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Recent Posts: M Thomas Apple Author Page
Dear Diary — June 12, 2001
The Blood of Dunbar: The Forgotten Holocaust of the Scottish Covenanters
This is the first 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. Most students of American history are familiar with the standard narrative of New England’s early settlers: the Mayflower, the […]
“Blood Moon” lunar eclipse across the Americas
Lunar eclipses occur when Earth moves between the sun and the moon and its shadow is cast on to the lunar surface. In Thursday night’s event 96% of the moon will be darkened by the Earth’s shadow at its peak moment. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/aug/27/lunar-eclipse-north-south-america WordPress has gotten really wonky with the “quotation” formatting, so I hope this […]
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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.
Tag Archives: fatherhood
The Tanakas, “tenkin,” and “o-mutsu-koukan”
A few weeks ago (before all the hospital melodrama), I took my daughter to a nearby supermarket…which had a “baby care room” on the second floor, next to the roof parking lot. We had been invited by a Japanese couple … Continue reading
Posted in gender roles, roles, work
Tagged at home dad, child care, child-raising, fatherhood, gender roles, Japan, Japanese, job transfer, parental roles, shopping, tenkin, work
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Sad Dad, Bad Had
There’s a page in the classic Seuss book Hop on Pop that reads: Sad Dad Bad Had Dad is sad. Very, very sad, He had a bad day. What a day Dad had. Even Dads get the “baby blues.” But … Continue reading
Posted in depression, gender roles, parenting
Tagged child care, depression, fatherhood, gender roles, parental roles, post natal, postpartum
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Suku-suku So-dan
Yesterday, my wife and I took our daughter to a city-sponsored health check slash child care consultation (suku-suku so-dan, meaning literally “quick consultation,” from the idiom suku-suku sodatsu, grow quickly or thriving). The event was free of charge for all … Continue reading
Posted in baby toys, parenting
Tagged baby toys, bilingualism, child care, fatherhood, Japan, parental roles
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