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Hokusai Says
I found this poem by Roger Keyes — an art historian, East Asian Studies scholar, and a poet. Despite being called “Hokusai Says,” Hokusai didn’t write it, Roger Keyes wrote it. He did so after studying and thoroughly absorbing Hokusai Katsushika’s artwork. They’re Roger’s words, but what he has taken away from the great master’s…
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This is How it Starts
Happy New Year! ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡ This is how it starts. With a pretty blank journal, a pen, and a dream — a daunting, thrilling, not-fully-thought-out-at-all dream. But the thing has been there noodling around in my head for awhile and has recently been more a lot more boisterous, begging for my attention. At some point late last…
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It’s Been Awhile…Alternate Title: Does Anyone Blog Anymore?
Follow me on Mastodon It’s been awhile 👋. Recently, Life Things have been coalescing in a way that has me itching to write on here again. I’ll talk about the one special Thing that tipped the scales a little later. But for now, I think we can all agree social media is what it is,…
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A Small Elbow Kinda Thing
Even a small surgery makes me nervous and introspective. The last time I was in surgery (2016) my vein had just blown and I woke up on the operating table, early. I remember hearing people talking in loud voices over one another, before opening my eyes and seeing the blurry, busy scene. Someone shouted, “She’s…
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The Melon Princess and The Heavenly Demon
I’ve got quite a few subscribers to my blog who aren’t following me on other social media thingies, so I wanted to post a little update. Aside from my podcast (Uncanny Japan), I have this other side hustle I’m very passionate about. That is, digging up obscure Japanese folktales, translating, retelling/reimagining them, and then recording…
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Shhh. He Doesn’t Know He’s My Kinda My Guru
It’s been forever since I’ve blogged. I’ve been working full time for almost a year now and *insert-various-excuses-here*. But this is going to change, because… …let me introduce you to Patrick Sherriff. I first met Patrick back in 2011. I was new to Twitter and there was this really neat group of cool expat kids…
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2018-Happy New Year-Tumultuous Dragons and Affectionate Minnows
Well, hello there, 2018! You really snuck up on me. I just sat down and re-read last year’s New Year’s blog post and had a hearty chuckle. I might have grimaced and winced a couple times, probably wiped away a few tears. There I was sure that the previous year (2016) was so insanely tumultuous…
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November’s Been Good — Goro Awase
My November Uncanny Japan podcast was about goro awase (語呂合わせ), a kind of Japanese, number word play. I give a few examples there and thought I was done with the topic when yesterday during every single one of my classes I heard the elementary school students ask kids from other schools if they had been…
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What I’ve Been Up To With Bullet Points
Ever since I got back from the States in early September, it seems like I’ve refashioned myself into a kind of plate spinner, albeit a somewhat neurotic plate spinner. So as a reminder to myself and a heads up to anyone interested in what’s going on in my life, here is a bullet point list…
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Happy New Year–Drowning Mermaids and Things
When I was small I often went to the beach with my parents. I loved the ocean. Oh~, how I loved the ocean. I loved everything about it: water, sand, sun, and especially I loved bouncing around in the waves. Occasionally, however, all that silly fun would come to a sputtering end. Whether I was…
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How a Pair of Holey Jeans Saved My Life or My Experience With Deep Vein Thrombosis
The whole ordeal started (I guess) a year ago. After Clarion West I decided to get in shape. I began walking daily and paying attention to what I ate. By June I was walking two to three hours a day, stretching, lifting light weights, and eating pretty well. Without much effort at all I managed…
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The Worst Part of Being a Writer
I’m a writer. It’s what I do. It’s who I am. I’ve had stories published, and I’ve had people from all over the world read them. I’ve had people love them, hate them, and be absolutely indifferent to them. Sometimes, when I’m lucky, I even have people take valuable time out of their days to…