Month: July 2007

TGW Photography

Wow, finally I have completed stage two of establishing a photography business (the first stage being starting to take photos!). It’s very early days yet, and in fact I do not intend for it to ever provide me with anything more than an irregular trickle of income – its purpose is not to make money. […]

Seperation looming

We’re just entering the difficult stage now, where our impending separation, now less than two weeks away, and set to last for almost a year, becomes only too visible on the horizon, like a large cloud moving towards our beautifully warm sun. There’s been the odd moment when one of us has suddenly been swamped […]

Halfway Around the World in 28 Days

Snappy title huh? In order to help get people thinking about the environmental impact of flying, I’ve created a very mini-site (all of 4 pages in fact!), explaining the reasons behind my decision to travel 9000 miles /14000km by ferry and train back to the UK next month. You’ll find it at www.9000miles.info (…although actually […]

SEAS Newsletter

The June edition of my (uni) department’s newsletter was published, er, well, in June funnily enough, and I’ve just got a hold of a copy hot off the internet. In addition to a story on The Trailwalkers, there’s a great goofy picture of yours truly on the back cover. Well, we wouldn’t want them to […]

Not caring about what others think

“What you think of me is none of my business” One of the harder challenges I’m facing is this business of not caring what other people think of me. It’s been a long bitter struggle, lasting for as long as I can remember, and of course it will never end – but I can work […]

The Secret

I picked up my passport today, after it’s month-long journey spent circulating various embassies. It’s now full of full-page visas, just waiting to be stamped. Took me a while to find the Mongolian Embassy, despite the fact that I was there just a week ago. It’s situated in the basement of a pretty normal apartment […]

Another train incident

Sometimes I’m so shocked by people’s behaviour in Japan. Things like mopping the floor of the train and then sucking the ‘mop’ dry are just surprising, but other things can really hurt. On the Yamanote line train a couple of minutes ago, an old man who’d been a bit wobbly on his feet when he […]

Hey TEACH!

Sorry, I’ve been watching You Tube again. Found this beauty. For the Sheffield students/ lecturers amongst you – doesn’t the lecturer remind you of Rick? Oh, quote of the day: “If you follow the herd, you know what you’ll step in!” Tags: prangstgrup | The Daily Mumble

The salaryman on the train incident

It’s true, you really do have to be careful what you think about, as I discovered on the train home tonight from Hanno. The chap who sat opposite me for about 15 minutes as doing exactly what was mentioned in Tito’s comment on this Mumble, for the duration of his ride. The worst bit was […]

Macrovision

I figured out how to do macro shots with my camera tonight, with the aid of a macro filter which just after I bought it (last month) was deliberately confusing, causing me to throw it in the loft. This evening I was hit with inspiration whilst looking at the guy picking his nose in the […]

Two great sites for a better life

I’ve been meaning to mention these sites for a while, but keep on forgetting. They are both widely known, and one is even referenced on the other. I’ve known about them for some time now, thanks to Leo Laporte and Merlin Mann of the TWIT Network / 43 folders. The first is www.lifehack.org – It’s […]

Single Source

This follows on from my last post… There was one final thing that I wanted to mention, something I’ve been working on and experimenting with this week, and that is, taking the notion that we are all of a single source, and thus inextricably linked. Like the National Grid, or the internet, which sees all […]

Further thoughts on spirituality

This Mumble repeats much of what I said in an earlier Mumble, but such is the nature of Mumbles… ‘Anonymous’ posted the following comment on the Daily Mumble a couple of days back; I’ve decided to use it as a jumping-off point for today’s post. Have you read the God Delusion by Richard Dawkins? If […]

Telling the folks / Riding a Panda / Introducing Pepe

I have a tremendous amount to write about. So much has been going on inside (digestion) and outside (washing-up) of me. Firstly, a note to friends back home in Herefordshire: I hope you’re ok, and dry. There’s been the most incredible flash floods – as demonstrated by the photo below of the Regal Cinema in […]

Why one should never gobble down one’s peas

I just found a wriggling caterpillar in the pea-pod I was eating. That would have been ok, if it weren’t for the fact that only half of it was left. *sound of joseph running to bathroom heard* Tags: woops | The Daily Mumble

Trailwalker: Final report

It’s now almost two months since our legendary hike across the mountains of Southern Japan, and with the fundraising deadline almost upon us, it’s time to draw the curtains. A huge thank you to all of our sponsors: our grand total is £2365 ($4800) (between our two teams, including the money donated by the participants […]

It was a beautiful day today. Not in terms of weather – it pissed it down thanks to Typhoon #4 – but in terms of the people I met, and the laughter and joy. You know, if you smile, chances are they will smile back. The same thing occurs when you shine: the world really […]

Messages to People. And thoughts on God

There’s so much I want to say, but numerous calls back to loved ones in the in the UK have brought the clock on to past 3am, and I need my sleep, so I shall try and be brief. To start with though, I have a few messages: Firstly, my sincere and loving thanks to […]

Calling all Tokyoites

So, we’ve got this GREAT event in a very nice privately owned British bar on Sunday night from 8pm, and we want to have loads of fun and raise money for Oxfam Japan at the same time. Thus, I’m inviting everyone to come along and pit their wits against the greatest of Tokyo’s brains, for […]

a quiet announcement

It’s been quite a comical week, if one looks on it from the point of view of a camera being used to film a Hollywood comedy in which the main character repeatedly tries to find opportunities to propose to his girlfriend, but is repeatedly frustrated by the occurrence of unexpected events. Finally, however, he manages […]

Revising at Jonathons

Crikey gov, i don't know what's got into me today, but i'm just flying. It could be the coffee i guess. I stop what i'm doing and think for a moment how fortunate i am to have been reincarnated into this beautiful world, and so surrounded by loving, supportive people, and with a wealth of […]

Cherry Picker

The first exam was what could technically be classed as ‘a bit of a disaster’, in that I was unable to do anything but guess at the answers. Still, I prefer to think of it as an insignificant afternoon class which was tougher than most. I think it accounts for 30% of the final mark […]

Once

Please, everyone who can, see this film, and then tell me what it’s like, because it’s not on release here in Japan. I just bought the soundtrack. It’s my favourite kind of music. I think this has just become one of my favourite films of all time, and I’ve not even seen it yet. It’s […]

The power of thought

One thing that has always made me laugh when in Japan is the way that Japanese people thank me whenever I say something positive about the country, as if it was a personal compliment – which of course it isn’t! My friend Shari has written a superb little piece on this common phenomenon, which I […]

Muhammad Yunus to speak at Rikkyo

Muhammad Yunus, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work tackling poverty through his successful application of the concept of microcredit, will be speaking at Rikkyo University next Wednesday from 1.30pm – 3.30pm. I’m a big fan of his perspective on poverty & business, and the latter’s role in helping others […]

Trying not to surrender

Must…keep…my…interest…up…. ….just …one …more …week… In non-exam news, and I know it’s not helpful, but I can’t help but think of my departure, now just 5 weeks off. I think it would be easier if I hadn’t been through this kind of thing before, and thus wasn’t aware of how difficult it is for me. […]

One Year On

Dear John John, It was on this day, 1 year ago, that you began the next leg of your journey. A journey through places free of the constraints of the laws that govern physical matter, a journey free of the need to make seat reservations with Malaysian Air. On one of your amazing bikes with […]