^…Oingo Boingo reference. Just ignore that if you have no idea who they are. Right, that’s still all of you then ^\^;.

Last year was a difficult year, filled with new complexities the younger me never dreamt I would face. On a positive note I…

I've ruminated on this idea for some time now. It's one of those aphorisms that makes me uncomfortable, because it flies against…

A documentary I coordinated and helped to film on Hashima Island (Gunkanjima) is airing on Sunday Night, an Australian television…

Today is the Tokyo Marathon! I signed up on a bit of a whim, but after defying the 1/10 odds and being selected, I started…

Geocaching is always something I've wanted to get into, but there's a lot of effort that goes into organising and maintaining…

Greetings fellow explorers! It's been quite a while since my last haikyo post - over half a year in fact. Although this one does…

Gakuranman is ten years old today!

There's nothing new here that hasn't been said before. But, sometimes, it serves us well to be reminded of adages which embiggen…

Around this time last year, a rather interesting article crossed my radar. It hadn't been long since I'd moved to Tokyo to start…

This time watching the recent novel-turned-film 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' brought it on. That same feeling of wistful…

Between writing about haikyo, Japan and bioluminescence, I often just don't have the time to really address my readers…

Since my earlier post, I've been sitting on a bundle of comments in a rather surprising response to my naked outpouring of worry…

Over the past few months (or perhaps years), I've increasingly become aware of my tendency to become fixated on people in other…

-John Keating, Dead Poet’s Society

Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas everybody! I hope you're enjoying the holiday, wherever you might happen to be in the world. This year…

The Daily Mail has a history of stealing images and only paying up if and when they are caught and pursued. A quick Google search…

Olympus is currently firing up consumer interest with its latest product, the OM-D E-M5. I wrote a brief preview when it was…

Although rather late, I've been quietly contemplating what I should aim for in the Year of the Dragon. I always set vague…

The online photography magazine f11 contacted me recently requesting an interview about my haikyo travels and urban explorations.…

So today is the 11th November, 2011. And this post goes live at 11:11am, at precisely 11 seconds, I guess. A curious date, if…

I awoke this morning with a head full of dreams. Reflections of the past, placed haphazardly in imagined settings. The face of a…

From the journal of Michael Gakuran...

Finally! It's been 2 long, infuriating years, but the lens we've all been waiting is finally here! A bright f/1.8 portrait lens…

This past week has been truly life-changing. Japan has suffered at the hands of one of the strongest earthquakes the world has…

There's no question that 2010 has been the biggest and best year on Gakuranman.com thus far, with over 200% growth in the average…

Hey all. Really short update today just to point you in the direction of my new Youtube channel.

A collection of frog pictures I took in various places in Japan over the last few months with my new macro lens on the Olympus…

Here's a gentle 'living in Japan' post for you all with a splash of language learning and colourful photography. Grape picking in…

A collection of haikyo articles penned by Japan Times staff writer Eriko Arita ventures into the deeper meaning behind ruins…

Around this time last year I was blogging about the new Tales of Monkey Island and the remake of the original Secret of Monkey…

This past Sunday on 4th April, I was honoured to take part in a huge Japanese festival. Donning heavy metal armour coloured…

On 3rd December I shot up to the COSPA offices in Tokyo on the Hikari Shinkansen to attend the 6th CGM Night - Otaku Version,…

I've been pretty busy during the last few weeks, hoping back and forth between Tokyo and Nagoya, stopping off at Hakone and…

Here are a few pictures I've taken walking around my city and whatnot. Loads of interesting stuff to photograph in Japan, and…

Just a few pictures I've taken recently walking around Aeon in Japan. I'm enjoying using my new Olympus PEN E-P1 camera and…

Wow, a whole month just flew by! How did I manage to survive without the internet? We may never know, but let me recap on what's…

Just spotted this haikyo news article in the Japan Times. Apparently a 35-year landing ban has been lifted on Hashima Island,…

Hey all. Just to let you know that my website has moved to the domain:

Yesterday at 1am I was up and donning my black gakuran to attend the second J-blogger conference. Wonky Tofugu's Koichi hosted…

