Allow My Writing to Introduce... My Writing.

"Gimme a second I swear, I will say about my rap career", go the lyrics of a Jay Z song.
This month I was published in Chopsticks NY Magazine. This time however, my small article on Japanese shamisen included a legitimate byline.
While it did not amount to a fraction of enough to pay the bills, I still love being paid to write, and I hope to make it a habit. Best of all, my references to subway platform buskers, and a favorite George Harrison song survived my editor's backspace key. Despite the first-hand account of my own experience, those two things were what made the article itself much more personal.

Incidentally, the same Jay Z song starts with the lyrics:
They say "they never really miss you til you dead or you gone." So on that note, I'm leaving after this song.
Fitting, since the my NYC work was published in absentia, now that I have moved to Los Angeles!
The timing has prompted some very kind emails and phone calls from friends who only realized my involvement after spotting me:

Something no one has noticed, and I hesitate to point out myself, but I actually "wrote" a restaurant review and shirt store advertorial in the same edition. I use quotes there, because someone played Frankenstein with my ramen article, which led to continuity and grammatical errors. I really wanted to emphasize how impressive their vegan ramen tasted, as well as the shop's unique and vibrant atmosphere. In the end, the only marks I left were some choice vocab and the back of my head (bottom right). C'est la vie! With that warning: You can check it out, here!

My Kamakura Shirts store review is here. It escaped unscathed, save the odd use of "ply" rather than my sheet-inspired choice of "thread count". If you are a shirt expert, perhaps you can explain whether "ply" is more appropriate.

You can read my shamisen article here, if you haven't already.

I'll leave it there for this week, but feel free to keep the conversation going in the comments (with me, or start a Trump-based flame war with each other, if you prefer!)

Love peace and chicken grease!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saké TOP 5: Dry Sake

Image
You tried a few Sake and figured out this much: You like 'em dry. Great! I wrote about what makes Sake dry or sweet here . In the U.S., the Sake Market has finally started to take hold, in part because they stopped referring to Sake in binary terms like "Sweet or Dry". But now many Sake menus will avoid the words entirely, opting for alternative descriptors such as "earthy", "minerally", or "bold". These can be helpful in deciding, but in Japan "Dry or Sweet" is usually the first and sometimes only  criteria used when selecting Sake, so let's agree to acknowledge that Sake's depth and breadth has many dimensions - including semi-dry, semi-sweet, and neutral, and   it's okay to use "Dry or Sweet". Much of the cheap, mass-produced Sake of poor-quality also survive in the dry-realm. One example (that's right, I name names!) is the classic Ozeki One Cup. Keep in mind, they do still have their time
Read more

Saké TOP 5: Neutral Sake

Image
In describing the balance of Sake flavors you probably already know there are sweet Sake, like  Nigori ("Cloudy") and dry Sake, such as Onigoroshi (" Demon Slayers"). In between, on a scale called the "Sake Meter Value", are semi-sweet and semi-dry Sake. More about that here. In between that,  you will find neutral Sake. Neutral Sake taste neither sweet nor dry, but this does not mean  they have no flavor. Far from it; Neutral Sake possess  both  characteristics - acids and unfermented sugars (as well as esters and phenolic flavors), in a balancing act that walks a tightrope right down the center of your tongue, engaging more of your palate than a sweet or dry Sake might. As popular as a sweet Nigori like Hakutsuru's Sayuri , or a refined, dry Onigoroshi like Wakatake Onikoroshi  are, it's no wonder that the most popular Sake in America is a Neutral sake, Kikusui's Junmai Ginjo . By the way:  If you wanted to offer three Sake for a grou
Read more

Hidden Japan: IZU Part 2 of 2 (Shuzenji)

Image
For Part 1 about Izu's Mishima City, Click Here.  Welcome back to Shizuoka, Japan's peninsula of Izu! As some kind locals pointed out, these are only a fraction of fun things to do, based on the sights I was able to squeeze into my last trip to Japan, and it still required a second part! So strap in, because our next stop is Shuzenji! Outside the entrance to Shuzenji, the Buddhist Temple  Like Mishima, Shuzenji is one of those seemingly tranquil towns, hiding massive quantities of history, sights, and culture! Straight away you will notice the rural feel, beautiful Katsura River, and the romantic, red bridges and hand rails running along it.  Shuzenji is said to be founded by Kobodaishi, the prominent Buddhist monk of Japanese folklore. This semi-historical figure, like America's Johnny Appleseed, had a mysterious knack for locating onsen , natural hot springs, up and down Japan. The name of the foot onsen below, "Tokko", means iron club, because Koboda
Read more