Public Domain / Open Access Image Libraries

There are numerous sources of free images that you are available for use in your projects or blogging.  Most of these image banks are for older images (out of copyright, something you would need to check), but something from the 19th century is probably pretty safe.

From NASA / Flicker. No known copyright restrictions (no need for attribution either).

In some cases you need to attribute the image to the source, but that is a pretty easy restriction to follow for free use.  For tech or space images, NASA is a good source too.  Searching Flickr with filters for Creative Commons licenses also can work too, but you have to make sure the subjects are not people or owned by someone even if the image is free to use.  Before using any image check for yourself to see if you can truly use it or it is public domain, kind of like buyer beware.

Here is a short list of amazing resource sites.  Beware the Internet rabbit hole!

1. The Library of Congress digital Free to Use and Reuse Sets.  I like the Japanese fine prints collection, and you could definitely do a lot of creating with the other historical collections.
   Their main digital collections page with millions of items that are not just images, but you need to be more careful about copyrights and usage.
2. The British Library released over a million images on Flickr that are in the public domain.  There are lots of old maps and other images.  Search or browse for hours.
3. NASA and it many projects and divisions have piles of space images.  Not all are public domain, so do read the usage policies and restrictions.
   Jet Propulsion Laboratory Images and usage policies.
   ASTER Satellite Images that require credit.
   NASA on The Commons are images that are in the public domain on Flickr.
4. Metropolitan Museum of Art Open Access has 400,000 images online
   Japanese Illustrated books in the public domain - check policies.
5. Getty Open Content Images, check their usage policies.
6. National Gallery of Art Open Images, check their usage policies.
7. Art Institute of Chicago, under Creative Commons License, make sure the Open Access Checkbox is on for the search.

There are other sources of images too, but this is already a pretty big set.

My Tokyo Introductory Guide Book Is Now Available!

Going to Tokyo?  Want a richer experience?
Tokyo Stories provides an introduction to the city by using storytelling and Japanese pop culture in a unique format.  Learn about Japanese food, key experiences, sights to see, districts to visit, anime, and why the country’s pop culture is so popular worldwide.  Japan has a rich culture and history and is still creating more of it in the 21st century.

Learn About Tokyo
This book provides a comprehensive background for any visit on its own and easily complements other guides to the city.  Over fifty experiences to have in Tokyo are detailed to allow the visitor to pick what they think is important to them.

Key sections in the book are:

• Japanese Pop Culture - Anime and Manga, Idols, Kawaii, Cyberpunk, and Videogames
• Japanese Food - Eating Out In Japan, Casual Restaurants, B-Kyu Food Of Japan, and more
• Tokyo Trip Tips – Planning, Booking, Transportation, Monetary, and Personal
• Core Districts To Visit - Shinjuku, Harajuku, Omotesando, Shibuya, Ginza, and more
• Great Views - Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo Tower, Mori Tower, Ginza Six, and more
• Top Tokyo Experiences – Modern Tokyo, Historic Tokyo, Seasonal Events, and Anime Culture
• Descriptions of more than 50 Tokyo Experiences – 100 Yen Store, Akihabara, Depachika, Gardens, Kappabashi Street, Konbini, Meiji Jingu, Odaiba High Tech, Ramen Museums, and more.

Stories In Tokyo
The four short stories in the book gently introduce what it is like to ride the trains, eat a meal, explore some must-visit districts, and have a pop culture adventure at the same time.  Stories are remembered, so this is a great way to learn more about the fantastic city of Tokyo.  One early reviewer remarked that they felt like they experienced the city through them, and that they loved the introductions to each story.

The stories are:

• Neko Astray – you help a lost cat get home with some unexpected help provided.
• Animated in Akiba – you assist a magical girl in Akihabara, the heart of anime culture.
• Print in Time – you meet an ukiyo-e artist who has accidently travelled in time to modern Tokyo.
• Kaiju Knocking – you are a tourist in Tokyo when it is attacked by a giant monster.