Finally! They're here! MY JLPT level 1 results! (Actually, they were a week ago, but Love Dolls took the limelight). Three months…

I can't let today pass without giving one of the greatest Naturalists of our time a proper birthday message! A----- Happy, happy,…

A bit of a re-post of the earlier January article on the Top 10 British Fish and Chip shops that I wrote for the benefit of my…

Introducing...Me! Michael as the Gakuranman. This is my new teaching persona for the Live Video Learning platform eduFire.com. I…

Happy Belated New Year! My computer has been down (yet again), this time due to a graphics card failure. Having just got it back…

After several months of preparation, the 2008 JLPT level 1 finally went down on Sunday. Even after my serious bouts of cramming,…

JLPT1 is but a month away! Cue stressing out and breakdown. Luckily, the great spaced-repetition program Anki is here to help!…

It's Autumn and yesterday we had the Japanese Society-East Asian Society annual Halloween party. I opted for a last-minute Battle…

I should probably just explain my prolonged absence recently - I've been back in Japan! I'm here until early September and have…

So I finally succumbed and bought a new camera in preparation for my next adventure in Japan. I very had nearly forsaken my…

In a recent post about my attempts at some high-energy Spiderman Para Para, I mentioned one of the two artists, Hayoung Joo, was…

I am currently watching a new drama airing in Japan called 'Zettai Kareshi' (絶対彼氏) - 'Absolute Boyfriend' and, as is usual with…

Last month my house mate and I got roped into performing some Para Para for a friend of ours, Mia Chen. She is doing a PhD with a…

Ever heard of Oingo Boingo? Those who knew me during secondary school probably will have, as I used to delight at quizzing them…

On a recent trip to London, I decided to give one of the popular 'London Walks' I'd heard about a try. Amongst a variety of…

I finally got the results for the Japanese Language Proficiency test I took at the end of last year about a week ago. I've been…

Dairantou Smash Brothers X! I finally got my hands on the Japanese Wii import about a week ago along with Mario Galaxy and the…

Hot Caramelised Red Onion Chutney (Hot CROC)! A Somerfield wonder! I mentioned this stuff a while ago during a particularly bad…

On 2nd February at Imperial College London, the Third Japanese Speech Contest for University Students took place. Applications…

What causes that lump in your throat when you cry? Being 'all choked up'? That tightening sensation that grips you when you are…

Who are the philosophers you would no doubt read if only you had the time? How about the philosophers you suspect that everyone…

A portrait of yours truly, Michael, drawn by my good friend David Smith (below), owner of Watermelon Studios. He's an aspiring…

Akita International University (AIU) is small, rural place, hidden away in the Tohoku region in Northern Japan. With a mere 600…

Which side of your brain is the dominant side? I'm sure you've heard this question before or taken some sort of psychological…

あけましておめでとうございます!

I've decided to purchase a new domain and move Knowing Nothing here. The .co.uk site will remain up as long as I have hosting…

To celebrate Christmas I've decided to give Knowing Nothing a festive theme! I had a lot of fun experimenting in Photoshop with…

At long last! After tax problems and delays, I'm the proud owner of a brand new Dench'! My old electronic dictionary, a Canon…

Ooo, boy did I get stung this morning. I really feel like I took another step towards becoming a Fully-Fledged Adult today. And…

I finally got around to creating a special page where I give credit for all the images and inspiration I have used when creating…

Zeitgeist - "The spirit of the age". A picture painted based on the general thoughts of a period in time. So what is the…

In the form of a 'Goodies' page, new banner and Tatsuro Yamashita (山下達郎)! I've now added an organised page in which all of the…

What a week! If I may be permitted to take a break from philosophical ponderings and come back down to earth, I'd like to write a…

Just a brief update about the site. I finally added content to the 'About' page (should I have any readers who don't actually…

"Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny. I am looped in the loops of her hair."

河豚 - River pig! Beloved blowfish. Admired for it's quirkiness and puffiness. Forgive me for masticating on you. Absolve me from…

We arrived on Sunday in a true embarrassing style. Everybody else packed into normal cars and us with a hire van twice as long as…

Update, update.

