That's It. Japan Wins.

I realize, in hindsight, that this title might not be popular among some veterans. For that, I apologize. But you should take solace in the fact that, it's obviously not true. Although there are rumors of an island where the inhabitants (Japanese) still don't know that WWII is over or that there are soldiers who have refused to surrender until very recently. Like, very very recently. As in, not until January of this year. And even then, he really surrendered to death more than anything else. Just saying. Not to be dramatic or anything.

Anyway. I've been reading a lot recently-- just in general, because I've been a hermit due to all my other commitments until now, the last quarter of my business school career, at which point, I've realized I'm just on the cusp of deciding that I want to tell everyone that they're lucky I'm wearing pants and that class participation, especially if it's in the morning, is pretty much out of the question. Also, they should seriously consider using presence as a measure of class participation if the student is a last quarter-about-to-graduate-b-school-student. Just sayin'.

Anyway.

I bring to you: exciting words I've learned recently.

Kintsugi: the art of repairing broken pottery with gold to celebrate the beauty that arises out of imperfection

and

Wabi-Sabi. I'm not as articulate as Wikipedia, so, put simply (or in the words of Wikipedia): represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete".^[1] It is a concept derived from the Buddhist teaching of the three marks of existence (三法印 sanbōin^?), specifically impermanence (無常 mujō^?), the other two being suffering (苦 ku^?) and emptiness or absence of self-nature (空 kū^?).