We cry out for what we have lost, and we remember you again.
~ Leonard Cohen ~
Words, of course, are the most powerful drug used by mankind.
- Rudyard Kipling
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3. 11. 2014
Posted in This & That
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An Encounter with the Ancestors
I can’t help it. Standing in front of numerous painted figurines set up in a Nagoya department store, I can’t suppress my laughter. Trying to hold it in prompts tears. An unsolicited mess. After all these weeks, maybe the journey is getting to me. Continue reading
Writing for a Living: Find Your Path into Professional Writing
Event Poster
The Fraser Valley Chapter of the Professional Writers Association of Canada (or more affectionately known as PWAC) has teamed with the University of the Fraser Valley to present the first ever joint seminar for students, alumni and friends in the Fraser Valley who’d like to learn more about writing for a living. Continue reading
Evening in the Tokugawa Museum Gardens
Since the Tokugawa Museum gardens are lit up at night during the autumn leaf-viewing season and I need a change of pace from dinner followed by TV or laundry or recording the day in my journal, I ask the front desk to hail a cab. Continue reading
Patrick Chan WINS Silver in Sochi
CBC’s headline reads “Patrick Chan settles for silver on Canadian Trail.” Others have said the same. This is just the sort of North American media wanking that has prevailed at Olympic Games since Salt Lake City in 2002. Or at least, that’s when it first caught my attention and has irked me ever since. That year one of the advertisers ran the appalling slogan, “Second place is for losers.” Continue reading
Posted in Essays, Fiction, Poetry, This & That
Tagged Patrick Chan, Silver Medal, Sochi Olympics
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Musings from the Nagoya/Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Meaning to thank him one more time before leaving Hiroshima, I look for the poor young man who had to deal with me yesterday, but he’s nowhere in sight this morning. After turning in my voucher I receive a second JR Rail Pass, board my train and roll into Nagoya with a day to fill before heading out to Ise tomorrow. Continue reading
Semantic Tangles over a JR Rail Pass
Shinkansen (Bullet Train) and JR Rail Pass. Photo Credit: About-Japan.com website
At midnight my three-week JR Rail Pass will expire. This pass can only be obtained outside Japan by non-Japanese and allows visitors almost unlimited riding on the JR Train system as well as some ferries and buses. One caveat. The JR Rail Pass does not apply to the super express Nozomi or Mizuho; however, the Hikari, the next fastest class of Shinkansen is included and doesn’t take that much longer. Continue reading
Posted in This & That, Travel in Japan
Tagged failed communication, JR Rail Pass, semantic tangles
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Miyajima: The Body of God
Beyond recorded memory Itsukushima (or Miyajima meaning Shrine Island as it’s more commonly called) was believed to be not only the residence but also the body of God.
If being alive on this earth doesn’t count as the same thing, I don’t get this close to God that often. Continue reading
Miyajima Deer
Small, red-brown deer which appear tame and approachable freely roam Itsukushima (which everyone refers to as Miyajima meaning Shrine Island). However, signs warn visitors that they are not pets but wild animals. Continue reading
Pruners on Miyajima (Shrine Island)
My energy renewed by the sea air and sunshine during the crossing to Itsukushima (or Miyajima meaning Shrine Island as it’s more commonly called), I make a couple of decisions. I decide to stroll in the direction of the giant torii first. After that, I will simply wander wherever my feet lead without much forethought and be present wherever I am. Continue reading
Posted in This & That, Travel in Japan
Tagged Japanese gardens, symbols in Japanese gardens
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