MartiniBurger in Tokyo

"Kat Callahan" (kyosuke) 01/24/2016 at 05:51 • Filed to: None

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Was done medium rare of steak grade beef. It was so bloody it practically started mooing. But OMG so delicious. It was a 15 buck burger and totally worth it.

Sam > Kat Callahan 01/24/2016 at 06:11

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I still contend that mushrooms (even the ‘magic’ variety) are absolutely disgusting. People love using them to permanently ruin pizza, the most sacred of dishes. At least on a burger like this, they’re easy to remove. When they’re on a pizza, they usually end up under the cheese which makes them impossible to completely get rid of.

Sorry, mushroom rant.

Nauraushaun > Sam 01/24/2016 at 06:37

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I feel the same way about corn

Nauraushaun > Kat Callahan 01/24/2016 at 06:38

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Did you intend to drink American beer in Tokyo?

Just curious.

Kat Callahan > Nauraushaun 01/24/2016 at 06:50

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Yes. Of course. It was a very New York style place.

That's gonna leave a mark! > Kat Callahan 01/24/2016 at 07:59

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What, no fries with that?

banjo cat ghost of oppo past > Kat Callahan 01/24/2016 at 08:39

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It's 8am in central N.Y. and I want that. All of it

Hermann > Kat Callahan 01/24/2016 at 08:40

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I used to hate mushrooms on anything until I tried them on a burger.

Also, great beer choice!

BansheeNornForgotHisBurnerKey > Kat Callahan 01/24/2016 at 09:18

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lol @ the moo comment. but wow, that burger looks freaking tasty!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Sam 01/24/2016 at 09:37

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Those look like canned mushrooms.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Kat Callahan 01/24/2016 at 09:38

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Canned mushrooms are disgusting.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Kat Callahan 01/24/2016 at 10:06

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I find the canned mushrooms on that burger quite jarring.

Nauraushaun > Kat Callahan 01/24/2016 at 17:35

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Hence the burger I guess. Cool!

Kat Callahan > Nauraushaun 01/24/2016 at 18:22

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http://tokyocheapo.com/food-and-drink…

Nauraushaun > Kat Callahan 01/24/2016 at 20:54

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Golly. As an Australian this is all very weird to me. I’m not sure how much of it is authentic American and how much has been altered in the conversion to Japan...

Kat Callahan > Nauraushaun 01/24/2016 at 21:47

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Pretty much not altered for Japan at all. The owner is from New York, the ingredients are sourced according to his own New Yorker recipes, etc. Pretty much, the only Japanese things about it are the staff and the clientele. Oh, and that it’s in Japan, so you pay in yen.

Nauraushaun > Kat Callahan 01/24/2016 at 22:47

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Mac’n’cheese in a ramekin, in a restaurant!

I gotta get over to America at some point. All in due time.

Kat Callahan > Nauraushaun 01/24/2016 at 23:14

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I honestly miss Australia, I had an easy path to permanent residency and citizenship in Straya, but I realised I loved Japan more.

Lots of people ask me why I’m pretty okay with mixed allegiances, and it comes down to the fact I’m very proud of the American system of government in theory, but I think it’s been completely and totally corrupted and doesn’t work like it’s supposed to at all. It works on paper (literally, the Constitution), but some of the very elements which are supposed to create a system of checks and balances are now being used in other ways.

I find Japan does a much better job of honoring both the spirit and the letter of its body of law, and I found Straya to be a lot more likely to “throw the bums out” unless they throw themselves out first (Kevin/Julia or Tony/Malcom).

Nauraushaun > Kat Callahan 01/24/2016 at 23:40

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You’re very up with your Australian politics. Yes, it seems we’ve had so little faith in our leadership that we’ve been ousting them at every turn. In some cases ousting the ouster and un-ousting the oustee. It’s a real shame, the whole thing is like a big joke. And Tony was the biggest joke of all.

But ditto for Trump and Hillary, some of the things that come out of their mouths defy belief. Could probably say the same for Romney.

Japan sounds nice.

Kat Callahan > Nauraushaun 01/24/2016 at 23:55

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Well, since I lived in Sydney for a few months and was considering staying (on the program I was looking at, it would have been two years until permanent residency, four until citizenship, which is really fast), I figured I sure as hell better know the politics.

Nauraushaun > Kat Callahan 01/25/2016 at 00:42

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Good point. You’re required to know certain things for the citizenship aren’t you?

By contrast, I don’t pay much (enough) attention to our politics. I feel like it’s a world of lies, and that getting the truth of it is so difficult that not paying attention is a viable option.

For example, there was uproar recently about how a politician took a taxpayer funded helicopter trip to an event where it was far from necessary. Yes, it’s misuse of the country’s money, but is it really the worst thing our politics are doing with our money, a couple hundred/thousand for a helicopter? Is it worth such uproar? Probably not. But because of the attention it got, that’s what’s in voters’ minds. Voters are now voting based on a once-off, relatively insignificant event. Nobody wins!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Kat Callahan 01/28/2016 at 22:32

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Kat, I just skipped over here from the current thread about trans and what not. I am also a teacher, of mathematics, to 12-year-olds. I work in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. I could tell you more about my background, but I don’t want to creep you out by getting too personal, only to say that yours is an Oppo handle that I will be keeping an eye out for. Yours is an acquaintance that I would like to make, even if only in the Opposphere. You can see the sort of comments that I make and decide for yourself the sort of chap I am, if you like, or not. Either way, I’ve decided to save time and take an immediate liking to you. Thank you for being excellent .

