EarthWorks06

I did Nigaoeya(portrait shop) for earthwork06 at shojin restaurant.

I got tired of sitting for 3hours but... people are smiling at their own portrait, made me so happy!


http://picasaweb.google.com/aya.niibo/Earthwork06#

Cafemode show went real good too. Thanks for all visiting and giving me the opportunity to have the event.

Feel free to download my design of Christmas card : dowload >>

Earthworks06 50/50show

EARTHWORKS 06 opens Dec 15, 2009 @ 8 - 11pm.
All new work can be previewed by clicking on the artists' names.
SHOJIN www.theshojin.com
333 S. Alameda Street., Ste 310 (3rd FL), Los Angeles, 90013

selling arts at sellit.com

You and Me

photo by shojin (Thank you for providing!)

the music is great, and the concept for this show"you and me" gave me a lot of inspire!

Thank you, Kio

EARTHWORKS 05 - You & Me

Opening Rception : Oct 6, 2009 8 to 11pm
$5 cover

Oct 6, 2009 - Dec 6, 2009
open everyday 11:30am - 10pm [except M-F between 2:30-5:00pm]
SHOJIN restaurant x333 S. Alameda St., Suite 310 (3rd Floor) Los Angeles, CA 90013

Mid Night Ridazz

You might have ever seen such a big riders group somewhere in LA. and If you met, you would probably shout at them like "F*** you, riders!!!" LOL

It's called "Mid Night Ridazz"



OK. I joined to them yesterday. LOL



and became a b****



wow, so many ppl



there are some handmade bikes. wow.

Midnight Ridazz ppl helped us a lot. If somebody got a flat tire, they let all people stop and fixed it for him. and their organizing was pretty awesome.

but still making mess though... LOL

Thanks, midnight ridazz. I had a super fun time! and sorry ppl:-)

Omocha de cha cha cha show - Pics

The show was awesome!! Thanks all for coming and setting up!
Here are the pics :


Sorry for all the multiple shots!! ;)

caming

went camping!!!


we go camping every year. this time, had chosen the big bear as a camp site.
there were 18 people in the camp site! wow.

we fished, biked... and eat a lot. actually we had so much fun!

N brought several kinds of music instrument
Many people came into our site to play with us even their ranger LOL
It was like... "Music Live" in our camp site! was pretty cool.

here are the photos :

Omocha de cha cha cha

CAFEMODE + CAFE BOLIVAR present
OMOCHA de CHACHACHA
AUGUST 17 to SEPTEMBER 26, 2009
ARTIST RECEPTION > SEPTEMBER 12, 2009
@ CAFE BOLIVAR 1741 Ocean Park Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
www.cafemode.com

Ferrofluids

--Incredibly Unusual Art Using Ferrofluids. Physicist/artist Sachiko Kodama created a series of ferrofluid sculptures that will leave you with a sense of awe.(click here to open the movie)

It's like, Wow! what happens if you touch it?

Japan Trip

Well... Should I say "Tadaima(I am home)"?
I guess not but I came back to the US from 3 weeks Japan trip.

I had been in Japan to get E-2 visa and to see my family. Going back Japan is for the first time in 3years and 7 months. pretty long.

The reason why I went back to Japan was that my dad got a cancer for his lungs.
As first I saw him, he lost his weight so much but after he took all the medication and I took care, he started eating a lot and seemed to be fine.

Now, he could work, he said.
I am appreciated how the medication got improved. Cancer is now curable in some case.
Not smoking or taking care of yourself is still important to not be though.

I didn't only go visiting my dad but also I spent time with my old friends.

-Kichijo-ji, tokyo... spent 1 week with my sisters, her boyfriend and two cats in there.
-went to 109 which is very famous shopping center for young people.
-visited where all the TV shows got me interested.
-in Odaiba, Tokyo. saw a real size of Gamdam(but the way, I am not really know bout those anime)
-took beautiful pictures with my new SLR camera.
-went to summer festival.
-spent time with family and pets.

