Support and Art

(Point-and-shoot camera Fujifilm X10)

I was impressed with the Bonseki demonstration performed by Ms. Midori Inomata, the wife of the Consul General of Japan, San Francisco. I didn't know this art form until she gave us lecture and demonstration.

Here is the Wikipedia page for Bonseki: Bonseki

I am sure she doesn't only study bonseki, but also other arts. I had a short chat with her. It is a honor to meet with wives like her whose husband is in the high rank in the society. They are sophisticated, intellectual, benevolent, charming, and very supportive to their husband.

She said it would usually take 3 to 4 hours to make one. Here is one of the bonseki pieces that she previously made.

- Yuki Hashimoto

The Arch at Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur...

(Nikon D700)

Location: Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, CA

Date: January 2012

Comments: Drove about a little more than two hours to just photograph this arch?! Nature landscape is okay...

- Yuki Hashimoto

Been through a lot...

(Compact camera Sony TX-5)

I'm not sure how old you are, but you must have been through a lot in life. We all have been. Isn't our mind just like this in the photo?

I have been taking photos of bathrooms... sometime soon I will make a collage from the photos.

- Yuki Hashimoto

Easier to add and harder to remove

(Nikon D3S)

I had chat with an industrial designer sometime ago. We were saying it was easier to add things to design and harder to remove. Isn't this true with a lot of other things including our home, daily activities, and life?

Where are you in your life? Adding or removing?

- Yuki Hashimoto

Persimmon Wine

(Fujifilm compact camera X10)

After making plum wine (see here) and guava wine (see here), I decided to take on a challenge to make persimmon wine. While getting almost demotivated by a few blogs that talked about the process of making it and how bad the result was (some of the bloggers threw it away), I cut the persimmons that I got from Sensei, and put it in a jar with crystalized sugar and shochu. Three months to wait.

- Yuki Hashimoto

No Need Bugs!

(Nikon D3S)

I am just speculating, but dandelions probably don't need bugs to disseminate seeds, but need wind. Nature is interesting. Some get help from birds to spread seeds. Some get help from bugs. Then, some flowers like dandelions just let wind carry the seeds away.

- Yuki Hashimoto

Backlit Angel

(Nikon D3S)

I saw this angel(?) pouring water over flowers backlit by the Sun and took a picture of it. Do I believe in angels? I prefer engineering and technologies...though it is nice to think they exist.

- Yuki Hashimoto

Being drawn to...

(Nikon D3S)

It is one of the photos that I have recently taken. I like how the sky is as opposed to the two buildings and the alley.

Guava Wine

( Sony compact camera TX-5 )

I got some organic guava from my Sensei's backyard and made some guava wine just like plum wine or umeshu (See my post on my umeshu). According to the instruction that I found online, I need to wait for three months. Actually one month has already passed. I tried it last night, and I found the taste of guava a bit too strong. I will see how it will turn out in two more months.

- Yuki Hashimoto

Cats Rule!

(Nikon D3S)

At least they think they rule, and that's what it is...

How to Test Your Assumptions

( iPhone 4S camera )

We always test our assumptions if they could lead us to great benefits upon success or great loss upon failure. We don't want to just execute our assumptions all the way. We first try a bit.

This event was held at the end of October 2011 with Vinod Khosla presented by Microsoft and 106 Miles. He was challenging one of the selected six start-ups on the stage.

He kept asking how to test their assumptions.

- Yuki Hashimoto

A little bit...

(A point-and-shoot camera, Sony TX-5)

We always hope for plentiful everything; plentiful food, plentiful space, plentiful money... Zen, by the way I understand, leads us to the other way. When we have plentiful food, we don't appreciate it; we mass-produce food and we even waste it.

The Way of Tea was started by a Zen priest. A little bit of green tea after a little bit of sweets hopefully help people realize the importance of appreciation.

- Yuki Hashimoto