Author Archives: MThomas

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About MThomas

Long ago, I gave up my high school dreams of becoming the next Carl Sagan and instead wound up working (in order) at McDonald's, a '60s-themed restaurant, a video rental store, a used bookstore, a computer seller, Kinko's, a Jewish newspaper company, and an HR firm. I eventually became a teacher of intercultural communication in Kyoto, where I vainly attempt to apply quantum mechanics to language teaching, practice martial arts and Zen Buddhism, and always keep one eye on the sky. And yes, I know my profile photo's backward. I just think it looks better this way.

Nanakusa: A Japanese Epiphany? (Holidays part 3)

Posted on January 10, 2015 by MThomas

It seems like no coincidence that Nana-kusa is at the beginning of the final solar period of winter. Continue reading →

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Home for the holidays (Part 2)

Posted on January 1, 2015 by MThomas

As I wrote a couple days ago, I’ve been spending the New Year’s holidays with my wife’s family in Kagoshima for a decade now. In that span of time, there have been five children born into the immediate extended family, … Continue reading →

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Home for the holidays (Part 1)

Posted on December 29, 2014 by MThomas

After a series of fairly serious blog posts related to an ongoing complaint against Amazon (which was somewhat, but not entirely, resolved), I thought it was about time to post about a slightly more innocuous topic: Making pottery at the … Continue reading →

Posted in family outings, holidays, Japan, trips | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments