I will post video from the hip-hop festival later today. If you show up much later, check the following post. I thought I’d post another set of pictures while I’ve got your attention.Getting ready...

Japanese hip-hop dancers competingI was wandering in Yoyogi Park, near Harajuku Station, last weekend and heard the sound of hip-hop music emanating from a crowd across the street.  Crossing over I f...

Peasant: She turned me into a newt!Bedevere: A newt?Peasant: … I got better.— Monty Python and the Holy GrailWe left for a long anticipated camping trip Tuesday, driving past Okutama and Mount Mit...

Does a stressful lifestyle lead to mindless behavior and strip away your ability to lead and achieve goals? Here are some conclusions from a study of rats (h/t Appel) subjected to constant stress:On t...

Here are a few more images from the hip-hop party-festival I wandered into last Saturday at Yoyogi Park. I’ve never been into hip-hop, but I love seeing people do things with passion. In fact, I fel...

How angry is your God? Is God going to slam you with a bus, or perhaps a tornado, if you miss the mark? Recently, John Piper (a well known pastor and theologian) speculated that a tornado was a messag...

Just when the heat was about to drive me back home, I wandered into a hip-hop festival in Harajuku today. I took took lots of photos and some great video, too. Lots more coming soon…...

She has always liked bugs...

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Read about one man’s struggle to care for his wife and hold his family together. I heard about this from a trusted source. I read the story and wanted to pass it on. If enough people read and do the...

I climbed Mount Fuji for the 4th time Thursday night. I took a couple of exchange students from Taiwan who showed up completely unprepared. They were wearing fashionable shoes and carrying light jacke...

I’m glad Mark Scandrette is blogging again and writing about things like “a Jesus Dojo.” He’s one of the few writers I know who thinks widely and freely enough about what it means to be a foll...

The western side of Shinjuku Station is like no other place in Tokyo, or in Japan. A long tunnel leads from the station to this area, and when you emerge it’s like you’ve found something hidden. M...

I was in Shinjuku for a meeting yesterday and stuck around to take some video and pictures. Taking photos in Piss Alley isn’t easy. It’s a place full of history and tradition with regular customer...

I started blogging more than five years ago. It’s amazing how quickly time passes as you get older. Reia was just a baby back then, but now she’s standing so tall and strong. Last weekend we went ...

Early morning view of Mount Fuji from the waterfront, Shojiko (Lake Shoji, Japan)Japanese boys at band camp serenading Mount Fuji with French horns, Shojiko (Lake Shoji, Japan)Japanese fishermen in a ...

I still remember when my parents took us to see the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus. What an amazing show! I still love a good circus. My wife and I went to see Cirque Du Solei about ten y...

I think you’ll enjoy this video. It’s definitely more entertaining than my earlier “kayaking kids” videos. You can see my oldest daughter (Reia, 9) falling out of her kayak twice (blue kayak w...

I could imagine a large chunk of the aid industry drying up in the next 25 years without much of a loss, but I don’t think it will happen. There are too  many vested interests, like governments who...

William Easterly has a thought provoking post comparing an two analyses of food security in Africa from 1938 and 2o05.  He points out that the technical solutions proposed today are, in many cases, t...