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Recent Posts: M Thomas Apple Author Page
The Broken Valley: The Hidden German Civil War of the American Revolution
This is the third of a series of posts introducing the five-part historical fiction novel Unbowed, which will be published in November 2026. All five parts are based on true events and real people – my ancestors. The first post described the outcome of the Battle of Dunbar in 1650 and one of its survivors, […]
Mind your own business!
If you had to sum up your life philosophy in one sentence, what would it be? As my Anglo-Irish immigrant ancestor Thomas Bushell wrote in his Will and Testament: “Live and let live.” Far too many people want to know what’s happening in other people’s bedrooms. You do want you want to do, and leave […]
Why do we still say camera “roll”?
Share a few recent shots from your camera roll, no context needed.
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© Matthew Apple and Taking Leave, 2009-2020. Duplication of this material without express and written permission is strictly prohibited. If you would like to post or copy brief excerpts from the blog, please provide a link to the original URL along with an author’s credit.
Category Archives: Japan
“Japan should rethink gender roles”? Yeah, no kidding
On December 5th, I gave an invited lecture-slash-workshop at a university in Gifu, where conservative values reign and men and women think they can run the families like it’s 1899. The very same I made the trek up there, an … Continue reading
Posted in gender roles, Japan, Japanese, Japanese society, parenting, roles, work
Tagged child care, child-raising, chores, clothing, family, gender roles, household, Japan, Japanese, Japanese kids, parental roles, parenting, parents
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Ten Years of Taking Leave
Looking back, it’s amazing to me now that I dared to even apply for a year of paternity leave while living in a foreign country. But I’ve never regretted the decision. As I told an audience of university students and … Continue reading
Posted in book, day care, education, gender roles, Japan, Japanese, Japanese culture, Japanese society, parenting, Paternity leave, school
Tagged bilingualism, blogging, child care, child-raising, children, education, family, family leave, fatherhood, gender roles, haafu, Japan, Japanese, Japanese kids, parental leave, parents
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First Year Wall (Part 2) – The (not-so voluntary) parent-teacher conference
In mid-April, I went to a parent-teacher conference. Actually, it was more like an enforced PTA committee, which one parent per kid had to attend. As a group. We sat at our kids’ desks (tiny!) and introduced ourselves. This was … Continue reading
Posted in education, Japan, Japanese, Japanese culture, Japanese law, Japanese society, parenting, school
Tagged education, elementary school, Japan, micromanaging, names, parents, PTA
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