Japanistic/Blog

I know this looks like a giant meat cube, but this Rubiks cube is much more than that.

“This is a “musubi” type bento – inside the cube is tightly pressed boiled rice and in the centre of the rice is some chopped meat, cucumber and remoulade sauce. The cube of rice is then covered with nori seaweed sheets and decorated with coloured cheese squares.” (via)

Alas, I think I’d still have to take the “stickers” off and replace them to actually solve it.

I don’t have an iPad, but if I did, I think I might have to rock this Bento iPad cover. (Thanks Flowerpoop!)

New Binders, New Inserts, New Colors,The new Artemis A5 is here!

I am so excited that the new A5 pieces got here in time for back to school. I am completely addicted to the A5 series, and now, there’s more for me to love.

How do I use them? One binder filled with notebooks for each blog I write, and one binder with notebooks for the store, the websites, and general ideas. Amazingly, it really does help me stay organized.

Right now, I’m using the Red of these new Artemis Neon Binders. I love that it lets me open my binder flat, making it easier to write, and doesn’t get too dinged up in my bag.

I’m goofy about memories. I keep track of the movies I’ve seen, books I’ve loved, and the miscellaneous bits of life I want to remember. The Artemis Impression Journal is perfect for this.

There are also new colors in the A5 Ruled Notebooks, making it even easier to distinguish one book from another when they’re tucked in your binder.

Of course, we still have our other styles as well. Free Notebooks, Indexes, Weekly Planners, Recipe Keepers, the Astro Boy Series and more.

Still time to ship before school starts…

It seems only fitting that Japanistic pay tribute to the iconic work of late artist George Akimoto, whose estate was sold at auction this past weekend. Akimoto, who died at the age of 87, was responsible for some pretty incredible movie posters of the 1970s.(via)

Akimoto’s story is equally compelling. “His popular movie posters may have been outrageously campy, but for noted Stockton artist George Akimoto, camp had a more poignant meaning. Interned at the Stockton fairgrounds during World War II, and then sent to the relocation camp at Rohwer, Ark. - along with more than 8,000 Japanese Americans from San Joaquin County and the Los Angeles area - Akimoto made a name for himself drawing the cartoon “Lil Dan’l” for the Rohwer Outpost before moving on to a successful career in movie and commercial art.” (via)

“Even Akimoto’s reproduction prints sell for between $35 and $145. The estate sale is full of them, plus countless historical photographs - including Akimoto with many famous people - ephemera and even a print by famed aviation artist Keith Ferris, personally autographed to Akimoto.

‘One of Stockton’s native sons, through adversity of having to go through Rohwer, rose above such adversity and went on to have such a distinguished and productive life in the motion picture and aviation industries,’ Ed Ruhstaller said. ‘And when he retired, he chose to come back to his hometown.’

Other highlights of the sale include 1950s and ’60s modern/industrial and Lucite furniture, airplane memorabilia, photographs and camera equipment, medals, Orientalia and a variety of weapons, even a Samurai sword.

Akimoto’s series of internment camp comics were on display for the Stockton Buddhist Temple’s centennial celebration in 2006. His character, “Lil Dan’l,” became the mascot of the Rohwer camp and later anchored Akimoto’s book, “Lil Dan’l: One Year in a Relocation Center. 1943.” (via)

There’s no denying the, kickin’ power of his images. And of course, the Awesomeness! But really, it’s made all the more powerful by Akimoto’s own story.

Even the box is cute with this bit of retro VW Beetle magic. This tin car was made by Bandai in the 60s. And yes, it’s battery operated which means the motor and headlights work! Can I just have the grown-up version now? (via)

I love how big it is. I feel like Ralph S. Mouse should be driving it.

Crafty and useful is a combination I like. And I guess these apply, right? Japanese Folk Fabric Collages meant as desktop wallpaper. (And of course there’s more-you can change them up seasonally, or according to the holiday.)

School Day-for your back to school computer?

Answer to my little riddle? They don’t.

Let me explain. And okay, I guess I should clarify. Maybe I should say-Academics who consider themselves and are considered by others to be advocates of progressive political causes, frequently connected to issues of race and ethnicity, often do not say hello.

Almost every morning, I go running on the beautiful rail trail near my house. Sometimes with the dog, sometimes without, it’s one of my favorite parts of the day. There’s a group of us, really, who haunt the rail trail and see each other often. The former Football coach who I’ve seen walking on the trail for nearly 5 years. The two older women who bird watch. The nurse who runs after her night shift. We know each other, and while we don’t take a long time for conversation, we greet one another. We say hello. We smile.

Then, there’s her. A nationally known activist around issues of race relations, she teaches at one of the local colleges. She walks every morning with her muzzled dog. We’ve been introduced at a party. Her grandson and my son played soccer together. We have friends in common.

And yet, in all these years, not only does she not say hello, she doesn’t even look at me. Nothing. Not a smile. Not a nod. Okay, not true. One morning I was running with my dog, who was on leash and nowhere near hers, when she sniped “Get that dog away from me!” Nice, huh?

And she’s not the only one. There was my former neighbor, part of an academic family. For nearly 11 years, she knocked on my door every few months. No hello, just “sign this,” and a clipboard thrust at me.

