Pictured above is Yours Truly, nearly 8 years ago, checking out a CD vending machine at the train station in Kyoto, Japan, where I was visiting my friend Anne, who was there for a year to teach English. The trip marked the beginning of a big “things are looking up” phase; shortly after it, the Worst Date Ever would take place, I’d pick up the accordion and things would never be the same.
Sarah Marchildon, a Vancouverite who blogs at The Hollywood North Report, relocated in July to a rural town on the island of Shikoku in southern Japan to teach English. Given its small-town-ness and its removal from more cosmopolitan places like Tokyo or Osaka, it’s quite likely that there are locals who’ve never seen a real live white person before. Go visit her blog and see what she’s been up to!
I think I’d better finish the Ireland travel diary before I start recounting my last trip to Japan, but I’ve got a Japanese story or two to tell…
It’s that time of year, and this is that kind of blog, so here’s the 2026…
It’s Sunday, and it’s time for another “picdump!” Here are the memes, pictures, and cartoons…
I’ve done the occasional Tampa-to-St. Pete commute during peak times, and they can easily stretch…
Anitra and I saw the sticker pictured above on a Model Y Tesla parked outside…
It’s Sunday, and it’s time for another “picdump!” Here are the memes, pictures, and cartoons…
I saw this a couple of weeks ago in Austin at Uncommon Objects, a delightfully…