Long Time Expat In Japan
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
Image from wikipedia Book Review The Martian by Andy Weir The best novel I read in 2015. I should probably just stop there. Or maybe I've said too much. Personally, I suffer from post-hype depression. When a book, novel, movie, or game is over sold, I feel let down when it isn't a good as … Continue reading Book Review – The Martian
Image from Amazon ebook cover Book Review The End of All Things by John Scalzi A good friend of mine just recently wrote about The End of All Things. In it, he writes, "Scalzi is one of a very few genre writers whose work I'll buy immediately in hardcover, no questions asked." Since he said … Continue reading Book Review – The End of All Things
Netflix was in the news last month. The company announced that employees can take a year of maternity or paternity leave during the first year after having a child. Sounds great. Most people hear this and think, "what a great company to work for. They must really care for their employees, think of them as … Continue reading Championing Disaffection
Poetry Review The Trouble with Poetry - And Other Poems By Billy Collins I did not buy this book of poetry. I say that not to distance myself from it or poetry in general. I state it simply as a point of fact. I've written before that I am a genre reader. I like my … Continue reading Poetry Review – The Trouble with Poetry
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 🙂 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 🙂 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
B.S. Donovan 