Camera Cafe

They says it’s only one Camera Cafe in the world — may be, but I don’t care.

On the Photo above, end of street is British Museum (This is Museum Street).

Past decade or two, we are seeing less and less camera shops.  Small camera

shop disappeared because of big discount shop such as Jessops.  

And Jessops disappeared because of the internet shopping.

But before, local camera shop was a kind of talking shop and to the regular

faces, shop offering a cup of coffee or two. = So, to have a chat while having

a drink in a camera shop was not unusual sight at all. But digitals changed all.

Unlike a film photography, digital camera gives the result on the spot and

any short-coming become visible at once = anybody can see what’s wrong

and what to do. (if not, try other button = no need to learn, just press it !)

I know Camera Cafe many years —– they even organized a fund-rising

campaign to help Tsunami victims in Japan (gosh, 3 years ago !) = So,

it is a kind of node in the society and a salon to the photographers.  

And as a second-hand camera shop, they got quite a collection of

Zeiss lenses both for Hasselblad and Contax, on top of more familiar

Nikon and Canon. (as far as I’ve looked around, they are cheaper —–

such as Nikon F4 body, they offered for £250 —– only a while ago, I saw

it £350 at Nicolas of Camden = hence I nearly bought it but I got 150mm

lens for Hasselblad in stead (which I sold same one 25 years ago) (I can

test and use the lens on my current 5D Mk3 but to test Nikon F4, I need

to set up a dark-room to deal with B/W film again = a bit too much   :-))

The technical staff, Richard (photo Left) was a film maker before and

having immense depth of knowledge over lenses and the cameras.  

Very nice man to chat with.  🙂  —– and they got an exhibition space as

well (see the details on their website). 

Looking back the shopping list I did in there (such as Nikon’s 35 mm

PC lens,  Olympus 80 mm Life-size Macro etc etc.) —– I realized, that

I’ve been buying a kind of the item rather unusual = hard to sell

—– it’s mean, I’ve been a good customer to them.  😀

(But in the same time shop is keeping it’s own Reson de etre !)

They are open till 7:00 evening —– the best of the things there IS

they don’t have the restless tourist like customers.  😀

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Mistranslation of “MINDFULNESS”

When a person is walking —– in most of the case, the person is

not aware that HE (SHE) has been walking.

—– it is the same situation as you didn’t aware that your eyes has

been busy reading this blog on this very moment.

So, it is crystal clear, unless you become aware and intentionally think 

that you are reading this, your brain is just busy processing the meaning 

what was written, but paying little attention to the fact that who the

person reading this. = It’s mean, the awareness of you, yourself and what

and how you are existing here, doesn’t exists unless you are intentionally

think about it = because, “The existence of the SELF” is only in our mind

= SELF is a product of the one’s thinking. —– Also, it is obvious, once you

started to think about “That I am reading this etc etc” the efficiency of

reading drop drastically.   That’s why “This kind of thinking etc etc” were

called “Zatsunen”(雑念) = useless thinking or destruction. 🙂

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Lord Buddha thought exactly the same and came to the conclusion, that we

were designed to live without those conscious = useless thinkings and the

imaginary SELF.    We can be far better-off living and doing without those

“Zatsunen” because, without the destruction we were naturally controlled

by the Dharma.   Live and Do without useless thinking, is Mushin and being

with Dharma is Ichijo. = Then, what is this Dharma here, the Dharma who

controls us.  How this Dharma did know that the person IS walking or reading.

And how and what this Dharma remember how to walk or read, not mention

better way of doing them than our conscious controls.

—– (To cut the story short, I give you the answer here = they are the

subconscious control program, programmed and memorized into our brain

—– some has been even genetically programmed !)

—– This Dharma is the very Mindfulness and to let it control our action or

ourselves also called Mindfulness.

(In fact in my view, the choice of this word “Mindfulness” against the

Pali word “Sati” was the mistake

= it should have been “Retained Dharma” or simply just “Truth”.

