Go to [link] and click on Meg-O-Ween (near the middle right of the screen). Scroll through until you see Captain Rex and vote "Best"!!

Though, I have to admit, the Master Chief IS awesome...

It occurred to me not long ago that I am pursing a Masters in Humanities (Literature Focus) so that I can teach literature at the college level. All good and well, so one might assume. It's all good and well to pursue your dreams.

But my dreams include teaching Japanese as well as Japanese culture, and a Humanities degree is predominantly focused on WESTERN culture and WESTERN Literature. Not only that, but in order to teach at the college level, one must have a Masters degree with at least 18 credit hours in the field that one wants to teach. Thus, even if I DO get my Humanities Masters, I still will not be able to teach Japanese culture, since there won't be ANY credit hours in Japanese in the Humanities Masters I am presently enrolled in.

Add in the fact that the university I am studying at (California State University, Dominguez Hills) has been pretty atrocious at actually communicating with me ever since I started this thing, and I'm seriously considering just stopping my degree where it is at (prior to advancement for candidacy and before I spend any MORE money on a degree I won't be getting), and start looking into a Masters in Japanese. With that, I can teach not only the language but also the culture, which go hand-in-hand.

Only problem, I'm thinking that in order to study Japanese at the Masters level, I'll pretty much have to be able to read Japanese fluently, and that can take YEARS to perfect... And I'm already 41...

So... The eternal focusing on "What am I REALLY accomplishing in life," has brought me yet another twist on something I was so happily going about up until now. Will the degree I am getting get me to where I want to be? If not, CHANGE IT.

Now... HOW to do so becomes the focus. And can I even TAKE a Masters in Japanese ONLINE?

I hate getting old. It makes me ask the hard questions of myself, and I'm finding more and more often that I don't particularly enjoy the answers...

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!

Hey gang,

is doing commission sketches for $15(!).

I grabbed him as soon as I saw and had him draw a sketch of my newest and favorite character, Illyria, from my time on Neverwinter Nights. Using the image :thumb94870845: as a starting point (since that's as close to reality as she'll ever get), he drew an image of her in full armor, shield and weapon.

I'll be having an image done of her out of her armor and then likely having both of the colored. He's DEFINITELY talented and VERY easy to work with, so, check him out! *but don't take my slots!!* ^_^

Check it out:

Reference image:
Open Green by ~cryinghorn on deviantART

Commission:
Illyria $15 Commission by ~lyteside on deviantART

Now, if I could just figure out how to highlight images in here like I see folks do all the time... O_o

Hey gang,

Hope all is well.

Things are progressing normally, here. My son has been alternately an angel or a little trouble-maker at school, which is perfectly normal for a 4 1/2 year old. I'll have to post a new pic of him at some point (not that this is a high priority for most of those who look at my site).

Been working hard on my Masters classes, which leaves less and less time for posting stories (or even writing them). About all I've done in the past few months is add to my ever-increasing Favorites section, so take a look. I'm not the kind to highlight individual images in my journal, but the Favorites section now only holds those pieces that truly stun me when I find them. The individual sections within Favorites are specialized by type of artwork. I hope you agree when you see that they are some of the finest pieces here on DeviantArt - at least, in my opinion.

I've been heavily involved in the evenings lately on a Neverwinter Nights server called Legends of Luruar, so if you're ever around, just look for me there. I'd be happy to meet and show new folks around!

In the meantime, may your creative juices never run dry!

Travis