michael lambe

Just time for one last post before the end of the year methinks. There’s a fresh post up on Deep Kyoto of my favorite Irish pub in Kyoto: Gnome. Now for the last message of the year from Hozouji Temple:

It reads: 反省と感謝でおくる除夜の鐘
反省　- hansei = self-reflection
感謝 – kansha = thanks
おくる – okuru = send or give?
除夜 [...]

September is here, summer is over and I’m back at work already. This time last week I was in an African desert, but tomorrow I’ll be standing in front of Japanese teenagers once again teaching the past tense of irregular verbs. I got back last Saturday and I’m still jet-lagged so forgive the late posting. [...]

Z-com
Independant left-wing media institution Zcommunications have a spiffy new site featuring writers such as Tariq Ali, Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk, George Monbiot, Howard Zinn etc…
…one of the great newspapers of the internet, print, and video. You get more in one visit than hours of thumbing through voluminous newspaper voices of rapacious power. The range of [...]

I had a visit from Udo and Fumi yesterday, which was nice, and we went to Shimogamo shrine and took some pictures. Hover your mouse over for extra info:
BubbleShare: Share photos – Safe Toys

Note the three-legged crows. I was curious about these and it seemed like a good excuse for a chat with one [...]

Kageyama-san suggested taking the Katou sisters out for lunch yesterday, so we did. Here are the self-styled “Soul 兄弟”.

And the Katou sisters. Other than my own, I don’t think I’ve met a nicer bunch of sisters. Look how nice they look.

After which we had a pleasant stroll round Shokokuji (here’s an elephant):

And of course [...]

In the aftermath of Lado Japan’s sad demise, there has been a flurry of contact between former Lado teachers and staff, and I’m pleased to say Udo Bartsch in Cape Town has also been in touch with the wonderful news that he and Humi finally got hitched last January. (Congratulations to you both!) Not only [...]