Finding Mika

Liane La Havas

2012-01-26T06:39:00.000-08:00

'no room for doubt'

'forget'

women with tattoos on their forearms is bad-fuckin-ass

2012-01-26T01:30:00.000-08:00

It's basically hot.

But seriously, with her taste in art let's hope that ink isn't permanent. Anyway, those look like temporary tattoos you'd find in bubble gum wrappers.

(The acid wash jeans is a nice touch too.)

I want to live in this world he creates...

2012-01-25T10:15:00.000-08:00

Nils Frahm, born in 1982, had an early introduction to music. During his childhood he was taught to play piano by Nahum Brodski -- a student of the last scholar of Tschaikowski. It was through this that Nils began to immerse himself in the styles of the classical pianists before him as well as contemporary composers. Today Nils Frahm works as an accomplished composer and producer in Berlin. In 2008 he founded Durton Studio, where he has worked with Deaf Center from Norway, L.A. composer Dustin O' Halloran and Portland's Peter Broderick amongst other fellow musicians.

I learned about him through Blogothèque.

You think that headdress makes you look cool? Guess again, stupid...

2012-01-25T05:14:00.000-08:00

"You can’t just take a cultural sign and act as if it has no history, as if a headdress or dreadlocks just exist ‘in itself.’ Because if you do, you’re doing a very real kind of violence. Culture lives in the signs, so when someone tries to deny the meaning of signs, they’re trying to kill that sign and so try to kill a little bit of culture."

- fuckyeahculturalappropriation.tumblr.com

Native American motifs have been a huge fashion trend lately, like this brand, Native Citizen, below. Some textiles or prints are more blatant than others, and quite frankly, I'm appalled by how clueless people are when they are swayed by marketable looks. (Honestly, I think I'm seeing some more flagrant examples in Paris than would not be permitted in the US. The French have little inkling about the contentiously sensitive nature of representing a marginalized people.) It's just cultural insensitive and tasteless, plain and simple - to quote Fordham University School of Law professor Susan Scafidi, "the merchandise is hideously unflattering."

Given the huge popularity of this latest mode, this just proves to me, once again, that people are frivolous, inane, and self-pleasing when they shop. (Listen, I don't deny becoming a bit of a monster myself - online shopping is my latest vice. But one must constantly check themselves and fucking snap out of it! Who are you trying to be, anyway?)

Urban Outfitters, a store aimed at young hipsters and owned by big-time conservative donor Richard Hayne, has been in the hotspot for selling cheap knockoff "Navajo" products. Sasha Houston Brown's open letter last summer regarding its use of the word "Navajo" in its product has raised a lot of controversy. This article in Jezebel is a good summary of the politics of using the words like, "Navajo", in their retail and the laws on trademark infringement. She decries the store's "plastic dreamcatchers wrapped in pleather", and fulminates over their "indistinguishable mass of artificial feather jewelry and hyper sexualized clothing featuring an abundance of suede, fringe and inauthentic tribal patterns." They amount, she says, "to a mass marketed [sic] collection of distasteful and racially demeaning apparel and décor" adding, "I take personal offense to the blatant racism and perverted cultural appropriation your store features this season as "fashion." Here are other examples of UO's assholeness.

"Cultural appropriation is the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group. It can include the introduction of forms of dress or personal adornment, music and art, religion,language, or social behavior. These elements, once removed from their indigenous cultural contexts, can take on meanings that are significantly divergent from, or merely less nuanced than, those they originally held." (wikipedia)

"It's a long-standing issue, you know, and it's not just in the fashion world. It's the Jeep Cherokee. It's the Washington Redskins. And there was enormous litigation over that trademark," says Scafidi. "It's an issue when you have indigenous peoples in general or Native Americans in particular who have been subject to actual genocide, and then you come back around with what some people characterize as cultural genocide. The pillaging of land, the pillaging of personal property, followed by the pillaging of what could be considered intellectual property. It's something that occurs against a background of a lot of other offensive actions."

Scafidi says Australia is among the countries that has done a better job of extending intellectual-property protections to indigenous peoples — in its case, Aboriginal tribes. "The United States has actually lagged behind a bit in the application of this kind of protection." The Federal Indian Arts And Crafts Act dates from just 1990. "I think with so many other injustices over the centuries — the loss of land, the taking away of children to 'Westernize' them, things that are truly appalling — the loss of culture wasn't recognized as quite as significant until more recently."

Vans via here

When you see these images or symbols that try to represent something Native American (that is, tribal/exotic/native), it's hopelessly in Eurocentric terms, not in light of any historical or cultural (authentic) context. It's history repeating itself, calling public resources property and cultural identity a commodity.

“The problem,” says Jessica R. Metcalfe, a Turtle Mountain Chippewa and doctor of Native American studies who teaches at Arizona State University and blogs about Native American fashion designers at Beyond Buckskin, “is that they’re putting it out there as ‘This is the native,’ or ‘This is native-inspired’. So now you have non-native people representing us in mainstream culture. That, of course, gets tiring, because this has been happening since the good old days of the Hollywood Western in the 1930s and ’40s, where they hired non-native actors and dressed them up essentially in redface.

“The issue now is not only who gets to represent Native Americans,” Metcalfe says, “but also who gets to profit.”

Louis CK sums it up nicely.