By the time you finish this book you will have an idea about how much there is to see in Tokyo, and what you would like to see and do.  However, this book is not a guide to Japanese etiquette, hotels, the restaurants, nightlife, shopping, or things that more typical guide books cover.  Knowledge from this book supports planning with other resources, as it is intended to introduce and entertain only.  Online sources of information for travel to Tokyo are excellent.  You can use Google Maps and reviews, blogs, Youtube, Tripadvisor, Yelp, etc.  They will provide you with addresses, exact map locations, and any other details you can think up.  This book is like having someone tell you about Tokyo over a coffee with some tall tales sprinkled on top.

The author, Peter Lok, has written the novel Neo Ace, and has been blogging about Japanese pop culture and Tokyo since 2009.

The e-book is now available on Amazon Canada and USA.
https://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Stories-Visitors-Introduction-Culture-ebook/dp/B07HR3YZ8N
https://www.amazon.ca/Tokyo-Stories-Visitors-Introduction-Culture-ebook/dp/B07HR3YZ8N


For more information on Tokyo, visit my travelogue page with this link.

Writing Mecha Science Fiction and Exocrisis Blue

I started out to write my mecha science fiction three or four years ago when I just decided I needed to start writing again.  I picked this particular science fiction setting because I felt that I could add to it in an original, more realistic manner, one that was inspired by Japanese anime, particularly Evangelion, Full Metal Panic! and Gundam.  I also have a Tokyo / Japanese pop culture blog too, so the focus was kind of natural.

So, how could I write a more realistic SF story with big combat robots inspired by anime roots?  I would have to avoid trying to do something only a Japanese writer would do well, do some creative thinking about the robots, integrate what I knew about modern military systems and tactics, and have a great story with great characters.

1) I didn't pretend to be a Japanese writer.

• I grew up on reading western SF and literature, so that is what I know and will write.  I'm not Japanese, but I have a few insights into their mindset, after years of exposure to history books, translated novels, travelogues, anime, movies, and manga.  This is enough to write about the Japanese, but not as a Japanese.  I do like their creative work and pop culture in general so whatever I write is a tribute to this.
• The stories so far are not set in Japan, but in Canada, America, or in Africa.
• They have primary characters that are not Japanese, but there are Japanese characters.
• My main alliance in the stories is about CAJUN, or the Canada Japan Union that arose after the Alien War.
• Anime fans will recognize certain tropes, but it is all written from a western science fiction perspective (think Bolo or Starship Troopers) for a western audience.  This means no shouting out attacks as you enter battle like in a Shonen anime or a Hong Kong Kung Fu movie.

2) The HARM robots had to be as realistic as you could get with big robots (I'm actually with the school of thought that big robots = big targets = big missile sponges = unfeasible and expensive).  So I pulled a bit of technobabble to solve the problem.

• Robots are built using reverse-engineered alien technology to leap us ahead. 
• They are powered by chemical fusion, a technology that allows massive power generation and blows up real good if ruptured.  The power is needed to power weapon systems and defences.
• Survivable, so I equipped them, and their alien counterparts with active molecular armour.  This was a lightweight armour plating that has incredible tensile strength and hardness, when it was powered up.  This expensive composite also has incredible heat dissipation protperties against lasers.
• Large, as in 2 or 3 stories high, to carry the chemical fusion plants and be giant robotish, but not too big as to be a big target.  Basically they mass like a modern main battle tank.
• Nimble, run quickly, to dodge incoming fire, react quickly, and allow the pilots to use their skills. 
• Deadly, by firing hypersonic projectiles from coilguns (similar to railguns).
• Advanced AI and neural syncing control technology to move a robots like a human.  The AI also acts like a weapons operator and copilot.
• I also added point defences, and complimentary weapons systems like missiles to the robots to make them more lethal.

 3) The robots fit into a near future miltary structure as the elite front line units that are the pointy tip of the spear.

• They are expensive and regular military units such as tanks, powered infantry, and artillery still comprise the bulk of the army.  
• A HARM mecha is the equivalent of a  tank platoon in firepower, but more deadly due to its mobility, agility, and firepower.

