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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: Japanese law
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
More updates on Amazon Japan’s child porn and abuse images
I previously posted in October about the child abuse images and pornographic materials being openly sold on Amazon (also on Rakuten and Tsutaya). An online protest was started shortly thereafter, and Amazon Japan responded by (partly) removing the most offensive items. … Continue reading
BREAKING NEWS: Amazon Japan offices raided
The Asahi Shinbun is reporting that on Friday, January 23, 2015, Japanese police raided the offices of Amazon Japan on suspicion of violating anti-pornography laws. This web site reported on the illegal sales of child abuse images back in October 2014, when decrying … Continue reading