Article: Why “No 5-7-5”?

For the past few months, I’ve been on-and-off self-studying Japanese. I only know a few phrases and Japanese is still really hard for me to read. But, on my way to rekindle my interest in Japan, I came across this article. I didn’t know that haiku is actually based on the number of characters (technically moras) not necessarily the syllables like I learned when I was young. And the emphasis on juxtaposition and evoking feeling was also really interesting! Haikus are cool, but I don’t think they hold a candle to Tibetan grid poems:

One of Gendun Chopel’s famous poems in the classic grid pattern. Words are arranged so that there is a syllable in each square and lines can be read in multiple directions. Credit: Tibetan History in Pictures

Article: Rewilding Your Attention

What makes something interesting? It’s a question I ask myself a lot. For me, a part of it is finding something different or unique. This article points out that it’s been increasing harder to find the off-beat and weird in an internet powered by algorithms. It promotes the idea of going against the grain of the normal internet and looking for things off the beaten path of the web – and I’m inclined to agree! That’s kind of the whole point of the Media of the Week series. I recommend checking out the suggested Marginalia Search Engine and the Weird Old Book Finder!

Movie: Osmosis Jones

The early 2000s were a weird time for movies and TV shows. I remember being really into Ozzy and Drix, the cartoon series that spawned from this movie. I watched it last week – weird, but entertaining. I really like the creative world-building.

Wikipedia: Flags of Japanese Prefectures

The emblem of Kaminokuni, Hokkaido is a stylized version of 上国. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

In my quest to become more creative, I’ve discovered a new avenue through which I can channel my artistic energies: fonts. Specifically of languages that don’t use the Latin alphabet. It’s a natural progression of my journey of creativity really – an amalgam of my love for language learning with a resolve to be a better artist. The ways Tibetan can be written – Kyug-yig, Phagpa (which is script the Planet Dorje logo is in), and Lantsa to name a few – are fascinating. My fantasy language is a Tibetan that uses Chinese characters like Japanese – བོད語 if you will. This article gives some ideas for what logos could look. For more, check out the lists of Japanese municipalities.