Friday, October 06, 2006

Team Work

Hai, I finally came back to work in a team.
It makes me think of position.

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Organic Farm in Industrial Area of BKLYN

...I needed it. I don't know why exactly, or I may not need to know why, but I needed to work with soil and the people who love to work outside with soil, sun and seasons...

Theoretically, there is a hope. A hope of those who seek moderations for seemingly excessive current conditions of our commercially imperialistic social system the capitalism. For us as the transition generation, an awareness of and an actual practice about sustainable social development and urban agriculture has been rapidly increasing. More attentions are paid to healthy, environmentally friendly and safe consumer productions such as locally grown organic foods and high-tech solar panels. (Yet the ironic part of the reality is, for the most part, that one has to be able to afford these trends.)

A community based educational urban youth organization, Added Value has an urban organic farm in the middle of Red Hook, a heavy duty industrial area of Brooklyn. The physical space of the farm is huge, measured by my eyes, that it is the same as a full-sized soccer field. From a third to a half of this concrete paved field is covered by dark-colored rich top soil. On top of the soil, of course, there are a lot of seasonal vegetables, leafy veggies, and herbs the natural medicinal plants.

It was my third time to stop by this farm to contribute by me volunteering for them. In return, I get to continue learning about this specific culture. I am excited because I am no longer doing Hippie thing, I am actually supporting those who embody what I think cool and important. And how cool it is to farm organically in urban setting... means it may not be an attractive activity to farm in countryside.

Anyway, my jobs there so far are all physical works- wood work to build wooden compost piles boxes, setting up those boxes, and filling up one of the boxes with actual organic wastes. And I am enjoying these tasks.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

It's All Good

In NYC, sometimes it is worth and interesting to stop walking and head up to see what's above you. There are plenty of campaigns. Commercial, political, religious, all sort. The other day I was walking on a street in Midtown Manhattan, and I saw this. What this view of the photograph represents can be neither good nor bad, not even ironic or nothing skeptical... It is just, in my eyes, a well done visual presentation of complicated and intertwinned relationships of... inside head of humans... Tradition and liberation therefore intention and expression, identity and religion therefore belonging and security, power and moral therefore money and influence, anxiety and ease therefore depression and contentment... and so on and on... that anything what one may wants to relate to.

So, it's all good. Good for those follow the style. Good for those criticize them. Good for those indifferent. Good for those fight, for and against. Do what you want.
It's all good.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Exhibition


Please be informed that my photographs will be on exhibition. This is my first exhibition ever in my life. And I was told that this is a big deal, so I started to have that mentality, just get ready.

Opening Reception: May 3rd, 2006, Wednesday, 5-7pm, at Salena Gallery
Adress: 1 University Place, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Please come echeck out my photographs as well as enjoy other art mejor students' works.

Sunday, April 02, 2006

before da cherry blossom



Good evening. It's the first day of April, which means the start of an new year for all business and schools in my home country Japan. Also it is time for Hanami (celebrating cherry blossom party). People there are clebrating the cherry blossom everywhere, means alot of los borrachos (madly drunken people) are eveywhere in public. Hanami season is very fun time of a year.

These days ive been taking photos alot, means I hang out outside. It is so nice to feel the change of a seson. Here in brooklyn too, some street trees already started to open and it is simply muy nice. At the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, there will be the US version of Hanami parties and Im looking forward to enjoying it with my friends and schoolmates. Yeah, outside, sunshine, good foods and alchol, friends, and cherry blossom... so good to be alive.

The photograh pasted right here is a reflection of a tree on a surface of a goldfish pool. This tree too gonna have green leaves soon... and the fish continue to swim around.

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Senior Thesis


By the end of April, my school friends and I have to submit a written product called Senior Thesis. The most of my schoolmates are taking all the provided seminars. I was actually taking them but dropped all after a couple of weeks of attendance, so I am on my own. Being on my own means that I have to provide myself own courses for this very last semester. To be honest, I am pressured to make this photograph project as my last work of my university education.

I know what I need: a little bit of courage. I guess that's all I need. I realised that things are amazingly profound. I know I am lazy sometimes, it's ok. But laziness doesn't courage me. And I don't feel laziness when I am confident. Being confident is comfortable. I like it.

I have said that my project coming fluid. And some people take me seriously. Step by step, little by little, poco a poco... the courage.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Last Attempt as a Student


"Bienvenido al Mundo Real"... This would come true in this coming May. This means that I am finishing long dang schooling years I have enjoyed without wholly worrying about feeding myself. It is time to finish spoiling myself and start treating myself straight and realistically.

So, my very last semester in school, we the students are expected to provide a quality paper called "thesis" by the end of this coming April. What is the thesis anyway? I explain it... the thesis is another form of saying "prove your ego that is cool and 'right', so that other egotistic intellects can acknowledge you as an educated". So, what is my ego then?
My ego is still unclear in academia. But I know that my ego is desire: to want to be heard, seen, and loved. Even this blog is my ego. I write things away assuming and hoping that there are some ones out there checking me on. But wait, how am I going to present my ego as a thesis though?

Photographing some scenes in Brooklyn, continuing my previous studies of Global Youth Culture and Trends... sounds very serious and challenging. But I have to stand up for myself, telling myself that I can be good at what I do. It is this much foundamental, no.

Wish me good luck, matane-.

