Remembering the people that left

I stopped writing in this blog when my father-in-law passed away. I felt like the blog had no more meaning if he and his wife were not reading it. Now I am facing another death with a close friend and I would like to talk about 2 great ways to remember the people we love and that are no longer with us:

Home shrine

I love it when in most Japanese houses I visited, there was a little shrine like the one in the image with a photo of the ancestors that passed away, and how people would go every day to pray a little bit to/for that person. The shrine was always on a room that was visible to everybody that was going in and out of the house. All guests would see it. Sometimes we don’t feel comfortable remembering too much that death is around the corner or that death is present in our day lives, but the Japanese seem to have it very present. If you have more information about other Asian cultures having similar shrines at home, let me know.
The home shrine is very comforting for the ones who stay because with it we feel the company and protection of the ones that left. If is also a sign of respect and it comes to say that we don’t forget those people who were so important for us.

Celebration

Recently a friend of mine told me he had been invited to a party to celebrate the 4^th anniversary of his friend’s mom death. The person preparing the party wanted to remember her mom and how great she was, and she wanted to share that joy, grieve and memorial with her friends. A celebration based on her mother, where she wanted to talk about her mother, who she was, what she was like, and why she was important to her. This would seem like a normal memorial celebration if it wasn’t for the fact that none of the people invited knew her mother! She was in a foreign country and wanted to share that with her new friends. A great way of remembering a great lady! It seems obvious, right? Why aren't there more of these? Why haven't I ever been invited to one? I think we should have more gathering to remember our ancestors and the people that we love and are no longer with us.

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10 influences

I am taking a Coursera class and they ask us our 10 most important influences, motors, builders and destroyers in my life. Here we go:

Tintin:

http://us.tintin.com/
The possibility to explore the world

Dr Slump anime:

From Arale I take the colours, the absurdity and the happiness.

Gilda:

From Gilda I take the capacity to dare to be different.

Jana Sterbak

http://www.janasterbak.com/

From her I take the boldness and the possibility of uglyness

Born to run:

I take the strenght to GO

Mies van der Rohe:

http://www.archdaily.com/59816/ad-classics-iit-master-plan-and-buildings-mies-van-der-rohe/
My notion of beauty

Jaume Plensa

http://jaumeplensa.com/
Power from the calm

Miquel Barceló

How it is important to know one's nature and explore it so things come easier.

Maus by Art Spiegelman:

I haven't been able to put my jaw back in place since I read it.

South East Asia:

And how they make things look pretty.

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Light Parade in Sioux Falls

A year and a half ago I posted some photos under the name Feliz Wesak explaining our experience in a parade in Melaka, Malaysia. Yesterday I had a very similar experience but this time in Sioux Falls.

Wesak was a religious parade, full of budas and budhist symbols. The lights parade in Sioux Falls had no budas but in stead it had:

* A couple of Religious related floats (Christian).

*Most of the floats where businesses, from a local furniture store to a hospital. Some adore Budha, others use parades to get closer to their comunity. Nothing wrong with that!

Local Radio Station

*Dances, here the cheerleaders make little human castles and in Melaka the chinese community was dancing with dragons make of paper and baloons:

*Pet associations with really funny dressed dogs:

*Local high school playing drums (similar to the ones in Melaka but not dressed as well)

*Fireman 

*Political: The mayor and the governor

The mayor of Sioux Falls, SD

*Association asking for a public covered swimmingpool

*The hot air baloon association was the one that had the best idea, with the fire for the baloons they would make the air really warm!

*Something curious to me were the painted snow plows!

This is half of the front of a snow plow, cool uh?

*The public was devoted in both places, in Malaysia there was a lot of people that felt like that moment was sacred and they had put a lot of effort into that parade. In Sioux Falls people where devoted because it was freezing cold and they were there with their blankets, hats, gloves and chairs.

Devoted parade lovers

Thank you to the organizers of both parades!! I love parades!!

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Surprising illustrations by Scott McKowen for 1602

I am currently taking a Coursera.org course on Comic Books and Graphic Novels so I took advantage of the opportunity and I thought I would treat myself to some Neil Gaiman. The surprise of the book where the covers by Scott McKowen, an illustrator that I had seen in the New Yorker but not payed much attention to. Here's some of the covers and I totally recommend reading 1602, for Marvel fans and non-fans too. :-)

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Presents

When you least expect it, life gives you a present. Today it was in the shape of ceramic pieces.
I went to see the author of the only pieces that decorate my life Yoko Kataoka and as guests she had a great couple. Tom and Kanoko were there after finishing an exhibition of Tom's pieces in the Akashi Gallery in Barcelona and as a present they brought 2 small and beautiful ceramic pieces.

