I have a confession to make. I have not one boss but 4, all working in completely different areas of a very large charitable organisation. Three out of the four of my managers are smooth operators who actually grease the way forward for me to glide through with the lofty strategic marketing solutions. However one…
Continue reading ➞ How do you handle a boss who doesn’t believe in you or trust you?
At least 7 years ago now, I WWOOFED in Andalucia, helping out with cleaning and cooking at an Andalucian B&B villa just outside of Vejer De La Frontera.The work was far from easy although I did happen to live in a mountainside cabin (cheap fibro, but yet still my own for a wee while). I loved the location and the cabin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN3jXQys7QY In November last year (and in June this year) I spent a lot of time going from place to place on the Shinkansens in Japan. I found the landscape really hypnotic. The whole experience of being in a swiftly moving and sleek metal worm as it snakes its way through the bowels of the…
Continue reading ➞ Travel: A sonic and visual journey into techno on the Tokyo to Kyoto Shinkansen
Waiting in transit, Tokyo Copyright © Content Catnip 2018 www.contentcatnip.com Everyone is always in transit and a great metaphor for life is that we can only ever trust in the constant flux of change. Forget about the serenity of temples, impermanence is ever-present in JR stations, subway stations and airports. There is something magnetic about…
Continue reading ➞ Every picture tells a story: In transit in the JR station
I filmed our recent road trip. The track you are hearing is Halcyon&On&On by Orbital, a rave-era classic I love and it always makes me feel uplifted and happy and ready to embrace life with an open heart and open hands. I superimposed some of my interesting oil, glitter and water experimentations over the top…
Continue reading ➞ Travel: The Eastern Cape by Content Catnip
Many of us are introverts but are in denial about this and trying fervently to be extroverted, pushing ourselves to exhaustion trying to make small talk about bullshit that doesn't matter, often dealing with obnoxious people who have loud voices and often (but not always) boring and generic thoughts on the world. Here's a list…
Continue reading ➞ Seven reasons why it’s great to be an introvert and having introverted friends
Himeji Castle was the first place in Japan to become a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993, after this there were dozens of others named. It’s actually the largest and arguably most impressive castle in in Japan and has 83 buildings. It takes hours to walk around inside of it, like a medieval Disneyland, it's…
I had my mind bombarded by a lot of great music and a lot of crappy music growing up. This was thanks to Rage (an Australian version of MTV). Also my dad had a massive vinyl collection that was filled with some great albums - Led Zeppelin and Kate Bush, as well as some really…
Continue reading ➞ A crate-digger’s guide to embarrasingly cringey music: 70’s and 80’s edition
This list is inspired by Anthony Fantano AKA The Needle Drop's list of the most cringe-worthy songs that he loved as a teenager. In case you don't know of his channel, Anthony normally reviews amazing music both new and old in a really interesting way.
Tenryū-ji is a temple and gardens founded by Ashikaga Takauji in 1339. It's purpose at the time was to venerate Gautama Buddha. It's considered as one of Kyoto's so-called Five Mountains. In 1994, it was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tenryuji dates from the Muromachi period in Japan's 14th-16th century. Among its many…
Continue reading ➞ Travel: Tenryu-ji temple and gardens Arashiyama Kyoto
Ueno markets are tucked into a unique pocket of Tokyo filled with interesting characters selling unusual goods. It's a world within a world. The funky music you are hearing is by 70's British funk band Cymande, the track is called Dove. It gives the video a lovely vintage feel. I don't own copyright to the…
People seldom visit the Eastern Cape of the North Island because of its complete isolation from the rest of the country’s bustling travel routes. It’s quiet in terms of other cars – there are none, except for the occasional local farmer and logging truck ferrying wood from forests to the port in Gisborne. It’s an…
Continue reading ➞ Travel: A roadtrip through the remote Eastern Cape of New Zealand
I've been doing this for over five years or longer. Every single week, three times per week, for more than five years. Holy shit it's a long time. It makes me think, why has there been this longevity? What has kept me doing this all of this time? It's got to do with me just…
Continue reading ➞ Why I write my blog…why do you write yours?
As a teenager I was incredibly precocious at times, spouting big words to make myself feel older and more worldly in high school. Later on, as my vocabulary developed at University, I dropped these intellectual bombs into conversations to make myself feel better in the company of people more middle class and posh than I was.
Nara has had sacred significance long into the ancient mists of time in Japan. Long before Tokyo and Kyoto became the capital of Japan, Nara reigned as the most important city in Japan, its capital from 710-784 AD, before this mantle was passed on to Kyoto. By decree of the emperor of Japan in 724AD,…
Continue reading ➞ Travel: A curious history of Nara’s holy deer
Oeskiki is an annual buddhist festival held on the 13th of October that commemorates the death of Nichiren in 1282. He was a revered buddhist teacher who lived during the Kamakura period, about 700 years ago. Although celebrated throughout Japan, the main Oeshiki festival is held at Ikegami Honmonji Temple located in the Ota ward…
Continue reading ➞ Travel: Oeshiki Festival of Light, Ikegami Tokyo
Ryōan-ji (meaning the Temple of the Dragon at Peace) is a Zen temple located in Kyoto, Japan. The Ryōan-ji garden is considered one of the finest surviving examples of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles arranged in immaculate linear patterns, designed to facilitate…
Continue reading ➞ Travel: Magnificent Ryoan-ji temple and gardens, Kyoto
A lovely blogger friend on here Jonelle recently did an article on where to see the lotus blossoms in Tokyo. She had witnessed a little kid blowing soap bubbles through the stem of a gigantic lotus blossom and decided to do it herself. This is something I would love to do too. Many adults wouldnt…
Continue reading ➞ The connection between curiosity and happiness
Although it’s very easy and possible to typecast people from specific countries as being (in general) bad tourists. I have neatly avoided that here. It’s a cultural thing though, for sure.
Netsuke are uniquely Japanese and sublime in their beauty. They are tiny objects carved of ivory, ceramic, wood, tortoise-shell, gold or many other materials. They tell the story of the culture of Japan during the old Edo period and before. Netsuke featured fishermen and farmers, who rubbed shoulders with scholars, samurai warriors, royalty and even…
Continue reading ➞ Netsuke & Gashapon toys Ancient Japanese treasures and modern collectibles
