Long Time Expat In Japan
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
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
B.S. Donovan 