I have now homesickness...(T_T)

Thanks for all 35people who took care of me in this trip!
Love,

Making Chopsticks

Joined a workshop "making your own chopsticks" presented by Mr. Saburo Koga.

You have to rely which wood you will use on instinct to make a decision.
Mr. Saburo said the wood's character would be like yours.

My choice was "Red Wood" which cut off in 80 years ago.
80 years ago..so the wood has grown in very nice atmosphere like no acid precipitate at all. the wood was very soft and easy to make chopsticks.(so what character is that? lol)

Afterwords, we ate their organic bento as lunch with our own chopsticks.

This workshop is available from more than 5 people. Mr. Saburo Koga teaches very fair and softly.

here is the work by Mr. Saburo koga：
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/cogasa/international/

Organic Bento :
http://www.casadetree.com/index.php

yay! just placed 1st place in the USGBC

ok... not me, btw LOL

Al and my BF, Sho got the 1st place in the USGBC competition! yay!
so now they are going to the Nation in Arizona.

I am so happy to hear it because I knew they has been working so hard, even didn't get enough sleep..

here is the board! :


and the party was so fun!
there are nice music, food, and people!




Congrats again! Sho and Al

restaurant at home

hahaha, it's about facebook's application. I am now addicted to make my Ein's Diner bigger lol.

It's like the sim city, but not that complicated. that's why I like it!

I am now collecting some ingredients, rice, ice cream... by exchanging with friends. hahaha fun fun fun!

iGoogle Design

I finally created iGoogle theme by my own!!

http://www.google.com/ig/directory?hl=ja&url=www.synapse.ne.jp/aya/IMAGES/google/welcom2.xml&type=themes

I thought it was very difficult to make xml file, but it was not. Here is the instruction : http://code.google.com/intl/en/apis/themes/docs/dev_guide.html

The header image, logo, text colors, and more can all change throughout the day based on time of day, which is called "a dynamic theme". I didn't set it up this time, but I will!!

The Flip Design

A friend of mine recommended me this "The Flip" video camcorder. I always wanted to have a camcorder and my sony digital camera just got broken, so I am thinking to buy one.
(the flip cannot take still pictures tho, can get capture from movies you take.)

I found one at Amazon.com for $30 cheaper, but I wanted to do design by my own!

I can't wait to have thisssssss!!!! :0


To See my design >>

cafemode3 (2nd perticipation for me)

EARTHWORKS 03 IS OPENING MAY 7TH !
SHOJIN www.theshojin.com
333 S. Alameda Street., Ste 310 (3rd FL), Los Angeles, 90013

my first bosam and vegetarian sunday buffet

yuka, my coworker introduce me all the kind of odd food i have never had. the picture is bosam which is korean food. there are three or more kinds of meet like tonsoku(pork leg), fish, regular pork, and so on, then wrap them and kimuchi with radish slice like taco. we ate this bosam at kobawoo house, korean town. it tastes just OK for me(sorry yuka :X) but the huge "chijimi(kimuch pancake)" was the best!

and today, we went to inn of the seventh ray in topanga canyon to experience their vegetarian sunday buffet. the reason why yuka invite me was i don't really eat vegetable. lol
yuka was wondering how i think about their food because she thinks their vegetable was real good

so... how did i feel? i prefer more meet sunday branch like alpine(garmany) sunday branch. but there were much meet than i expected so that i didn't try that much of vegetables. ;P personally the corn salad and watercress salad were good. include champaign and seafood, the price was $35-. that was pretty nice branch for me.

i usually don't try. i tend to order pretty much the same dish every time i go restaurant even i don't go new restaurant, so the person who introduce me about all the restaurant like yuka is very important me. ya, challenging new thing is good:)

Grilled Cheese Invitaitonal

I know that all the American ppl like pizza, but not only that, GRILLED CHEESE SAMMICH is also very popular, I feel.

I joined the Grilled Cheese Invitational w/my friends, Yuka, Rhea, and Mia, last Saturday as competitors (as I mentioned last post). Grilled cheese is very simple and easy to cook, so that the idea was important to win.