I will give a proper update soon, but it's 5.05am and I've still not got back into a good sleeping pattern. I've been up…

My computer is in a state of stability! (he says, praying not to jinx it...) All that remains for me to is modify the graphics…

I came back safely last Thursday but didn't get home until early evening. I haven't been up to much really; doctor's…

I made it back from Shodoshima, my feet cursing me, however, and my shoulder muscles having painful twinges from bearing a…

Things have been been pretty busy these last two weeks, not that I'm complaining about it, as it's mainly down to farewell…

大山 - Literally: 'big mountain'. It was the Sunday following the Jack Johnson concert that Kyunai Ayaka-san's enthusiasm for…

It's odd that I've forgotten to include the topic in my posts, but Sunday saw me heading out to the Zepp Hall in Osaka to see…

Not that I usually plug many things, nor have the time to, but this one my mum sent me deserves to be posted. What else but the…

It occurs to me that if I dont start writing in this now, I may never get around to it before I return home. Considering my paper…

My travels are over, at least, the main bulk of them. I dont envision myself taking off abroad again before I return to England…

Im dreary-eyed, tired, ailing, most likely having absorbed a hefty amount of the local smog too, but its all worth it; Im sitting…

Having nearly finished my time as a GAP volunteer (2 weeks to go before I start travelling), Im required to write a report to…

Things have been fairly hectic the past week or so. Ive been engaged in visa, flight and insurance enquiries, numerous talks with…

Well well, fellow droogies, things have been a malenky bit horrorshow lately.

It has been snowing on and off here at Shiso effectively since my last post. We didnt see a White Christmas, but its more than…

I've been forgetting to add this to the last few entires, but Heather mentioned it in an email just recently and I thought Id say…

Re-capping on the last month or sos events, theres been a fair bit I havent mentioned. In early December we visited Himeji again,…

I havent really got much time to go into detail about everything thats happened since I last updated, and I havent been feeling…

Thats right, Ive reached the approximate halfway mark of my stay already. Can you believe it? Its actually more if you count the…

Ive changed a minor mistake in the postcode - your mail has been getting here, but I thought it wise, the postcode is 671 4243…

Considering the large part of my posts have been about the trips out, I figured Id spend most of this one talking about the…

Wow. A lot has happened since I posted my last entry, so Im currently sitting here, diary in lap, under a beautifully warm kotasu…

Not necessarily related at all, but I thought itd make for an interesting title! This weekend saw the 4 rural GAP volunteers…

This weekend just past, the 4 of us (Harima and Shiso Gappers) met up with our Japanese teacher, Maeda-sensei, and her younger…

Seeing as I havent updated in a while, theres a lot to say and little time to say it all. Ill begin by thanking those who have…

Today was slightly better than normal; I got to watch caligraphy (not particpate in, unfortunately, because I thik its something…

Coming to you from Bokusho-sans Temple, Wednesday evening. We are at the tea ceremony again - just as good a second time ^\^.

So, Ive been at Shiso Home about a week now and the reason for the lack of updates is simply because we have to pay for the…

Hey hey all. This is the first update from right here in Tokyo, Japan! The flight went relatively well, aside from the fact they…

We (the Japanese group) went to London on Wednesday to have our final day out together as a GCSE group. We will see each other…

Wooo! I met up with my friends from Japanese at CGSB (my school) a couple of hours ago today to collect our GCSE Japanese results…

I took my sister to the cinema tonight to see ‘The Village’ (recommended). We had McDonalds and I tried one of their new ‘Salads…

Okay, here are a few edited/unseen pictures (unless you visited my image site to see them all), that I thought were nice. I…

Please go \here\ for the GCSE Japan Diary 2004! - It structures the page so they are in readable order :P, so ignore the odd…

Friday July 16th

Thursday July 15th

Wednesday July 14th

Tuesday July 13th

Monday July 12th

Sunday July 11th

Saturday July 10th

Friday July 9th

Thursday July 8th

Wednesday July 7th

GCSE Japan Diary 2004

Yes, it's finally here. After over a month of faffing around with one thing or another, it's here for your reading pleasure.…

So so so... I've booked the gap year flight and submitted forms to open a new bank account with Nationwide today, that I can…

Today was the first of what I imagine will be many hectic days sorting out my gap year plans. I received the Action Pack from GAP…

Dave picked me up from school after finished the second day of Summer School. We made sushi and did some calligraphy as well,…

Whoo!

