Laura Del Col Brown (she/they)
@lauradelcolbrown.com
Author of The Bad Shodo Diaries: essays on life loosely inspired by Japanese kanji.
Grand Sumo lover and Fukuyama Masaharu otaku.
West Virginian by birth, Londoner by choice.
Grand Sumo lover and Fukuyama Masaharu otaku.
West Virginian by birth, Londoner by choice.
Pinned
Kinboshi
A discussion of the kinboshi (victory of a rank-and-file wrestler over a yokozuna) in sumo, and unexpected victories in real life, with reflections on Japanese vocabulary. Part of the Bad Shodo Diarie...
lauradelcolbrown.com
It's time for another #sumo themed entry of The Bad Shodo Diaries! This one's about 金星, "kinboshi."
On and kun readings! Onosato's pirouette! Fukuyama Masaharu shoehorned in via Rurouni Kenshin! How I got sealioned by Sarah Phillimore & survived! It's all here.
lauradelcolbrown.com/Kinboshi/
On and kun readings! Onosato's pirouette! Fukuyama Masaharu shoehorned in via Rurouni Kenshin! How I got sealioned by Sarah Phillimore & survived! It's all here.
lauradelcolbrown.com/Kinboshi/
Reposted by Laura Del Col Brown (she/they)
先日の出来事：
電話の上にカマキリが乗っており、瞳が何かを訴えていました。
Something that happened the other day:
A praying mantis was perched on the telephone, its eyes seeming to convey a message.
電話の上にカマキリが乗っており、瞳が何かを訴えていました。
Something that happened the other day:
A praying mantis was perched on the telephone, its eyes seeming to convey a message.
September 23, 2026 at 6:27 AM
先日の出来事：
電話の上にカマキリが乗っており、瞳が何かを訴えていました。
Something that happened the other day:
A praying mantis was perched on the telephone, its eyes seeming to convey a message.
電話の上にカマキリが乗っており、瞳が何かを訴えていました。
Something that happened the other day:
A praying mantis was perched on the telephone, its eyes seeming to convey a message.
Reposted by Laura Del Col Brown (she/they)
Bowie absolutely off his tits in this pic
American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress Joan Jett was born #OnThisDay in 1958. She wore this Audrey Carter cropped jacket with multi-coloured sequin embellishments when David Bowie visited her backstage in New York in 1989. Sold in aid of Musicares by Juliens Auctions. #fashionhistory
September 22, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Bowie absolutely off his tits in this pic
That's my boy 🌞 #SumoSpoilers
🤼 Midorifuji's (4-6) got a great underhook and solid head position and it doesn't matter because Daiseizan (8-2) has 120lbs on him and just picks up a 255lb professional wrestler and deposits him outside.
September 22, 2026 at 8:05 PM
That's my boy 🌞 #SumoSpoilers
You all laughed at me when I said this. Well, no you didn't, you ignored me. But guess what - Spitz and Teenage Fanclub just played the same festival
Was just trying to think what British band Spitz would be analogous to, and I think it might be Teenage Fanclub?
September 22, 2026 at 6:14 PM
You all laughed at me when I said this. Well, no you didn't, you ignored me. But guess what - Spitz and Teenage Fanclub just played the same festival
Wait, Francis Fukuyama's new memoir is called In the Realm of the Last Man?
If this isn't about him getting constantly mixed up with Masaharu, like a hotter version of Naomi Klein's Doppelganger, I'm going to be *so* disappointed
If this isn't about him getting constantly mixed up with Masaharu, like a hotter version of Naomi Klein's Doppelganger, I'm going to be *so* disappointed
September 22, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Wait, Francis Fukuyama's new memoir is called In the Realm of the Last Man?
