The Melting World

Today Ota-sensei, an Ainu language teacher, came to my cross-cultural class to deliver his version of Hokkaido/Ainu history, Part II. Although I think what he said had a lot of importance for the students, I was dismayed to see most of them doing other schoolwork, sending text messages on their cell phones, or whispering with […]

Radio Archive of Ainu Language Lessons Sapporo TV Radio hosts an Ainu language class with accompanying textbook (which you can order) every Sunday morning, from 7:05am to 7:20am, and repeated Saturday evenings from 11:15-11:30pm. They also have the lessons archived on Real Player audio files since it began in 1999. A look at one lesson […]

If you grew up in snow country, you probably recall how lovely it feels when you are bundled up from head to toe in a snowsuit and you lie back into deep snow. The muffled crunch of snow settling underneath your weight, the snow cradles against your frame. When you look up into a pure […]

One of the joys of having a child to play with is reliving the simple things we also did as children. My son loves to eat snow. He doesn’t care if it’s from the road or from the field–and that’s a issue we struggle with–but still I remember how good it feels to munch on […]

In my cross-cultural seminar this past Friday, I had the privilege of having Chisato “Kitty” Dubreuil give my students a slideshow/talk comparing Ainu and Native American political histories. She is the only active Ainu scholar who is an expert in Ainu art history, Japanese art history, and Native American & First Nations art history. She […]

As the only leaves left are the persistent shiny reds of the sugar maple and the canary yellow ginkos, I post this pic of us in the midst of our steamy summer Tokyo holiday, in hopes that the recollection will seep some heat into my freezing feet. Now a walk to the post office and […]

Had to share this picture of my Superman way back in 1976. Watch yourself! Happy Halloween, everyone!