There is growing list of race-based offenses in European fashion magazines. There was Italian Vogue's trend piece on so-called "slavery earrings" and their French edition's fashion spread of a model in blackface. Just last month the Dutch magazine Jackie published a racial slur in a profile of Rihanna.

Winter Salad with Miso & Ginger Dressing

2012-01-24T04:16:00.000-08:00

from Eat Boutique!

KALE is one of the most nutrient-rich leafy green you could ever eat, and we’ve been eating this super food every which way possible, all in an effort to take better care of our body and soul in 2012. When Maggie asked me to do a post on a winter salad, I knew it had to be kale.

This dressing is creamy, rich and big on flavor. Combine equal parts of tahini, miso paste (I used red, but you can use any kind), and ginger syrup. If you don’t have, then substitute with honey and a bit of grated fresh ginger instead.

Add a little water and a squeeze of citrus to thin it down to a thick pourable consistency. Wasabi almonds found in the back of my fridge added a nice crunch to this salad.

This winter salad is heavier than your typical light green summer salad. It is chewy, “meaty” and hearty enough to be a main meal, or a perfect side to grilled salmon or chicken. This would be phenomenal in a fish taco with some fresh cilantro thrown in.

Winter Salad with Miso & Ginger Dressing
Ingredients:

1 small bunch of kale
1 small radicchio
1 small shallot
1 large carrot
1 blood orange
Sprinkle of almonds

Dressing (start off with 1 heaping tablespoon of each):

1 part miso paste
1 part tahini
1 part ginger syrup (or honey with 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger)
Water and squeeze of citrus juice to thin

Directions:

Wash, slice, chop and trim your salad ingredients and place in salad bowl.
In a small bowl, thoroughly mix dressing ingredients together, adding a squeeze or two of citrus juice, and water to thin to a thick pourable consistency. Pour over the salad, toss and serve.

All photos styled and photographed by Jill Chen.

I dreamt I was looking up at a night sky of bright stars

2012-01-24T03:38:00.000-08:00

and it wasn't until I saw this trailer, The City Dark, that I remembered:

THE CITY DARK chronicles the disappearance of darkness. The film follows filmmaker (and amateur astronomer) Ian Cheney, who moves to New York City from Maine and discovers an urban sky almost completely devoid of stars. Posing a deceptively simple question--"What do we lose, when we lose the night?"--the film leads viewers on a quest to understand how light pollution affects people and the planet. In six chapters weaving together cutting-edge science with personal, meditative sequences reflecting on the human relationship to the sky, THE CITY DARK shines new light on the meaning of the dark.

Happy Lunar New Year!

2012-01-23T02:00:00.000-08:00

Maybe I should have a baby in the year of the dragon. Apparently it's good luck! Those born as dragons are "the strongest, smartest and the luckiest—supposedly," says Yibing Huang, a professor of Chinese literature and culture at Connecticut College.

I happen to be born in the year of the dragon. Smirk!

My dad always told me, "Sleep is the best medicine."

2012-01-21T06:56:00.001-08:00

via here

One woman band.

2012-01-17T10:53:00.000-08:00

Yourstru.ly presents: Grimes "Genesis" from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

Grimes, "Genesis"

When the People Lead, the Leaders Will Follow

2012-01-17T02:38:00.000-08:00

"And I think this is great. This is a change that happened. But it may not have been entirely the change that we wanted because we aren’t really informed about the conditions under which that particular leadership developed. And we assumed that because there was someone called Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. … he appeared on the scene in Montgomery, he was the Messiah, and this whole movement developed. I mean that’s what I call the “Messiah Complex” in terms of our notions of leadership. And it seems to me that the greatness of Dr. King resided precisely in his capacity to learn his leadership abilities, to acquire his leadership abilities from the people who had organized that movement… to listen to them. As a matter of fact, most people don’t even know that it was a group of black women who organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Most people haven’t heard of the name Jo Ann Robinson even though she wrote a book called The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Women Who Started It. Because that method was the paradigm, right; you’re supposed to think that it is these great, heroic, male leaders who are the motors of history. And how could you possibly measure up to someone like that? And what you don’t realize is that the real work happened long before Dr. King ever thought of associating himself with those struggles."

(Thank you comeuppance for hooking me onto this Angela Davis piece)

play: a way of dealing with the world.

2012-01-16T06:01:00.000-08:00

A great video and song that captures the joy in playing and imagination! I love it when the cake falls on the table and candy is being thrown at him!

Eric & Magill "You Make It So Good" from Liam Mitchell on Vimeo.

SERIOUSLY! is a creative documentary that turns the work ethic on its head and reveals how vital play is to our health, happiness, and the future of life.

"Play is starting something new. Facing the unknown, the newness of yourself."

Trailer - SERIOUSLY! The Future depends on play from Gwen Gordon on Vimeo.

Go to seriouslythemovie.com to find out more and help us finish the film.

2012-01-15T02:48:00.000-08:00

Il me semble que je serais toujours bien là où je ne suis pas, et cette question de déménagement en est une que je discute sans cesse avec mon âme.

- Baudelaire

The days are getting longer....

2012-01-14T23:49:00.000-08:00

8:20am this morning

last night at 5:35pm

9:05am on January 13th

Yes, once again Phantogram but this time you can have it.