Yep, I leave in about half an hour and I won't be back until Tuesday. I might well be unable to walk by then though; it depends…

Just finished watching ‘The Hole’ that my sister taped. It’s a surprisingly good horror film actually - every twist in it caught…

I’ve just found out reading on the new official Oingo Boingo website that Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is set to be…

I’ve just returned from the Doctor’s to talk about the results of that blood test I had before I went to Japan. Apparently I have…

I suppose I should update this briefly to let everyone know I’m actually back. Also, apologies for the mistake in the last post…

Alrighty. I'm off to Japan tomorrow for 10 days and it's very likely I would update or check email at all, unless I get a lucky…

Last night was good fun. I met Simon at Rainham station and we joined up with Jenni, Dave, Lianne and Chris on the train, and…

I had my GAP interview in Reading today. They phoned me up at short notice to say they had a vacancy and since I’d spoken to them…

I've just come back from having dinner to find my msn contact list butchered! Half of my contacts, including most of them from…

\Phew\ I cycled to Riverside Country Park today, which took about 25 minutes, but was painful for me due to my complete lack of…

Rough tadpole count: 14

Damn. Damn. Damn.

Had my R.S synoptic paper today, which went quite well I think. I just have General Studies tomorrow and then the dark Mechanics…

I really should get a move on and update this, because I have to revise P2 for my exam tomorrow morning…

I had 2 of my 3 R.S. papers yesterday, which Lee and I had to do a full day's cramming session on Tuesday for. I've never done…

The prom on Friday was excellent, although there’s not much enthusiasm in that statement right now. I’ve felt really awful for…

I had 4 exams today. 2 Design & Technology papers, Pure maths 3 and Japanese writing. I’m glad this day is out the way now. D&T…

Rough tadpole count: 19

I've done a little more maths revision lately; having gone around Heather's to pick up the tadpoles and staying to revise. We had…

You're Most Like The Season Winter ...You're often depicted as the cold, distant season.

My hay fever has really kicked in these past two days. Yesterday I helped out a little bit with cleaning out the pond in the back…

My mechanics re-sit didn’t go as well as I would have liked yesterday. They seem to always find some new method of delivering the…

So that’s it then, officially. Secondary school is over. Today was the final day for year 13. I can’t say I’ve been much overcome…

Yes. My public updates have become far and few much more recently. Even the friend’s entries are non-existent... Though I can…

1.Go into your journal archives.

[\Spoiler notice to those who haven't seen the film 'Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind' - Please wait until seeing it before…

Handicamp 2004 Diary

I have returned. I'm exhausted and a little sad now the departure has actually sunk in. I'm far too tired to write anything now,…

Wow. Long time no update… Even for the people who can view locked posts.. I suppose it’s a good thing, because it means I’m…

Well, things have been marginally better since my last (locked) entry. I have a damn awful cold that sucked away whatever energy…

Whoo! Sensei gave us some little snack bags of Japanese nuts and such. There were also some tiny salty fish inside that were put…

So today I ventured back up to Reading University with my dad. I made him listen to the Franz Ferdinand album on the way there,…

Hmmm. \Clears throat\. This is one of the more casual knots, aimed more towards use if the home. It can be used to ordain…

Yes, and that means 'Amber' in Japanese which, aside from being my favourite stone, was one of the main characters in the 'Wish'…

\Phew\. I'm back, not particularly exhausted, but I am feeling the stress of the amount of things that appear to be cropping up…

More blitz-downloading today. I managed to start working about 8.30, but I fizzled out by 1.00pm. I've had enough D&T this week…

I've been continuing with my design & technology folder today, as I was yesterday. I've made some progress, which is good. I…

Very busy Monday/Tuesday this week. First up, I had a Medway Youth Parliament visit to the Houses of Parliament. The group set…

Oh joy. Oh yes. It's another awful maths post, so feel free just to skip right over this. I only type these things up because…

Usually I would look forward to half term, but for these final 8 weeks of school I'm going to have to just saddle myself down and…

...people chewing with their mouth open... \shudder\. It drives me places I'd rather not talk about... Okay, that was just an…

Okay... Well I found that funny, but it is a philosophy in-joke, because you have to realise there is a theory called the 'Divine…

Last Saturday I went bowling with some friends, moving on to Rochester where we bought baked goods and sweets from an old…

I will write about Wai-sun's part(ies) and the Sakura evening tomorrow night hopefully...

