The Vagina Monologues, Osaka
I’m not totally sure how this happened, but I nearly made it to the ripe age of 30 without having seen The Vagina Monologues. Smack on the wrist. Luckily for me, my friends put on a performance this month. Shows are generally overseen by the V-Day feminist organisation, giving people the freedom to run their […]
Nearly 50 years of comedy panel analysis
Have you ever wondered how often your favourite comedy panel shows have female guests? Brave soul (and data scientist) Stuart Lowe has checked nearly 5,000 episodes of UK panel shows to find the male-female host/guest ratio. That’s 4,700 individual TV and radio broadcasts spanning 49 years. And it took around four years to put all […]
Staying warm from the bottom up
When it gets cold – and it does, rather quickly once October’s over – Japan’s many drugstores, department stores and variety shops have plenty on hand to keep you cosy. Heated carpet? We’ve got that. Microwaveable foot blanket? Step right up. One thing you’ll see everywhere is kairo, bundles of little heat packs you can […]
Say it to my (hairy) face
This week, I am seriously annoyed. This is going to be a longer post than usual. I apologise in advance. Let’s level with each other here, ladies. We all have hair on our faces, right? And I’m not talking about eyebrows and eyelashes. I mean that stubborn upper lip hair that only responds to industrial […]
Let’s hear it for the Osaka boys
This week, I went to a comedy show in Osaka! Had to review it for you, of course. Let it not be said my adventures never involve anything relevant. Raugh Out Roud (ROR) is the show with the mildly racist name, which has both English and Japanese comedy nights. The Eigo version is the one […]
The clown shoe is on the other foot
You’d be forgiven for taking Ellie Kemper’s recent article for GQ at face value. Her diatribe about how men just aren’t that funny will either strike a chord or hit a nerve. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Ellie, she’s the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. She also starred in Bridesmaids and 21 Jump Street. […]
