Author Archives: spikekalashnikov

Not so here where November is delightful. Yesterday was a holiday: Labour Thanksgiving Day (kinro kansha no hi): A national holiday for honoring labour. Hooray. A beautiful warm day. Humidity has gone and the weather reminds me of Spring in … Continue reading →

Trucks in Okinawa are highly decorated. Loads of chrome and individual styling. I found this one parked just by house. The tanks in the background are full of Awamori https://quietripple.wordpress.com/2011/05/07/awamori/

Beaujolais Nouveau was a fad in the 80’s founded entirely on marketing, which preyed on the desire for sophistication. Thin sour wine. I think it has more or less disappeared in France but in Okinawa it is big time. This … Continue reading →

So we had a very big week er last week. Meetings of governing bodies and inauguration of the university involving hosts of  celebrities in a scientific sort of definition i.e. no rock stars or talent show contestants but lots of … Continue reading →

So off I go to Naha  as the band is playing in yet another festival. Okinawa is alive with music and the Islanders are de rigeur at any self respecting event. Naha is the main city of Okinawa and  a … Continue reading →

Beni Imo is an amazing plant. You just jam a bit in the ground and it grows. Typhoon may come and typhoons may go but Beni Imo goes on forever. It, like the Dude, abides. You may remember me planting … Continue reading →

Sitting in a meeting today when suddenly the building starts to shake. Nobody says anything so neither do I. A bit later it starts again and this time it is really shaking, rattling and rolling. I am scared and feel … Continue reading →

“The picaresque novel (Spanish: “picaresca,” from “pícaro,” for “rogue” or “rascal“) is a popular sub-genre of prose fiction which is usually satirical and depicts, in realistic and often humorous detail, the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who lives by his wits in a corrupt society. ” This a surprise to me as I had always … Continue reading →

Saturday morning after a week of turmoil and intensity; how better to spend the time than Turgenev-ish rambles through the countryside to see what the world will bring me? I hear the fierce screech of the Grey Faced Buzzard and … Continue reading →

The title of this entry comes from a poem by Robert Burns, which I have always much loved. The poets beseeches the stream – the Afton – to flow gently lest his sleeping beloved be awakened. It is so calm … Continue reading →