—– It seems, all the misunderstanding of the Zen in the west has been

caused by this mistranslation ! = as it had given an impression that it was

the matter of the Mind-set —– but the essence is, NOT having it. 🙂 )

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—– Now, the reader who experienced so-called Zen training might have

realized a funny things  “where on earth so-called “Mindfulness Training”

such as that counting and concentrating to the breath etc etc, came from”.

—– I mean even in the ancient time when Theravada Canon was written.

—– In fact, this was the very very evidence of that the teachings of

Lord Buddha had misinterpreted from the beginning !

The Sati in the Meditation is, to let the Dharma made us sit = completely

abandon our SELF and get Mushin and just sit, is what the state of

Mindfulness on the (sitting) Meditation mean.

—– Who got the idea “To Think the breath and Feel the body etc etc”

= intentionally bring a Zatsunen / Useless thinking into the practice. 😀

(—– That was why the other school or sect has invented and since been

using other practice which couldn’t allow any useless thinking while doing it,

such as Shaolin martial-art or carrying a bowlful of water etc.)

—– Buddhism and the Zen is a strange mysterious teachings = not because

it got mysterious teachings but it got strange out of context mix-up and

wrong interpretations. 😀

The trouble is, still many people believing it, like wearing a

“Fashionable” T-shirts which got exotic Chinese character

printed upside-down. (It is in fact, nothing but, the insult to

Lord Buddha.)

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Cooking KINTON in easiest way !

Kinton, in here Kuri-Kinton is a kind of cooking especially aiming

to a New-year’s celebration in Japan.  —– it is in fact a kind of Anko,

made out of white bean and some time it got sweet chest-nuts too.

Though, to cook Adzuki-bean and make Anko is a long laborious work

= use any bean, the work is more or less the same though, there is

always an escape —– if you can sacrifice some authenticity.

—– And this time I’ve took an easiest way which was non of the

corner left intact.  = (in other words, everything was cheated = Still,

end-result wasn’t too bad.  :-D)

It’s a long work to cook dry bean soft from scratch —— If so,

why not utilize the most popular readily cooked bean.  😀

I separated a tin of baked bean from its source (Left Photo) and

rinsed them to reduce the saltiness and boiled them with sugar.  

( Though, as it was a Baked bean with Tomato source, the residue

of red colour was a bit too much, I added a baked potato to

whiten it.) ( Centre Photo   🙂 )

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And after cooking, I got the idea to add Sweet-horse-chest-nut to

elaborate it to Kuri-Kinton. (But it took few days to find a pack of sweet

“Ferrero Rocher” —– as, I thought it was a Marron Grasse =

Sweet-horse-chest-nuts cooked in sugar.  But it was an utterly ignorant

mistake = it turned out to be just another Chocolate. (Right Photo)  😀    

I think I ate Marron Grasse 30 years ago which was lapped in Gold, like

Ferrero Rocher.  😀   Anyhow, as I don’t buy or eat sweets, I didn’t know.

—– So, I needed to go to a Japanese Shop to buy Amaguri (ready to eat

sweet Sweet-horse-chest-nuts to mix with Kinton.  🙂 ) 

—– So, at last, here the typical New-year’s cooking Kuri-Kinton.   🙂

It’s color a bit darker still it looks like genuine Kuri-Kinton, and taste

really like Kuri-Kinton = I don’t think there could be any doubt.

Far from it, I’m sure we can enjoy this.  —– Yet, some one might

say, it’s not genuine though, such complaint is only in the mind.

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Dedicates one’s whole life to make the best Kinton, while seeking the

best possible genuine beans etc etc IS a kind of the LIFE. —– Wearing

silly mask and costume to dance for a Carnival or Halloween can be

yet another LIFE = neither LIFE could be seen to be better or anything

closer to the Enlightenment.   BUT, at least, arguing like this is definitely

the waste of the time.  Zen only say, if you got to do, do the best.  (I mean,

it include good cheat as well. —– for a sake of good cooking.   😀 ) 

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Yamakake — Delicacy only for Japanese

——– (Soft-yam from Jamaica.  This 2.5″ thick  3″ long (6cm x 7.5 cm)

——— piece will make enough Tororo  for two persons)

What is Yamakake or Tororo ?