Finally, I guess I'd say that I started with a short story, HARM, to test out if I could write about combat mechs in action.  That story introduced one of my main characters, Joshua Scott, who appears in all the stories.  Dr. Janet Chan, the lead engineer on the HARM project, was also introduced in this story and she ends up playing a pivotal role I never anticipated when I was initially outlining the stories.  HARM succeeded and I then wrote another story, Raid on Kahamba, about a mission to retrieve an alien artifact.  Finally the current novel, follows up from Raid, centered on a new generation of teen mecha pilots (there is a reason they're teens) and the alien artifact.

If I've perked your interest, head over to my publications page for links to Amazon ebooks here.  Thanks for dropping by.

Favourite Japanese Dining Experiences in Edmonton

Japanese food is not just sushi.  Sushi made it famous worldwide, but there are all kinds of tasty Japanese food to eat.  Below, I've listed a number of tasty dishes at some of my favourite restaurants around Edmonton from breakfast to dinner.

First up is breakfast.  I actually don't know any Japanese places that serve Japanese breakfast in Edmonton, but I ran into a hybrid the other day at Tasty Tom's down on Whyte Avenue.  I ordered their breakfast snitzel which turned out to be a fried pork cutlet with panko breading.  So western breakfast of fried eggs meets a very well made Japanese tonkatsu.  The pan fried potatos were also done with curry powder giving it a bit of a Japanese flair.  This was a great meal that was quite filling.

Breakfast Snitzel.

Lunch and dinner options for Japanese food abound in the city.  I Love Sushi does sushi, but they're one of the only places that does a katsudon or oyakudon.  This is a real down to earth Japanese dish where you have the katsu cutlet or chunks of chicken in a cooked egg mixture with sauce on rice.  Quite tasty.

Katsudon

I've eaten at a number of ramen places in town.  Tokiwa Ramen is my current favourite.  Their long cooked tonkotsu broth is quite good, but their chicken shoyu broth (for their chuka soba) has more flavour according to my taste buds.  Their toppings and noodles are good, but their soup is great, so their bowls of ramen really take off.

Tonkotsu Ramen

The funnest place to have Japanese food is Dorinku.  I've been here for lunch and dinner and it is always a favourite as the food is great and the atmosphere is great.  The restaurant has lots of Japanese pop culture loaded into its decor from functioning vending machines, a toy figure collection on the way to the bathrooms, to food models.  They even show anime on the big screen.

Izakaya Lanterns out front.

Great display at the front.

Dorinku is full of tasty small dishes - like tapas, but Japanese pub style.  They do all kinds of sushi, but their cooked dishes are what really stand out for me.  They do Japanese curry, shaka shaka fries, karaage, stir fried udon noodles, seared tuna, sashimi salad, this really tasty beef rib, and more.  Everything goes great with a beer too!

A really tasty beef rib.

Another Japanese pub type restaurant is Izakaya Tomo.  This is another favourite place.  They have more of a variety of small dishes that are more izakaya-ish. Dishes like their daikon salad and kinpura (burdock root) are not very common.  They also do a really good takoyaki that isn't deep fried as far as I can tell.  I'm mainly eating their cooked dishes here like their Udon Aglio Olio E Peperoncino, gyoza, and karaage, but their sushi is good too.  Best of all, it all washes down with a beer.

Their cool looking upside down gyoza.

Finally, my favourite sushi place is Sushi Wasabi.  I've been eating here for a decade and their sushi doesn't disappoint. Nice large pieces of niguri sushi and good looking tamago.  The Japanese family who runs it used to even have a booth at the spring festival down at the Devonian Gardens.

Finally, coming in 2018 to Edmonton is Gyu-Kaku, a Japanese BBQ chain from Japan.  I've eaten several times down at their Calgary restaurant and they're expanding up here.  You grill all of your own meat at a table top grill in front of you and it is really tasty and again, it goes well with beer.