Long Time Expat In Japan
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
I love the hyperlinked world of the internet. After having just read Feed, a post zombie apocalypse novel by Mira Grant, I was curious about the genre and how it has changed. Curious enough to dig a little bit. I felt, but could not prove, that zombies seem to be a lot more visible in … Continue reading A Quasi-Analytical Look at Zombie Mind Share
Book Review Feed by Mira Grant "Rise up while you can." **At the end of this page I spill some big spoilers about the book. If you plan to read it and haven’t already, please stop at the spoiler alert section below. https://bsdonovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/feed.jpg Feed is a novel about young bloggers in a post zombie apocalypse … Continue reading Book Review – Feed
So in the last edition of Shodo Geijutsu, the monthly magazine only for official Shodo students, my name finally showed up. Two months ago, I submitted my first "work", if you can call it that. In fact, I feel way too uncomfortable with using the term. Instead, I'll call it my "submission." Seems appropriately neutral … Continue reading Not Last!
https://bsdonovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/courthouse.jpg OK, so it was a bit strange, but I have to say, I had a good customer experience at the courtroom today. See my post yesterday about getting Nabbed by the Keisatsu. The parking violation cost me 40,000 JPY, about $340 USD. There’s no way that’s going to feel good. I have problems with … Continue reading A Good Experience with Police? Yes, Expensive but, Yes
It started one Friday evening. It was a pretty good day; I was home before 7 pm. You need to understand that this is Japan. The work day starts late, but for so many, that work day never seems to end. In a former life in this country, I had a job that nearly did … Continue reading Nabbed by the Keisatsu
Book Review Contagious by Jonah Berger “Virality Isn’t Born – It’s Made” A couple of years back – ok it was 15 years ago, I’m old – 15 years back, Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book called The Tipping Point about how there are people in our lives that guide opinion. Even now, companies spend tons … Continue reading The Six Principles That Will Make Your Content Go Viral
B.S. Donovan 
