about this blog Pinewind is a repository for thoughts related to my interests or life in general that, for one reason or another, I felt like putting "out...
Recently, I'm going through a bit of an Avatar: The Last Airbender nostalgia phase. Usually, the interval between these individual phases is pretty long - I think my last ATLA phase was around three years ago. The "nostalgia surge" usually lasts for a week or two, and then I move on until the next wave hits. The trigger for this ATLA phase was the trailer for the new Avatar Aang movie. I had not…
Preliminary remark: This post is not a "book review" in the strict sense. It's not my aim to rate how "good" or "bad" it is from an analytical standpoint. I'm merely collecting some thoughts here. Some of them might be review-like, others not so much. This is the first English book that I've read in a few months, and it's great to be able to write about it. I usually read Japanese books, often…
Summer is the season of insects. Earlier this year, I saw fireflies for the first time in my life. Now, the cicadas are beginning to sing (or scream, depending on your stance towards them). Lately, I've been feeling the strange urge to go bug catching. It's a classic Japanese summer vacation activity, mostly enjoyed by elementary schoolers, but I think it could be fun try (again). I remember…
I love taking notes, but one problem that I have is that that I start cherishing every notebook that I start. I can't seem to keep my notes messy. Eventually, I start structuring the notes, doing cleaner handwriting, adding a cover or some stickers ... and before I know it, the notebook is too well-organised for simply scribbling into. This, of course, raises the hurdle for taking more notes and…
Recently, I've been on a bit of a "literature trip." Reading books, listening or watching commentary on books, thinking about writing... It started with me re-listening to some old Shriekcast episodes, which made me remember how much I liked Harry Potter in my teens and think about how there hasn't been a book that has provided me with the same kind of feeling (while reading). From there, I…
Last weekend, I went to the exhibition "The Creative Origins of Mamoru Hosoda" that's currently being held at Creative Museum Tokyo (until August 31st). The price was a bit high for my tastes at ¥2,500, but I was going with a friend and decided to not be too stingy. In the end, I'm glad that I did! The timing for the exhibition was chosen based on the 20th anniversary of the movie The Girl Who…
There's an upcoming exhibition at the Azabudai Hills Gallery about "The Monsters" by Kasing Lung. They've put up these big window stickers, and I've been walking past them every day when heading to work. I was surprised how much I liked the illustrations / artwork for these. A few years ago, when Labubus were all the rage, I was mostly indifferent, but had a slightly negative reaction to them (…
Back in my early teens, I was a big fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1 of the show had just finished airing in my home country, and in the US, Season 2 was about to start. Wanting to get more info about the new season was what made me join my first English-speaking online community, the Avatar Spirit Forums. At the same time, I was also active on another ATLA forum (German-speaking),…
General happenings An unremarkable week. I really got into Pokemon for some reason, especially Fakemon design. Many YouTube videos following the "[number] artists design Pokemon [insert stipulation here]" format were watched. I also found a new favourite Pokemon, Spewpa . I'm thinking about getting some trading cards of it for fun. It's a middle evolution of a weak regional Bug type, so even the…
I like to drum along with my fingers when listening to music. But not in a "just tapping to the beat" kind of way. Instead, I pretend to play some imaginary instrument, probably one with keys ... so something like a piano or an accordion, depending on the orientation. There are no hard rules, but over the time, some conventions have emerged. For example, for chord progressions, I tap two fingers…