I should be more diligent here. Time goes by and, well, too much time goes by. I want to keep up with this page, but I find myself involved in other things. Music, work, family, and basically just living. But I must be more diligent here.

Here's an image I caught last year in Tsuetate, Oita, Japan. It's an old Onsen (hot spring) town, and these are 鯉のぼり (Carp streamers) that are flown From early April to May for boys so they'll grow healthy and strong. As with most photos, I think I got really lucky with this one.

Sometimes

when the wind dies down

and the rain subsides

a glimpse of sunlight shines in the distance.

Missed a month

The time is flying by. I didn't expect anything different. It is life after all. I suppose if it went by slowly, I might be bored. Ha! Who am I kidding? Slower would be fine, or great even. The days here in Japan lately have been hot, hot, and hotter. Humid as heck too. Sleeping is not so easy, so I wake up pretty tired but that's all part of living in Japan. I think. It's been a little over a year and 9 months and I still think about heading back home to the states although I know I should keep pushing on here. There's a lot to keep me here as well as get me to go back to what I still consider home. Not sure if I will ever consider Japan home but one never knows.

About 7 months ago, I recorded a couple of songs. I am putting one up here now for your viewing and listening pleasure. (viewing might not be so pleasurable) Heck, the listening might not be either but, well, I like the song. And, since I wrote it, it means a lot to me. Hope you enjoy it too. Oh, and be sure to check out my other videos on my YouTube channel.

Honest Lies - new song for a new world

Shadows of yours
The shadows
Are only shadows
They can't move you
But, you can move them
You can bend them, create stories
And give them a life...

     We Are Here
We came to this place
    This world
    Surrounded
Engulfed by sounds
     Silence
        Emotions
We came to this place
                     We are here

Just a few pictures to keep this blog up to date.

It's that time again. The birds are up and about nice and early. Sun is shining brightly already at 7:00 AM and the plants on the veranda are reaching upwards and spreading their leaves. Nice time of the year. Still, not too hot and humid.

Must be time to record a new album. Yes, FINALLY! It's been taking a while but it's been a bit more difficult here in Japan than I had hoped it would be. Decided to just go in and record live with a bass player and myself only. I'll have some other parts added after and I plan to release one or two songs only at first. The rest will all be together and hopefully, this will all be ready by the end of summer. Or sooner if possible. Fingers crossed.

Oh, and the garden... I'll post some photos and a blog about that soon as well. In the meantime, here's a list of plants being grown there:

Beets, green beens, purple potatoes, dill, thai basil, lavender, rosemary, zucchini, cukes...

Against the winds of change

We all find ourselves in places in time where things seem a bit well, rough. For me, when times get tough, I commit my mind to a state of positive thinking. Not always easy, but it can be done with a lot of hard work. Perhaps believing in the philosophies of Buddha, Jesus, Lao Tsu and other wise folk helps. Either way, In life we are faced with challenges and sometimes the winds of change are blowing in our face instead of our backs. These times, we need to be ever more resilient and creative with our thinking about how to deal with the changes we are "faced" with. Yes, pun intended. I say to you all; (or perhaps I am the only one reading this) hold fast to your beliefs and take the good with the bad. Then, take the bad and toss it in the trash after you have learnt from it any valuable lessons. Don't hold onto the idea that you are stuck. That's only going to act like quicksand, dragging you down as you struggle to get out. There is light beyond the darkness...