Where is language?  Is it all around us?  Can we not think without separating our thoughts from words?  Even this page cannot be thought about without the word “page”.  We are fated to be hopelessly and happily entangled in a linguistic caress, forever doomed to push forth a dribble of sounds that attempt to express and understand our existence.

In the dimly-lit smoke-filled back-alleys of the internet, Nihongo sits stirring her drink in quiet satisfaction.  Cut high on the left thigh, her black dress is a devastating number.  “Little Black Dress”, it was always a name that fell short of the garments impact and grace on a room.  Behind inconspicuous-wooden-doors with kanji-engraved addresses, down unassuming narrow steps, my Nihongo sings, beautiful, perfect, and waiting to be understood.  Her words play like a harp, snaking through the air with each pull of her cigarette.  The pianist runs the 88, fingers stroke the black and white, an interracial first dance of a match made in Brubeck.  I spend my life searching through the crowds, the lights, and the noise, the warm abyss of curbs, asphalt, and steal, for the language that sits waiting to be found and called my one true love.

This is the Japanese I hope to bring to this blog.  The beauty found in the unturned rock, unopened door, and unfound nook of the web and world.  I’ll try in my limited linguistic ability to find hidden gems of interest that can be used to further our ability to express and understand.  From weird to wild, from cartoon to Cartesian, from One Piece to axel grease, I hope to explore the full spectrum of my creative and inquisitive interests.