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Do you send that honest, yet mean letter to that loved one you just wrote, in which you accurately and acutely reveal all of your justifiable grievances? Or do you shelve it, call it blowing off steam and let the fight blow over?

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I have a related feelings towards infants, although much less volatile.

I love kids; playing outside, sports, video games, board games, make-believe, you name it. I'm like a big kid that way.

But toddlers, or rather babies that can't walk yet, kinda bore me...

It is impossible, though, to hold a baby in your arms while they're clean and sleeping and to utter the phrase "I hate babies..."

Seriously. It's impossible. The universe will implode.

i hate babies. they’re ugly. and they scream a lot. you can’t reason with them. all they do is eat and sleep. in these ways babies are just a smaller version of me and i don’t like competition

[spiegro]

... ... ... ... ... 

I've already written the outline and decided that much of the content I can extract from emails I've written to friends and former colleagues...

(did I just decide to do this?)

A wonderful idea came to me, but it was bedtime...

If you get an idea to write a book right before you’re supposed to go to bed, should you seize the moment and write, leaving your morning joe to do the heavy lifting in the morning?

Or should you just jot down the idea and revisit it later, risking that the thought might flutter away into the obscurity of your busy day and good intentions?

I face this question this evening.

[spiegro]

A wonderful idea came to me, but it was bedtime...

If you get an idea to write a book right before you're supposed to go to bed, should you seize the moment and write, leaving your morning joe to do the heavy lifting in the morning?

Or should you just jot down the idea and revisit it later, risking that the thought might flutter away into the obscurity of your busy day and good intentions?

I face this question this evening.

[spiegro]

Yasuke African Samurai of the Japanese Warlord Nobunaga Oda.

“Japan is not a place one would usually associate with immigrants from Africa or the Caribbean. Yet in the late 16th century Japan’s most powerful warlord, Oda Nobunaga, had a African page named Yasuke it is belived that Yasuke was either a Makua originally from Mozambique or from somewhere in the Congo region. Yasuke was not only a cultural curiosity but also served as Nobunaga’s bodyguard and was granted the prestigious rank of Samurai.

Yasuke arrived in Japan in 1579 as the servant of the Italian Jesuit Alessandro Valignano, who had been appointed the Visitor (inspector) of the Jesuit missions in the Indies, i.e. S. and E. Asia, an extremely high position, so Yasuke must have been quite trustworthy. He accompanied Valignano when the latter came to the capital area in March 1581 and caused something of a sensation. In one event, several people were crushed to death while clamouring to get a look at him. Nobunaga heard about him and expressed a desire to see him. Suspecting the black color of his skin to be paint, Nobunaga had him strip from the waist up and made him scrub his skin.

 We do not know this Yasuke’s original Makua name but the Japanese called him Yasuke (彌介), the reason for this name is unknown as it does not have a clear meaning and that it is most likely a “Japanization” of his actual name. 

He was apparently 6ft 2in and would have towered over the Japanese of the day. Nobunaga first heard of Yasuke when the news reached him in 1581 of the great crush that had occurred when Valignano had brought him to Kyoto where his skin colour and height attracted a huge crowd. Nobunaga ordered the Jesuit to bring Yasuke to his court so that he could see this sensation in the flesh.

Upon seeing Yasuke, Nobunaga allegedly ordered him stripped to the waist and scrubbed believing that his skin was painted.  Japanese sources described Yasuke as “looking between the age of 24 or 25, black like an ox, healthy and good looking, and possessing the strength of 10 men. Nobunaga was further intrigued by the fact that Yasuke could speak Japanese (albeit not perfectly) and ordered Valignano to leave Yasuke in his care when the Jesuit prepared to leave again.

Yasuke became a permanent fixture in Nobunaga’s retinue, his size and strength acting as a deterrent to assassination not to mention a flavour of exoticism to accompany the warlord’s other Western possessions. Apparently Nobunaga became so fond of Yasuke that rumours abounded that the slave was going to be made a Daimyo (a Japanese land-owning lord). These rumours were proven wrong, however, Yasuke was given the honour of being made a member of the samurai class, a rare honour among foreigners. “ 

Read more here. 

You can read more about Yasuke here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke

Important note: Obviously this is not a 16th century photo because there weren’t any cameras back then. The people in this photo were just stage actors who posed for this shot.

[spiegro]

Good night interwebz.

A friend’s in-law passed away, and he asked me if I could edit the obituary for him. One of my best friends. Not even a chance I would consider saying no.

Like everything I do writing-related, I put more effort into it than was necessary, to the point of my effort almost being ineffective (it was...

[spiegro]

Joy is

Giving genuine annoymous compliments.

[spiegro]

Ahh Tumblr Activists...

How I missed thee...

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So, um, yeah...

My (kick ass) cover letter got me a job that keeps me too busy to post much on Tumblr...

Good with the bad, right?

What? Don't judge. 

I told you my cover letters kick ass.

(My) Kick Ass Cover Letter

“I don’t always submit cover letters, but when I do, they kick ass and usually get me (at least) an interview.”

—

TWN

[spiegro]

Hahah, amen to that! I was out of school for a couple months and my blog usage definitely increased. Almost annoyingly so, if I'm gonna be honest :p But now I'm back in school so (hopefully) I won't be spending as much time online.

Yeah, you know, that was my goal too. But, I missed Tumblah. 

New job (well, kinda new) is pretty sweet though.

I mean, they've got an entire fridge dedicated to beer and a tiki bar... in the office.

lol, oh and the work is more fulfilling and will advance my career enormously. That too.

[spiegro]

SPIEGRO! Where have you been, dude?! You were missed so much!

lol, oh man, I didn't know anyone knew I was gone.

I changed jobs... and my new job wants me to all work and stuff. It's funny, you can kind of tell when I started and left that job by the amount of time I spent on my blog/tumblr/tweeting/etc...

Why'd I leave that job again? lmfao

[spiegro]

Doesn't matter how long I've been away, Tumblr...

But messages and follows still make me smile.

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Healthcare, bitches... Getchu Sum.

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One of a series of pics taken by ambush very early one bright and sunny FL day. Wish the tree hadn't been in the background, my hair would have came out cooler :-/ (Taken with instagram)

[spiegro]

I'm impressed with your ability to keep track of time while you're naked and have a brush in your hand.

Just sayin...

Curly Hair Problems

It took me 11 minutes to detangle my hair in the shower. 

That is freaking ridiculous.

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Lies. You will be late, and you will yell, and she will cry, and the cycle will continue.

Trust.

To my future daughter:

You will have curly hair, I’m sorry. It will be gorgeous and I promise when I comb out the knots I will be gentle because I know how it feels. 

[spiegro]

I like your review! I agree with just about everything whole-heartedly.

Pages: 427 Author: N.K. Jemisin Add It: Goodreads Series: The Inheritance Trilogy (#1) Publisher: Orbit Rating: 4/5

N.K. Jemisin is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the fantasy genre. Her ability to craft an exciting and imaginative fantasy world is evident from the very...