Kat Callahan > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/28/2016 at 22:38

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English/Social Studies here. I teach 12-15 year olds. *fist bump*

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Kat Callahan 01/29/2016 at 14:08

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Are you on a teaching assignment in Tokyo?

Kat Callahan > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/29/2016 at 17:29

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Currently teaching in the Saitama area. I live on the Saitama/Gunma border. It’s like the New Jersey of Japan. I live within commuting distance of Tokyo but not in Tokyo. I am currently in the interview process for a few prestigious girls’ JHS/HSs in Tokyo. Prep schools basically, and if so, I’ll be moving closer, but not so close that I lose the ability to have a parking space. If I moved directly into Tokyo, I’d have to stop driving.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Kat Callahan 01/29/2016 at 17:57

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Are the Japanese accepting of “alternative lifestyles?” (Please school me if that term is an affront. I put it in quotes to try and insulate it a bit.)

Kat Callahan > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/29/2016 at 18:11

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That’s definitely a term the LGBTQ community doesn’t like. It’s our argument, generally, that sexuality and gender stem from underlying biological realities, and as such, “alternative lifestyles” suggests we had any say in having the identities we do. We don’t. We suffer, when we suffer, not because there is anything wrong with us, but because others make us feel bad.

And my view is Japan is very okay with anything that doesn’t disturb social harmony. So that means that progress in policy and in openness goes hand in hand with changing attitudes. Change here does not happen by judicial review, it doesn’t happen by elective government making sweeping policy changes and explaining to the Japanese people why it was necessary or important. In Japan, policy and law always follow the general consensus. That means that policy and law are always behind.

Current studies show what you would expect. Japanese around 30 and below, which sadly, make up only a small minority given the declining birthrate, are overwhelmingly supportive of LGBTQ issues. Each year I have an increasing number of students who out themselves, either to a few friends and a teacher or two, or to their peers as a whole. Japanese “millennials” (although I hate that label) support same-sex marriage, support changing the remaining restrictions on trans people (which only exist because of non-recognition of same-sex marriage), etc. Young and progressive areas like Shibuya and Setagaya in Tokyo, and at least one ward in Osaka, already recognise same-sex marriage for public services, even if the national government won’t.

Middle-aged Japanese are split. Japanese over 60 are overwhelmingly against.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Kat Callahan 01/29/2016 at 18:26

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So might I have asked the question this way? Are the Japanese accepting of LGBTQ people?

Would you mind if I asked your age?

Also, have you lived/worked for many years in Japan?

Kat Callahan > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/29/2016 at 18:35

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I would say the breakdown to that question is the same as above: young Japanese people, absolutely. My students? Totally. Middled-aged people: split. My coworkers? Usually. Seniors: No. All teh oldz I see everywhere? Not really, no.

I’m 32. I have lived in Japan for almost a decade, pretty much all of my adult working life.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Kat Callahan 01/29/2016 at 19:08

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I’m enjoying this dialog very much; thank you. I’m relatively new to Oppositelock, having been introduced by my brother, who is very old to Oppo. I’m 51 and a card-carrying Mormon with my oldest daughter currently serving a full time mission. Married 26 years, living in California 25 years. I converted to Mormonism 25 years ago, my wife and I both, at the same time. Attitudes are shifting. There are some definite firewalls, which I’d love to discuss with you if you’re interested, but attitudes are shifting.

Kat Callahan > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/29/2016 at 19:17

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I don’t talk about religion much, but I’m an Episcopalian. I’m definitely a Christian, and I think the battle on the religious front is a sort of a combination of God doesn’t make mistakes and yet God helps those who help themselves. If God didn’t mean for there to be LGBTQ people, there wouldn’t be LGBTQ people, but on the other hand, that doesn’t mean we can’t do things both individually and society to make situations better.

I have a medical condition, the way I have decided to treat it, in consultation with medical professionals, is my business. Some people say that this is mutilation, but we interfere constantly when body parts aren’t working in a way that fits with how our society is built. And if it really was mutilation, instead of solving a problem, would 99% of medical professionals in 2016 think otherwise? I doubt it. One thing for sure is this: claims that LGBTQ people are mentally unstable has been definitively stamped out by scientific enquiry. Science and faith are not enemies; they are cohorts. They are complementary. And I don’t understand the position amongst religious conservatives that suggest otherwise. It makes no sense to me at all, and I am far from agnostic, let alone, atheist.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Kat Callahan 01/29/2016 at 19:27

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God is a just god. For anything that you’ve just stated to be the case, or not be the case, depending upon your perspective, then God would not be just. I have a few questions that I am hoping will be answered during the Great Interview In The Sky, or that my understanding will become clear — I am promised that it will be — and the questions won’t need asking.

Kat Callahan > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 01/29/2016 at 19:33

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You’re talking about what we call in Philosophy of Religion “the problem of suffering” and its related cousin “the problem of evil.” Either God is just, and we do not understand why this is justice, or God is unjust, and therefore He is not worth worshiping, and is instead a malevolent entity whose power is ultimately the only difference between Him and us. FWIW, I have faith that it’s the former, and that it comes down to the idea that we are perfect in our imperfection. What makes us human, what makes us us, is that we are not perfect. Not morally, not physically, etc. That we are widely varied, and therefore either we are all individually “perfect,” or we are all collectively “flawed.” This means we do not have the right to judge others without carefully considering and weighing all the circumstances and perceptions. And even then, we must know, that any conclusion we come to, or any system we create, will be still be imperfect. Our goal is the lessen imperfection, but we must know, we can never get to perfection. For if we did, we would not be us.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Kat Callahan 01/30/2016 at 09:36

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I’d say that about sums it up.