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* My preliminary acceptance into the summer language program came this morning. Now if I can just get funding to cover the majority of the expenses I'll be in good shape. I have an appointment to see a faculty member to get their advice about the fellowship application process set for next Wednesday.
* I got my voter registration in the mail as well today, which means that I will be able to vote in the primary that is coming up soon. Yay civic duty!
* Readings for my Japanese art seminar have shifted toward Buddhist practices now that we've moved fully into the classical and medieval periods, and I spent the afternoon going over some Buddhist iconography that enabled me to notice some interesting things that reveal the fascinating melding of "Buddhism" and "Shintoism" in Japan. There are five Dhyani Buddhas - each of a cardinal direction - the zenith, east, south, west, and north. In Japan, only the Zenith Buddha (recast from Vairocana to Dainichi, "Great Sun") and the Western and Eastern Buddhas have achieved major prominence. The north and south Buddhas - unrelated in any possible way to the sun - have fallen by the wayside. Buddhism or no Buddhism, Amaterasu-o-mi-kami has always been alive and well in the land of the rising sun.
* I still can't seem to find enough time in the day for everything in light of my inveterate inability to keep my concentration. I slept in today, which didn't help, but I'm going to stay up late and get up early tomorrow and do lots and lots to make up for it, I hope.
* While I can't concentrate on work, I seem to have no trouble with distractions. I recently discovered the latest version of Real Player, which allows you to download and keep youtube videos (among other things), and I now have over eight hours of Japanese television clips. Mainly Gackt-related... okay, entirely Gackt-related. What can I say? He's the single most amusing figure working in Japanese music right now, and he's unfairly hot.
* I got my voter registration in the mail as well today, which means that I will be able to vote in the primary that is coming up soon. Yay civic duty!
* Readings for my Japanese art seminar have shifted toward Buddhist practices now that we've moved fully into the classical and medieval periods, and I spent the afternoon going over some Buddhist iconography that enabled me to notice some interesting things that reveal the fascinating melding of "Buddhism" and "Shintoism" in Japan. There are five Dhyani Buddhas - each of a cardinal direction - the zenith, east, south, west, and north. In Japan, only the Zenith Buddha (recast from Vairocana to Dainichi, "Great Sun") and the Western and Eastern Buddhas have achieved major prominence. The north and south Buddhas - unrelated in any possible way to the sun - have fallen by the wayside. Buddhism or no Buddhism, Amaterasu-o-mi-kami has always been alive and well in the land of the rising sun.
* I still can't seem to find enough time in the day for everything in light of my inveterate inability to keep my concentration. I slept in today, which didn't help, but I'm going to stay up late and get up early tomorrow and do lots and lots to make up for it, I hope.
* While I can't concentrate on work, I seem to have no trouble with distractions. I recently discovered the latest version of Real Player, which allows you to download and keep youtube videos (among other things), and I now have over eight hours of Japanese television clips. Mainly Gackt-related... okay, entirely Gackt-related. What can I say? He's the single most amusing figure working in Japanese music right now, and he's unfairly hot.
