Hello to all! I crocheted a tiny-ass Boba Fett as a gift. I don’t know who Boba Fett is, but everyone keeps telling me he’s a pretty cool bad guy! The only Star Wars movie I’ve ever seen was The Phantom Menace. My dad dragged my ass to it when it came out and I fell asleep in a theat...
This reminds me of lots of Baby Yodas I’ve seen everywhere. I need to stop at the craft store to try my hand out at making something along these lines with Evie, who would be a fun craft partner.
Also reminds me that I ought to finally get around to learning how to knit.
Atemochi with soy sauce syrup
Perhaps a bit late, but we made some mochi for Otsukimi (お月見), the Autum moon. They came out pretty well, though I’d make them a bit smaller next time for better texture.
The Fifty Principles of Sogetsu is a list of fifty most essential and fundamental points in learning Sogetsu Ikebana. You do not have to learn all of them by heart, but refer to them now and again.
For Beginners Beautiful flowers do not always make...
We definitely need more websites like this around.
Coming to you straight from the sushi chef's mouth, MUNCHIES presents the dos and don'ts of eating sushi, as taught by Tokyo's Naomichi Yasuda. Be warned: You've been doing it wrong. Just remember: It's okay to use your fingers to eat cut sushi rolls. Don't combine ginger and sushi, or ginger and soy sauce. Ginger is a palate cleanser in between bites. When dipping sushi into soy sauce, dip fish-side down. Never shake soy sauce off of sushi. That's like shaking your wanker in public.
I thought there might be some more subtlety here, but generally I’ve apparently been doing alright.
Award-winning author Naomi Hirahara shares the story of the resilience of Japanese Americans transitioning back to freedom and rebuilding their lives after internment as part of the La Pintoresca Associates 3rd annual fundraiser on Sunday, Oct. 21 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Pasadena Public Library’s La Pintoresca Branch, 1355 N. Raymond Ave.
Music from EPC Jazz Group, a performance by the Kodama Taiko drummers and a taste of Japanese, Italian and American foods will also be featured.
The event is free.
Kawaii (かわいい, pronounced [kaɰaiꜜi]; "lovable", "cute", or "adorable") is the culture of cuteness in Japan. It can refer to items, humans and nonhumans that are charming, vulnerable, shy and childlike. Examples include cute handwriting, certain genres of manga, and Hello Kitty.
Rilakkuma (リラックマ Rirakkuma) is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company San-X, created by former employee Aki Kondo. Companies such as Re-Ment have collaborated with San-X to create Rilakkuma merchandise. Rilakkuma appears on items such as stationery, dishware, backpacks, and stuffed animals. A Netflix original series based on this character titled Rilakkuma and Kaoru is slated to premiere globally in Spring 2019.
Directed by François Girard. With Michael Pitt, Keira Knightley, Kôji Yakusho, Sei Ashina.
The story of a married silkworm merchant-turned-smuggler in 19th century France traveling to Japan for his town's supply of silkworms after a disease wipes out their African supply. During his stay in Japan, he becomes obsessed with the concubine of a local baron.
It’s taken me 4 tries over nearly 8 months, but I’ve finally finished this. I worried about its almost painfully slow pace, but the gut punch in the final act was amazing.
Watched on widescreen television via DirecTV and cable.
The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
Marie Kondo
House & Home
Ten Speed Press
October 14, 2014
Kindle e-book
226
Presents a guide to cleaning and organizing a living space, discussing best methods for decluttering and the impact that an organized home can have on mood and physical and mental health.
I originally picked this up on April 18th when my brother Steve had asked me if I could track down a copy for him. Last week another friend mentioned it at brunch with her recommendation, so I thought I’d give it a shot.
Kondo does an excellent job of highlighting the most important parts of the book as she goes along, so it’s rather easy to skim back through the book for important parts.
The basic gist is to get rid of everything in one’s home that doesn’t “spark joy” when physically holding it. It’s not too dissimilar to the philosophy set forward by designer/artist William Morris who once said, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
Most of the book is devoted to some of the basic philosophy as well as recommendations about how to go about paring things down and storing them. In particular I found some of her ideas about folding things interesting and I was a bit surprised at how one can differently fold things to not only save space in drawers, but to also make them easier to see and choose.
I went so far as to watch some videos about how she folds:
This series of short videos and a few longer talks do a relatively good job of encapsulating the contents of the book.
An interesting thing I find in what I’m supposing is a translation from Japanese is that though the translation is strong, the flavor of the writer’s Japanese culture still burns through the philosophy and story of the work. To me these were some of the most interesting parts of her story.
If you tidy up in one shot, rather than little by little, you can dramatically change your mind-set.
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Tidying is just a tool, not the final destination. The true goal should be to establish the lifestyle you want most once your house has been put in order.
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Putting things away creates the illusion that the clutter problem has been solved. […] This is why tidying must start with discarding.
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…the space I live in is graced only with those things that speak to my heart.
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Finish discarding first
Start by discarding, all at once, intensely and completely
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The urge to point out someone else’s failure to tidy is usually a sign that you are neglecting to take care of your own space.
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In fact, that particular article of clothing has already completed its role in your life, and you are free to say, “Thank you for giving me joy when I bought you,” or “Thank you for teaching me what doesn’t suit me,” and let it go.
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To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose.
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Tidying by category works like magic
You may have wanted to read it when you bought it, but if you haven’t read it by now, the book’s purpose was to teach you that you didn’t need it.
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This is essentially sacrilege to me, but then again most all books give me a spark of joy.
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Storing your things to make your life shine
…storage “solutions” are really just prisons within which to bury possessions that spark no joy.
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Never pile things: vertical storage is the key
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Never hang on to them in the belief that you might use them someday.
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This is why I urge you to refrain from stocking up on things.
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TOKUMNOTE
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This is why I urge you to refrain from stocking up on things.
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She’s talking about socks/stockings here. Pun intended? 🙂
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When you treat your belongings well, they will always respond in kind. For this reason, I take time to ask myself occasionally whether the storage space I’ve set aside for them will make them happy. Storage, after all, is the sacred act of choosing a home for my belongings.
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The magic of tidying dramatically transforms your life
I truly believe that our possessions are even happier and more vibrant when we let them go than when we first get them.
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Guide to highlight colors
Yellow–general highlights and highlights which don’t fit under another category below Orange–Vocabulary word; interesting and/or rare word Green–Reference to read Blue–Interesting Quote Gray–Typography Problem Red–Example to work through
Coffin Boffin
Directed by François Girard. With Michael Pitt, Keira Knightley, Kôji Yakusho, Sei Ashina. 
