Long Time Expat In Japan
I am not a user of Uber. I think it fair to state this up front. My reason for not using Uber has nothing to do with my feelings about the company or the service. I think it is perfectly fine as a service. I have read some controversial things about hiring practices (if you … Continue reading Where is the Open Source Uber?
Book Review The Bone Clocks By David Mitchell Cover Image from Amazon.com As time passes (what I really mean is, as I get older) I am increasingly unforgiving about what I read. If a novel doesn't appeal, I will give it 60 pages to recapture my interest. If, after those sixty pages, it has recaptured … Continue reading Book Review – The Bone Clocks
Kanji I wrote earlier about Gan Shinkei (aka Yan Zhenqing) and his writing style. I kind of fell head over heels for this style. Sensei tells me that I will probably rank up with this submission. If so then that would be awesome. Kana has always been better for me, still not sure why. … Continue reading October Shodo
I found myself with some free time early Sunday evening. The kids were out with their mother, and I had a new camera to try out. My Panasonic GH4 is a lot of fun. The ISO on the camera reaches 25,600, which I shouldn't complain about. Even 3-4 years ago, that was the state of … Continue reading Rainbow Bridge Time Lapse
Great Chinese calligraphers of old were also great drinkers. The Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup (ι£²δΈε «δ») were Tang Dynasty scholars known for their love of wine. Probably the best known was Zhang Xu, who used to get so plastered, he'd write calligraphy with his own hair. When he finally sobered up, he could never … Continue reading Honoring the 8 Immortals of the Wine Cup
My sensei turned me on to a style of calligraphy based on a famous calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty. Yan Zhenqing (Gan Shinkei in Japanese) was a governor during the Tang Dynasty. Apparently he was pretty wild at the time. His style had really thick vertical lines with thin horizontals. What I wrote here is … Continue reading Yan Zhengqing Style
Amazingly, it's been a year since I started Japanese calligraphy. I started it because of my youngest. She was struggling with her kanji tests at school, and I saw it as a way to encourage her, and also a way we could spend our Saturday's together. About three months in, I decided to pursue it … Continue reading Shodo Anniversary
Kanji has been hard for me. I freeze up. I get stuck in my head, get tense. Thankfully, last month the kanji practice was a more fluid style. More freedom. Below is my kanji for next month (not the one that got me the level up). Still, you can see, I hope, a little more … Continue reading Level Up! Kana 7th kyu
Since I had such a good time yesterday with some night shots, I decided to keep experimenting. Below is early sunset from my balcony. About an hour before sunset. And here is nearly the same view about an hour later. Not actually sunset, but just moments before. And here's a panorama, combining 3 photos stitched … Continue reading Makuhari Sunset
Took some night shots in my neighborhood, this time on the ground. Night shots are hard π Looking toward the station across the park. Here is the entrance to the town. Click on all images to enlarge. Again, since the two shots turned out well. And here are the towers, not where I live, but … Continue reading Makuhari From the Ground
B.S. Donovan 