American Gaijin
-
Loner
Many years ago, I had the bright idea to help found a makerspace, as one of my hobbies is electronics. I was looking for a space to rent, but instead, I was the catalyst for finding a space, and helped to set the site up – I donated a few hundred bucks to help kickstart…
-
Requiem for a Narcissist
Last night, I got the news that my father died two days ago. From what I understand, he had a stroke a few weeks ago, and didn’t make it. He was 77. Typically, in these kinds of posts, people would post good memories they had with their father, and end on some sappy note, and…
-
Masks
There have been many dark things about the COVID-19 epidemic, but I have always been jealous of the fact that Japanese people wear medical masks out in public as a matter of course, and up until last year, that has never been socially acceptable in America. Now, it’s less socially acceptable not to. I have…
-
Japanese: Off The Rails
This has not been an easy week for me. The combination of over a day of no power, several days of no water, being stuck in with literally nowhere to go and nowhere to get there even if I wanted to, because of six to nine inches of snow – gives me a lot of…
-
Guilt
Somewhere around 25 years ago, in a college somewhere in the American Midwest, I sat on a hideously yellow or orange sofa in the middle of a Performing Arts building. I was approached by an American Indian/Native American/First Nation/Whatever They Call Themselves Now person asking me to donate to some cause for American Indian rights,…
-
Speaking Ill of the Dead
Today, a broadcasting great, Rush Limbaugh, has died at 70 of Lung cancer. Plenty will have been said of Mr. Limbaugh’s accomplishments, and they are many. Whether or not you agree with them, it’s impossible to overstate his achievements in the shaping of conservative thought over forty years. I agreed on some things, disagreed on…
-
Texas: Living in the Third World
Over the past few days, Texas has encountered a cold snap the likes of which we haven’t seen in a century. Last night we got down to 2 degrees, the all time record in Austin is -2. The roads are pretty much impassable, and everything has been shut down for a couple of days. Power…
-
My Experience with Past-Life Regression
So, in the vein of what I had written earlier, I decided that I was going to try a past-life regression. I found a practitioner here in Austin (who shall remain anonymous), and come the appointed day and time, I went to the office. I was sat down and started the process to get me…
-
Why I’m learning Japanese
I have mentioned several times on this blog that Ihave no idea why I’m studying Japanese. Well, dear reader, I’ve figured it out. And I may quit. My mother tells me that from a very early age I loved learning. And Iguess that’s true. But there’s something else I’ve also loved, and that’s collecting. I…
-
Metablogging
There are times when I hate writing this blog. No, I like to write, that’s not the problem. In fact, I have probably a half dozen drafts sitting in the “draft” section that may never see the light of day. Some are pretty deep, some are pretty personal, some just aren’t the kind of quality…