TV Shows that Stuck with Me

You know when you watch or read or see something, and you just can't stop thinking about it? That's how I feel about Mad Men in general, and one plot line specifically.   There's a subplot in season 5 (spoilers, I guess? The episode aired in 2012, so if you haven't seen it by now, …

Summer Beach Reading

I evaluate every book I'm thinking about reading in summer in terms of it's potential as a "beach read" - whether or not I have any ability to actually read at a beach! As I see it, summer book choices should have a certain magic and humor to them. They don't have to be fluff …

Summer 2019 Bucket List

A new city means new adventures! We moved to Milwaukee in January, aka the dead of deep-dark winter. Everyone we've met has told us that summer in Milwaukee is amazing and that there are festivals all the time and that every day is magical. Now that I'm pretty sure winter is over, I've started thinking …

My Most Memorable Books of 2018

I've been keeping a list of all the books I read for many years. The first notebook had a fold-over snap front with pastel blue and purple flowers on a white background. I can't recall the exact year, but I think I started it in 6th grade or junior high. As I've moved around, the …

Princess Arete: Listening Log 5

Princess Arete tells the story of a young princess who becomes imprisoned by a wizard trying to live forever. Arete lives in the tower of her castle and watches the people living below her. Suitors keep bringing magical treasures to the castle to win her hand in marriage. One day, a wizard comes and tricks …

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness: Listening Log 4

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness is a documentary following Studio Ghibli's main animators, particularly Hayao Miyazaki, over the course of a year, as well as the interconnected histories of those who brought about the studio itself. It starts during the production of The Wind Rises, and ends with Miyazaki's announcement of retirement. The film …

Listening Log 2

In the first episode of Ouran High School Host Club (Ep. 1 - "Starting Today, You are a Host!"), our protagonist, Haruhi, stumbles upon what she thinks is a music practice room. Being new to the school and sloppily dressed like a male student, she seeks a place to hide, since her mother has died, and …

Un-Necessary Errors: A Book Review

A few of my neighbors and I have been keeping a book club since last summer. We choose which book to read on rotation, determined by a sophisticated game of junken (Japan’s rock-paper-scissors). When it recently became my turn again and my rock beat everyone else’s paper, I remembered a book I had read a …

Movies: The Great Gatsby Review

The Great Gatsby debuted in America exactly one month before it was available in Japan. However, I’d been waiting so long to see it that I did not hesitate to catch the late showing at Toho Cinemas in Aeon mall on opening day. I’d read the book in high school, bought the soundtrack when it …