Long Time Expat In Japan
I started a cartoon last week thinking that the press conference where Trump showed his true colors would be the theme. Then so many things happened before I finished it, that it wasn't relevant anymore. This kind of thing happens a lot. You think that you've finally seen it all and then something else comes … Continue reading Chibi Trump
... you find yourself deeply involved in the squealing feedback loop that is political social media. I spent the morning (yes the whole morning) reading my twitter and facebook feeds, then following links to news sources.This is unusual for me. I have tried for the last couple of months (since November to be precise) to … Continue reading You know you’re in trouble when
How they are remembered...
I will let the following speak for itself.
I don't usually write with a cursive style with kanji. In my shodo society, they want you to know the basics first. Makes sense. Sensei does an annual art show at the local bank. This year, I'm contributing the following. Since it's not the regular submission, I can do whatever I want. And I wanted … Continue reading Cursive
Most of the kanji we practice in my shodo society comes from Chinese poetry. Sometimes it's obscure and indecipherable, others it's pretty straightforward. Most of the time, I just write it and try hard to make it pretty. Hey, that's the idea, right? But this month, I looked into the origins. This month is from … Continue reading Reflections of an Early Spring Journey in ChangAn
Japan loves mascots. I suspect that it might be Disney where the phenomenon started, but I have nothing to back that up. The only places that I see mascots where I'm from, Boston, Mass., is for sports teams and Disney. You take pictures with the mascot because you want to remember your association with the … Continue reading Japan is Awesome – Mascots
Book Review - Claws of the Cat By Susan Spann About six months back, I joined the Japan Writers Conference, an annual event that attracts a lot of academics, intellectuals, and amazingly creative people. They also let anyone join, and it's free, so that explains why they let me in. There, I had the pleasure … Continue reading Book Review – Claws of the Cat
Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger Tribe is about how disconnected people people feel. How disconnected we are from society. The book suggests that people are happier-- and saner-- if we live in close knit groups. The examples that stand out are PTSD sufferers. Junger suggests that if veterans (in this case) felt … Continue reading Tribe
The pressure is on. Now that I'm 1kyu, I'm worried I can keep the same level of quality. The below ain't bad but is it 1kyu ? Same here for 3kyu in kanji.
B.S. Donovan 