Originally published at: A popular service in Japan lets you rent-a-person to just sort of be there with you, and do nothing else | Boing Boing
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One of the most heartbreaking parts of Breaking Bad was when Walter, living in hiding in an isolated New Hampshire cabin, offers an obviously reluctant Ed $10,000 just to stick around and keep him company for an hour after a supply delivery.
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My dog happily provides this service for mere bowl of kibble daily.
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You got off lightly. I’ve had to remortgage to keep my dog in snacks.
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I’d consider using something like this when away on my own for events. I hate going to restaurants / bars solo so more often than not I’d just stay in the hotel room.
Honestly, I’d be happy to pay a reasonable rate if it meant chatting with someone over some food / drink. Might actually be interesting.
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Nah. Walt got himself there all on his own. He made all the choices that led to his own isolation, and ruined countless lives along the way. Walter White was no hero. He was a toxic asshole who brought it al on himself. At least at the end when talking to Skyler he was able to admit that the whole thing was about him, his ego, and not “providing for his family”.
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Certainly not. The heartbreaking thing about his story arc wasn’t that he suffered undeservedly, it was that he threw away so much potential to make the world a better place and instead brought misery upon countless lives including his own. Having to pay a stranger for company was just one indication of how far he’d fallen.
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I can agree with that interpretation.
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Where was this service when Trump needed a cabinet?
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Mr. Show: Don Pratt
So no one told you life was gonna be this way
Your job’s a joke, you’re broke
Your love life’s DOA…
I’ll be there for you
(reasonable rates, evenings and weekends extra)
I’ll be there for you
(seniors discounts)
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Just checking, but are you sure it’s not a bear, that may look like a dog?
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Good call, he certainly has the appetite of one.
Ursa Miniscula, perhaps.
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Read, but I saw this at the end, and just felt so sad after I read it.
Too many Japanese men have never learned to adjust to real life, because of bullying culture. Otaku is going overboard lately.
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This reminds me of the ADHD productivity-hack known as “body double” (I forget who coined the term). Basically: Let’s say I have some work to do. Maybe I’m facing a kind of task that tends to drain my cognitive reserves. Often, my weasel-brain will do anything and everything it can to prevent me from starting that task. However, if there’s someone seated next to me - even an uninterested stranger, engrossed in their own work - the mere presence of this other person lights up the “how to person” component of my brain, and BAM - stuff gets done.
I need a job… Where can I sign up to be a nothing-doer?
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