Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen by Shunryu Suzuki My rating: 2 of 5 stars Far from a beginner’s book to understanding the practice of Zen. Much of Suzuki’s lectures seem to be attempting to transfer the ungraspable nature of the world into more concrete forms for our understanding. This, of course, […]
I like camping. It is something I have done since I was a child and young adult in the Boy Scouts and continued to do while on hiatus back in Pennsylvania and the Northeast U.S. The solitude is great, food tastes better after a day spent in the woods, and the nature is always inspiring. […]
Shutting Out the Sun: How Japan Created Its Own Lost Generation by Michael Zielenziger My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book touched on nearly every Japanese socio-cultural ill that has plagued my mind since I began living here . Scathing in every dimension, often backed by insightful research and careful observations, the author paints […]
The Zen of Fish: The Story of Sushi, from Samurai to Supermarket by Trevor Corson My rating: 2 of 5 stars At times fascinating and insightful, other times annoyingly shallow in its presentation of the sushi phenomenon. Much of the science and history of sushi is spot on and a joy to read about, but […]
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The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman My rating: 4 of 5 stars Self help books rarely get to the crux of the matter. Anyone with an intellect, an inquiring mind, or a shred of awareness will realize that modern “self help” is based on the supposition that one can […]
Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book takes the dirty, desolate, destructive lives of addicts, turns them on their head, spins them around,and spits them back at you in repeatedly surprising ways. How do you make a story about opium/heroin dens in Bombay more decrepit? Make your lead character a […]
So I have attempted a change in my own personal zeitgeist. I’ve relinquished myself from the death-leash of Facebook and freed myself to a cyberworld that feels more 1999-ish. I’ve also made the complete transition to Linux on my tiny, incredible overused-passed its expiration date- Toshiba netbook (now if I can just get my late […]
The Road by Cormac McCarthy My rating: 4 of 5 stars A short, powerful book that follows all the familiar McCarthy themes of death, duty to family, trust and the often hidden nature of humanity. Far more readable than many of his earlier works, primarily because of its exclusion of Spanish dialogue (a realistic but […]
It’s been awhile. Not that I haven’t been writing, reading, sketching, and exploring my new town of Sapporo. Now that I am back in the swing to some degree, and I have a routine of sorts in place, I feel it is important to reveal one element of that routine – public parks. Usually, here […]