In the entire time I have been on Deviant Art, NO ONE has ever tagged me. That (doubtful) honor goes to
. Hope this works!
Rules:
A. Post these rules.
B. Each tagged person must post 8 things about themselves on their journal.
C. At the end, you have to choose and tag 8 people to continue the madness.
D. Go to their pages and send a message saying you tagged them. Or not...
E. No tag-backs! (Or else DOOM will befall your precious... lamp desk! YES!)
1. I have lived in Japan and taught English for the Japanese education system. Everything from kindergarten to Junior High School students, including Saturday morning extra-education for kids whose parents wanted them to practice more than they got in class. Private adult work was on weeknights and weekends.
2. While in Japan, I visited the 38 fudasho (shrines) of the valley around Chichibu-shi (the largest “town” in the valley where I lived. The fudasho are dedicated to different manifestations of the “goddess” Kannon (Kuan-yin in Chinese). I say “goddess” because Kannon is actually a bodhisattva, or Buddhist saint, who has turned at the last moment from nirvana to help the rest of humanity reach nirvana before they do. The fudasho are literally thousands of years old and each one has its own story. I hope to (eventually) write a book about them, telling their stories so the rest of the world can get to know them. I have not posted pictures of them here because those pictures will likely become the focus of my book…
3. I speak fluent Japanese. Guess why? ^_^ While learning it, I used to watch sub-titled Japanese anime to put the language together in my head. I learned in college by watching an unsubtitled Japanese series called “Yan-san and the Japanese People”. This series is now available entirely online and will likely become the centerpiece of any Japanese language class I ever teach, should I achieve that goal.
4. I lived in Los Angeles for most of my life and would do almost anything to go back. Say what you will about the state of California’s finances and the horrific traffic in the City of Angeles, I still call that place home, and miss the living hell out of all of my friends out there.
5. My senior thesis got me my first job after college. A 30-page work on why Japan’s economy failed got me a job as the National Representative for the English language weekly newspaper published by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Japanese Economic Newspaper). If you’ve ever wondered why the Japanese stock market is called the “Nikkei”, it’s because that is the first part of “Nihon” and the first part of “Keizai” shoved together. Nikkei (as it is generally known) is the equivalent of the Wall Street Journal and is the world’s most widely-read newspaper.
6. When not studying for my Masters degree in Humanities or writing stories, I typically play video games (Neverwinter Nights is an old and favored standby, though Dawn of War is another fave).
7. A lot of the characters in my stories are the result of my tabletop role playing games and the activities therein. Talbot from “Talbot’s World” is played by a friend of mine who presently lives in Seattle, Lynx is played by my wife.
8. I used to be a Republican, until I went to Japan, got off the plane and found out that I had 100% government-provided health insurance for up to 6 months (after which, I would have to provide my own). Ever since, I have been a centrist Democrat, hoping that some sort of similar opportunity might eventually be offered to people here in America. Think what you will about whether the present medical process underway in the American system of government, but before you take a stand and start arguing one way or the other, make sure you know the small details. Too many people are arguing that this is socialized medicine without actually paying attention to the fine print. No, it’s not. Make sure you know what you’re talking about before you start offering opinions on things you don’t know the details on… (and yeah, I’ve been reading them – and no, I’m not going to argue, so if you start debating this, I’ll simply delete your post without reading it all).
For those I tag (all artists whom I adore), have fun with it!
Now, let’s see how many of them are actually watching MY site (few, I think). I would have included
but
already did that….
On a side note, YOU MUST SEE DISTRICT 9!!! This is the must-see movie of the year. Filmed on $30 million dollars and with NO MAJOR NAMES, it is easily the best sci-fi movie I have ever seen, with a classical Science Fiction storyline from the likes of Isaac Aasimov and the greats. GO SEE THIS MOVIE!
Game/Art and GRE
Sunny Mood
