iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rob Fahey @robfahey.net · 19/05/2025

The Substance finally launched in Japan so we went to see it yesterday; between the dubious parables about eternal life backed up by body horror, and the copious amounts of wine we drank afterwards, that’s the most Catholic I’ve felt on a Sunday in quite a while.

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Rob Fahey @robfahey.net · 12/05/2025

In Osaka for a few days; didn’t even make it through baggage claim before being hit with a drive-by Myaku-Myaku. (I’m not sure this little freak should be in charge of a vehicle.)

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Rob Fahey @robfahey.net · 07/05/2025

The abrupt post-Golden Week transition from sipping wine coolers on a boat in Tokyo Bay to sitting through a morning of Zoom meetings is giving me mental whiplash. I just don’t think, at this age, that I’m meant to live an uncomfortable life, y’know?

The author on the aforementioned boat in Tokyo bay. Wine cooler not pictured. Joy and satisfaction at not being anywhere near a zoom meeting very much pictured.

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Rob Fahey @robfahey.net · 02/02/2025

Fought through crashing waves of jet-lag to see Sigourney Weaver’s last night in The Tempest - absolutely worth it! She was wonderful, of course, though the show was thoroughly stolen by the jawdropping set design and by Mason Alexander Park’s fantastically ethereal performance as Ariel.

A poster for a theatre production of The Tempest starring Sigourney Weaver.

A photograph of the stage of The Tempest, taken after the end of the show as the patrons are leaving. The set is a barren island landscape and extends deep into the back of the theatre building.

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Rob Fahey @robfahey.net · 24/12/2024

Date-related nonsense aside, the Christmas vibes, at least, are vibing. (And yes, that’s a ridiculously sized tree for a Tokyo apartment.)

A fairly lavishly decorated Christmas tree (we are not doing minimalism here) that’s quite obviously too large for the small Japanese apartment it’s been wedged into.

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Rob Fahey @robfahey.net · 01/12/2024

Got out of the city for a weekend trip, nicely timed for the autumn colours! Lots of cities/wards in Japan own hot spring hotels in nearby resort areas which are steeply discounted for local residents - this is Shinjuku-ku’s ryokan in Hakone.

A view of the mountains in Hakone, with the trees displaying bright red and yellow autumn colours.

A large plate of assorted sashimi, served at a ryokan as part of the dinner menu.

Me relaxing in a yukata, absolutely avoiding thinking about anything work related for a solid 36 hours.

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Rob Fahey @robfahey.net · 20/11/2024

Drop your lockscreen Picture I took at the Cliffs of Moher a few years ago. (Also yes every class I teach titled <Something> Analysis ends up abbreviated like that 😓)

An iOS Lock Screen with a black and white misty picture of the Cliffs of Moher in the background. My calendar widget has helpfully abbreviated the next class I’m teaching to “Quantitative Anal”, which is especially egregious since that’s one field in which I think we can all agree that a Qualitative approach is superior.

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Rob Fahey @robfahey.net · 19/11/2024

Post a perfect album from the '90s that isn’t Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, or Alice in Chains. (What an odd exclusion list - they're all great, but such a small corner of what was going on musically in the 90s!)

The cover of Alanis Morissette's 1995 album, Jagged Little Pill, which is honestly just wall-to-wall absolute belters and has been a regular source of ear-worm tracks for me for TWENTY NINE YEARS oh god I'm so old.

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Rob Fahey @robfahey.net · 18/11/2024

My ward (Shinjuku) just sent out a disaster prep package - disposable chemical toilets (usable when water is stopped), freeze dried onigiri, and an information booklet with local maps of assembly points etc., plus a catalogue of goods you can order to earthquake-proof your home.

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Rob Fahey @robfahey.net · 01/11/2024

Between the Japanese election, the U.S. election, and the endless joys* of academic job hunting season, I’m not even sure why I’m still tormenting myself by buying games I’m unlikely to be able to play this side of Christmas… * Joys not included.

Three videogames on a coffee table - Silent Hill 2, Metaphor ReFantazio, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard - waiting to finally be played at some distant and possibly fictional point when I actually have free time again.

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Rob Fahey @robfahey.net · 28/10/2024

I don't think there's an official tally of vote totals from single-member districts yet, but I did a back-of-the-envelope calculation of PR votes to add to this chart. This looks like by far the LDP's worst electoral performance by absolute vote numbers - 2 million below the previous low in 2012.

A chart showing the turnout rate and total votes cast for the LDP in every Japanese general election since 2000. The 2024 figure for the Proportional Representation ballot is the lowest in the party's history.

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Rob Fahey @robfahey.net · 27/10/2024

The Nikkei is Japan’s financial newspaper and not usually given to big, tabloid-style headlines - opting for this style for their “LDP/Komeito Lose Majority” banner conveys pretty clearly what an upheaval this election has been.

The front page of the Nikkei newspaper, with a large headline about Japan’s governing coalition losing its majority.

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Rob Fahey @robfahey.net · 16/10/2024

Using Ireland as a lecture example of how a non-executive presidency works, and find myself faced with a terrible dilemma; how many pictures of Michael D. Higgins' dogs is too many pictures of Michael D. Higgins' dogs?

Irish President Michael D. Higgins with his dog Bród, who was a very big Bernese Mountain Dog and also an extremely good boy.

Irish President Michael D. Higgins with his Bernese Mountain Dogs Bród and Misneach, who are both extremely good dogs.

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Rob Fahey @robfahey.net · 13/08/2024

Bright and early paper presentation at #ecprgc24 this morning - I’ll be presenting work with @seitanical.bsky.social on Sanseitō, a fringe right-wing conspiracy theory party that uses influencer media strategies to attract a ton of funding and volunteers. Drop by Newman B109 at 9am for the panel!

A screenshot of the conference schedule entry for the panel “Comparative perspectives on the radical right in Europe and beyond”

A list of the papers to be presented at the panel:
Mapping the trade policies of the radical right.
Electoral Fortunes of Populism: A Comparative Analysis of Causes and Trends in Western Europe (2000-2022).
Singing from the same hymn sheet? The coherence of the populist radical right's economic agenda beyond welfare policies.
Are populist parties systematically more sceptical about climate change? Evidence from an Expert Survey.
From conspiracy theory movement to challenger party: why the case of Japan's Sanseito isn't more widely replicated.

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Rob Fahey @robfahey.net · 14/11/2023

This month's Chuo Koron 中央公論 is a special edition on conspiracy theories, including a piece from me about survey findings on beliefs among Japanese voters. We find levels of conspiracy belief falling in 2021/22 surveys, despite concerns about the spread of conspiracy theories during the pandemic.

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