Saturday, July 14, 2012

The Economist And Me

Shisaku, March 10, 2010

"A Tree Falls Alone"

The Economist, March 31, 2010

"An Easter story from Japan"

. . .

East Asia Forum, April 27, 2012

"Ozawa Ichiro: more shadow than shadow shogun"

The Economist, June 30, 2012

"A shadow of a shogun"


In two years, I have graduated from "the writer of a blog" to "a pundit."

If keep my temper in check I might someday even have a name.

. . .

I paid a visit to Kamakura's Tsurugaoka Hashimangu the other day, to check up on the attempts to revive The Tree. I am not sure how the cloning process is progressing (I would guess that it is progressing rather well) but the results of other two methods being employed -- planting a section of the trunk into the ground and encouraging the bare root to send up new shoots -- were less than reassuring. The trunk had only a few lonely leaves poking out from out its bark, while the shoots from the root stock looked far too short and emaciated for two year's worth of effort.

Still, the presence of any green at all prompted my traveling companion to shout, "Ganbare icho!"

Ginkgos (icho - Gingko biloba) are incredibly tough trees, based upon a design that has remained largely unchanged for over 250 million years. They have numerous strategies for reestablishing themselves after suffering staggering levels of damage.

Time and patience may prove my "wistful" farewell premature.

2 comments:

D said...

"In two years, I have graduated from "the writer of a blog" to "a pundit.'"

So, is that considered a promotion? I watch pundits every Sunday on TV. Not so sure that going from a writer of a blog to a pundit is a good thing, but I suppose that the pay might be a bit better and that just may be a good thing. (the fact that I don't have to play with word/photo verification to comment at the Economist is even a better thing. For me.)

MTC said...

Dear D:

Blogger is a free service. The comment spam blockage package raises the stakes for the would-be spammer.

Annoying yes, but so is any fence around any commons.