Yasukuni Shrine

August 15th marked Japan’s surrender during World War II. One place that was conspicuously unvisited by Shinzo Abe and his cabinet was Yasukuni Shrine. If you haven’t heard of Yasukuni Shrine, here’s a brief run-down: This is where Japan commemorates all of those who died in service to the Japanese empire. While Yasukuni did not […]

Arizona Water: Nestlé, The Saudis, and Me

When you think of the southwest of the United States, you imagine a pretty arid, desert-like landscape, and you would not be too far off from the truth. Phoenix contains a large swath of the northern bits of the Sonoran desert, which give it its dry, blistering heat during the summer. You would be surprised […]

Arizona Primary Controversy

Living in Arizona, and given the recent election events in the state, I thought I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about what was happening in the state.

Mongolia and North Korea

I was visiting with one of my teacher’s families, talking with her husband, when he asked me what I would be doing after Mongolia. I told him I would be traveling, visiting my friends in Korea. He the asked me which Korea I was going to. It didn’t register at first until he said “North […]

The Cult of Chinggis

That’s how the Russians referred to the Mongolian reverence of the late conqueror Chinggis Khaan upon their orders to remove the conqueror from the popular consciousness. They wanted to remove anything that could be a distraction from loyalty to the state. Chinggis’ spirit banner, the physical embodiment of his soul, was lost forever during the socialist […]

Campaign

Shouts from Friendly women In painted vans Of flags and Faces familiar. We look upon Tinted windows Cracked slightly For running Wires. Intermittent Fanfare herds Silence out To pasture. Dusty air clouds Tires and tracks As they drive on Promoting futures Yet unseen. Trying to sell trust, Or perhaps, Trying to buy it? Intangible markets […]