Ken Ken Ramen opened a sister bento shop - SUIKA!
Come by! Hours during lunch - 11:30 to 2!!!
Daily bentos that change! Open some nights!
Explore!
3378 18th Street!
Help us catch a Bike Thief Crew!
Above are two frames from our security footage of a karmically screwed bike thief at work! The worst is that suspect look out riding with his styling bike.
That shirt in the 2nd frame helps identify the suspect!
Knowing anything? Recognize anyone? Let us know.
Lets see what we can do!
Herb Alpert: Oh, Miles Davis. I love Miles. Miles was the real thing.
Alec Baldwin: Why?
Herb Alpert: Well, because he was completely authentic. He was just playing the music that was coming out of him – no compromise. He understood space, the silence that happens between the notes. He understood that, and I think he was the key jazz musician of the 20th century…
Tahitian Farmer’s Markets are Sexy.
Ramboutans, Guavas, Breadfruit, Carambola, Oranges, Papayas, Sugarcane, Nape, Noni, Banana, Passion Fruit, lychees, mangos, watermelon, taro, manioc, yams, grapefruits…
Just saying these words brings sweetness to the mouth.
In Tahiti. Explore.
From the 1986 Edition of Yuhikaku English - Japanese Dictionary:
Ai-Ai Gasa - A man and a woman sharing an umbrella.
In fuedal times, men and women in intimate relations were not supposed to be closed together in public, to say nohting of linking arms or holding hands.
One of the rare occasions this was permissible was a rainy day when they could enjoy intimacy adn closeness by sharing an umbrella. Therefor, if a man offered an umbrella to a woman, it was very often interpreted as an implicit expression of his love for her.
Since then a man and a woman in love have been descrbed as asharing an umbrella. It has even become a part of the street graffiti of youngers. When a boy is in love with a girl and he is too shy to say so to her, he is tempted to draw a picture of ai-ai gasa to express his feeling. A mischievous friend of his could draw one either to ease him or to let his potential girlfriend know how he feels about her.
The Secret Life of our Trash Cans Revealed
We recently installed a new security camera watching over the street and our trash cans. We had to install this camera since we wanted to understand what was happening to our trash cans from last night.
Above are some screen shots from the security footage we thought people might find interesting.
Thank you Recology / DPW Street Cleaning for making our life a little bit easier.
Ikebana Design and Life Lessons
Ikebana (生け花, “living flowers”) is the Japanese art of flower arrangement, also known as kadō (華道, the “way of flowers”). Examples above.
Just as musicians inspire the world with their tunes, followers of ikebana inspire with their arrangements. Lessons hidden within these arrangements we can apply to our own work and to our own creative lives in or out of design:
Learn from nature - add the human touch.
Ikebana is born from the encounter of nature and humans; it is the coming together of nature and human life….a clear example of perfect harmony between man and nature….
Apply this to your own practice.
Share with others
To capture the natural beauty of the fields and hills - the various greens and colors of flowers and trees are released in the art of Ikebana. Share this with others, especially long awaited special guests. One meeting one life.
An intention of sharing provides an impulse for improvement and quality; the goal of sharing fuels one to try harder and to think clearly through all steps.
Space is to be used wisely.
In Ikebana the perception of beauty is largely based on space, especially space as it is found in nature. Space is a central component of design and space is seen not as something to fill in or to use up, but rather as an element to be created and preserved
Proper use of space allows the positive elements in the piece to form lines that are rhythmical and flow, engaging the viewer with the composition. An ikebana artist learns to leave room between the branches to allow the figurative “breeze” to pass through and rustle the branches, just as would occur in nature. Lack of space leads to clutter and disharmony. Space also invites for viewer inspiration. Always think about space in your own compositions and projects.
In formality there is freedom
Centuries of keen observations of nature by the ikebana masters has led to principals and formality in the arrangement and practice of ikebana. The formality and design rules provides a framework and launchpad for creative endeavors. Likewise in your endeavors structures and guides allow for a framework of expression.
Asymmetry is natural and beautiful
Balance can be found in asymmetrical design and is common in nature and biology.
Most of us are either right-handed or left-handed with either left brain or right brain dominant. Our internal organs do not perfectly match up. Asymmetry creates energy and tension, while symmetry is static and orderly.
The imperfection of asymmetry is natural, engaging and dynamic and provides the viewer with a feeling of movement in asymmetry. This feeling of movement is dynamic and exciting however be careful if done with haste it can look messy and / or confusing. Find a balance in asymmetrical design.
Simplicity is an end.
Careful arrangement of elements with solid strokes of design creates beauty and engagement without the need of extra decoration. While extra decoration can be an end itself, most ikebana and craft leads
Be with out time
The best designs have no fear of the passing of time. Calming the mind and the creation should attempt to lead to a design that is timeless and without age. Something difficult to achieve but one that will result in something immortal even if just for a moment.
Infinite Potential
Ikebana provides an infinite framework for expression. Accepting this infinity can lead to creative freedom and one that can be applied to any practice.
Slow down your busy mind.
Ikebana requires one to slow down. Arranging quickly and hastily without reason or rhyme will lead to damaged and imperfect creation. Clear your mind and tools for more thoughtful and peaceful creation.
“The manner in which elephants die was a secret Africans long guarded from the white man.”
The elephant is sacred and so is his death. Everything sacred is surrounded by an impenetrable mystery. What caused the elephant to be so admired was that he had no enemies in the animal world. No other beast could conquer him. He could die (in the past) only a natural death. It occurred usually at dusk, when the elephants came to water. They would stand at the edge of a lake or refer, reach out far with their trunks, and rink. But the day would come when a tired old elephant could no longer raise his trunk, and to drink clear water he would have to walk farther and farther out into the lake. His legs would sink into the much, deeper and deeper. The lake pulled him into its cavernous interior. He fought for a time, thrashed about, attempted to extricate himself from the bog and get back to the shore, but his own weight was so great and the pull of the lake’s bottom so paralyzing that finally the animal would lose its balance, fall and vanish under the water forever.
There on the bottoms of lakes are the age old elephant cemeteries.”
From The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski, accounts of a Polish journalist’s travels through Africa during the last 40 years. Highly recommended.
Tantric drawings from 17th century India
Yu Yamauchi: Dawn
To create “DAWN”, Yu Yamauchi lived on the summit of Mt. Fuji for almost five months straight four years in a row. During this time, almost 600 days, Yamauchi photographed the sunrise (“DAWN”) from this point nearly 3000m above sea level. The results of this effort are often spectacular: at times the photographs almost seem to show an alien world, full of brilliant yellows, searing oranges, and radiant blues. But this book is not just about showing a beautiful scenery which is far removed from our daily lives. By reaching a point as far away from the earth and as close to outer space as possible, Yamauchi asks the viewer to consider their own existence.