2012-01-14T09:55:00.000-08:00

Just click here: "Don't Move"

Camille and Piers Faccini cover Nick Drake

2012-01-14T05:52:00.000-08:00

Camille & Piers Faccini - One of these things first - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Wasabi flavored dark chocolate??!?!

2012-01-12T12:25:00.000-08:00

Lindt came out with their chocolat noir à la pointe de wasabi and here's my reaction:

I won't go finishing this bar of chocolate anytime soon but wasabi chocolate is worth trying.

Just another bad-ass

2012-01-12T02:36:00.000-08:00

Faye Wong was in Chungking Express ( Chun Hing Sam Lam, 1994) directed by the great Wong Kar-Wai.

Her amazing cover of the Cranberries "Dreams"

zen cooking

2012-01-12T02:15:00.000-08:00

While Japanese cuisine has become popular in the West, far less is known about the traditional fare originating from Japan’s Buddhist temples. Natural and healthy, temple food is based on fresh seasonal vegetables, and staples such as grains and tofu. Shojin food, with its emphasis on fresh, seasonal vegetables, staples such as seaweed, grains and tofu, and natural flavorings rather than chemical additives, is a highly nutritious and delicious alternative to the many unhealthy eating habits of Western society. For centuries, these dishes have been a way of life—and a refreshing change of pace—for monks whose days are spent in rigorous self-discipline.

The author, Mari Fujii, married to a Buddhist monk and an expert in shojin food for more than twenty years. She has taught temple cuisine for over twenty years. In her book, she delivers simple, seasonal foods with love and care. Unlike French cuisine, shojin (as well as japanese) food draws out the natural flavors of ingredients rather than smothering with heavy sauces or spices.

However, many of the recipes involve frying food and include copious amounts of sesame oil, maple syrup, and peanut butter. So the dishes are not all necessarily low-calorie. Other staples include miso, kombu, and kanten (agar-agar powder).

There are some great eggplant dishes: Sesame-Flavored Eggplant Soup is rich and toasty (see below), and Eggplant Salad with Lemon-Flavored Plum Dressing is a great side dish or starter.

Eggplant Soup:

This warm, relaxing soup gets a hint of heartiness from rich sesame oil.

By Mari Fujii

Eggplants fried golden brown in sesame oil are served in piping-hot konbu stock flavored with red miso. These flavors are just hearty enough for the first fall evenings, but are still light enough to enjoy with a side salad or your favorite sushi roll.

Serves 4
What You Need:

3 small eggplants, 4 ounces each, sliced into 1⁄2-inch disks
2 tablespoons sesame oil
3-1⁄3 cups kombu stock
2 tablespoons red miso
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, toasted and crushed

What You Do:

Soak the eggplant in water for a few minutes to remove any bitterness. Drain, and dry thoroughly.
In a frying pan over medium heat, add sesame oil, then add eggplant. Cook both sides for 5 to 6 minutes.
In a saucepan, heat konbu stock, then stir in the red miso until dissolved.
Divide eggplant slices between individual soup bowls, cover with stock, and garnish with sesame seeds.

These girls are so rock and roll

2012-01-11T09:08:00.000-08:00

I just love how they move.....all of them!

"Composure"

"Bees"

"Burgundy"

music highlights from 2011

2012-01-10T12:10:00.000-08:00

The Best of 2011 from shespeaksoceans on 8tracks.

courtesy of she speaks oceans

In no particular order:

Settle Down Kimbra
Stop Twin Sister
Surgeon St. Vincent
How Come You Never Go There Feist
You And I Washed Out
The Rip Tide Beirut
Eleven Thao & Mirah
Shuffle A Dream Little Dragon
Somebody That I Used To Know Gotye
Still Sound Toro Y Moi
Sadness Is A Blessing Lykke Li
Barton Hollow The Civil Wars
Truth Alexander
Lorelai Fleet Foxes
He Won’t Go Adele
Big Burned Hand Iron & Wine
True Blue Dirty Beaches
Origins Tennis

organs on my mind

2012-01-10T01:00:00.001-08:00

I'm studying for my Acupuncture exams in early February and I've got organs and meridians on my mind. I only have 3 weeks to go but I have so much to learn!

This could be a heart

This could be lungs

Masako Suzuki

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

2012-01-09T03:31:00.001-08:00

Well hello there....

2012-01-08T07:55:00.000-08:00

....Jô Odagiri

I came across Jo Odagiri while I was watching CNN. He just came out with My Way. Here is a list of his movies.

2012-01-08T01:14:00.000-08:00

Residents crowd in a swimming pool to escape the summer heat during a hot weather spell in Daying county of Suining, Sichuan province July 4, 2010. China was experiencing temperatures over 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Farhenheit) in at least 13 provinces and regions, according to the National Meteorological Center on Sunday. Picture taken July 4, 2010. REUTERS/Stringer

cupping

2012-01-07T10:20:00.000-08:00

That's me getting some cupping. It's very tonifying to all the internal organs.

I'm an introvert

2012-01-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

via here

thank you and good-bye

2012-01-07T06:45:00.000-08:00

"What I have tried to do is involve the people I was photographing... if they were willing to give, I was willing to photograph." Eve Arnold

Marilyn Monroe.

After taking a six-week photography course at the New School for Social Research in New York, she began her career in the 1940s, working for publications including Picture Post, Time and Life magazine during a golden age of magazine photojournalism.

