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Posts from the ‘free spirit’ Category

Feb 26 11

The Art-Crazy Old Cabbage

by Tom

Spring is almost here! The plum blossom has put in an appearance in Tokyo. One of my favorite paintings in my favorite art gallery in my favorite city is van Gogh’s ‘Flowering Plum Tree’ (right). It’s a copy of the Japanese woodblock painter’s Hiroshige’s ‘Plum Estate’ (left) taken from his ‘One hundred famous views of [...]

Jan 30 11

The Number One Random Lunatic

by Tom

One of the most interesting characters I came across in my literary voyages over the last few years was William David Pearlman or Poppa Neutrino as he later called himself.  I read about him four years ago or so when I read his biography by Alec Wilkinson, The Happiest Man in the World, which is [...]

Jan 26 11

Going back to the Source

by Tom

Returning to the source is serenity; it is to realize one’s destiny. To realize one’s destiny is to know the eternal. To know the eternal is to be enlightened. ~ Tao Teh Ching, Chapter 16 In Taoism it’s important to connect with the essential flow of life, to harmonize with the rhythms of nature, to [...]

Jan 9 11

Freedom to Walk in a Wood

by Tom

Forgive me please, but it’s time for a rant. My default setting when reading political news from back home is a mixture of bemusement and detachment but the current government plans to sell off all of the state-owned forests, as discussed in the Guardian, has got me mad. Woods should be freely available to all. [...]

Jan 6 11

Might as well Jump

by Tom

So, I wasn’t feeling too inspired about the idea of 2011 being the Year of the Rabbit. I imagined the pet shop that I see walking to work in the morning and the cute, forlorn looking bunny wabbits that are on display in the window. However, all that changed yesterday when a student explained to [...]

Dec 31 10

Through the Tiger’s Gate

by Tom

2010 was the year of the Tiger in Japan and one of the best dinner’s I had was on a business trip to Ise at an establishment called Toramaru: Tiger’s Circle. Located in a replica warehouse, there was an intriguing laid back atmosphere to the place and the sashimi was fantastic. It’s been a difficult [...]

Dec 29 10

Train Temper Traps

by Tom

Cool, the title of this post is a tongue twister. Try saying it really fast five times; I bet you can’t. Even cooler, onomatopoeically speaking, is that you start to sound like a train … Anyway, I have a confession to make. I watched a romantic comedy this week. That’s not too big a deal [...]

Dec 11 10

Minister on Distant Service of celestial principalities

by Tom

Whilst I wouldn’t call myself a bohemian, I certainly think there’s much to be said for their values, ideals and way of living: Bohemia is a state of mind: a threadbare but vibrant Utopia in which one can prioritise the tenets of creativity, love, merriment, experimentation and arousal of the senses. The people who believe [...]

Dec 2 10

Autumn Leaves Fall 2

by Tom

Some days are lucky days. Today was a lucky day. My second class this morning was cancelled so free from work, I headed off to the park and snapped the above pics on my iPhone. I sat on a bench looking out to the trees over the lake, listening to Sigur Rós and feeling glad [...]

Nov 28 10

Vegetable Root Zen

by Tom

~ calligraphy by the shodō sensei Part Confucian, part Taoist, part Zen, The Vegetable Roots Discourse written by Chinese philosopher Hong Zicheng around 1590 is a collection of pithy aphorisms exulting you to live a more moral life: Chinese Caigentan combines cai 菜 “vegetables; greens; (non-staple) food …”, gen 根 “roots (of plants) …”, and 譚 “talk; conversation; discourse”. This compound caigen 菜根 [...]