Yuka, my corworker, is very good cook, her idea was putting ground pork and beef w/curry powder inside. for sweetness, she put raisins little bit and burn almost like deep-frying w/lots of batter and panko.



It's delicious.....mmm..yummy..

We didn't get any price this time, but just being there was totally fun. maybe next year?...we will win! but I don't want to eat any grilled cheese sammich for a while. LOL

Grilled Cheese Invitational

The Invitational lands in downtown Los Angeles, CA on April 25, 2009!

(LOCATION TO BE ANNOUNCED ON APRIL 20, 2009)

Doors open at 12:00pm
Competition from 1:00pm - 5:00pm

Admission Fee: $5
Competition Fee: $10

I am joining the event above as a competition's assistant.

our category:The Kama Sutra
The Kama Sutra sammich is any grilled cheese that is made with exotic bread or contains any other ingredients than the above mentioned.

The only rules to the Kama Sutra sammich are as follows: The sammich MUST be grilled and the internal ingredients must be at least 60% CHEESE. Other than that, this is a freestyle category, so go for it. This is where you can create any savory flavor concept your twisted mind will allow, so long as the internal ingredients are at least 60% cheese.

The Kama Sutra category is not only the most liberal, but also the most popular. So you must keep in mind that the competition is fierce and professional. You could be up against as many as 50 professional chefs, so you better get it right!


mm....sounds hard, but challenging. anybody give us a good idea?

Let's take pictures!

in our company, there are several people who have SLR camera.
and on every friday lunch time, they take pictures around downtown LA.

i was invited, so i joined w/my iPhone lol...just because i forgot to bring my Canon EOS D30.

when i am around ground central market(which locates where angle flight is), i feel like i am traveling mexico or somewhere not in the us. it was nice day to take pictures, sun shining and a lot of people are shopping around as usual.

well, next time i want bring my SLR camera definitely.

btw, on sunday, sho, his mom and i went antilope vallery to watch poppeys. we took 3hours to get there because of traffic and it was driving from orange county. unfortunately, this year's poppeys are not so good, the park ranger said, and close on windy days.

can u see if there is a bird?...i took few nice pictures and it was fun so it's ok.

Canon EOS D30... i love it, but it's old. i am little concerning about buying newer one. anybody knows any good camera?

okuribito

i finally watched okuribito which won academy awards in the best foreign film category. okuribito showed what the "nokan-shi(casketing)" is, and how the death is very influental for the other surviving ppl.

i actually didn't know that there is the kind of job in japan, but as matter fact there was person who did make-up on my granma's face when she died, i remember. she was pretty and looked healther than when she was in hospital. i ve heard there is cases only clean dead body needs to be casketed, also nasty one like....i dont even want to write. so nokan-shi(s) make good money but it's very hard to be.

i cried at least twice when watching the movie. it was kind a slow like all the typical japanese movies though it was well done to show how main charactor connects w/ all the ppl between the death...also okuribito means "help with departures" in japanese. such an beautiful name! don't you think?

Colorado Trip

yay! takeshi, sho and i went to Nevada, Uhta, Colorado and Arizona by car! mostly we had fun with all the national parks, vally of fire, Bryce, Zion, Arches, and Petrified Forest.

Bryce was my favorite national park! they have very nice trail that you can actually go very bottom of the rockes, the shapes are quite unique.

we were going to do snowboading in vail, colorado tho unfortuneatly, we couldn't because i cought cold:( however, instead of snowboading, we went to the US air force academy to see their chapels which were incredibly awsome!!!!

this trip was pretty nice and relaxing. hope b-day boy had fun too:)

happy birthday, s-boy!

hanami

went to balboa park with my corworkers to do "hanami."

hanami is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying cherry blossoms(sakura)


but, it wasn't peak bloom period　yet...

there is the teasing proverb "dumplings rather than flowers(hana yori dango)" which hints at the real priorities for most cherry blossom viewers. that's right! the food we brought was real good!
it was fun fun fun!

restaurant at home

i went to Joseph Mahon(208rodeo)'s new house to enjoy his meals ran by shokutsu.

