Category: Daily Prompt

A-Z Challenge – C

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C is for “Chop”

hanko-seal-chop

The term “chop” is a common name for a stamp used in Asian cultures which shows your name. Here are two “Gagō-in” that I have… the one on the left is from my grandfather, who was an artist and art teacher when he was alive. In the chop he gave me, the family name “Fujimoto” is written above the letter “B”, and I have used this in some of my paintings that I did when I was in art school. This chop is one of my cherished possessions. The other chop is one that I bought when I visited Hong Kong, and it is a more stylized version, left-to-right, and my first name below.

These two are not used in official documents – for that, my wife and I have another smaller seal, called a Mitome-in, which is used to sign documents in Japan. I won’t display that here, of course, but it’s really nothing special. I think we bought it at a stationery store for ¥1,000.

Below is a photo of the chop that I bought in Hong Kong. It’s made of stone, and has a really nice dragon carving on the top. I think it’s pretty cool!

Black Dragon

 

A-Z Challenge – B

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B is for “Blossom”

FJKO7885Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/800 sec, ISO200

I see many photos in my Instagram feed of the sakura (cherry blossoms) in Japan, which are blooming right now. Several years ago, when we moved into our house, we planted a cherry blossom tree in our backyard so we could enjoy the sakura each year as well. Although the blossoms look beautiful, Mariko pointed out that they are not as nice as the ones in Japan because the trees are not supposed to have leaves on them at the same time as the blossoms. And it’s true, the ones in Japan are all flowers, and no green. Nevertheless, I still think the flowers look terrific.

A-Z Challenge – A

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Hi, this is the first day of the A-Z Challenge! (It’s my first time doing it, but was nudged along by Jamie Lyn Weigt 😄) So, without further ado…

A is for “Anime”

I often say, “I’m not a huge anime fan…” but when I do watch, I usually enjoy it. Of course it depends on the story. For instance, I don’t like sci-fi/mecha anime too much, but I do like adventure and slice-of-life types of stories.

Just recently I finished a great 13-part anime series titled “The Pilot’s Love Song” which takes place in an alternate reality, but a lot of the tech is similar. For instance, the story revolves around flying, and the planes they use are all prop-type, and they use conventional guns, but there is also some supernatural components as well. And of course, their world is a series of stepped discs, suspended in the air, with floating islands and a rainbow barrier surrounding them all.

I thought the artwork and the air combat was pretty cool. The story is interesting, although predictable, and thankfully the opening theme song (video below) and closing song are good. That’s important because they take up so much of each episode (I don’t skip forward)!

“The Pilot’s Love Song” ended with a bit of a cliffhanger, but I don’t think a second season is in the works. I hope they make one, because it was fun and I need to know how the adventure continues! You can watch the first season at Crunchyroll.

So now I am looking for more anime to watch. If you have any suggestions (especially if they are on Netflix or Crunchyroll) let me know!

– B Barron Fujimoto

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Karma Chameleon

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Karma Chameleon – Reincarnation: do you believe in it?

No.

However, I do think it is cool that our bodies have the possibility to nourish other lifeforms as we decompose. But apart from our physical bodies, I don’t believe our consciousness survives in the traditional sense of reincarnation.

I do take some comfort in the fact that our legacies will continue on. That can take the form of DNA we pass to our descendants, and also what we teach our kids or friends, and the lasting impressions we might make. This is entirely within our control and the choices we make. Let’s live good lives!

This post was prompted by The Daily Post from WordPress.

Naked with Black Socks

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Naked with Black Socks – Are you comfortable in front of people, or does the idea of public speaking make you want to hide in the bathroom? Why?

The idea of speaking in front of a group of people makes me incredibly nervous, yes! Before I have to speak, my heart beats so fast and I get anxious. And when I start talking, my voice is often unsure and shaky. But then I become more comfortable and it’s ok and oftentimes a lot of fun.

I used to teach classes of maybe 25 students and I would get nervous at first, but soon it wasn’t a big deal. The key is preparation for me. If I know what I am going to talk about, and also have knowledge about the subject so I can answer any questions that may come up, then that confidence carries me through. But, ALWAYS before I speak, I get those butterflies! It used to really stress me out but now since it happens every time, I am used to it and know that it is a normal part of the process. I try to feed off that nervousness a bit if I can… you know, it’s all about turning things into positive energy for me these days!

This post was prompted by The Daily Post from WordPress.

Voice work

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Voice Work – Your blog is about to be recorded into an audiobook. If you could choose anyone — from your grandma to Samuel L. Jackson — to narrate your posts, who would it be?

I would choose Gene Wilder as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein to narrate my posts. I have no idea what it would sound like, but I bet it would hilarious.

Here’s my favorite scene from the movie:

What the World Needs Now

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This Is Your Song – Take a line from a song that you love or connect with. Turn that line into the title of your post.

My favorite song “What the World Needs Now” written by Burt Bacharach, with lyrics by Hal David.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some but for everyone.

Lord, we don’t need another mountain,
There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb
There are oceans and rivers enough to cross,
Enough to last till the end of time.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No, not just for some but for everyone.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some, oh, but just for
Every, every, everyone.

I often think these days that we have an overabundance of everything… so much clutter and everything tries to demand our attention. It would be nice if we could all focus on the simple things that matter and shut out the rest.

Give a listen to this version with Burt Bacharach and The Posies from the movie Austin Powers. It’s wonderful:

This post was prompted by The Daily Post from WordPress.