Friday, January 20, 2006

3 Hours in Vancouver... A Month Ago


Even though I have been hanging out in the Western hemisphere for years, I never paid attention to the north from the US.... right, it's not tropical, no palm trees and agua de pipa. So I never been to Canada before...

This time, it was acutually on 16th of January, on the way back to Brooklyn from a short visit to Japan, my flight was via Vancouver with Air Canada. I had about 3hours of connexion, I decided to hang out a bit in the town since I never been in Canada before. So, I was kind of hoping, out of these 3hours, how much of Canadian things, like culture, foods, people, anything about Canada I could taste.

I got out of the Vancouver airport and looked around, the city was far. I decided to take a bus to get to downtown Vancouver. I sat down on a bench at a bus stop and looked at my more than 5yrs old Casio G-Shock. I still had Japanese time on it. I needed to know Canadian time, so I asked a beautiful young lady sitting next to me what time it was. She gave me the right Canadian time.

We had a very short talk like a usual one with a curious stranger, like where I was from, what the purpose of visiting a place was, stuff like that. I told her it was my first time to be in Canada and wanted to check out the town a bit. She replied me sayng it was not really a good day to be in Vancouver since it was raining. On a sunny day, she said, Vancouver has surprisingly beautiful scenery. You see waterfront urban buildings surrounded by mountains, the Canadian mountains.

Anyway, so we were conversing a bit while waiting for a bus. Soon, a van stopped infront of us and she stood up. A guy came out and helped her carrying a bag. At this point, I finally knew what kind of person she was. She was a flight attendant of Air Canada and the guy was someone from thier office to pick her up.

Right before she got in the van, she looked back and said to me, "come with me. I will take you to downtown. You look honest." ...Yeah I tried to be honest but did I look like it? Well, she said so. Then, there was a seemingly her co-worker telling me "just say 'yes' and go with her". I had no moment to think what would be the right choice. The following moment, I was in the van with her. The pick up service driver dropped us off at their parking lot and we got in her a few yrs old BMW5 heading for downtown Vancouver. Que wow, no? It was very unexpected and/but exciting to meet interesting Canadian people.

She told me a bit about herself, her BF, her job, and Canada (how East coast and West coast of Canada are different from each other, like NY and LA).

...Whats my point? Bragging that I met a beautiful Canadian woman? Maybe so... But not entirely so...
I guess what I wante to write here was... Great! to meet someone who is not scared of meeting new people. This flight attendant, she could've been scared of knowing a new person who she just met, which is me. But her choice was to pick me up, totally a stranger, and share where she lives... good hospitality. And I appreciate her bravery.

Some people on this planet seem to be very scared, or too worried, about meeting new people and risk oneself to explore what one encounters, I guess. It's sad to see this unseen fear rules alot of people's behavior, pattern, mental block etc., like in NYC.
On the subway here in NYC, I dont catch almost no ones eyes... very weird... People seem to make great effort NOT look at no one... Doesn't sound like cool environment, no? But I understand, it is not comfortable to look at hundreds of thausands of strangers everyday. If you live in NYC, it is very easy to indifferent to others. For those who live in NYC, it may be clear and common not to look at no one...
But don't we really look at no one? I dont think so.

We look at people anyway, but we look away when the eyes of that person move towards you. This is when we feel fear, fear for unknown eyes. Because, I think, eyes are powerful. "Something unseen" behind of eyes are not only powerful but also mysterious. We, the "civilized people", often find ourselves trying to understand things that our logical brain functions attmpt to process... but there are unlimited things, both tangible and intangble, that we "sense". these things we feel are the key to ease your fear.

Believe in yourself, not your skills but your intuition, the small voice from deep inside.

Sunday, January 01, 2006

$100 Dinner


Good morning todo el mundo,

Last night, my friend, his Europen friends and I went out to an Italian restaurant in Williamsburg, seemingly a white neigborhood in Brooklyn. The restaurant was located in the middle of bodegas/warehouses area. We had nicely refined and presented foods and a few bottle of wines... I really enjoyed the beautiful presentation of the foods and unique taste that I could tell lots of ideas and efforts were in it (that's what I was missing in Latin America, greatly refined ideas and efforts in food). One girl from southern France kept lecturing the dishes and drinks in details while we were eating. After having a bit classy Italian style dishes, we all ended up with paying $100 dollars each... Que? What? Nani? $100 on a meal? That's 30 casados (lunches) in Costa Rica. Did I really spend 30 lunches on ONE dinner? I can't keep up with these European people.

So, it was kind of a surprising "welcome to the capital of capitalism". My friend parhaps felt bad for me, so he said "pay me $70 coz you didn't expect to pay this much". I accepted his considerate offer in exchange of cooking my version of Mexican or Japanese food for him and his GF. Yeah, at least for now, me as a student, this way of socializing more suits me... cooking and eating together, than being served.

But then, since I am in NYC, I want to learn some of apparently snobby European mentality and manners. Actually, I have never exposed to hard core Europen manners. (In Mexico, I once had an situation in which all the foods were served by a made, and I had to eat a leaf of a lettuce by a folk and a knife... what a nonsense manner)

My friend told us, "Talking about the food, French culture and Japanese culture are very similar in a way. They both are pround of own culture since it is highly refined". I guess it is true. But also, that is a sign that people from this kind of environment could possibly be blind because they are too pround of their own things. These culturally blind people may not able to appreciate others refinedness... since everything they judge is through their own filters.

My voice, "How can I bring these people's essential qualities together, to cultivate some sort of profound and collective consciousness?" It sounds like long way to go.