If this isn't about him getting constantly mixed up with Masaharu, like a hotter version of Naomi Klein's Doppelganger, I'm going to be *so* disappointed
If this isn't about him getting constantly mixed up with Masaharu, like a hotter version of Naomi Klein's Doppelganger, I'm going to be *so* disappointed
I repeat:
I want my gym to keep letting trans women into the women's changing rooms and stop piping in DJ mixes by Tim Westwood
September 22, 2026 at 5:19 PM
I repeat:
Tobizaru always seems to land in a pretty woman's lap, never a judge's 🤔 #SumoSpoilers
September 22, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Tobizaru always seems to land in a pretty woman's lap, never a judge's 🤔 #SumoSpoilers
Very unfairly, I took against Kinbozan because he looks like our neighbour who smokes next to our window and swears at me. But now that I've seen him talk and smile in his interview, I like him better. We still don't know much about him compared to other rikishi though #SumoSpoilers
September 22, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Very unfairly, I took against Kinbozan because he looks like our neighbour who smokes next to our window and swears at me. But now that I've seen him talk and smile in his interview, I like him better. We still don't know much about him compared to other rikishi though #SumoSpoilers
September 22, 2026 at 5:01 PM
I wonder what colour macaron Hiradoumi would like? 🤔 #SumoSpoilers
Masha may have written a song called Ryu (Dragon), but Chii-Masha was glad to see his fellow Nagasaki native Hiradoumi beat Asasuiryu (Morning Green Dragon)*
#SumoSpoilers #福山雅治
*This post is not endorsed by or affiliated with Fukuyama Masaharu, Amuse Inc or #BROS1991
#SumoSpoilers #福山雅治
*This post is not endorsed by or affiliated with Fukuyama Masaharu, Amuse Inc or #BROS1991
September 22, 2026 at 5:00 PM
I wonder what colour macaron Hiradoumi would like? 🤔 #SumoSpoilers
Reposted by Laura Del Col Brown (she/they)
I don't normally wear a poppy -- when I do it's usually a white one, rather than a red -- but I may get one of these and wear it around the 11th just to make gammons' heads explode.
So it turns out this exists and I shall be getting one and you should too.
www.poppyshop.org.uk/products/pri...
www.poppyshop.org.uk/products/pri...
September 22, 2026 at 3:56 PM
I don't normally wear a poppy -- when I do it's usually a white one, rather than a red -- but I may get one of these and wear it around the 11th just to make gammons' heads explode.
As Hiko said to Kenshin:
"Your own life is worth as much as any other. Only when you understand this will the ultimate technique be yours"
"Your own life is worth as much as any other. Only when you understand this will the ultimate technique be yours"
I want to remind the people pleasers out there that the best thing you can do for other people is to prioritize yourselves & your own wellbeing.
Take care of yourself. At the end of the day, you are your last line of defense.
Take care of yourself. At the end of the day, you are your last line of defense.
September 22, 2026 at 3:44 PM
As Hiko said to Kenshin:
"Your own life is worth as much as any other. Only when you understand this will the ultimate technique be yours"
"Your own life is worth as much as any other. Only when you understand this will the ultimate technique be yours"
Reposted by Laura Del Col Brown (she/they)
This is the Mazda RX-7 from Event Horizon!
September 22, 2026 at 2:12 PM
This is the Mazda RX-7 from Event Horizon!
A teenager on Tumblr told me I was very cool ...
... for someone old enough to be their grandma 🫥
... for someone old enough to be their grandma 🫥
I wear nasal strips to bed. I listen to ambient birdnoise videos while I work. My favorite food is Grape Nuts. I am, in short, becoming elderly.
Bilbo's Heartfelt Confession to Gandalf
ALT: Bilbo's Heartfelt Confession to Gandalf
static.klipy.com
September 22, 2026 at 3:06 PM
A teenager on Tumblr told me I was very cool ...
... for someone old enough to be their grandma 🫥
... for someone old enough to be their grandma 🫥
Anyone else talk about films with their therapist & freeze up because they don't know how to explain what resonated with them without spoiling the plot?
September 22, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Anyone else talk about films with their therapist & freeze up because they don't know how to explain what resonated with them without spoiling the plot?
Reposted by Laura Del Col Brown (she/they)
Our cat’s created a new bed for herself while we’re on holiday. The housesitters find her here every morning, queen that she is.
September 22, 2026 at 11:47 AM
Our cat’s created a new bed for herself while we’re on holiday. The housesitters find her here every morning, queen that she is.
If 5 UK-based followers felt able to sign this petition & help it go live, it would mean a lot 🙂
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/78...
