Long Time Expat In Japan
Finally made it up one level in kanji. It has only taken me... gulp, 7 months to get here. Kind of a long time, but I can feel a big difference in my ability. This last week at my lesson, I had to write a month's worth of kanji, kana, andpenji. While it wasn't great, … Continue reading Kanji – level 9 !
5-Minute Screen Play Adapt or Die FADE IN: EXT. THIRD WORLD SLUMS, DIRT ROAD – MORNING Morena, a young woman, walks briskly toward a bus heading toward her on the dirt road. The bus is packed with people, some are sitting in the windows. Others are hanging off the sides. The top of the bus … Continue reading Adapt or Die
I'm starting a new series, a creative one. I find myself with a lot of short story ideas lately. Not sure whether I want to flesh them out or not, I will at least write down the ideas in screenplay form. I think of it as a way to write story outlines. Those I like, … Continue reading 5 – Minute Screenplays
5-Minute Screen Play A Human Being Should SCENE 1 FADE IN: INTERIOR – BABY NURSERY, FARM HOUSE – MORNING The morning sun shines through the venetian blinds and paints bright yellow grill marks on the wall and ceiling. A woman, Roberta Anson, steps into view, smiling despite the dark circles under her eyes. She looks … Continue reading A Human Being Should
Book Review Ancillary Justice By Anne Leckie Image thanks to Wikipedia Back to genre for me and reading. After spending some time in mystery and then in horror, and then in mystery again, it was time for me to dive back into scifi. Time to satisfy my itch. I had high hopes for Ancillary Justice. … Continue reading Book Review- Ancillary Justice
Surprisingly, I leveled up in the kana section of Shodo! Again! This was doubly unexpected because it is both hard for my classmates, or so I'm told, and also because I have never had any formal education in Japanese. I studied Kanji in Chinese, and even took a couple of lessons in Shodo (which they … Continue reading Level Up! Lvl 8 Kana
I just started a new job, same company, different location. The new location is closer to home, only about 12 miles away. About 9 of those miles are on a cycling path along a river. This is rare in Japan, and I count myself lucky. Most roads are not much wider than a US city … Continue reading Cycling in the Dark
I'm sure you've heard about getting outside of your comfort zone. It's where you learn, stretch, grow. I've often thought of Bilbo's famous quote when I hear it, "I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread." That's the stretch part. But where is the grow part? It might have something … Continue reading Comfy Chairs
image thanks to amazon.com Books Review (more than one) The Odd Thomas Sequels by Dean Koontz Odd Thomas is a great character. The original story was well crafted. It took the reader in unexpected directions. This is partly because the character and the world was new. That's what makes origin stories so fun, and sequels … Continue reading Odd Thomas Sequels
Book Review - sort of The Godwulf Manuscript By Robert B. Parker Published 1973 Fair warning - this is not a typical book review; it is subjective as hell, more remembrance than review. I've written before about my relationship with reading. Like any love story, there are both struggles and fond memories. Robert B. Parker … Continue reading Book Review – The Godwulf Manuscript
B.S. Donovan 