Sticky in Chennai

At the Asian Civilization Museum in Singapore they were offering calligrpahy lessons in the lobby.  The lessons were for a few minutes, one wrote one's name and was offered a bag of milk chocolate candy, also free.  Perfect for Yitzy who once aspired to learn Japanese sumi ink painting.  Hokey, right up his alley.  In any case, we were Buddah'd out after the previous day's beautiful Buddhist Art Museum, so this provided a refreshing alternative to the passive gazing at art.  The practical realization of the difficulty of the slightest artistic task is needed from time to time.

My turn to hoke it up.  Being hokey comes natural to me.  I was all smiles when I was given my name in calligraphy.

Just a note:  I am unable to write much these days as I am absorbed in Musashi, a Japanese novel about a samurai and often called the Japanese "Gone with the Wind".  It is like a Hollywood-Kurosawa samurai film - lots of action, romance and philosophical samurai-speak in the forests by a running stream.  We both recommend it highly if someone wants to dig into this 970-page novel.  It is written by Eiji Yoshikawa (1862-1962) who was one of Japan's most prolific and popular writers.  Musashi first appeared in a serialized version between 1935-9.  Since then it has been published as book 14 times and has been produced as a movie 7 times, presented on stage many times and has been a television mini-series numerous times as well.  It is said that if one is interested in learning about Japanese culture, one must read Musashi.  I am fortunate to be able to read this while Yitzy blows the shakuhachi in the background thus creating a suitable cultural transport into the time and place of the novel.