his house was so huge and cute mexican style. and turned into like a real restaurant.

there are more than 30 ppl, i think. his cook was tasty, good-looking and cheap! we paid only $40 for it.

what we ate:
potato soup, salda(it contains "beets" which i dont know what heck is. lol even dunno the spelling is right or not.), salmon confit with mashed potato, and tart with ice cream.

joseph is yuka's friend. they met at one restaurant while she was taking pictures of food. then this event happend. i appriciated thier encounter because we could enjoy his meal at his home!

i wish i could cook like him and invite to my home. that was nice night. thank you, yuka.

cafe mode - earthwork2

the art show was successfully done, i think. there are some music and dance performances which were totally "art". and it was packed!

it runs till april 26th, 2009 at shojin, so please come back and peruse our art!

finally my car was fixed!

on Dec. 6th 2008, a women hit my car while i parked. luckly, the person who hit left a note, but then the nightmare has been began.

since my car was not drivable, i asked tow and leave my car at spectrum collision center, which BMW dealer told me to take. they asked me a lots of signatures and initials on their contract(like it said "even if they broke a glass while fixing, they don't pay anything", "strage fee is $50 per day." and brah brah brah)....i didn't want to put my initials, but you know how it is.....if i didn't, they dont start working on.
and it was so wierd that they told me to call MY insurace to take care of this case. i should have noticed that they were ripping off.

the first estimate was around $4,000.
however, after they talked my insurance(at that time already they had taken two months to just make an estimate), it raised up $11,000-, even thought my insurance's estimate was only $2,300-. i know my insurance's estimate was too law but...$11,000!?!?! you can buy a new car instead.

because of the $50(per day) strage fee, i couldn't cancel and ask another body shop. the parking fee was already over $3000.

fortunally, after a month my insurace deceided to pay $12,000-, and spectrum collision agreed with it.

today, finally i got my car back. (almost three months nightmare has been done.) it was nicely done but i couldnt be so happy because of what they did to me. and one more thing that i am worried bout is the final receipt was over $16,000- even thought i paid only $12,000!.....i don't even wanna know why and what's for....

i was so tired of calling my insrance company and body shop. the experience was totally nightmare....i wont take my car to dealers and spectrum collision center again.
.....or, i hope any kind of accident wouldnt happen again.

cafe mode

i am joining the cafemode as an artist:)
the opening will be held on 26th, feb. come to see me!

EARTHWORKS 02　Feb 26, 2008 - Apr 26, 2009

open everyday 11:30am - 10pm
333 S. Alameda St., Suite 310 (3rd Floor) Los Angeles, CA 90013

SHOJIN restaurant

1.

2.

3.

4.

©2009 Aya Niibo	©2009 Aya Niibo

*THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU BEING THERE !
and making this show a success!
Please come back and peruse the art which will run until APRIL 26, 2009
SHOJIN www.theshojin.com
333 S. Alameda Street., Suite 310 (3rd FL), Los Angeles, 90013

*edited

Always on the side of the egg

Always on the side of the egg 　By Haruki Murakami

I have come to Jerusalem today as a novelist, which is to say as a professional spinner of lies.

Of course, novelists are not the only ones who tell lies. Politicians do it, too, as we all know. Diplomats and military men tell their own kinds of lies on occasion, as do used car salesmen, butchers and builders. The lies of novelists differ from others, however, in that no one criticizes the novelist as immoral for telling them. Indeed, the bigger and better his lies and the more ingeniously he creates them, the more he is likely to be praised by the public and the critics. Why should that be?

My answer would be this: Namely, that by telling skillful lies - which is to say, by making up fictions that appear to be true - the novelist can bring a truth out to a new location and shine a new light on it. In most cases, it is virtually impossible to grasp a truth in its original form and depict it accurately. This is why we try to grab its tail by luring the truth from its hiding place, transferring it to a fictional location, and replacing it with a fictional form. In order to accomplish this, however, we first have to clarify where the truth lies within us. This is an important qualification for making up good lies.
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Today, however, I have no intention of lying. I will try to be as honest as I can. There are a few days in the year when I do not engage in telling lies, and today happens to be one of them.

