Michael T. Miyoshi's Blog, page 24

Creative Nonfiction

I never really thought about it until I saw a Twitter post the other day, but I write creative nonfiction.

Blogging is a strange thing. At least for me. After all, I have written about lots of different subjects, so it is difficult to categorize what my writing is about. I do not just write about writing. I do not just write about family. I do not just write about food or health or writing. (I think I already said that.) I just write about life. Mostly, my life. So my writing does not ...

Olympic Writing

The 2020 Olympics is over now, so I thought it would be fun to think about a new Olympic sport.

I am always amazed at the skill and athleticism of Olympic athletes. They are incredible. They run, jump, throw, spin, vault, twirl, row, and a whole lot more. And that is just warming up. Seriously though, they are incredible athletes. But the thing I see most in athletes, especially Olympic athletes, is their incredible durability. Not only do their bodies take a pounding for years on end as ...

Footprint Pictures

Same picture, different post.

I wonder if it is the mind or the picture that makes footprint photographs seem like they are life-size sand sculptures.

I used my own pictures of my own footprints in the sand when I posted my footprints analogy. Which is not to say that my photography is anything to write home about. But no matter how long I look at the picture, it always looks like the sand is piled up like a life-size sculpture. Even though I know it is a relatively deep impression of my own...

Footprints

There are probably enough footprints in the sand analogies out there already, but I thought I would add my own anyway.

Footprints in the sand are interesting. Rather, making footprints in the sand is interesting. Sometimes we leave deep impressions. Sometimes, we leave nary a trace. But regardless of the types of impressions we make, the footprints always disappear. Whether by sea or wind or merely time, they all disappear.

Which is not a very good analogy for life. Especially, if you lik...

Homophones, Homographs, Homonyms

Homophones, homographs, and homonyms are interesting words in and of themselves.

When I was a kid, there were only homonyms. Those were words that sounded the same but had different meanings. They could be spelled the same. They could be pronounced the same. But they had different meanings. There, their, and they’re were and probably still are the epitome of homonyms. After all, people get those three mixed up all the time whether through not being able to English very well, or not being ...

Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda

Shoulda, woulda, and coulda are not in the dictionary, but they oughta be.

I am glad that I am not the dictionary police. After all, the keepers of the lexicon of the English language surely have their hands full. Just thinking about the different technology words that have come to be in the last twenty or thirty years is mindboggling. Modem, wifi, bitcoin, and a whole host of other words that I cannot even think of because they are just part of everyday language now. I know not all of thos...

Starting Good Habits

Good habits are about as difficult to start as bad habits are to break.

If you have never had to break a bad habit, you must be perfect. Or a liar. Or both. Okay, you cannot be both. (Sorry the phrase “Or both,” just seems to follow any “one or the other” statement.) At any rate. Since we all have bad habits or at least have had a habit that we wanted to break, we know that the process is not something that is easy to do. It takes determination. It takes will power. (Actually, it usu...

Shorter Days

And now, the days get shorter.

The summer solstice has passed (it is in the past), which means that the days are getting shorter. And shorter and shorter. So short, in fact, that by the time we hit the winter solstice, there is practically no day left. At least here in the Pacific Northwest.

(By the way, have you ever noticed that sometimes you get confused about words more after you read their definitions? Me neither. But the words that sometimes confused me in the past are “passed” and...

No More Satire

I would like to make a modest proposal. (Something like Jonathan Swift wrote in 1729.)

My modest proposal is that we get rid of satire. Seriously. We do not need satire. After all, satire just confuses people. Whether the satire is verbal or written, it comes out wrong. People misinterpret it. And more infuriating, people take satire out of context to prove their points. So we ought to just get rid of satire so people can know for sure what people are saying.

You are not alone if you ar...

Itty Bitty Bird Bullies

I am always amazed when I see little birds picking on big birds.

I was watching a bald eagle fly over the basketball court near my house one day. It was a day with clear blue skies, and the eagle was riding the thermals. Just soaring. Just minding its own business. The eagle seemed quite a ways up there.

Then, this little bird came into my field of view. It was flapping its wings like crazy. Like it had to get somewhere fast. It was gaining altitude quickly. It was still mostly in my pe...