Long Time Expat In Japan
In February I was really pleased to say that I was, again, not last. As you can see below, I'm plugging along well enough. The first is kanji. https://bsdonovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/janfebkanji.jpg Then here is my pen submission. I must admit, I'm kind of struggling here, but still not last. https://bsdonovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/janfebpen.jpg But below is the really exciting part. … Continue reading Level up!
My good friend, Christian Storms told me about a job he had down in Kagoshima. He's doing a corporate about some research on volcanoes and ash. The research is related to the volcano eruption in Iceland that grounded airplanes in Europe back in 2010. He invited me to do some drone shots for the project, … Continue reading Volcano Eruption in Sakurajima
Book Review The Shallows By Nicholas Carr Some good books get you thinking, they set you to talking and discussing. Other good books transport you. Still others are tomes of knowledge. A good friend of mine and I have been conversing about reading a bit lately. I have a complicated history with reading. My friend's … Continue reading Book Review – The Shallows
I’ve always had a complicated relationship with reading. I’m not a fast reader. I only read between 350 and 400 words a minute. The average college student reads 450. Many of my good friends are much faster. I admit to some feelings of inferiority. Some of my fondest memories of reading are C.S. Lewis. Until … Continue reading Reading
Many years ago, when I was a college student, and barely conscious - I was not a party animal, just self centered - I studied Comparative Literature. Comp Lit was where I could basically take classes in film, science fiction, vampire fiction, foreign languages, almost anything liberal arts related, and it would count toward graduation. … Continue reading Blogs are Commonplace Books
Image from Mr. Nimoy's Twitter Like many of you, I was saddened to hear of Leonard Nimoy's passing. While he will be remembered for his many achievements, the one for which I will remember him the most is as Spock, ambassador to a brighter future. Star Trek was before it's time in many ways. The … Continue reading Change is the Essential Process of All Existence
At the end of last year, I was talking to a buddy of mine, Chris. He's a really creative guy who writes screen plays, translates movies, coaches actors, shoots sports for the World Cup, and produces Documentaries (among other cool things). I was telling him it would be really fun to see what he does … Continue reading Video I Shot Was On TV
Book Review Turn the Ship Around! By David Marquet https://bsdonovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/turntheshiparound1.jpg I am biased. I should state this from the start. I chose this book because everything I read about it spoke to my beliefs in how organizations should be managed. I am almost genetically predisposed to write a positive review of this book. In that, … Continue reading Book Review – Turn the Ship Around!
https://vimeo.com/119314965 In 2012, the empty land next to us finally got built out. It's a rare thing in Japan to have undeveloped land. My neighborhood is pretty rare that way. The reason is simple though; it's all reclaimed land. 20 years ago this was ocean, or harbor anyway. Originally, that land was supposed to be … Continue reading Building Time Lapse
This week, my kanji submission for shodo is onko chishin. See below for a picture. Roughly translated, it means "know history's mistakes." https://bsdonovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/img_0464.jpg The kanji we need to submit is often a four word idiom, what they call a Yoji Jukugo. Yoji = four word. Jukugo = idiom. So there's no real mystery there. But … Continue reading 温故知新 – Know History’s Mistakes
B.S. Donovan 
