did a little over a half marathon through the hills close to where I live. Have been struggling with sleeping, started the "SoberOctober" challenge, and figured I better get my ass out of bed and bust it, or a regular sleep pattern may never come. In other words, there is no more option for a whisky highball to help calm the nerves before bed this month. Not that alcohol helps the quality of sleep. It…
What I've Been Listening to on My Fall Runs so Far Fall is here. Running in the fall with some good music is one of the best things ever. Here are a few albums I've been listening to lately. Let me know some of your favorite running music in the comments. Been getting into Roxy Music lately thanks to a friend. It took a second to grow on me, but I'm a fan. And the production is amazing. Not to mention the songwriting, of course. Good companion on a cool fall night with a…
Why There's No Essential Difference Between the U.S. and Nazi Governments *Disclaimer: This post is largely a thought exploration and informational resource. I have been constantly updating and revising it. If it seems clunky or insensitive or outright fucking stupid and insensitive, just take what you need of the resources linked and leave, or let me know your gripes. Learning about history — and especially when dealing with such a sensitive topic — is a painstaking process…
Cutting Through the Lies With a Homemade Sword: It's Not Too Late to Unschool Your Kids My son visited a local blacksmith today to make "paper swords" — letter openers fashioned from a steel nail, with a pal who is also now an unschooler. I owe so much of the logistics leg work of being able to have my son at home and outdoors and free, out of the mini-prison camp of public schools, to my wife. Ideologically I turned her on to the whole thing, but since we have started our…
Running Through Autumn in Tokyo (Course Idea) Well, I realized Culture Day here in Japan — the date of the Autumn Anarchy Run mentioned in a previous post — falls on a Thursday this year, and as such I will not be able to run in my usual, Echigo mountain locations in Niigata. https://read.cash/@VoluntaryJapan/autumn-anarchy-run-a-virtual-race-for-those-that-love-the-fall-and-hate-the-state-4a0ed5b0 But that's okay. Because in spite of all the masked zombies and cult baloney…
Early Morning Run: Takasaki Kannon After two days of basically not sleeping, I finally zonked out and dreamed. When I woke up around 3am, happily re-enlivened, I decided I had better not waste this chance to see the Kannon (Buddhist goddess of mercy and protection) that I always see from the bullet train when passing through Takasaki, heading from Niigata to Tokyo and vice-versa. She stands on top of a ridge of small mountains at the edge of the city, and my hotel was just a…
I Remember When Crypto Was Fun I am by no means a way-back "crypto OG," though I wish I were. I became involved in 2015/2016, after realizing that a new money existed which offered the chance at starving the government, and cutting out the middleman. After my first transactions with BTC, I was sold. It felt spiritually clean. No grease. No thieves. I send money to whom I want to have it, and vice versa. No invasive questions like banks ask, basically no fees, and no…
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