dev.kami

A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine

John K. Nelson

This is the current book I'm reading.  It isn't bad, so far.  The author is very descriptive without becoming lost in the details, and he also includes interviews from the priests at the shrine.  I can't give a good review of it yet because I haven't even gotten halfway through it.  Part of this is because I lost half the week to a chronic migraine that lasted almost sixty hours.

I have plans for this journal.  I plan on using it as a place to dump my art.  Mostly the stuff I make by hand when I'm bored, and some of my photography.  Of course there are other places where I can post my art, but I like it better here, especially since it can interface with other services like PhotoBucket, etc.

I'll write more later.

What is your stupid human trick?
Submitted by Scarlett.

Um.  Well, I can manipulate things with my toes, like picking things up, for example.  I know some people can do this to a degree, but I've practiced to a point to where I've developed some amount of dexterity in them.  I've also been told that I have an insane pain tolerance to certain things.

Beyond that, I'm not sure.  I think this question is stupid, so I'm not sure why I bothered wasting my time in filling it out.

When do you start your holiday shopping?
Submitted by Murphy.

Well this year I started it extra early.  I have most people on my list marked off, but I think I will end up with a couple last-minute buys anyway in December.  I detest having to go out in the holiday rush, and tend to do most of my shopping online.  On the other hand, I don't stress out over it.  Too many people get stressed over material concerns this time of year, and ignore the true message of the holiday season.  It doesn't really matter what belief structure you subscribe to.

Now for another topic, I found this in my GMail account this morning.  Mildly amusing, though I'm sorry to say I'm more of a boxers person.

Blue Lace Magatama

I managed to get ahold of another magatama to add to my collection of curved stones.  This one will be the prize of my collection, as I've managed to get it import from Japan.  It's made out of blue lace, and has a softer, more traditional curve to it than some of the other stones in my collection.  Right now all I need to do is to decide what craft project I plan on doing with it.  This one though, I'm obviously going to keep for myself.

I've also finished Takashi Matsuoka's 'Autumn Bridge'.  It was a nice follow-up to 'Cloud Of Sparrows', but some parts of it where hard to follow, because the author frequently went back and forth at various points on the timeline.  I think he could have tied the sequence of events together a bit better.  Overall, it wasn't a bad read, and it had a nice storyline otherwise.  I want to get the third book 'Samourai' when it becomes more available.

Mishima's Sword

Christopher Ross

This is the book I'm currently working on.  I haven't gotten too far into it as of yet, but it is proving to be a very good read.  It isn't just another biography on Mishima's life, it gets into interesting detail on Japan's struggle for identity, and past ideals.  It gets deep into the underground of Japanese culture and society in the present, as well as the spiritual and psychological thinking surrounding the sword.

I guess I'll write more later, if I have anything worth writing about.

And, I suppose there is.  I just now find out that today is the anniversary of Mishima's death.  Technically it is the 25th, which is already here in Japan.  Here in the US we are still on the 24th. 

Anyway, I need to run.

I think what I'm going to do is dust off my digital camera and start using this blog to publish some of my photography.  This seems to be the proper forum to do it, after all.  I should see if I can dig up some of my old photographs I've taken, and store them here.

My bedroom is a mess.  The more I look at it, the messier it becomes.  It almost seems like the clutter is reproducing itself.  Some sort of insane breeding program going on right under my nose.  This is shameful and it needs to stop. 

I have been given the rest of the week off from work.  I think I'll use this time to really clean up the place, and get some things done that I've been putting off.

Saved and posted here, because I can't keep things organized right now.  Two video clips of a traditional Shinto wedding, as requested by a member on the Tsubaki ko list.

Wedding in Japan

This first one is about six minutes long, and gets into some of the preparation as well as the celebratory send-off by the relatives.  Very interesting stuff.

Traditional Shinto Wedding

This second one is a bit smaller, and narrated in French (I think).  But I think it emphasizes more detail on the actual ceremony itself.








I found that there are more than a few such videos on YouTube, I just chose the ones that seemed to be more than a minute long and have more detail to them.

I think I'm beginning to see how Vox might be different from LiveJournal, mainly that it can interface with other services, and allow various sorting features.  I'm actually having a good time playing around with it, especially when I am bored.  I want to archive and set up my book and media collections.  I might even get into the habit of posting the Vox Question Of The Day if none of them suck too bad.

Work is finished until next week.  I'm sure I will be stir-crazy by the end of the week, but at least I might have some time to relax and get things done that I have been putting off for ages.

Oh.  This is awesome.  Samurai collectible figures.  I would love to collect the whole set if it wasn't for the fact that I will be flat broke until the end of the holiday season.

I'm going to go back to my book.

Autumn Bridge

Takashi Matsuoka

Anyway, I'm not sure what else to write, so I will go back to my reading.

Of course, until very recently I thought that the last thing I would want is another journal.  I'm starting to think that maybe I'm not too entirely correct on that.  In opening up a more public blog (as opposed to the private one I keep on LiveJournal) I can perhaps interact with a wider range of people, and publish some thoughts and ideas I have stored away for others to read.  I can also experiment with Vox's features, and see if there is anything unique here I would appreciate.

Well.  We'll see.