Why did I like them so much?

• Their faces where very abstract and because of that they were very powerful. You know when undefined sculpture is extremely touching? Exactly like that!
• Expressive bodies. You couldn't see their facial expressions but their body was speaking so much!
• Strokes: you could see the strokes that they are made of, not too much, not too little, just enough to help the sculpture more communicative.
• Colour of the pieces. They had colour and then a black patina. Here you can find more information about his technique.
• Posture: Tom tells us that they are admiring a fireworks show that took place in 2011 as a display of solidarity with the survivors of the earthquake and tsunami. You can read more about it in the gallery's page. But like in all art pieces, it is good to know what the artist was thinking but it is not the only way to read the piece. In this case the pieces talked to me about wondering, about stopping time, about slowing down, about enjoying, about being amazed,... so many things!
• Size: I wouldn't mind to see them bigger but I can see how they might loose some effect if they are bigger. Maybe they will go Juan Muñoz's size and everybody will admire them!

Tomorrow if I think about them they will probably tell me more things, but this is all I got today! You can find more info in Tom's webpage.

Sorry about the photo, it doesn't show the power of the sculptures, if I find a better one I will post it! 

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How much do you know about salt water fish?

We know that it is good for us to eat fish but how much do we know about the fish we eat?  

During my stay in Palamós (Spain) I have been able to go twice to Espai del Peix, a museum where the information panels are not on the walls but on tables that are also used as eating tables where you can sit down and enjoy some of their yummy show-cookings. As a fisherman's town, Palamós wants to preserve their most precious treasure: fish.

Their main goal is to educate about fish. Espai del Peix (Fish place) focuses in teaching people about the types of fish that are not very well known and that are as good as the rest, they teach us how to cook them, their characteristics, their substitutes and some other fun facts.

Some of my friends try to eat only the vegetables that are in season, because they taste better and to save the environment little by little with responsible actions. A lot of times, what is good for the environment, it is also good for our pocket and good for our health, so here's a list of the different fishes that you can find in the mediterranean sea by month. If you buy fresh fish when they are in season, you will do good to the ecosystem, save money and you will have a varied diet:

Remember you can also buy them when they are in season, freeze them and enjoy them throught the year!

If you find calendars of the Atlantic, Pacific and other seas I will gladly post them.

Bon appétit!

For the ones that speak catalan, here's a list of the recipes.

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Kid soldiers

Today I came across this photo taken in Somalia. What do I see in it?

• Curiosity
• Need to be recognized/liked
• Adult showing his reality to a kid.
• No fear of guns.
• The reality a lof a lot of children that are used for different military groups all around the globe. Take a look at the list of countries in this wikipedia entry, you will be surprised.
• An apperantly innocent photo taken in a country where 200.000 kids have carried arms or have been recruited in the country's militias against their will during the last 12 years.
• Need to stop making devices to kill other humans.
• Images by J. Gettleman. Here's a story of the image
• A fact that leads to other images, this time not so happy looking:

Kids carrying guns for a US ally

What do you see?

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Great US History Crash Course: Natives and Spaniards

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Do we exercise freedom?

According to Wikipedia, free will is the ability of agents to make choices unconstrained by certain factors. Factors of historical concern have included metaphysical constraints (for example, logical, nomological, or theological determinism), physical constraints (for example, chains or imprisonment), social constraints (for example, threat of punishment or censure, or structural constraints), and mental constraints (for example, compulsions or phobias, neurological disorders, or genetic predispositions).

We can say in general terms that our societies have freedom of action, freedom to do things and freedom of will, freedom to like things, freedom to have phobias, freedom to be whatever we want to be and feel what we want. But how many of us exercise this freedom completely? How many of us take time to think who we are/what we do/the repercusion of our actions and ask ourselves if we like what we see? If we don't do this last step where we can analize what we are and change what we don't like, are we really exercising freedom?

by Genis Carreras

Some will say "yes, you choose not to do something, that is exercising your freedom", I agree but how many of us make this decision in a conscious way? And how many just go with the flow and complain about our lifes and victimize ourselves?

I am not talking about succeding, just asking ourselves how we can be better, trying to change what we want to modify and therefore exercising the ultimate freedom of will, even if we fail on the attemp. Also about beeing responsable for what we do and who we are, but I guess that is another topic :-)

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Where is the chocolate?

