July 26, 2026
1697.) This week’s show was shot in a hotel room in Tokyo. Yes, your humble servant occasionally ventures out of the Funhouse to go to see other urban paradises and the locations for many films he has beheld. In this case, it was Tokyo (in April of 2025), to celebrate the birthday of a friend, Jim Gonis (cohost of the “Monster Party” podcast), who is familiar with the city and so led me to various places where “near occasions of sin” are possible. No, not the sex-related kind — instead, it was the pop-culture side of Japan, witnessed in toy stores, book stores, eateries, and bars. In this episode, we move from the most pacific aspect of the city (two temples that offer silence for reflection and the chance for the materialization of wishes) to reflections on the toy/action figure palaces strewn throughout the city. From there, we discuss the “book district” (which blew yours truly’s mind) where both cohosts acquired even *more* movie-related tomes. And then, it’s the realization of a long-time dream: finding and hanging out in the “La Jetee” bar in the bar district in Shinjuku. Staffed by one lady, who dedicated her tiny tavern to the genius of Chris Marker’s immortal photo-montage short “La Jetee” (1962), the bar has been a longtime, hoped-for goal of mine, and it was amazing to be in the place (and it is a tiny place, up a flight of stairs, best found by asking around), where not only is Marker paid tribute to, but he was a habitué when in Japan. He and a laundry list of other great filmmakers, nearly all of whom have been saluted on the Funhouse over the years. It’s a long way from the cramped confines of the Funhouse, but well worth the ride….
