Long Time Expat In Japan
More figurative pen to paper. If you want to be a beta-reader, please send me an email or leave me a comment and I'll share the rest of the story. --- Long Shot (C) Sean Donovan “That make you feel any better?” I asked. Karl spit out a shot glass worth of blood, phlegm, and … Continue reading Short Story Excerpt – Long Shot
Last week I was out in Odawara for work, and I came across a little Shodo shop. It was tiny, and a bit messy, but the two old ladies running the place were really nice. I bought a new hanko there. They had a little stand with hanko, engraved seals. In calligraphy you sign your … Continue reading My New Hanko
The film I mentioned earlier was reviewed by Variety. It was well-received. Some quotes from the review "rapturous response at the Berlinale" "Although she employs blunt metaphors involving tea ceremonies and geishas... Doerrie [the director] doesn’t presume to understand or verbalize what the living victims of such cataclysmic misfortune feel. Instead, her penchant for drawing awkward misfits allows … Continue reading Berlin Film Review: ‘Fukushima, mon amour’
Ok, so not Gangnam Style, but even better, Tei Dosho style! Tei Dosho, as they say in Japan, was a Chinese official during the Northern Wei Dynasty. In Chinese, his name is pronounced Zheng Daozhao, and he was Wei awesome. When was the Northern Wei Dynasty? Like 386-534 AD. He is way cooler than Park … Continue reading Tei Dosho style
The folks that run the Shodo ranking are pretty smart, I figure. I wrote about the ranking system before, kind of like belts in karate, yellow, purple, green, brown, black. There are twenty or so ranks. Getting to the first dan (like a black belt) is a long process, but achievable, with tiny incremental steps. … Continue reading December Shodo Level Up
Last year, I went to Fukushima to make a film. My part in it was small, not acting, drone camerawork. It was a lot more devastating than I thought it would be. Devastating because the place was devastated, but also the impact it had on me. There were whole towns, communities, counties that have become … Continue reading Grüße aus Fukushima (Greetings from Fukushima)
More figurative pen to paper. If you want to be a beta-reader, please send me an email or leave me a comment and I'll share the rest of the story. --- Adapt or Die Morena rounded the street corner onto the orange dusty road. The morning sun cast long silhouettes, her shadow a painfully thin … Continue reading Short Story Exerpt – Adapt or Die
I've put pen to paper, figuratively, in the last year or so. I've had ideas for a long time, including short fiction. Here is the first part of one. If you want to be a beta-reader, send me an email or leave me a comment and I'll share it with you. --- From hitokoto, the … Continue reading Short Story Exerpt – From hitokoto, the blog of Chianna Noguchi
I am way too excited that I leveled up in Kanji last month. I had been struggling a little bit. When I have to stay within the rules, write textbook style, I tense up and really don't do well. I've been doing this for over a year now (since September of 2014, so 15 months?), … Continue reading Level Up! Kanji ! and Kana, both!
This month's kanji reads hakugan soushin in Japanese, or baiyan shuangxin in Chinese. Like a lot of these four character sayings, it evokes sense imagery and invites you to fill in the gaps. Hakugan (baiyan) means white goose. Sou (shuang) means frost. And shin (xin) means to believe, to know, to inform. Long story short, when … Continue reading November Shodo
B.S. Donovan 