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/78...
September 22, 2026 at 10:54 AM
If 5 UK-based followers felt able to sign this petition & help it go live, it would mean a lot 🙂
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/78...
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/78...
Today I learned that an effective vaccine for urinary tract infections has been around for a few years, but isn't routinely available on the NHS. I can't help thinking that if recurring UTIs were as common in men as in women, it would get approved a lot faster
wisdom.nhs.wales/health-board...
wisdom.nhs.wales/health-board...
wisdom.nhs.wales
September 21, 2026 at 8:57 PM
Today I learned that an effective vaccine for urinary tract infections has been around for a few years, but isn't routinely available on the NHS. I can't help thinking that if recurring UTIs were as common in men as in women, it would get approved a lot faster
wisdom.nhs.wales/health-board...
wisdom.nhs.wales/health-board...
Reposted by Laura Del Col Brown (she/they)
Black Cat Looking Straight Ahead by contemporary Japanese artist Toshiyuki Enoki (born 1961).
September 21, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Black Cat Looking Straight Ahead by contemporary Japanese artist Toshiyuki Enoki (born 1961).
Can't believe we didn't get a world holiday for a new cat species
1/5 🐾 Mammal Monday: A new cat species has been hiding in plain sight!
Meet 𝘓𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘤𝘢𝘺𝘰 , a newly described small wild cat from the cloud forests of Bolivia’s Yungas. At only around 1.5–2 kg, it is about the size of a domestic cat.
🧪 🦊 🦤 🌍
Photo: © Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz.
Meet 𝘓𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘤𝘢𝘺𝘰 , a newly described small wild cat from the cloud forests of Bolivia’s Yungas. At only around 1.5–2 kg, it is about the size of a domestic cat.
🧪 🦊 🦤 🌍
Photo: © Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz.
September 21, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Can't believe we didn't get a world holiday for a new cat species
Something has to be up with Tobizaru. I know he won today, but the old monkey spirit is gone 🙁 🙈 #SumoSpoilers
September 21, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Something has to be up with Tobizaru. I know he won today, but the old monkey spirit is gone 🙁 🙈 #SumoSpoilers
Masha may have written a song called Ryu (Dragon), but Chii-Masha was glad to see his fellow Nagasaki native Hiradoumi beat Asasuiryu (Morning Green Dragon)*
#SumoSpoilers #福山雅治
*This post is not endorsed by or affiliated with Fukuyama Masaharu, Amuse Inc or #BROS1991
#SumoSpoilers #福山雅治
*This post is not endorsed by or affiliated with Fukuyama Masaharu, Amuse Inc or #BROS1991
September 21, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Masha may have written a song called Ryu (Dragon), but Chii-Masha was glad to see his fellow Nagasaki native Hiradoumi beat Asasuiryu (Morning Green Dragon)*
#SumoSpoilers #福山雅治
*This post is not endorsed by or affiliated with Fukuyama Masaharu, Amuse Inc or #BROS1991
#SumoSpoilers #福山雅治
*This post is not endorsed by or affiliated with Fukuyama Masaharu, Amuse Inc or #BROS1991
Reposted by Laura Del Col Brown (she/they)
Japanese writer Jirō Osaragi (大佛次郎) and his cat, Japan,1930s.
September 21, 2026 at 5:28 PM
Japanese writer Jirō Osaragi (大佛次郎) and his cat, Japan,1930s.
Reposted by Laura Del Col Brown (she/they)
Of course (of course), "Uisge beatha" (Water of Life) is my favorite on Masha's new album. What a profoundly sensuous ode with a rich metaphor about drinking life in like a well-blended whisky and a rhythmic melody that scratches my brain in the way very few do. lyrics.lyricfind.com/lyrics/masah...
lyrics.lyricfind.com
September 21, 2026 at 4:54 PM
Of course (of course), "Uisge beatha" (Water of Life) is my favorite on Masha's new album. What a profoundly sensuous ode with a rich metaphor about drinking life in like a well-blended whisky and a rhythmic melody that scratches my brain in the way very few do. lyrics.lyricfind.com/lyrics/masah...