Her subjects included migrant labourers, New York bartenders, Cuban fishermen and Afghan nomads; celebrities such as Joan Crawford and Elizabeth Taylor; and political figures including Jacqueline Kennedy, Malcolm X and Margaret Thatcher.

A girl who shares a bath and flat with three other girls, London, 1961

"If a photographer cares about the people before the lens and is compassionate, much is given. It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument."

Bar girl in a brothel in the red light district, Havana, 1954.

Fashion Show, Harlem, New York, 1950.

“Themes recur again and again in my work,” Arnold once said. “I have been poor and I wanted to document poverty; I had lost a child and I was obsessed with birth; I was interested in politics and I wanted to know how it affected our lives; I am a woman and I wanted to know about women.”(Introduction to "The Unretouched Woman")

Who knew toast could be so captivating.

2012-01-05T06:48:00.000-08:00

OK Go, "Last Leaf"

Other people's point of view

2012-01-03T00:15:00.000-08:00

Jun and C used my camera and took these two shots. I enjoy seeing what their eye captures especially when they use my camera. Like the one of Sophia below. It's so candid, almost cinematic. I love her reflection on the car and how she's half-swallowing her lollipop while looking off.

photo by jun

photo by C

C often has humor and storytelling in his shots. He also likes to take, what he calls, 'guerrilla photography', where he holds the camera low and takes photos of unsuspecting passerbys. In this shot, he just asked Ken and Jun to look up without telling them about the tag behind them. Jun conveniently pointed to the sky and then 'Snap!' A well orchestrated shot on the part of the photographer.

Tell me, what do you want for 2012?

2012-01-01T04:04:00.000-08:00

Lots of family with me in Paris, last night I had everyone sleeping at my apartment except my sister and her kiddies. It's been a nice time but unfortunately, my dad has been ill and my bro-in-law is a real asshole around these events. But alas, I'm so glad it's 2012 and we are putting the past behind us and putting us right here in the present.

What do I want for 2012?

I want an opening, for myself emotionally and professionally. I want to fully trust myself and take risks and let go, become more accepting of who I am with all my wonder, potential, limitations, and faults. I don't want the bullshit anymore. I want to get straight with my own dreams and purpose, and release the things (mentally and materially) that deter me from pursuing my path. I want to think hard about having a child without getting caught up in the fear and anxiety. I want to do more photography and start up this project I have in mind. I want to plan a trip to China. I want to have a routine for my body - I want to love my body. I want to walk tall, look people in the eye and smile at them without worrying about their rejection or resistance. I want to cultivate vision and lightness, I want to stop taking myself so seriously. I want patience, patience, patience. I want courage. I want discipline and commit to something big and see it through. I want to recognize the small day-to-day achievements that normally I would take for granted. I want art. I want quick connections with strangers but especially the warm reminders of old and deep souls. I want you to take care of yourself not just because you mean so much to me and to everyone around you but because you mean the world to yourself. I want a world where everyone believes in themselves and dwells on their qualities and not their wants and needs as if they don't have everything that they already need inside them. I want love love love. I want the rush of my body when I'm in shape and feeling my heart beating with my breath. I want to bike a lot. I want clarity.....

I would see these guys live.

2011-12-29T13:39:00.000-08:00

Phantogram - Don't Move (Live on 89.3 The Current)

Jordan, how do you like this one?

Kissing on the beach

2011-12-29T01:44:00.002-08:00

Christmas at Pornichet

2011-12-29T01:44:00.000-08:00

We spent 5 days in Pornichet with all my 5 family members plus my sis's children and hubby. Luckily I got to stay at C's mom's place which has enough room to feel like you're not suffocating. My family (10 people) were squeezed in an 80sq meter apartment with a beautiful view of the sea. Overall, it was a memorable time and we did the usual Shiozawa-holiday-festivies: eating and taking photos. But this year we made sure to play board games and once again, Rummikub was a favorite.

We're spending Christmas in London next year as MA is moving there next summer.

walking in Paris and singing Adele

2011-12-23T06:56:00.000-08:00

Adele - Someone Like You from AdeleTurkey on Vimeo.

Adele "Someone Like You"

Sometimes I don't realize I'm singing out loud until I see people look at me. But this song is just too good not to let out loud.

I just ran across this Saturday Night Live hilarious, all-cast sketch on the song's emotional effects.

Mother Fuckin' Delicious Molasses Cookies!

2011-12-19T02:29:00.000-08:00

It's the easiest recipe, as long as you find molasses (which you can't here in Paris unless you want to pay 7 € at Bon Marché)

What are you carrying?

2011-12-17T09:41:00.000-08:00

Two monks, one old and one young, were walking through the forest from one monastery to another when they came upon a woman standing beside a river. She was finely dressed in delicate fabrics and was clearly afraid to attempt crossing the river however shallow it might be. The old monk approached the woman and offered to carry her across. The young monk was shocked. Once on the other side the old monk put the woman down and together with his young companion continued through the forest. Many hours later, as the day was drawing to a close the young monk spoke up saying, “Master, I do not understand. It is strictly forbidden in our order to touch women and yet you didn’t hesitate to pick up that woman and carry her across the river.” “Ah, yes,” said the old monk. “I am surprised at you. I put her down many hours ago. You must be very tired from having carried her all day.”

bella

2011-12-16T02:26:00.000-08:00

Ok, i know I've been posting some seriously girly shit lately....with very little importance to or about the world. But i suppose I need the lightness and distraction and the fun....and always the beauty.

