I can’t remember whether I first learned about hoshigaki: it was either on Japanese Style Originator (I think episode 16 on fall foods? It’s not on Netflix anymore, so I can’t check), in which a wife sends her husband out to drink beer with a dried persimmon in his pocket, a traditional remedy against hangoversContinue reading “Dried persimmons (hoshigaki)”
Author Archives: mourningdove
First Xmas Card Design
So, after getting you guys to vote on which Xmas card design you preferred, I decided to do both! Ha ha! Here’s the first papercut.
Ceramics Saturdays: Longquan Ware
If you like celadon, then Song dynasty Longquan ware is for you. Production began in the Northern Song and lasted well into the Ming, making Longquan ware one of the most enduring and popular Song styles. Over 500 kilns were active in Zhejiang and northern Fujan provinces, with the largest “dragon” style ones capable ofContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: Longquan Ware”
Friday Favorites: Feedly Clean-up
Some really good stuff in here: At the fabulous Public Domain Review: Aratea, a gorgeous 9th-century Norman manuscript of calligrams (pictures made from words) of astronomical constellations. Perfect for this time of year, also from the PDR: an early English translation of Pu Songling’s collection of Chinese folk tales. The history of heavy metal playedContinue reading “Friday Favorites: Feedly Clean-up”
Pierced Hands
I think I’ve mentioned I’m a bit of a clutz even though (I think) I try really hard not to be. One place this becomes really obvious is the kitchen. Though the frequency with which I burn and stab myself has definitely decreased with time, I’d say I still give myself a stitches-grade knife woundContinue reading “Pierced Hands”
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
We saw a couple of mongooses in Oahu, and it reminded me of a cartoon we used to watch when it came on every year around Halloween as kids: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. It’s based on a short story by Rudyard Kipling about an English family’s pet mongoose in India and its battle with local cobras who wantContinue reading “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”
One good thing about time changes
When I fly west, I’m actually up early enough for sunrise. Which, when you’re staying on the east coast of Oahu, is a good thing.
Ceramics Saturdays: Qingbai ware
Qingbai ware was produced during the Southern Song and into the beginning of the Yuan dynasty in the 14th century at sites around Jiangxi, mostly at the Jingdezhen kilns but elsewhere, even Jizhou, as well. It was never an imperial ware: it was designed for the merchant class, to mimic Ding wares. But Qingbai achievedContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: Qingbai ware”
Friday Favorites: Kung Fu Movies
This is far and away my favorite genre of film, and I’ve watched a loooooooooooooooot of these over the years. Here are my favorites (like Spinal Tap, this list goes to 11): One-Armed Swordsman: A Classic Shaw Brothers joint starring Jimmy Wang. My friend John reminded me about this movie the other day, and IContinue reading “Friday Favorites: Kung Fu Movies”
Disenchantment (Short Story)
“I think,” David Hume’s reedy voice cut through the cramped salon, “that either an idea must be derived from actual experience or there must be no truth to it. Id est, you cannot infer the existence of God from a rose.” They were discussing Tertullian in their tutor’s rundown Grassmarket flat. “All right,” saidContinue reading “Disenchantment (Short Story)”
The Rookery 