http://www.sorasplace.co.uk Sora says hi Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:43:51 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Carbon emissions, unless you belong to a unique and extremely small minority of people—Society Of How Great Carbon Emissions Are, perhaps?—aren’t going to be the first topic of conversation to come up at a party. Why? Obvious. It doesn’t impress women much, it doesn’t impress men much, kids have better ... http://www.sorasplace.co.uk/2010/03/08/not-just-talk/ While Japan is ostensibly better known amongst pop culture enthusiasts for its anime, manga, and films, Japan also boasts a great tradition of novelists. Novelists who have managed to gain attention in the western media include Nobel prize winners Yasunari Kawabata, best known for his amazing tiny short stories and ... http://www.sorasplace.co.uk/2010/02/11/japanese-authors-to-check-out/ I can definitely admit to having, oh, a small interest in Japanese manga and anime as well as books and literature generally. In fact, one of the things I did on my recent trip to Japan was try to check out the different places where manga was sold, as well ... http://www.sorasplace.co.uk/2010/02/10/buying-and-reading-manga-in-japan/ I know I’m not the only one. I know that many before me have been fascinated by the mythical beast that is the Japanese toilet. But it wasn’t until I visited Japan myself that I was ingratiated into a new world altogether—a world of heated toilets, automatic toilets. In fact, ... http://www.sorasplace.co.uk/2010/02/08/the-mythical-japanese-toilet/ While I do enjoy the fast-paced anime shows that are full of giant robots and flashing guns, I have a special love for anime that gives a bit more time to giving its characters space to grow. Nana. Nana is a fabulous, quiet anime that revolves around two girls, ... http://www.sorasplace.co.uk/2010/02/01/four-great-character-focused-anime-shows/ When you are into your horror films it is all well and good for a while... but then you can begin to get bored. There are only so many limbs which can be hacked off and one zombie is much the same as any other. In short, the horror movies ... http://www.sorasplace.co.uk/2010/01/27/the-horror-from-overseas/ Being a smoker in this day and age is not an easy business. You are frequently made to feel like a social pariah and, if you want a cigarette somewhere warm, then you’ll just have to wait for the summer.Here are a couple of handy little bits of smoking paraphernalia ... http://www.sorasplace.co.uk/2010/01/14/its-a-drag/ Modern Japan simply put it a microcosm of change all jam packed into a minute parcel. Japanese modern culture is defined by word such as mini, micro and miniscule from tiny Maki rolls, to snippets of Manga artwork for series such as Bleach, Dragon Ball Z etc. posted online before ... http://www.sorasplace.co.uk/2009/12/19/learn-about-japanese-culture/ I didn’t know that you could just become a mystery shopper until I read this post the other day! I may even consider doing it myself. We could do with lots more mystery shoppers going around and testing out different shops and businesses. Some of the places you go ... http://www.sorasplace.co.uk/2009/12/07/the-mystery-of-shopping/ This blog was nice to read because it reassured me that there are still parents out there who can deal with their children in a fair way. I hate to see people screaming at their kids in the street or threatening to tan their hides. If children are given ... http://www.sorasplace.co.uk/2009/10/27/smacks-of-common-sense/