It is a kind of cooking with a special source made out of root-vegetable

called Tororo, and Yamakake is a type of Sashimi eaten with this source.

This root vegetable was botanically called Dioscorea, commonly known as 

Soft-Yam or Sweet-Yam which spread most of the hot countries and there

said to be over 600 species, and normally eaten boiled, like a Potato.

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In Japan they are called Naga-imo, Yama-imo, Jinen-jo and in medieval time

they said to be eaten boiled as well (described in a story “Imo-gayu”) though,

now they are cooked only for Tororo and make Yamakake Sashimi.

(Yet in Osaka area, small amount of Tororo was added for Okonomi-yaki and

the Tororo Soba also exists but not very popular.)

Sometime, I cook Sashimi of tuna in Yamakake style, when I got Soft-yam.

What makes Tororo unique is = in the world, only the Japanese eat it raw.

Raw mean just grated it to make slimy juice !   Sound yummy isn’t it !  😀

(In love with such slimy texture, Japanese eat Okura also raw —— just

sliced and mixed with Katsuo-bushi and Soy-source !  = Yummy again.  🙂 )

So that, Japanese has specially designed Grater (Photo left) called

Oroshi-gane (to make Daikon-Oroshi etc. Oroshi of Yama-imo is a Tororo).

To England, Soft-yam comes from Jamaica etc. even from France though,

seemingly it depends on the soil it grows, if it contains such as lots of iron,

it changes the color darker by oxidation and not nice for Yamakake.  😦

(Trouble is, we only discover it after cooked.  :-D)

After grated, concentrated Dashi with Soy-source and a raw egg  was mixed.  

This raw source / Tororo was served on the Sashimi / raw fish =

So that,  it makes a tasty Yamakake.  Wow !

Purist prefer to put pure Tororo for Yamakake though, I mixed it with

Dashi, Soy-source and raw egg to make it like Tororo-jiru for Tororo-gohan.  

And it is advisable to put small fragment of Lime skin (Yuzu or Kunenbo in

an authentic Japanese cooking ) to Tororo, and eat it together with some

Nori ( dried Sea-weed) on top.     Or, some Wasabi is good additive though,

it’s better to chose either Nori or Wasabi to keep a flavour not conflicting. 

Though, eat a fish raw, is a bit

tricky business in the west.  

So, I found a frozen salmon pack

which was made in an automated 

process without having touched by

a man’s hand (or least touched)

seems to be a safer choice.

(it comes from Lidl)

—– though, this was an old story. 

It was the Lidl’s harsh practice when

the item got good publicity kind (like this blog) and started to sell more, Lidl push the price up (in this case to £2 each piece) to suck more profit = soon or later, the fed-up customer dwindled = when Lidl realized that they no longer able to sell, they just stop to sell, instead to put the price back.  So, you can’t see this salmon there any more.

And in the same reason, I used to buy a packed raw tuna from Tesco though, after the price of tuna rocketed, I couldn’t find them any more.

= So, this time I made a Yamakake of Salmon here. The taste and it’s texture, melt in the mouth is an exquisite to us !

—– But, I wouldn’t say “Try” to you at all.  ( You better look away.  ;-)) (So far, no westerner ever touched this = it’s exclusively for Japanese)

Thence, I prepared and stocked-up only for myself for coming new-year.  

Bon appetite to me.   😀

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PS :  I asked my Chinese friend  Shing Lee  how they eat Yam, as I saw

Chinese shop also selling Soft-yam.

So, he sent me the information and the photos.

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The Yam is called 山药 or 淮山 in Chinese. It both grows in

wild at high mountains and man-grown in the field.

Normally, we have two methods to eat:

First, we peel it, and slit it into thin pieces, and then put it into

the hotpot, boil it with ribs.

Second, peel it and put it into the boiling oil, and fried to make

it looks like golden bullion.

