Long Time Expat In Japan
I haven't been to church in decades, so I mean this in the secular, new year, commercial, presents, warm and fuzzy, Rudolf and Clarice (from the stop animation circa 1964) kind of way. So please eat too much ham, turkey, roast beef, goose, or Chinese turkey (love that movie - hope you catch the reference). … Continue reading Merry Christmas !
I've been writing about how Japan is weird, and how I have come to think of it as not so weird anymore. What I haven't written about is just how beautiful the place is. I don't get out enough. I spend a lot of time - like the rest of us - with my head … Continue reading Japan is Beautiful
The first installment of my "Japan is weird, sort of" posts. As a reminder, these are things I used to find weird, but actually really like, now that I've lived here for 17 years. Bathrooms Twenty five years ago, I saw my first squat toilet. It was a big deal, even a traumatic experience. But … Continue reading Japan is Awesome – the bathroom
I've spent more of my adult life in Japan than in my home country. I came to that realization the other day. It shouldn't have been such a realization. Simply do the math. Assuming 18 as an adult, I've lived 31 years as such (that makes me 49 for the arithmetic challenged). I live in … Continue reading My “Japan is weird – sort of” Series
My good friend and partner in blogdom, JT, posted recently that he has "been discovered" by the Russian Spambot Overlords. With 50 pageviews from Russia, where he knows no one (I assume), compared to 28 from the US, where the vast majority of his friends live. I almost never check my own stats; I'm not … Continue reading Spambot Overlords
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?
It is slightly less than a month since I made my public declaration. One month without video games or TV. The fact that I am writing this less than a month on should give you a hint. No, I did not, in fact make it a month without. On the 15th I had what some … Continue reading Screen Withdrawal – pt 2
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
B.S. Donovan 