Yesterday I wanted to make one of my favourite desserts ever: toasted bread, olive oil, salt and chocolate on top. I went to the store I was expecting to find a huge variety of chocolates, but to my surprise there were only 3 kinds of chocolate bars!

• Lindt 70% 
• Hersheys
• Symphony bar

Should I complain? 

No, they had 1 variety of dark chocolate and 1 variety of milk chocolate and a thing they can no longer call chocolate but that it resembles the taste aka Hershey. So there was enough to make everybody happy. No reason to complain.

Loosing the essence

What made me sad was to see that the rest of the products that occupied a space of around 3mx2m where products with chocolate in them like goji berries coated with dark chocolate, chocolate bars, chocolate cups, chocolate balls, rice in chocolate and other chocolate variations, but as far as pure chocolate they only had 3 that took probably 1% of the shelf space.


It made me sad because I thought that we are forgetting the essence of things and because probably nobody buys chocolate bars anymore, we prefer the products that make the mix for us and sell us the total experience instead of letting us combine the chocolate with other things and letting us imagine/play with one of the most delicious things that exist.

Here's the recipie for Bread with chocolate and Olive oil, :-D

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Yoko en la Akashi Gallery (Barcelona)

La Yoko ens convida a la seva propera exposició "Els Habitants del Bosc" que tindrà lloc @ Akashi Gallery (c/Rosselló 197, Barcelona T93.125.08.77) i que romandrà oberta del 21 del maig fins el 9 de juny.

Akashi Gallery és un espai molt bonic i cómode d'estil japonés on, entre altres coses podeu gaudir de té japones de qualitat. És un lloc ideal per estar tranquil al cor de la ciutat.

El dimarts 21 de maig serà l'inauguració:

a les 19h Inauguració de l'exposició i lectura de poesia de Kenji Miyazawa (gratuït) 

a les 21h Sopar Menú del Bosc, a carrec de Toshie Nagashima

Cuina Macrobiotica apta per a vegetarians, la meva amiga japonesa prepararà el sopar amb collita del seu hort ecològic, sentireu l'aire net del bosc per dins. Places limitades, cal fer reserva prèvia (20 euros per persona).

Hi ha +info actualitzada amb més detalls @ la web oficial: http://elshabitantsdelbosc.carbonmade.com

I també al facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/152407854931944/

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Yoko nos invita a su próxima exposición "Los Habitantes del Bosque" que tendrá lugar @ Akashi Gallery (c/ Rosselló 197, Barcelona T93.125.08.77) y que estarà abierta a partir del 21 de mayo y hasta el 9 de junio.

Akashi Gallery es un espacio muy bonito y cómodo de estilo japonés donde, entre otras cosas podreis disfrutar de té japones de primera calidad. Es un lugar ideal para estar tranquilo en el corazón de la ciudad.

El martes 21 de mayo van a hacer la inauguración:

a las 19h Inauguración de la exposición y lectura de poesía de Kenji Miyazawa (gratuito)

a las 21h Cena Menú del Bosque, a cargo de Toshie Nagashima

Cocina macrobiótica apta para vegetarianos, mi amiga japonesa preparará la cena con cosecha de su huerto ecológico, podreis sentir el aire limpio del bosque por dentro. Plazas limitadas, se necesita reserva previa (20 euros por persona).

Hay + info actualizada con más detalles @ la web oficial: http://elshabitantsdelbosc.carbonmade.com

Y también en facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/152407854931944

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For information in English, please visit Yoko's blog: http://koko-yoko.blogspot.com

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Batuan Art

Gusti Putu Sana

I never made it to Bali, but in the flight back from Asia I found this extremely interesting art form: Batuan Art. Here's some reasons why I like Batuan Art:

• It is a little bit like "Where's Wally?" so it is really fun to look at.

• It reminds me of El Bosco in the sense that people in these painings do weird things to my eurocentric eyes.

Sakenan temple and the sea from I. Dewa Nyoman Purwa

Ida Bagus Dupem - Traditional Bali

• Because Bali has been receiving western influence for a long time (think of Gauguin) and it seems that like in most cultures the painings evolved depending on what the rich mentors liked, in this case, European mentors. That mix of bali culture + mentor + wanting to be liked made some really funny art.

I Wayan Bendi paints "Diana Spencer"

• Primitive look: but a totally fake primitive look. Really funny and sympa!

Ida Bagus Rai paints "Beached Whale"

 Here's a fantastic guide to Batuan Art.

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Cut the bullshit and disobey

People in Luxembourg say “I don’t like being here but I have to” because they want the money. My friend that works at a bank says “I don’t like stealing from people, but I have to” because she needs her salary. My friend who is an auditor says “I don’t want to be in this industry, but I have to” because he doesn’t know better. And some soldiers say “I don’t want to be in a war, but I have to” because they told them to follow orders. 

