Murasaki robot

(via Engadget)

No, not purple robot (murasaki is purple in Japanese), the 紫式部 (Lady Murasaki Shikibu) robot. She was a Japanese writer at the turn of the first century, best known for writing 源氏物語 (Tales of Genji), one of the earliest and most celebrated novels in history.

I read parts of Genji in college and really enjoyed it. Part of the reason I liked it so much was because of the professor, Dr Susan Klein. I wonder if she's still at UCI. My two favorite lecturers in college were her and Suzuko Hamasaki, my Japanese teacher. Whatever courses they taught, I took. Including Japanese ghost stories and karate. I had a good time studying what I didn't major in. Economics (my major) was not difficult and certainly not fun. So I had a good balance.