Taiki has been home sick half the week. Normally that sort of thing doesn’t bother me, other than it means I’m not going to get much done, but these days there’s a mild sense of concern beyond that of the normal, “My five year old is sick yet again. Goddamn it, there goes my day.” […]
Sports Day
I remember track and field day back in elementary school. A day of friendly competition at the end of the year, with races, long jumps, high jumps, and so on for colored ribbons. After the long year was behind us, it was fun to have one short day of no school work and no pressure, […]
Technology
There’s a certain, not entirely incorrect assumption about Japan that it’s some kind of futuristic wonderland. It’s true, it’s the birthplace of the camera phone and giant, glasses-free 3D TVs, cyberpunk-like TV billboards, ass-washing toilets, and soon, a maglev train capable of going 600km/h. Fish sauce vending machines, digital, music-playing rice cookers, self-heating bathtubs, a […]
Books
Of all my mostly petty complaints about living in Japan, one thing I do love is all the books. For a writer, the words “People don’t read anymore” are probably four of the most terrifying words in English, and yet here we are. Magazines? Sometimes. News online? Maybe. Facebook (fucking Facebook)? Certainly. But books? Novels? […]
Blogs Suck
I always thought blogs were one of the most offensive things to arise from the information age. Suddenly, millions of people got the idea in their head that they had something worth spewing at everyone else. Ideas, recipes, pictures of their kid they’re sure a billion other people actually want to look at as much […]