Susan Blumberg-Kason

New Year’s Day in Miyajima, 1965

January 2, 2011 By Susan Blumberg-Kason Leave a Comment

My mom took this photo in Miyajima, an island off the coast of Hiroshima. She traveled there on New Year's Day, 1965.Unlike many Asian countries, Japan celebrates the new year on January 1 of the Gregorian calendar (this practice started in the 1870s when Japan stopped … [Read more...]

Happy New Year!

December 31, 2010 By Susan Blumberg-Kason Leave a Comment

I've been watching New Year celebrations around the world on t.v. as I wait out the last five hours of 2010 in balmy Chicago. (Yes, that's right; we reached 60 degrees Fahrenheit today.)As I'm prone to do on major holidays, I like to think about where I spent the New Year in … [Read more...]

Dining al fresco in Kyoto, 1965

December 29, 2010 By Susan Blumberg-Kason Leave a Comment

When I lived in Asia, I just loved dining al fresco. There was something about a sub-tropical climate that lent itself more to dining outdoors than somewhere like Chicago, where I live now.So my heart skipped a beat when I found this slide among dozens my mom took at the … [Read more...]

Book of the week–The Finkler Question

December 28, 2010 By Susan Blumberg-Kason Leave a Comment

After scanning all those slides from the UK last week, it was quite fitting that I just finished The Finkler Question (Bloomsbury, 2010) by Howard Jacobson.Not only did The Finkler Question win the 2010 Man Booker Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards, but it … [Read more...]

Angkor Wat then and now

December 27, 2010 By Susan Blumberg-Kason Leave a Comment

I've probably scanned about 600 slides and have 300-400 more to go. Since the rest of the boxes are actually marked (all from Japan), I've probably scanned the entire lot my mom took in Cambodia.Before I embarked on this grand project, I imagined finding slides of noir Hong … [Read more...]