:: My Urban Eyes ::
All that I see, and then some.
:: Monday, November 20, 2006 ::
A New Yorker Thanksgiving
Cartoonist Chris Ware did four New Yorker covers for their Thanksgiving issue, and they rock. I'm having a hard time deciding which one I want to arrive in my mailbox! I especially love that characters show up on more than one cover, and that seeing all four provides a more complete story. To see what I mean check them all out (in high res, yea!) here.update: [11.22.06] I got the cover pictured here, go fig, hehe. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Labels: Media
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 7:02 PM [+] ::
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:: Friday, November 17, 2006 ::
Konnichiwa, pasokon desu.
I'm a big fan of the "I'm a PC/I'm a Mac" ads... and they've finally come to Japan! The cultural differences are funny--the PC dude is a "salary man", and the Mac dude uses slightly less formal Japanese. The acting isn't as good as in the American version, though. :/ Here's my favorite vid, followed by a translation by yours truly:
Mac: Hi there, I'm a Mac.
PC: Hello, I'm a PC.
Mac: Ah, an iPod. What'cha listening to?
PC: Some Eurobeat.
Mac: Eurobeat?
PC: Isn't iPod great? iTunes is easy to use, and podcasts are fun, too.
Mac: Well, a Mac is just as simple for stuff like photos and movies, since it uses iLife.
PC: iLife, eh? Well, I have some pretty cool software, too.
Mac: Ahh, like what?
PC: A calculator.
Mac: ...anything else?
PC: A clock!
edit [6.18pm]: Here's the original ad in English. ^_^
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 5:54 PM [+] ::
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:: Thursday, November 16, 2006 ::
Coffee's Hidden Dangers
Being a barista is a lot of things I thought it would be--busy, fun, hard, an opportunity to meet and talk with lots of people. There are some pros and cons I never dreamed of, and wasn't warned about, either.Pro: Boost in short-term memory. Small victories are when a customer rattles off their drink in a non-standard order, and I repeat it back in the correct order without forgetting anything. A bigger victory is when an unclaimed drink has been sitting on the bar . "What is this drink?", a customer asks. Without looking--"ah, that's a grande decaf two pump sugar free vanilla extra hot no foam latte for Pat." I feel so good when I get it right. ^_^
Con: Damage to hands. The sleeves we put on cups tear up cuticles something awful. I didn't know my cuticles were nice until some turned bad! Oh, well.
Back to memory--while my short-term memory may be improving, my longer term memory is still shot. I remember our most regular of regulars--a name or a drink, but rarely both. Our new assistant manager is insane--he's only been working at my store for a few weeks but he already knows all of the regulars and their drinks, and some semi-regulars as well. I'm in awe.
This weekend Mark's work is having some parties--it's going to be a blast! One's a cowboy costume party, so tomorrow I'm going out to buy a fitting hat. ^_^
image credit: Julius Schorzman
Labels: Work
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 10:55 PM [+] ::
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:: Monday, November 13, 2006 ::
It's Raining in San Francisco
It's the perfect day to curl up with a blanket, sip a cup of tea, listen to mellow piano based music (so far: Ben Folds Five - Brick, Annie Lennox - No More I Love Yous; upcoming: Vince Guaraldi Trio - various), and look out the window thinking, "glad I'm not out there".
If you haven't guessed, this is exactly what I'm doing. ^_^
Labels: Life
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 1:38 PM [+] ::
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:: Friday, November 10, 2006 ::
Ceramic Goodies
I just realized I never posted the pictures of my work from the second semester of ceramics class... so I'm gonna fix that! ^_^
Plate, white clay, dripping shirohagi over black (OF), W.19.5cm H.2cm.
I made a dinner set using this design--four dinner plates, two dessert plates, four sushi plates, a saucer-like plate, a bowl and several cups. Fell in love with the look of it. ^_^
Bowls, white clay, slip decoration, sekkai (OF), W.14cm H.5.9cm.
I use these whenever I have cereal--the perfect size! Sensei and I joked that they are setto-ppoi, or "a set... ish". A good potter can make bowls very similar in shape and size, a master potter can make perfect copies. I on the other hand make stuff that's bascially a set, but doesn't stand up to scrutiny.
Jar, white clay, inside - shirohagi, outside - spraying kurotenmoku and shirohagi separately (RF), W.10cm H.11cm.
Bowl, red clay, pouring haiseiji inside after dipping irabo (RF), W.12.5cm H.8.2cm.
This bowl, destined for large servings of soup, broke en route to America. -_- All in all I lost one large rectangle plate and three bowls of various sizes... not too bad considering how much I sent back, but sad none the less. I took my most prized pieces--the dinner set, a teapot made by Sensei, and others, in my carry on.
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 6:11 PM [+] ::
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Of Bats and Sleep
I just heard this on This American Life's Halloween episode. All of the stories for this show are not only scary, but real to boot. Carbon monoxide poisioning making a family think their house is haunted. A monster that has escaped from the insane asylum. And this, from a story about attacking, rabid raccoons:...which brings me to a quick public service announcement. A bat can bite you in your sleep without you even knowing it, and without leaving a mark. So if you find one in a room with a sleeping person, you have to catch it and have it tested [for rabies]. And if you can't catch it you should go to a doctor.
I'm serious. I learned about this, it freaked me out, and now I want to tell people.
Not only is it scary, but it's also factual, informative, well-written and well-presented: damn fine radio.
image credit: University of Missouri
Labels: Radio
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 5:19 PM [+] ::
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:: Thursday, November 09, 2006 ::
Blogger Beta
It's neat because I finally get tags, like a real blogger. But my archives seem to have disappeared off of the sidebar. Not cool. Working on a fix for it at the moment, we'll see how it goes.
Update: [2.40pm] Fixed! Yea knowing a tiny bit of html!
Labels: Media
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 2:04 PM [+] ::
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:: Tuesday, November 07, 2006 ::
Numbers Rolling In
The best way to watch the returns--highly visual news network on the tv, NPR out of the stereo. Great information and eye candy all together--perfect. ^_^
Labels: Democracy
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 6:25 PM [+] ::
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:: Sunday, November 05, 2006 ::
Random Remembrance, Plus
- There are no unit prices in Japanese supermarkets. So when you're trying to decide if the jumbo size is really worth it you're left to your mental math or cell phone calculator. Added difficulty--in US it's a given that you'll save money if you buy the gargantuan box of cereal, but that's not always the case in Japan. A six pack of soda costs the same as six single sodas. It makes the unit price more important, and it's lack more glaring.
Other randomness:
I just clipped my nails--it's like an instant +5 for tasks like typing or using my electronic dictionary. Instant ease! It also ups my typing speed--I feel like I'm flying right now!
Mark bought the new Final Fantasy and is loving it. It's neat because I get to watch, ask questions, and enjoy the storyline, but he does all of the fighting/grinding/leveling. -_^
I hope everyone who is eligible votes on Tuesday, if you haven't already! I just watched the HBO documentary on Dibold voting machines, and how easily they are hacked... I might vote absentee next year, just to be safe.
Today I fiddled around, crocheting and knitting some cup sleeves (the cardboard ring that protects your fingers from the heat of your drink). I don't have an actual Starbucks cup here to test it on, so I eyed the size from memory. I get to test them out tomorrow... we'll see how it goes.
I open tomorrow, but I don't want to go to sleep now. It's my day off, I want to enjoy as much of it as possible! The reality of waking up at 3:30 am is fast approaching, though. Boo.
:: Kazen @ Always Doing 10:49 PM [+] ::
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