Long Time Expat In Japan
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
Flew my drone over the town tonight. The future is now. Of the eight people that read this blog, six of them are my good friends from school. The rest are family. I am blessed. These friends and family know me well, some more than I would like to admit π Some know of the … Continue reading Makuhari From the Air
Played board games with my friends from college today. Eclipse, a game I played for the first time last November. On the surface this doesn't sound too unusual. After all, these are some of my best friends, we're gamers, it's the Fourth of July weekend. Normal, right? Only, I was in Chiba, Japan, while my … Continue reading Board Gaming Weekend
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: Β EXT. THIRD WORLD SLUMS, DIRT ROAD β 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
B.S. Donovan 