Long Time Expat In Japan
Surprisingly, I leveled up in the kana section of Shodo! Again! This was doubly unexpected because it is both hard for my classmates, or so I'm told, and also because I have never had any formal education in Japanese. I studied Kanji in Chinese, and even took a couple of lessons in Shodo (which they … Continue reading Level Up! Lvl 8 Kana
I'm sure you've heard about getting outside of your comfort zone. It's where you learn, stretch, grow. I've often thought of Bilbo's famous quote when I hear it, "I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread." That's the stretch part. But where is the grow part? It might have something … Continue reading Comfy Chairs
In February I was really pleased to say that I was, again, not last. As you can see below, I'm plugging along well enough. The first is kanji. https://bsdonovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/janfebkanji.jpg Then here is my pen submission. I must admit, I'm kind of struggling here, but still not last. https://bsdonovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/janfebpen.jpg But below is the really exciting part. … Continue reading Level up!
Many years ago, when I was a college student, and barely conscious - I was not a party animal, just self centered - I studied Comparative Literature. Comp Lit was where I could basically take classes in film, science fiction, vampire fiction, foreign languages, almost anything liberal arts related, and it would count toward graduation. … Continue reading Blogs are Commonplace Books
Image from Mr. Nimoy's Twitter Like many of you, I was saddened to hear of Leonard Nimoy's passing. While he will be remembered for his many achievements, the one for which I will remember him the most is as Spock, ambassador to a brighter future. Star Trek was before it's time in many ways. The … Continue reading Change is the Essential Process of All Existence
This week, my kanji submission for shodo is onko chishin. See below for a picture. Roughly translated, it means "know history's mistakes." https://bsdonovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/img_0464.jpg The kanji we need to submit is often a four word idiom, what they call a Yoji Jukugo. Yoji = four word. Jukugo = idiom. So there's no real mystery there. But … Continue reading 温故知新 – Know History’s Mistakes
I love the hyperlinked world of the internet. After having just read Feed, a post zombie apocalypse novel by Mira Grant, I was curious about the genre and how it has changed. Curious enough to dig a little bit. I felt, but could not prove, that zombies seem to be a lot more visible in … Continue reading A Quasi-Analytical Look at Zombie Mind Share
https://bsdonovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/courthouse.jpg OK, so it was a bit strange, but I have to say, I had a good customer experience at the courtroom today. See my post yesterday about getting Nabbed by the Keisatsu. The parking violation cost me 40,000 JPY, about $340 USD. There’s no way that’s going to feel good. I have problems with … Continue reading A Good Experience with Police? Yes, Expensive but, Yes
It started one Friday evening. It was a pretty good day; I was home before 7 pm. You need to understand that this is Japan. The work day starts late, but for so many, that work day never seems to end. In a former life in this country, I had a job that nearly did … Continue reading Nabbed by the Keisatsu
It's not just me, or so my sensei tells me. Most of her students dread the kana part of the monthly submission for calligraphy. It's the hardest, it's the most abstract, and has the most exceptions. Way back in the early days of the mid-90's, eons ago in dog years, I read a book by … Continue reading Hiragana – and Hard Fun
B.S. Donovan 
