Blog

The Black Carp

The Black Carp

Carp are sacred in Japan.  My friend, Duncan, told me of one that was a gift from a 17th century Emperor.  It lived for 250 years.  They are har...
Art Carp Japan Koi
Shinjuku Sparrow

Shinjuku Sparrow

In the Shinjuku district, there is most of the cool shopping in Japan, with bold graphics and bling everywhere.  You can walk by a window of a d...
Art Haiku Hello Kitty Japan Shinjuku Sparrow Tokyo Ueno Park
Crazy Horse Among Falling Stars

Crazy Horse Among Falling Stars

Upon  returning from Tokyo, I started re-reading my notes about Crazy Horse and at the same time, Basho’s poem-diaries. It struck me how much th...
Art Crazy Horse Matsuo Basho
Tokyo Diary — Tokyo Giants Hat

Tokyo Diary — Tokyo Giants Hat

I have walked like a goddamned Sherpa and eaten more tuna than Flipper.  I love Tokyo; its dreaminess, its civility, its attention to beauty and d...
Art Baseball Tokyo
Little King

Little King

Years ago there was a rugged little bastard  named Roberto Duran, one of the greatest lightweight fighters in the history of boxing.  He was a m...
Art
The Radio Ghost

The Radio Ghost

If you drive rural roads, particularly the ones in the Midwest where the landscape is flat, you often see owls in radio towers at dusk or dawn.  ...
Art
The Emperor’s Bird

The Emperor’s Bird

You listen for trainsand hope for birds. . . I’ve been watching Kurosawa movies again just to be awed.  Ran, with its beautiful, bow and arrow b...
Art
Bird of the Falling Planets

Bird of the Falling Planets

In the Haiku of Basho, Issa and Buson, as well as other Japanese monks, there are sometimes passages about death. In fact, on their death-beds, ...
Art Haiku Japan Japanese Robin Jisei
The Green Jay

The Green Jay

“Every angel is terrible. . .” – Rilke Hey– When I was a kid I used to charm my mother with stories I’d make up  in order to get a cookie out o...
Art
The June Queen

The June Queen

“Mom–Look at the Boid!”“It’s not a ‘boid,’ son, it’s a BIRD.”“But Ma…it choips like a boid!” – Overheard in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Hey– My pa...
Art Bird Hobo
The November Queen

The November Queen

“Hope is the thing with feathers.” –Emily Dickinson Hey– In almost every text about hobos I’ve read they’ve mentioned the sounds of birds.  For...
Art Bird Emily Dickinson Hobo
The Devil’s Scarecrow

The Devil’s Scarecrow

Going where I list, my own master total and absolute,Listening to others, considering well what they say,Pausing, searching, receiving, contempla...
Art Civil War Hobo Hobo Alphabet Scarecrow