About
About me
A twenty-something male currently living in the North-East of England. Full-time employed and part time nerd with mixed feelings about both. Writes About pages in the third person because he’s uncomfortable with talking about himself at length. Interests include film and television, music, photography, science and history. Visited Tokyo in May 2009 and vowed to return with more time, money, and improved linguistic skills at the first possible opportunity. Is probably cooler than you but doesn’t care. Has played guitar (badly) for over ten years and is dependent on caffeinated beverages for normal daily activities. Ambitions include owning a cat and establishing Jaffa Cakes as the international economic currency.
About the blog
物の哀れ, or ‘mono no aware’, was chosen as the name for this blog because it’s a concept that is Relevant To My Interests but one that can’t be explained by a single-phrase English definition. It’s a place for me to set out my thoughts on Japanese popular culture I’ve experienced and discuss said Japanese pop culture stuff with like-minded people. I’ve given up on writing posts that are clear-cut ‘review’ or ‘editorial’; it’s an attempt to share enthusiasm and opinion rather than compete for attention or superiority. It runs on a self-hosted installation of the Wordpress publishing platform. The current design and layout are also self-coded.
The individuals and groups that fuel my interests and have my utmost respect include the following, in no particular order apart from the alphabetical:
Yoshitoshi ABe, Hideaki Anno, Inio Asano, Boom Boom Satellites, Mamoru Hosoda, Yoko Kanno, Yuki Kajiura, Shoji Kawamori, Takeshi Kitano, Satoshi Kon, Akira Kurosawa, Takashi Miike, Hayao Miyazaki, Mono, Haruki Murakami, Kinoko Nasu, Makoto Shinkai, Tenmon, Naoki Urasawa, Yoji Yamada and Yasuhiro Yoshiura.