(image from madewell)

Camille!!

2011-12-10T12:42:00.001-08:00

Camille - Mon Petit Vieux par Aisitis

Camille is playing in Paris all next week and it's sold out every night. I'm looking forward to hearing her new album.

Fucking weird.

2011-12-07T14:50:00.000-08:00

Heaven Can Wait by Charlotte Gainsbourg + Beck

This Emmanuel Alt is my new fashion muse.

2011-12-06T01:05:00.001-08:00

I really like the t-shirt-jacket thing. One can never have enough jackets.

2011-12-05T14:32:00.001-08:00

photo by Hugo Glendinning

“When I was nine or 10, I wasn’t pretty anymore–which is a big advantage. It must be a nightmare to be a beautiful teenager. I got this strange kind of androgyny. I was everything girls don’t want to be—incredibly tall, incredibly thin, and unimpressive. For years it’s still been possible to hide as a sexual being."—Tilda Swinton

I just watched "We Need to Talk about Kevin." Ouf, that was a hard one to watch but Tilda played it well, albeit sorta always the same expressions in all her movies. Plus, the film was like a series of pretty photographs. It depends on what you like but it sorta disappointed C.

Wow, i just feel old.

2011-12-04T10:38:00.000-08:00

I just don't get this Beiber fever. Plus they're like 12 years old.

Justin Beiber and Will Smith's son, Jaden, doing a cover of my favorite Frank Ocean's song,
"thinking about you".

One of the most beautiful things to watch...

2011-11-30T02:57:00.000-08:00

...is the bond between father and child

Ibiza Contact improvisation festival, 2011
Sophie is 2 years and 4 months old. Itay is a bit older.

Boy do I wish I could knit.

2011-11-29T00:19:00.001-08:00

Headlines

2011-11-28T10:35:00.001-08:00

Drake, "Headlines"

Why the Asian Food in Paris is So Bad

2011-11-28T00:27:00.001-08:00

eating unagi at Nodaiwa in 2010. I've had better....

"Ethnic food", particularly Asian food, is dumbed down in Paris. I'm glad someone has addressed this very serious problem. It's so hard to get 'authentic' cuisine (unless you want to spend a pretty penny) because it caters too much to the French palate. Parisians have been seduced by these Chinese-run Japanese restaurants types. Even worse, they have been led to believe it's actually Japanese food. Don't even think about having a Mexican food craving - the French are pussies when it comes to spice. Maybe the Indian and Korean food is ok, and sometimes pho is satisfying (thank goodness for the 13th arrondisement). Japanese is improving luckily. The trouble is, these Parisians don't even question what it is they're eating. They just take it as it is - different, exotic, fashionable. The latest mode is the slew of sushi chains, like this, popping up everywhere.

I mean come on. One should know when they're eating something authentic and full of nuances - something you may not like at first but eventually you appreciate it. But nope, the French are just like, "Hmmm, that's different." Or, "I feel safe with just the salmon maki and chicken "brochette" with a miso soup."

"French curiosity for different forms of cuisine is still a somewhat recent phenomenon. For centuries, the gastro scene in Paris remained static, with French cuisine assuming a de facto dominance that yielded little to no room for foreign kitchens to gain credibility. 'This very confident sense of superiority, which was not unjustified most of the time, sort of blindsided the French in terms of their ability to be receptive to or honestly curious about food from other countries,' says Lobrano, who served as the European Correspondent for Gourmet Magazine for 10 years, until it folded in 2009."

This is the best blog I've seen in a while.

2011-11-27T13:51:00.001-08:00

I want to do this with my class! We've been collecting leaves and I've been looking for something to do with them.

EJS and I did masks with them in October! This one will be a great addition!

Definitely check out this blog

Little Dragon in one week!

2011-11-27T02:12:00.001-08:00

Little Dragon "Brush The Heat" Remix By AVA

Jeanne and I are going to see them at

Autumn in Buttes Chaumont

2011-11-25T02:05:00.000-08:00

Buttes Chaumont is easily my favorite park in Paris. My school where I work is nearby and the children go there everyday! They are so lucky to have some greenery in this urban landscape. There lives a wonderful ginko tree and this year's autumn has been gracious to him. The tree's yellow leaves gleam on sunny days and lately the light has been diffused, vaguely foggy, where speckles of humidity in the air irradiate bright colors into a magical iridescent glow.

(the cherry trees - on the left - have been wonderful this autumn too!)

(photos from my cell phone. Excuse the quality)

Being thankful....

2011-11-24T01:05:00.000-08:00

....for those rare moments that you only live once in a lifetime but make you utterly present and connected to what is around you. These moments, albeit unique, can happen everyday if you seek them. It requires the risk of putting yourself out there in the world, awake and ready, thankful and receptive.

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Black Sesame Seeds

2011-11-24T00:58:00.000-08:00

There are some essential ingredients that every kitchen should have for home remedies: ginger, cinnamon bark, lemon, and sesame seeds!