So let me tell you the truth. A fair number of people advised me not to come here to accept the Jerusalem Prize. Some even warned me they would instigate a boycott of my books if I came.

The reason for this, of course, was the fierce battle that was raging in Gaza. The UN reported that more than a thousand people had lost their lives in the blockaded Gaza City, many of them unarmed citizens - children and old people.

Any number of times after receiving notice of the award, I asked myself whether traveling to Israel at a time like this and accepting a literary prize was the proper thing to do, whether this would create the impression that I supported one side in the conflict, that I endorsed the policies of a nation that chose to unleash its overwhelming military power. This is an impression, of course, that I would not wish to give. I do not approve of any war, and I do not support any nation. Neither, of course, do I wish to see my books subjected to a boycott.

Finally, however, after careful consideration, I made up my mind to come here. One reason for my decision was that all too many people advised me not to do it. Perhaps, like many other novelists, I tend to do the exact opposite of what I am told. If people are telling me - and especially if they are warning me - "don't go there," "don't do that," I tend to want to "go there" and "do that." It's in my nature, you might say, as a novelist. Novelists are a special breed. They cannot genuinely trust anything they have not seen with their own eyes or touched with their own hands.

And that is why I am here. I chose to come here rather than stay away. I chose to see for myself rather than not to see. I chose to speak to you rather than to say nothing.

This is not to say that I am here to deliver a political message. To make judgments about right and wrong is one of the novelist's most important duties, of course.

It is left to each writer, however, to decide upon the form in which he or she will convey those judgments to others. I myself prefer to transform them into stories - stories that tend toward the surreal. Which is why I do not intend to stand before you today delivering a direct political message.

Please do, however, allow me to deliver one very personal message. It is something that I always keep in mind while I am writing fiction. I have never gone so far as to write it on a piece of paper and paste it to the wall: Rather, it is carved into the wall of my mind, and it goes something like this:

"Between a high, solid wall and an egg that breaks against it, I will always stand on the side of the egg."

Yes, no matter how right the wall may be and how wrong the egg, I will stand with the egg. Someone else will have to decide what is right and what is wrong; perhaps time or history will decide. If there were a novelist who, for whatever reason, wrote works standing with the wall, of what value would such works be?

What is the meaning of this metaphor? In some cases, it is all too simple and clear. Bombers and tanks and rockets and white phosphorus shells are that high, solid wall. The eggs are the unarmed civilians who are crushed and burned and shot by them. This is one meaning of the metaphor.

This is not all, though. It carries a deeper meaning. Think of it this way. Each of us is, more or less, an egg. Each of us is a unique, irreplaceable soul enclosed in a fragile shell. This is true of me, and it is true of each of you. And each of us, to a greater or lesser degree, is confronting a high, solid wall. The wall has a name: It is The System. The System is supposed to protect us, but sometimes it takes on a life of its own, and then it begins to kill us and cause us to kill others - coldly, efficiently, systematically.

I have only one reason to write novels, and that is to bring the unique dignity of the individual soul to the surface and shine a light upon it. The purpose of a story is to sound an alarm, to keep a light trained on The System in order to prevent it from tangling our souls in its web and demeaning them. I fully believe it is the novelist's job to keep trying to clarify the uniqueness of each individual soul by writing stories - stories of life and death, stories of love, stories that make people cry and quake with fear and shake with laughter. This is why we go on, day after day, concocting fictions with utter seriousness.

My father died last year at the age of 90. He was a retired teacher and a part-time Buddhist priest. When he was in graduate school, he was drafted into the army and sent to fight in China. As a child born after the war, I used to see him every morning before breakfast offering up long, deeply-felt prayers at the Buddhist altar in our house. One time I asked him why he did this, and he told me he was praying for the people who had died in the war.

He was praying for all the people who died, he said, both ally and enemy alike. Staring at his back as he knelt at the altar, I seemed to feel the shadow of death hovering around him.