You know what? The only people that have to do something are the people with no other option like kid soldiers or really poor people. I also understand doing something taht you don't want to do for a short period of time while you find an alternative, but for years, no... sorry, I don't buy into that. All these people have a choice and they are just choosing the most comfortable option for them. So I thell you, stop the bullshit, do yourself a favor, believe in yourself and find an alternative. Be responsible for your actions, I will do my best to help you.

Here’s some people, some anonymous, some famous that understood the importance of their actions:

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The Voice, a show I love!

Reality shows tend to be very cruel to people, since Simon Fuller and his American Idol, these shows have been humiliating singers, cooks, parents,,, even animals! Now we have a show that is 100% positive: The Voice this is why I love the show:

• There are no judges, there are coaches. 
• The coaches help the want-to-be-singers to get better.
• The singers have a saying when they get to choose a coach.
• You see how people improve.
• The coaches are professional, respectful people.
• There are no insults.
• No yelling.
• No bad moods.
• No humiliation.

It is a 100% positive, constructive and human. I love it! 

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Thank you dear husband!

Fortunately there is no rule about the Facebook status updates, but recently I have noticied that some of my facebook friends post really weird things, here's some examples:

• Ridiculous. Myself, today I was looking for a friend in Facebook that died some years ago to thank him for recommending me to read a book. What was I thinking? Who was that status update for?
• For his memory, so I don't forget him? if that is the case, why don't I just write him an email? Or think about him in silence? Or free some birds? Light up a candle?
• For our common friends:
• So I make them remember that he died?
• So they all know that I am a really nice person and I don't forget him?
• So they all know what I am reading and we can talk about the book
• For myself? But why?

• Another funny example: "Thank you dear husband for this fantastic 2 years, happy anniversary to us!" Her husband has never been on Facebook and never will. Who does she write this message for? Why does she write "happy anniversary to us!" if he is not on Facebook? It is like if she went inside the bathroom and said "Happy aniversary!!" but nobody was there to hear her. Nobody? Well, her 878 "friends". 

Facebook sounds like the new church, a place where we go to be seen by our neighbours, so everybody in the community knows that we are good believers and that we are there like everybody else.

It also sounds like a lot of unnecessary noise. I'd better shut up, I have almost erased my account to many times but I still cannot do it.

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Thoughts about Asia reminding me of my childhood

When 10 years ago and we were still in college, Robert told me that according to his economics book, Spain was a Second World Country. I didn't understand or agree with that until I came to Asia.

I must say that right now Spain is considered a First World Country and Robert's book was very old. Well, now we are considered a First World Country, but we will see how long that lasts...

Where do I see that Spain was a Second World Country while I was growing up?

I was talking to a friend from Australia older than me and I was sure she was going to tell me that Asia reminded her of her childhood years and she was very categoric about it "No, my childhood was in the suburbs. Everything was very sanitized and structured. No, Asia does not remind me of anything I have seen before". Then I went to talk to some other people from north american countries, most of them in their 50s and 60s and they agreed, their childhood was nothing like Asia.
I can't wait to go to the US and talk to the people who are 70 to see if they lived something similar to me! So would that mean that the way people lived in the US 60 years ago is the same that I  lived in Spain 20 years ago?! Fascinating!

Does the difference depend on if you come from a small town or from a big city?

Obviously not, the difference is on how developed your area is, but coming from a big city or a small town might make a difference.

I think the answer might be "yes" in Europe but "no" in North America or Australia where nobody lives in big cities and people live in the suburbs, and suburbs look pretty similar if they are from a small towns or from a big city. All the things that remind me of Asia are related to memories from my grandparent's town but hardly anything from my life in a small flat downtown or later on in the suburbs. The suburbs give us a feeling of small town no matter where we are. Maybe the difference comes on how long it took for the suburbs to arrive to your country. The suburbs are the key when we are talking about middle class people like me or the people I normally hang out with.

I am trying to think about some friends my age from bigger cities in the north of Spain and I have no idea if they share this idea of Asia, maybe you can tell me what you think? What about people in Latin America?

Here's the series of posts about the subject:
Everything is under construction and there are lots of flowers
Sun drying food and stone tables 
Poorly paved roads and reusing stuff 
Excitement




*About the photo: Thanks Max for the photo! Those pineapples where good!!!! :-D
This kind fruit shop can be seen today in many south-east asian countries but is no longer common in Spain.

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