Words can be spoken in different ways, different tones, different stress, different volumes, different accents, different pitches, different combinations, different statuses, and each different way includes a different identity. This identity is something that you can’t just make up by stringing words together, and it’s this identity that both makes languages human, and languages culture. […]

This was a goodie. The Coffee Skill Australians Think They Know But Really Don't. When it comes to coffee, beans matter. But if you're drinking anything with milk in it, generally the flavour of the beans is muted to the point of being non-existent. I actually feel the same way about espresso though, such as […]

Before you buy a new tool, like a guitar or a camera, make sure to take your old tools to the limit. By doing so, you reduce the potential for buyer regret because you can truly understand just how much you need the new tool. This also helps you appreciate the new tool more when […]

Otaku would be defined as a person entirely obsessed with one specific thing. They are very common in Japan, you can find people conversant in a variety of fields, and because they are so obsessed, they are extremely interesting to talk to, if you have an interest in their field that is. At the same […]

If you love something, you would invest in it to ensure its long term survival. The problem is, when you don’t see the future potential, and you are stuck in a conservative way of thinking, it can be hard to want to invest. My argument is to not think too much in terms of money […]

One of the Japanese guys I was with commented that the bus drivers we have had with us during our time here in New Zealand have all been colourful in terms of personality. And it’s true. It’s true because our culture allows this, whereas that’s just not the case in Japan. In Japan there’s a […]

Growth only occurs in a state of discomfort. I had never thought of it so simply. I had come to the same conclusion, but in the opposite way. That the more discomfort, the greater the growth. These life events that cause great discomfort, these events are free chances for growth. Really that’s the only way […]