Ho ho ho. Mr. Barley has done it again. Provided an interesting maths lesson? Yes. Made me laugh? Yes. But this time we got the…

I'm currently transferring all my files across hard disks since I bought a new 120 Gigabyte one yesterday to replace my dodgy 60G…

You are Form 0, Phoenix: The Eternal."And The Phoenix's cycle had reached

So I'm a 12, after changing one answer on a retake, because I initially got PG, which is unlikely really... I'm not \that\…

Okay. It's unusual for me to do this, but prepare for a barage of links!

Just had to post this link to BBC's 'fake smile' quiz. I got 15/20 correct on my first try, and 18/20 on a successive try, after…

I've just returned from watching this film with a mixture of people from Japanese class, school and MYP; and just have to say…

For all those who care, I decided to write about how I first came upon the band.

So, seeing as I am waiting for my files to recover, I may as well write about Friday if I can stay awake. \Yawns\. Dave, myself,…

Niko \^\^\ Niko

Oh for the love of...

...just because I like that statement :P

A thousand apologies... I seem to be running through these profile things again too much recently. This one is Ansir's, a pretty…

Merry Christmas all! I hope everyone will be able to have a good time and just enjoy stuff without having to fret over issues,…

You are naturally born with a gift, whether it be

...is what I've done today. Okay, ignore the paradox, but yea, I got up at 12.30pm after staying up until 3.00am trying to…

I don't have much time to write about this right now, but it was pretty good. I got to hang out with Keiron, Jenni and the main…

I would like to explain why today was a great time, but I'm absolutely exhausted, so it'll have to be tomorrow (uhh...that would…

Okay, so I decided to photograph the cute little plush I have from 'Spirited Away' and photoshop it a little for another avatar.…

Read Dave's Journal to get the main story of what happened at BAE systems today. The conference was okay, but I don't think I'd…

Again, another extract from the RPG I'm participating in:

I've taken this test sometime before, it's one of the better ones, probably alongside Emode's test, which I highly recommend:

Well, I have 5 out of my 6 UCAS choices, including Reading! Yay! ^\^ I need 320 points from 3 A levels and 1 AS level to enter…

Well, I've just returned from my first Parliament meeting, a lovely affair. ^\^. The topic was fairly interesting, but seeing…

Since I feel like continuing this trend of pointless questionnaires and other junk, I decided today's space would be filled with…

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to the First Level of Hell - Limbo!

I just copied and pasted this from a private message reply to a friend of mine. So it's a simplified version of Plato's 'Allegory…

...I finally updated an RPG that was long overdue today. Did a little more homework, but I'm still way behind. I'll have to get…

Oh goodie...I feel so loved...

...\bounces along\. This has to be my favourite Japanese/Anime/Megumi Hayashibara song that I have heard. I guess you could say…

Two titles that have very little to do with one another, but have been the highlights of my last two days...

Well, I finally completed my UCAS application after a month or so of emailing Reading to confirm various course aspects. I guess…

I went along to the Regeneration group meeting for this today with Keiron. It was quite interesting, if somewhat difficult to…

I had the HTML course with Dave earlier, which means I don't get time to do homework tonight (having done Japanese as well). Pie…

...In a sense, anyway. I'm currently taking a break from my Religious Studies (Philosophy) homework. Just writing up notes on…

\Bows to Simon's profound ability to make utter nonsence interesting.\

I'm on CD #2 of 'Queen - The Best Of' at the moment, and I'm loving it! It's surprising how many songs you recognise from your…

^...Oingo Boingo reference. Just ignore that if you have no idea who they are. Right, that's all of you then ^\^;.