She spoke to my husband and I only when there was an agenda, a protest to attend, or something she wanted us to donate to. Immigrant rights, Guantanamo, Local politics-these were the things that inspired her to reach out.

Otherwise, nothing. Well, with the exception of the time she said to me “The other neighbors have done such a nice job with their lawns. It’s a shame about yours.” (Keep in mind that at the time, we were renovating our house, had a 3-year-old, and had family who had just lost everything post-Katrina–something she might have known had she bothered to talk to us otherwise. The yard was not tops on our list.)

She passed away recently, and it may sound terrible to say it, but I had no inclination to attend her memorial service. Her obituary was long, documenting all of the activism she had done and the causes she had been involved with. While there are many things I would hope to have in my obituary, I’d really be content if it said, “She was kind to people and nice to her neighbors.”

Perhaps another example.

There’s the woman constantly festooned with buttons for one cause or another. Publically, she’s known for her work around issues of women’s equality, and support of progressive political candidates. Mysteriously, my name has landed on her mailing list for every political cause she is involved with, asking me for money frequently, and to attend this event or the other.

We have been introduced 6 or 7 times, attended some of the same parties, she shops in my store, and I know her children. Despite all of that, each time we see each other, she fails to recognize me, and cannot seem to say hello or even acknowledge me when we pass on the street. Other times, she is blatantly rude.

Let me explain why I find this so troubling, besides the obvious rudeness. To begin with, there is a fundamental disconnect between doing good-works for people and yet failing to treat the people in your own community with respect and kindness. I’m not asking for much. A simple hello will do. Am I crazy to think that it can’t be that hard?

In some ways, I think it’s because I don’t matter to these people. They don’t get Good Progressive points for saying hello to me.I don’t “count” in the same way as those poor unfortunates they are so good for helping. (Hope you’re catching the sarcasm there.)

But here’s my feeling-I think it undermines the very causes they are supporting. When my neighbor would come with yet another petition, my husband and I would roll our eyes. And that’s bad. She was supporting good things, most of the time things we agreed with. But because of how she approached us, or didn’t, it made us critical of everything and reluctant to be a part of anything she was affiliated with.

I also cannot help but wonder how these people are perceived in the very communities they claim to serve and support. Does their way of acting change in relation to who they are talking to? Do they seem less patronizing and caustic? Or, do the people they are “helping” roll their eyes too?

There is a couple who lives in the next town over, both academics. Both were involved in the Civil Rights Movement for years. They travel to various regions in Africa to do good works, they are part of the numerous protests that go on throughout our area, they “talk the talk.”

Recently, there was a contentious election in town. Arguments over the two main candidates were heated and it was divisive. This couple lives across the street from a family with a son who is their son’s best friend. And yet, because they did not share support of the same candidate, the couple would no longer speak to their neighbors. These were people who had fed their child, supported him at soccer games and in various best-friend ways throughout his childhood, and now didn’t count because of a difference of opinion over who should be Mayor!

They would not say hello on the street, and at one point, left an angry, vitriolic message on their neighbor’s voicemail, chastising their political choices and criticizing them for putting out a lawn sign.

Nothing about this makes sense to me. In our house, we teach our son to treat others with kindness. Yes, people make you angry and you will not and don’t have to like everyone. But, you must treat others with respect and more simply, have manners.

Is it a generational thing? I’m not sure, but most of these folks are older than me, 60s Generation radicals. At the same time, that doesn’t make sense to me because I know plenty of folks from that era who would be appalled at poor manners like these.

Maybe it’s a social skills issue. Or maybe it’s something else. I’m open to suggestion here. Any ideas?

At this point, when I pass that woman on the rail trail, I don’t even try. Instead, I look for my other buddies, knowing that I will check in with them, smile and nod, say hello, and enjoy my morning run.

I have the afternoon hungries, and these photos aren’t helping. From Anna Gleeson, these wonderful images from a book she got in Tokyo.

“this is a really beautiful book i found last time i was in tokyo. photos of people with photos of their lunch. makes me want to run away to find a life in the japanese countryside where there’s enough time and presence of mind to pack a beautiful lunch like this. the text seems to be about the people in the photos.” (via)

I find these photos intriguing not only for their food content, but because I can spend time imagining what these people do for a living. The woman in the orange jumpsuit? Or the man with a stick and white hood? All of them with lunches whose sophistication far surpasses anything I scarf down at midday.

Loving these Astro Boy posters, for band Up Dharma Down. The art is by artist JP Cuison. (Thanks Super Punch!)

I know I’ve been going a little crochet crazy lately. But Kokeshi Doll Jewelry boxes? Too cute for me to pass up.

The patterns from Handmade Kitty are more than I could feasibly take on, but maybe some of you are crafty enough for Little Red Riding Hood finger puppets.

Perhaps some Scottish Bagpipers?

A Dutch Doll, complete with clogs.

I also like the sweet little Sakura Blossom Bonsai.

Mice with a gramophone? How does she stand the cuteness! Aaarrggh!

I think perhaps I need to find a crochet instructor. Any tips?