Black Sesame seeds are considered to vitalize the internal organs, to be particularly beneficial to the kidney and liver, and to "moisten dryness", as in treating constipation. Black sesame seeds are regarded as superior to white sesame seeds in medicinal value and are the ones customarily used in Chinese Medicine. They are currently an officially recognized drug in the People's Republic of China, being listed in its pharmacopeia for the treatment of dizziness, blurred vision, and tinnitus (imaginary roaring noise) resulting from anemia, premature graying of hair, loss of hair after an illness, and constipation. (see remedies via here)

Black sesame seeds are an extremely good source of calcium; studies have shown that one gram of seeds contains approximately 85 milligrams of calcium. Black sesame seeds also have high amounts of protein, phosphorous, iron and magnesium. In some patients, black sesame seeds are used to help patients recover from serious illnesses and fevers, treat constipation and promote regular bowel movements. Some practitioners recommend using black sesame seeds with polygonum to keep a person's hair looking rich and dark. via here

this phrase is very buddhist.

2011-11-21T13:18:00.000-08:00

Nick Dewar print

2011-11-20T05:20:00.001-08:00

Yes, that owl is real. You must see how wonderful he is!

2011-11-19T10:45:00.001-08:00

My friend, the hair dresser, Sergio Chessari, entered into a hair competition and was selected among hundreds as the finalist!

It looks like she's checkin out my boobs.

yes, yes, and yes.

2011-11-17T09:09:00.001-08:00

via here

wow. Maru is the best cat ever.

2011-11-16T09:56:00.001-08:00

The owner of this cat is brilliant.

Help! I'm caught in a circuit of blogs created by a bunch of 30-something year olds.

2011-11-14T22:03:00.000-08:00

I just wasted the last 2 hours on "magazine" blogs. These bloggers are Martha Stewart's offspring. The queen of them is Cup of Jo. Most of them have clothing and hair looks, interior decorated ideals, pretty cooking fantasies or food porn, stationary-and-jewelry-as-art, romantic holidays - often in Europe, and photos of their kids. When I start to feel overwhelmed by these ridiculously entrapping blogs my body starts to writhe and my head spins. It's easy imagining yourself as something that your not and these blogs make it hard to feel good with what you have. It screams...."Must have...."

This photo is from this blog

This photo is from this blog.

It's important to make the difference between want and need....

2011-11-14T10:06:00.001-08:00

And I so want these....

{1. caferacer 2. holymoly 3. vinyl - all by creme cycles}

mmmm, pomegranates and agrumes

2011-11-14T01:43:00.001-08:00

I love these two new fruit calendars from Claire Nereim. via here

Je suis un homme, Je suis le roi de l'illusion

2011-11-08T04:06:00.000-08:00

Zazie - Je Suis Un Homme

Acupuncture

2011-11-06T04:26:00.000-08:00

I just entered my 3rd year in acupuncture - Chinese medicine school and we finished our first seminar of the year yesterday. It was a great week - we got to practice a lot and our heads are full of information that doesn't make sense yet. But I feel very motivated to keep sorting through the wealth of knowledge.

I've been getting small migraines lately and when Federico asked for a guinea pig to show points for treating headache I volunteered. He also treated my digestion because I have dampness and deficiency of Qi of the Speen. Good stuff.

long live Django!

2011-11-03T16:01:00.000-07:00

This mother fucker can play.

"Finesse"

"Paris Blues"

I stand corrected!

2011-11-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

why is Africa always depicted so much smaller in proportion to the rest of the continents?! Well, this should clarify things. I've written about this racist cartographic, not to mention, ethnocentric bull shit before. (image via here)

2011-11-02T05:15:00.000-07:00

Erato - Call Your Girlfriend (Robyn Cover)

Tomate farcie

2011-10-30T07:13:00.000-07:00

Before...

This is one of my favorite dishes that I don't make often enough. It's usually ground beef inside the tomato but I put adzuki, brown rice and lentils with roasted leeks and onions. Yum.

After...

I'm finally alone after a slew of visitors since July. Aaaaah. It's so quiet and liberating.

this morning

2011-10-25T05:48:00.001-07:00

at 7h25

at 8h25

white kids with super powers.

2011-10-21T08:43:00.001-07:00

M83 "Midnight City"

I need this in my ipod.

2011-10-20T05:49:00.000-07:00

Gotye - Bronte

Director and Animator: Ari Gibson
Backgrounds: Jason Pammet

Oh Melvil!

2011-10-16T05:21:00.000-07:00

Ever since I saw the film Broken English, directed by Zoe Cassavetes, I fell for Monsieur Poupaud. He's also in a film I'd like to see, "Le Temps Qui Reste."

Mmmmmmm. He gets me all worked up.

this is how you turn your hair into a shade of grey

2011-10-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

i was a hair model for my stylist. He is entering a contest and wanted to use my head.

Thank you Tomoko for your photos!

Etretat

2011-10-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

Emily J.S. is visiting for 3 weeks and we started her trip with a long weekend in Etretat, on the coast of Normandy. Monet painted it's unique and striking cliffs. I recommend it along with the delicious moules et frites. The cliffs are massive and the formation you see in the background behind Em and me is one of earth's lovely freak of nature. It was so dang windy and the Fall weather was a bitter welcome however this exceptional landscape.

Damn Your Eyes

2011-10-03T00:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks Saucy for posting this:) A great cover of Etta James. Have you seen the X Factor's Josh Krajcik's cover of "At Last"? He's the new Susan Boyle sensation!

Why do people eat so much crappy hyperprocessed food?

2011-09-27T04:01:00.000-07:00

Mark Bittman addresses this question and challenges the argument that junk food is more affordable than a healthy meal.

