Ella ja Aleksi – Yöjuna Rovaniemelle

This is something I happened upon many months ago, but still think of on occasion due to its absolute awesome adorable-ness. Why can't I dance like that?

Ella ja Aleksi are a Finnish duo of children who have an album out, but this is the only video (last I checked).

Della Storm

What a name! "Lewinsville, Virgina., circa 1910. A younger member of the Storm clan."

If you have yet to visit, or know of, Shorpy and you are intrigued by vintage images, their historic photo archives are a must see...or, if you want to be lazy about it, just add Shorpy to your feed reader and have images delivered to you regularly. I never get tired of the glimpses at our past - in high-resolution, no less. In my experience, it's really easy to search for specific themes, just so ya know.

watch it now!

Glorious psychedelic use of puppetry, animation, and stop-motion made by a collaborative of designers, directors, animators and musicians.

Pssst...The End from Buck on Vimeo.

most papercut pieces are intricate, but....

...the ones created by Bovey Lee are amazing! Like, knock you over "these must have been produced with a laser" amazing. But no, each one is hand cut out of Chinese rice paper.

shop update!

Finally got vintage finds from Japan in the shop, plus a few other new listings. More to come very soon!

the toothy-smile world of Camellie

Even the welcome page on her website brings a smile to my face.

She also has a shop for her prints, but note that the prices are in GBP.

illustrations from Jeff Kulak

Jeff has done some work for Uppercase & See Magazines in addition to a slew of others. In addition to his work work, he also has a section of play work on his site. I especially enjoy the colors he chooses.

Kate MacDowell

Often I admire ceramic works for their practical loveliness, but Kate MacDowell exposes a new appreciation. Peek inside her portfolio for pristine, lifelike porcelain creations juxtaposing the natural and the surreal.

found on Sub-Studio

Know Hope

Finding this new installation, Take at Least This Burden From Me, by Know Hope on My Love For You is a Stampede of Horses made my day. It's street art I'd feel overjoyed to stumble upon in the wilds of Tel Aviv.

Save the (Integrity of the) Trees

Furniture designs in Fragments of Nature by Lex Pott mix traditional elements with the original tree structures. Not a shabby graduation project. Not at all.

found via Design Milk

Dirt Poster

Oooooh, Roland Tiangco you've got some creative juices flowing and I like it.

Thanks to Sir Mike of Mitchell

Engrish time!

While in Japan I took lots of photos of examples of Engrish, but here are a few favorites:

rolling sushi = super happy fun time!

Our one night in Kyoto held lots of fun and surprises, including Taiko Drum Master and the sundae joint mentioned in my last post, but my favorite part was dinner at a rolling sushi restaurant. I don't know the name, but it was cheap (about $1 per plate), delicious and way fun.

Japanese drinks & foodstuffs!

Words to describe food we enjoyed in Japan: interesting, delicious, cheap, colorful, enormous, and exciting.  Drink-wise, I will tell you it is downright difficult to find a 'real' cup of coffee. If you want it in a can out of a vending machine, hot or cold, no problem. If you want a "cafe latte" comprised of pre-brewed coffee poured out of a jug sitting in the refrigerator then mixed with milk and microwaved - also, no problem. But also, not delicious.

What is delicious in the Japanese drink-world, though, is a sowa. Remon sowa, raimu sowa - tasty! In case it wasn't obvious, that was lemon sour and lime sour...there are other flavors as well, but I'm a fan of citrus-y alcoholic drinks. The sour is made with shōchū, which is distilled from either barley, sweet potatoes or rice and often (but not always) tastes similar to vodka. In short, it's delicious and the sours are just that - not overly sweetened like American citrus drinks.

In my hunt for a good cappuccino one afternoon, I purchased this pastry as a companion snack and was pleasantly surprised at the questionable chunk in the center....it was sweet potato, and it was yummy. The coffee was so-so.

A newfound favorite of mine is okonomiyaki, which is sometimes referred to as a "Japanese pancake" or "Japanese pizza" but is neither. Rather than explain every detail of it, I'll just say there are two styles - Hiroshima and Osaka - and the difference is basically the presence of noodles and whether the ingredients are layered or mixed together. Having spent most of our time just outside Hiroshima, I only tried their way.

Okay, for real this time.

Well, well. I know I said I was back before, but now I mean it.  There have been lots of distractions, some fun, some rather serious and irritating.  Nevertheless, I'm excited for 2010 and all that could be.

Jumping back into my recount of Japan, here's a healthy handful of more city views.

in Kyoto, taken as we walked from shrine to shrine

back in Tokyo, from our hotel room

not the best vantage, but this is looking down a main drag in Harajuku

momentarily lost in Tokyo, trying to find an ATM that accepts international cards

The best is yet to come...Engrish! food! random sightings of awesomeness! Stay tuned.