Haiku Highball Homage
Suntory Highball. Best part of sakura trip! Funny because true.
Okay, so maybe it’s a bit tortured for a haiku–but it is true! My younger son and I tagged along on my husband’s business trip to Japan and it happened to coincide with the peak week for cherry blossoms, or sakura. 
It was truly spectacular! My son and I had a great time, but we spent a lot of it cooling our heels to catch the elusive Mr. Perez between meetings. This downtime became the highlight of the trip when I discovered at the excellent-but-casual sushi place near our hotel in Akasaka (a neighborhood in Tokyo), a table you could sit at for $4/hour (the exchange rate was embarrassingly favorable to the dollar), and help yourself to the embedded tap which spouted Suntory Highball, also known as “whiskey soda.”
I had been calling it “whiskey & soda,” but once you have one in a can, you realize it is truly whiskey soda like grape soda is grape soda. I know I might be scandalizing myself here drinking on the mom-job, but trust me when I tell you, gorging yourself on great sushi delivered at bargain-basement prices while drinking all-you-can-drink, highly dilute whiskey soda doesn’t leave you high at all despite the name. 
Not to worry anyway, because my son is a precocious 17 year old who was leading me around the city by the end of the first day, so I had zero childcare responsibility.
Despite the false promise, maybe I loved Suntory Highball because, as a celiac, I can’t drink beer. Never was a big beer fan (though Guinness has no substitute), but I don’t always want to choose between water and a cocktail–and soft drinks just seem like a sugar I.V. to me most of the time. For whatever reason, I just loved the whiskey soda. Ricardio (the elusive Mr. Perez) was amazed: “Who would have guessed Highball would be your jam?”
Lest you think it was the only thing I liked about Japan, here are some of the more interesting sights…
At the “melon bread” store. Truly baffling.
View from Tokyo Sky Tree. I think the window-washers were there for the tourists, but still…
When my boys went to a baseball game, I channeled Lost in Translation at the hotel bar.
One floor of this store was all vending machines. It’s a thing. Nearby: Cosplay central.
Hedgehog Pet Cafe was kinda sad.
Cultural appropriation?
If you need help in the subway, you can ask the kitties, but they won’t be happy about it. WTF? 
Nice.
The real highlight of the trip was the big Shinto shrine in Kyoto. How anyone could make that climb with a mask on is beyond me.
Hidden history!
Wishes and prayers.
Upcoming Live Dive!
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Featured Merch
I’m clearing out all my inventory before I move June 20, so the merch I actually have in stock at my house has to go! My stash includes Propaganda Report logo tees in navy, black & light grey in S, M & L, Propaganda Report & DNB stickers (I’ll throw in a couple of these for every on-sale mug or tee order!) and white 11 ounce Propaganda Report coffee mugs. Click through for the tee & everything else right here. You can also find there Deep Dives mugs, which I love!! After this, I’m going to shut down shopify, so get the TPR merch while it lasts!
Dive Master Interviews
Dive Masters are subject-matter experts or principled thought leaders. Here are this month’s conversations with them. If you want to find these and all previous Dive Master Interviews–and only these interviews–click here.
Jeremy Kuzmarov: The Anti-War Movement Brings Left & Right Together
James Guzman Thinks Outside the Border
New Haven, Geomancy & Skull & Bones with Mark of MFTIC
Based New World on Silicon Valley Bank & the Crypto Connection
Anthony Raimondo on Plea Bargains & Anthony Raimondo on Marbury v Madison & the Power of the Courts
Eric Buchanan on the Progressive Era & so-called Robber Barons
Buddy Dives: Deep Dives Premium Bonus Show!
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Monica Goes Nuts with Adam, Cole & Top
Deep Dives Index
Deep Dives are my original content a la the original Monica Perez Show on WSB where my superpower was news analysis. I take the biggest headline of the day or week and dive waaaay deep to give you everything you need to know to really understand the issue and more often than not, crack the code on the agenda as well!! For a complete index of Deep Dives and only Deep Dives, click here. Below are this month’s Deep Dives….
NO DEEP DIVES THIS MONTH! Too much going on…thanks for sticking with me though…they’ll be back! For past Deep Dives click here.
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Blast From the Past
Here is the deep dive on Africa I was discussing with Jeremy almost exactly one year later the theme continues:
This Month’s Book Recommendation
The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas à Kempis…in honor of Easter, I thought it made sense to go to some pretty solid authority on “WWJD?” (ie What Would Jesus Do?)
This Month’s Glossary Entry
Taint Agent
Remember when Piers Morgan took what ended up to be basically his last stand in America by advocating for gun control in the wake of the-event-that-shall-not-be-named? (That event got my wordpress site canceled!) I recall Piers speaking to Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America. Pratt eats his lunch. Shortly thereafter, Morgan had Alex Jones on the show to discuss the same topic…Jones is practically Tom Cruising all over Morgan, drowning the sound facts the Pratt laid out in a sea of “dangerous gun-nut” imagery. Jones tainted Pratt’s message. I would argue that Jones exists just to taint such sound messages, in the vein of “cognitive infiltration” laid out by Obama’s first Information Czar, Cass Sunstein, in this paper on Conspiracy Theories. Whether he meant to be or not, Jones was acting as a Taint Agent. (You can see the Jones-Morgan video here.)
I’ve been listening to a song named Sakura for months now and had no idea what it meant; thank you for bringing it to my attention; I must say I’m also baffled by the bathroom sign. Why sit while you flush the toilet?