Category: non-fiction
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The cruel visit of time
Time—entity, social construct—has its ways of deceiving us. It doesn’t announce itself, appearing subtly in the cracks of a sign, in the fading colors in the political ads in quiet corners of the city, and in the rusted layers of metal exposed in the side walls of old buildings when the neighboring buildings give way to…
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when the trees call
(or: sakamotocho daydream) june 18, 2025 i find myself lying down on a tatami mat in a park in central tokyo. a day in the office. it’s break time and i am contemplating life and touching grass. in my field of view, a tree. a beautiful one—though no idea what kind. i think about climbing…
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grasshoppers in the north
A couple of months ago I went to a cocktail party with a friend. It was a house party, but the host treated us to an array of cocktails that were definitely not the kind you would expect in a house party. It tasted professional. As the host catched everybody’s orders and such, I asked…
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Liquor blanket
A cold Saturday night in February 2024 Dimmed lights. I face the window of my rectangular bedroom facing south. Ninth floor in a quiet residential area. All I can see is the wall of apartments with lights on. Of course, it’s evening time. Upbeat music plays in the speaker. Oranges, “‘cause every time I feel…
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notes on watching birds and people
(Written in April 2023 and May 2024) People, like birds, are fun to watch. From the perspective of someone who hates to be observed, being on the other side of things is quite fun. In the past few weeks, my life has been through a lot—not on the negative side, though. It’s only a lot.…
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pond sessions
a couple of months ago i had this idea to buy a couple of cute little yellow ducks, the same ones you may often see in those bath scenes for comedies or children’s series, and try to take some pictures at this stream that runs through the southern part of my university. somehow being able…
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steam spirals
When I wrote this text, it was a Japanese holiday called Greenery Day (May 4th). Supposedly a holiday to make people engage more with nature. Most likely a holiday set up during the 1970s to make the average Japanese, in an increasingly urbanized country, go to the beach or to the countryside to enjoy the…
fernando ursine 