My father died, and with him he took his memories, memories that I can never know. But the presence of death that lurked about him remains in my own memory. It is one of the few things I carry on from him, and one of the most important.

I have only one thing I hope to convey to you today. We are all human beings, individuals transcending nationality and race and religion, fragile eggs faced with a solid wall called The System. To all appearances, we have no hope of winning. The wall is too high, too strong - and too cold. If we have any hope of victory at all, it will have to come from our believing in the utter uniqueness and irreplaceability of our own and others' souls and from the warmth we gain by joining souls together.

Take a moment to think about this. Each of us possesses a tangible, living soul. The System has no such thing. We must not allow The System to exploit us. We must not allow The System to take on a life of its own. The System did not make us: We made The System.

That is all I have to say to you.

I am grateful to have been awarded the Jerusalem Prize. I am grateful that my books are being read by people in many parts of the world. And I am glad to have had the opportunity to speak to you here today.

---------------------

Peace!
japanese translation is here

blood type horoscopes

Wo Ye !High FanO Xing Ren - jamais jamais

japanese ppl, expecially girls love talking about blood type horoscopes. they believe that they can tell person’s personality by their blood type like below,

Type A
Best traits Earnest, creative, sensible
Worst traits Fastidious, overearnest
Type B
Best traits Wild, active, doer
Worst traits Selfish, irresponsible
Type AB
Best traits Cool, controlled, rational
Worst traits Critical, indecisive
Type O
Best traits Agreeable, sociable, optimistic
Worst traits Vain, rude

i personally don't believe the blood type horoscopes(probably not that many japanese ppl believe either.), i don't think there are only 4types of ppl, and it's not a scientific-basis material at all. but i don't hate the topic, it's just fun to talk bout.

even if japanese ppl ask your blood type and you feel uncomfortable, plz don't be mean to them:). the blood type horoscopes is just one of their favorite topic, so...

Millennium Biltmore Experiences

luckly, i got two chances to go restaurant at millennium biltomore today.

lunch... my boss treated all the corworkers to celebrate finish of one project. we had a seafood buffet for $22 at SMERALDI'S. it was real goooood. i loved the pasta which you can put any seafood from the seafood buffet. i think $22 is very reasonable. i wanna take sho to here:)

dinner... i was pretty full since i ate a lot at smeralidi's...but my friends, megumi and aya came over from japan so i wanted to take them to watergrill which yuka said the best taste restaurant in all the dineLA restaurant. as she told me, it WAS tasty. (lunch is probably better because you can eat the exactly same dishes for $20 chaper) and the atmosphere is great.

i have to be on diet from tomorrow:(

btw, everytime megumi come, it rains very hard. the forcast was saying thursday was "shower likely" but it turned into rainning all this week. last time she came, she brought one of the worst rain in 100years....omg. that sucks.

DineLA

i don't really care what i eat, but my corworkers and my bf do. they are telling me where is the best place to go eat, all the recipes, and any other food stuff.

dine LA was one of their topic these days. they said they have gone some restaurant already. since everybody are talking bout dineLA, i became i want to go at least one. one of my friend came over here to LA from San Diego, so we went.

i called my corworker to ask the best place to go. she told me:

GLADSTONE’S OF MALIBU
17300 Pacific Coast Hwy.
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
310.454.3474
gladstones.com

$26- for their foods(and probably where it locates too) is real cheap, she said.

my friends ordered $26 dineLA course. but i ordered the Lobstar plate for $65.50- by mistake:X...but they gave me the chowdar and desert for free!!!:0 so i am pretty much satisfied with the restaurant. the chowdar was real good. i think it was the best chowder i ever had.

here is the dineLA menu:
http://dinela.com/restaurantweek/listing/12611/GLADSTONES-OF-MALIBU

and the services are nice too. how they give you your left over is real unique.(i got a whale which made of hoil)

thank for telling me about dineLA and gladstones, yuka.

happy new year

i had pretty fun of japanese style of new year this time even i was in the us.
i wish i could go back to japan during the newyear holiday tho.

hope you guys will have an awesome 2009!!!