Victory Manual

My wife brought up an interesting point while we were talking about nationalism in Asia. I like hearing her take on things as she’s a Korean living in Japan studying alongside Chinese. She feels that, based on China’s long history of power in Asia, many Chinese today still consider Korea and Japan as [...]

Here’s some of the local 弁 (dialect) that I’ve come to love and utilize.
つかっちゃ Meaning “I’m beat [tired]“, derived from 疲れてしまいました.
どうスッペ? Meaning “What should [I/We/You] do?”, derived from どうする？
さすけね Meaning “No worries / Not a problem”, derived from (the old term) 差支えがない.
These terms will not benefit me at all on the JLPT [...]

A protest to protest a protest.
Torch protests could hurt Japan’s ties with China
I might need to begin a protest of my own. A protest to protest the protest of a protest. All I would ask of you, dear readers, is that you kindly protest me afterwards. A protest to protest the protest [...]

With all this controversy surrounding Ben Stein’s new [documentary | attack | sensationalism], I was reminded of one argument, in regards to the evolution / creation debate, typically masked as a question that I absolutely can’t stand.
Let me start off by saying that I don’t claim to know any “truth”. Both the ideas of [...]

The next song I want to learn to play on piano,

Art.
People often muse over the connotations of the term.
“What is art?” they ask themselves in quiet reserve, and their answers often lie in their own assessment of beauty; in their own favorite pieces.
“This is the pinnacle of art,” they conclude. They express themselves.
Expression is met with disagreement. They lash out in defense. [...]

Got my Japanese license. It took 3 hours of paperwork and explanations of my driving history in California and Korea, an eye exam, a picture, and ￥4000 (about $40 USD). There were no written or driving tests because of the exchange agreement between Korea and Japan, and I was lucky enough to have [...]

Victory Manual!!!(?)!
I’ve got a list to make of black eyes and feathers in my cap. Sometimes, the feathers in my cap turn out to be black eyes, but I’d prefer it the other way around.
I’ve got a hankering for some Mister Donut coffee before I head in to the ol’ 9 to 5 (or [...]