Tuesday, March 31, 2015

April Fool's Day

Kick me hard. Appril Fool
No one knows for sure the origins of April Fool's Day, but it may coincide with the coming of spring and its light-heartedness as we come out of a long and dreary winter. The Hindus have their Holi Festival. Ancient Romans had Hilaria that celebrated the resurrection of Attis.

Before the Gregorian calendar was adopted in the 1500s, the new year was celebrated around April 1st. Even in Japan, the new fiscal year and school year begins the first of April. So some say that jokes were played on those who would not or didn't know about celebrating the new year on January 1st. Some say Chaucer wrote down March 32 or April 1 for the day.

As a kid I loved April Fool's Day. It was a chance for payback on my siblings. Being the youngest, I usually got the tail end of most of the harassment. My all-time favorite was Saran wrap on the toilet...

To me it's another reminder of glorious spring and seeing all the flowers and trees blossom is truly incredible.

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Sakura season in Japan!


May your day be filled with lightness of heart and loudest of laughter while enjoying the warm spring air!

*My information comes from Wikipedia on April Fool's day and Infoplease.com

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Cat Thursday (44)

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! Hosted by Michelle of The True Book Addict.

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Cats and their adorable offspring! These are really cute. All pics are from the site iizcat.com










Sunday, March 22, 2015

Living and Reading in Japan (7)

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This weekly meme has been inspired by Michelle at The True Book Addict and Lisa at Lit and Life--Life: It Goes On...but I wanted to tweak it a bit for myself since I am living in Japan for the next year (2014-2015).

We've been a lot healthier with the warmer weather! Spring is here. I haven't needed a jacket for two days now...

Reading:
  • The History of Hell by Alice K. Turner
  • All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
  • The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
Finished:
  • I Must Say: My Life As a Humble Comedy Genius by Martin Short (audiobook version)
Looking Forward To:

Okinawa in 3 weeks! We are heading south for a week and I'm looking forward to a warm beach and relaxing!

Making:

I've been trying to hone in my creative side recently and I've decided to do some art journaling. Sometimes I'm very consistent, other times not so much. But it's been fun exploring. I haven't done this since I was a kid.

Listening To:

Serial. I'm way behind since this ended last December but I finally caught up and was floored.

Watching:

Parks and Recreation and Unbreakable Kimmy. So funny.

Grateful For:

My legs. So silly but they've gotten me far here in Japan. As the weather has been warming up, I've been trying to get out and walk around the city. Everything is so close. It's been an adventure!

Things I Did This Week:

We went to a fun-themed restaurant called the Bandit or Sanzoko in Japanese. Foreigners like to call it the "chicken shack." They are famous for their chicken on a stick or yakitori. It's pretty darn good. Then we headed over to Kimawa Mu Valley that has an underground mystery treasure adventure. They put in statues and clues that remind me of Indian Jones. It's really fun. Gabe had a blast.

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Their rice balls are amazing! Salmon, seaweed, and a sweet plum inside and wrapped in more seaweed! Yum.

We only have 3 more months in Japan so we're trying to take it all in ;) We thought this was going to be 2 years but it got cut short so back home in July.

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Friday, March 6, 2015

Mini Book Reviews--Stiff, The Great Agnostic, The Goddess Chronicle, The Pale Blue Dot

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Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

This book was disgusting but in the most fascinating way. It made me look death right in the face. A book everyone should read.



The Great Agnostic: Robert Ingersoll and American Freethought by Susan Jacoby
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It was a great introduction to a fascinating man and how he brought secularism and freethought to the masses.






The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino

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Disturbing yet gorgeously written story on the mythical gods of Japan that gave birth to their islands. It's also an insightful treatise on what women have faced and continue to face in a patriarchal world.






The Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan masterfully contemplates the future of us in space. He lays out where
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we've been and where he hopes we can go. The first chapters and last chapters are must-reads. He is greatly missed.


Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Cat Thursday (43)

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! Hosted by Michelle of The True Book Addict.

Image Source

The best cat videos are over a century old!

A new exhibition is coming to New York. They put together the stills to make some small cat "videos." Super cute.