I have a friend who is a man of only one conviction. No, that does not mean he's done time in jail. It means he believes this: "Nothing on this Earth," he says in a voice as firm as his faith, "is as beautiful as . ...
I have a friend who became an English teacher mainly because of his fondness for phonetics. "To be more precise," he says. "I just like to say the word 'diphthong.' I try to plug it into every conversation." A diphthong, for those uninformed, is not a ...
Let's call him "Taro." Taro is the best cook I've ever seen. Bar none. Not only is he fast, not only is he efficient, but when he finishes, the food looks more than just good. It looks sinful. It doesn't make you hunger; it makes you lust. ...
"Good fences make good neighbors." Which means -- if we extrapolate this bit of Robert Frost wisdom a little further -- Japan should have some of the best neighbors in the world. For it certainly has some of the best fences. In fact, arriving from a ...
The first Japanese I fell in love with was a little taller than my wife. In fact, about 90 meters taller, depending on your source. This Japanese was also quite a bit greener and would sometimes breath fire. My wife, even at her most furious, has ...
Here's a confession for you -- a self-insight I discovered just the other night: I would rather watch animal shows than soccer. "But Dad, don't you see?" My younger son's voice squeaks. His eyes spring out as if they're on stalks. "It's time for the World ...
The latest fad in worldwide rifts is not East/West, North/South, Rich/Poor -- nor even Love Britney/Hate Britney. Rather it is the "Digital Divide" -- the gap between those who are prepared to live in our brave new world of information technology and those who ...
It's almost here . . . my favorite week. Before coming to Japan, I had never had a favorite week. I had a favorite day, a favorite aunt, a favorite song and even a favorite pair of pajamas. As a lad, in fact, nothing made me ...
I heard once that art is 2 percent creativity and the rest "derivativity." Well, what follows is not exactly art, but it does owe a friendly tip of the hat to American comedian Jeff Foxworthy and his renowned "redneck" schtick, a comic form that -- ...
"If I should meet thee, After long years, How should I greet thee?" Now that is a question that a Japanese Lord Byron would never have asked. He would have simply roared "Ohisashiburi desu!" like everyone else. This is because the pat nihongo phrase for "It's ...