"...Food choices are not black and white; the alternative to fast food is not necessarily organic food, any more than the alternative to soda is Bordeaux.The alternative to soda is water, and the alternative to junk food is not grass-fed beef and greens from a trendy farmers’ market, but anything other than junk food: rice, grains, pasta, beans, fresh vegetables, canned vegetables, frozen vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, bread, peanut butter, a thousand other things cooked at home — in almost every case a far superior alternative."

Here is a comparison of a dinner at McDonald's to a dinner prepared at home. There is no doubt that a substantial meal can be affordable and keep you going far longer than fries and coke.

read Mark Bittman's piece

People don't like to cook and frankly, they don't know how. Many Americans and increasingly Europeans have lost the meaning and routine of eating together at a table, thus loosing a huge incentive to even attempt cooking for themselves and family. Instead, we find ourselves eating in front of the t.v. or the computer ("The best single behavioral predictor of obesity in children and adults is the amount of television viewing," says the School of Public Health’s Gortmaker.) Children are picky about the foods that they eat, unappreciative of a home-cooked meal. Rather they demand pasta and potatoes in every form. Even parents who are well intentioned and try to prepare a balance meal get sick of making dinner. What we see are more and more people raised on quick meals and who grow up thinking food isn't something you take into your own hands to prepare your own way. They become adults who want instant gratification and find pleasure not in creating a meal but in satisfying highly salty, highly sweet, highly greasy urges.

7:16am

2011-09-26T05:36:00.000-07:00

I woke up early this morning and was glad to see the light of the sunrise.

What the average American consumes in a year

2011-09-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

Full size here

I'd like to know what the average Japanese eats in a year. Or Brazilian. Or South African. I already know Americans eat way to much corn syrup.

it's this sort of day today

2011-09-10T14:17:00.000-07:00

But i won't be staying in bed....

...I'll be running around in a hundred directions working working working. I'm stressed as hell and a mess, find myself crying and anxious about the smallest thing. I wish I could stay inside and let it rain in my heart.

(image via daisy pie and tea)

Kawaii!

2011-08-20T23:45:00.000-07:00

Honda's EV-N concept car by Kanna Sumiyoshi

via here

Heading off to study acupuncture for 10 days....

2011-08-20T01:07:00.000-07:00

bon iver "holocene"

Yes.

2011-08-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

Summer trip to Bourgogne

2011-08-17T01:43:00.000-07:00

inspired by Rinko Kawauchi

burgundy terrain

typical french b&b breakfast

whoa! tarts!
(we went to my cousin's wedding. This is from the brunch.)

vezelay

Lille

2011-08-08T03:02:00.001-07:00

This is the first time I've been to this part of France. I really liked the vieille ville (old city) part of Lille where buildings from the medieval period still stand and charm the city. Oh, and Charles de Gaulle grew up there.

i just like the title....

2011-08-03T11:21:00.000-07:00

Active Child - You Are All I See by FILTER Magazine

Ah! Summer....

2011-08-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

Blanca Gomez

Am I finally on holiday yet? No, not quite yet - we leave for Morvan forest in Bourgogne next week - but it sure feels like summer in France, where EVERYONE is on holiday. I'm helping out a friend who is doing research on an organization, EPODE, for National Geographic. However, little did he know that no one would be around for an interview. Poor guy. He came all this way....

The sun finally came out these past few days too:)

I'll take 10 please.

2011-07-30T05:14:00.000-07:00

Peanut Butter & Co.'s "Smooth Operator" peanut butter and a healthy dose of raspberry jam

I love imagination.

2011-07-30T03:50:00.000-07:00

The Life Cycle

by Darel Seow

Little Dragon!

2011-07-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

Little Dragon performs Ritual Union live at Glastonbury 2011. Check out this tight remix too:

LITTLE DRAGON "Ritual Union" (Tensnake Remix) SNIPPET by Tensnake

The US in China's pocket

2011-07-28T04:42:00.000-07:00

Yikes.

With the total debt of the United States at an astonishing $14.3 trillion and $4.5 trillion of that held by other countries, one wonders when those loans could possibly be payed, if ever. The folks over at Brass Magazine put together this sobering infographic detailing the plethora of nations that hold ownership of that debt… with China being the most prominent of those lenders.

US hegemony? That's all in the past now.

2011-07-27T04:24:00.000-07:00

At this rate, how does the US think they could continue playing a prominent role outside of its military postering? The quality of American education is embarrassing and when our teachers are underpaid, overworked, and taken for granted we continue the cycle of devaluation (see below). As for students, Sir Ken Robinson, a world-renowned education and creativity expert, sums up: "We're getting our children through education by anesthetizing them. We should be waking them up to what they have in themselves."

(just a small, albeit noteworthy, criticism about this doodler who clearly is a product of US education....The size of South America and Africa are grossly undersized, not to mention Australia. How is it that Greenland and S. America are the same size???)

Anne Vasko

2011-07-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

Part of my part-part-time jobs involves printing out coloring pages. These are fine examples of the kind of adult-lets-kid-come-out coloring pages.

It's summertime and I need to see an exhibit....

2011-07-25T01:30:00.000-07:00

Jane Evelyn Atwood is at la Maison Européen de la Photographie!

She is also going to speak there in September.

I also wrote about her here.

2011-07-25T00:35:00.000-07:00

Jai Paul - BTSTU (Edit) by Jai Paul

“Don’t fuck with me. Don’t fuck with me.” This is how new U.K. singer/songwriter Jai Paul begins his first song ever released, “BTSTU.”

Can you put your head around a trillion?

2011-07-24T00:41:00.001-07:00

Wait until you see what $114.5 Trillion looks like!

will it be schleck?

2011-07-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

(image via here)

If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.

2011-07-22T00:13:00.000-07:00

- Sir Ken Robinson

I want to get over my fear of rejection/failure and my perfectionist tendencies. I listened to Brené Brown and found myself being called out on my own resistance to being "wrong", to being vulnerable. But I also recognized myself in her - her wonderful sense of humor and her own struggle as well as the meaning of her beautiful message:

"We have to believe we are enough. When we work from a place that says I am enough, then we stop screaming and start listening. We're kinder to the people around us and we're kinder and gentler to ourselves."

Being whole-hearted:

a sense of courage (tell the story of who you are with your whole heart);

the compassion to be kind to ourselves and others; having connection as a result of authenticity - willing to let go of who you think you should be in order to be who you are.

Vulnerability - the willingness to say I love you first, the willingness to do something where there are no guarantees; to breath through waiting for the doctor to call after your mammogram; the willing to invest in a relationship that may or may not work out.

- to let ourselves be seen....deeply seen, vulnerably seen.
- to love with our whole heart, even if there is no guarantee.
- to practice gratitude and joy, in those moments...of terror, when we're wondering, Can I love you this much? Can believe in this as passsionately? Can i be this fierce about this? Just to able to stop and instead of catastrophizing what might happen just say i'm just so grateful because to be this vulnerable means I am alive.

"We live in a vulnerable world but we numb vulnerability. We are the most in-debt, obese, addicted, medicated adult cohort in US history. You cannot selectively numb emotion - we can't say, 'Here is the bad stuff: vulnerablity, grief, fear, shame, disappointment. I'm gonna have a couple of beers and a banana nut muffin. I don't want to feel these.' You can't numb those hard feelings without numbing other affects or emotions. So when we numb those, we numb joy, gratitude, happiness, and then we are miserable and we are looking for purpose and meaning and then we feel vulnerable and so we have a beer and a banana nut muffin....

"Another thing we do is we make everything that's uncertain, certain. The more afraid we are, the more vulnerable we are, the more afraid we are....there's just blame (a way to discharge pain and discomfort). "

be yourself no matter how wonderful you are.

2011-07-21T01:47:00.000-07:00

the sartorialist

miss moss

Photography Activism

2011-07-21T00:06:00.000-07:00

Kennard Phillipps

2005

Soldier #1

2006

kennardphillipps' Cafe of Equivalent$ sought to highlight the relative price of food in producer countries compared to consumer countries. A lunch food stall was set up in the City of London asking diners how much they thought they should pay for their food. For example, soup and bread in Mozambique for a worker earning $2 a day costs 20 cents, which is 10% of their daily wage. If this was applied to the earnings of the average bonus-earning-banker, soup and bread, they calculated, should cost £111.20. Which is what it was priced at on their stall.

"Playing around with the the concoction, fabrication of value in the global capitalist financial system, we engaged city workers with some simple truth derivatives during their lunchbreak, equating their salaried/bonus income with the cost of lunch for a worker in the producing countries ie Mozambique, Brazil, Indonesia, Bangladesh."

Break up songs and songs of old loves

2011-07-20T02:02:00.000-07:00

Gotye- Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra)

This American Life just featured the latest program on something we've all been through: "Break Up"

The wonderful Adele singing "Someone like you" live at the Brit Awards. She fights off the tears towards the end. It's so good and it's really about her ex.

You can add this one to my personal soundtrack

2011-07-18T12:08:00.001-07:00

Takeshi Kobayashi "Sight"

2011-07-16T00:54:00.000-07:00

For the past few years, I've been wondering more and more about the pH of our foods and how it impacts our health. Here is a clip that explains it very clearly. I've written out the key points below.

What is an acidic diet?

A diet that includes processed foods, animal proteins, soda, alcohol, coffee, high fructose corn syrup, fried food, sugar, artificial sweeteners. The more processed the food the more acidic it will be.

Beverages

beer
tea
soda
alcohol
beer

Animal products

ice cream
cheese
pork
chicken
fish
yoghurt
beef
lobster
shellfish
venison

To compensate for an acid forming diet the body uses alkaline forming minerals like

iodine
calcium
potassium
sodium
magnessium

What happens when your diet is too acidic?

Your body is constantly putting mechanism in place to maintain a balanced pH. As the blood becomes too acidic less than (7.3)...mechanisms kick in to bring the blood pH to about 7.4:

breathing rate increases exhaling carbon dioxide
kidneys increase the acidity of the urine
minerals begin to be leached out of the body.

By eating diets rich in acidic foods, consumers are forcing their bodies to leach out these precious/important minerals to neutralize the pH of your blood. Your body has built in mechanisms that keep it in balance. The trouble begins when the body has to work overtime to maintain balance - which is primarily due to overcomsumption of acid-forming foods and beverages and unhealthy stress (which increases acidity, i.e. cortisol).

Let's look at soda:

Tell it like it is Dr Seuss.

2011-07-14T02:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Birfday, Chyi and Tyan!!