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I have not been able to enjoy a Sashimi or raw egg yet.

It seems your Yamakake sound great though, it is

made with raw soft-yam, raw egg and a Salmon.  🙂

Personally, I like put it into the hotpot, and drink the soup.

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Thank you  Shing Lee for your contribution !

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Citron-Bath in Winter solstices Day for Capybara !

Japanese Mountain Monkys enjoying hot spring bath is well known.

So, how about Capybara enjoying hot bath in the winter.

And today is the Winter-Solstices, the day Japanese makes Citron

bath to keep good health. = So, Capybara enjoying it too.

This is a Park in IZU ( 2 hours journey south-west of Tokyo ) but

quite few Parks keeping Capybara around Tokyo and all of them are

having a hot bath in the winter time.

(People can watch them without offending, nor Police concerns)  😀

—– It was originally discovered when the zoo keepers was using hot

water to clean the area, a Capybara accidentally found it’s nice to

bathe warm water’s paddle => then it was accustomed to all of them.

Japanese Zoo-keepers just followed what Capybara wanted.   😀

—– Peace for the people over there and to the Capybaras alike.   🙂

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Fort’Mason’s Cherub

These days, all the job for the Angel has been monopolized by

the Cherub or other order has been made redundant.

And the another question is —– wait a moment, in mediaeval time

had Cherub wearing pants ? —– When they started to put it on ?

As far as I remember, I never seen Cherub wearing

dark red pants —– or was that trendy Pampers ?

Anyhow, don’t take it anything serious.   Ha ha ha  😀

And he used be a Cherub, (didn’t you know) still he is a

very very nice Angel.

Fortnum and Mason’s Xmas Window Decoration 2013

Among the big shops in London which one got the most heavy Gothic

taste may be a point of argument though, in my view, a shop selling

exactly the same things 100 of years = Fortnum & Mason must stand out

in its stubborn position.  —– Started to sell the candles to the palace and

expanded to deal with the Tea and established over the years,

Tea is a Tea = no new model or fashion there.  (Herbal tea is not a Tea !)

So the same shop is standing on the same place, looks the same too.

The design of Xmas window decoration is also heavier than Selfridges,

such as against the children’s tale, Fortnum & Mason chose

Greek Mythology — kind of difference. 

So, their taste for ancient Greek leafy pattern is still continuing though,

this years concept is more casual. = story from the next door.

It seems, even the shop stuck to the old tradition, the north Arctic

frontier, where Santa is based on, having a technological advancement

—– now, Santa is using a cart, instead of sleigh.   (Photo Right )

Santa’s new cart !

Any how, —– it’s fun  😀

(Shot by Canon 5D Mk-III, 24~70 F2.8, Pentax 15mm F3.5)

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Selfridges’ Xmas Window Decoration 2013

When it is a Christmas time, there always the special window

decoration of Selfridges is. = It is a long established tradition.  

And what sort of theme the decoration this year has, was

the interest of the people. —– It’s always a kind of children’s

fantasy though, it’s attracts as many as grown-ups too.

But this year’s decoration is not from any book or story —– quite

products orientated design = snow scape around the product.

So, the girly doll to audio gizmo.

Fashion(?) shoes to sports shoes.

—– Sports wear or toys ?  —– and of cause, they sells pants too.  😀

So, the handbag ! —– I have no idea what is a connection

between expensive bag to a snowy mountain.

Neither I have an idea what the Selfridge to do with

glittering naked woman.  😀

So, I couldn’t find whether it was children’s dream or adult’s dream.

Or, executive’s speculation = effect of Xmas campaign ! ?  😀

(Shot by  Canon  5D  Mk-III,  Fisheye Zoom 8~15mm  F4)

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Pre-Christmas Street

Together with some shoppings I went up to the center and I saw

the town has been prepared for the coming Christmas.

Leicester square was having a Fair Ground.

I wouldn’t be impressed by the Swiss Center having colorful LED trick

or see a huge Snowman, still I dropped the jaw

to see the Stature of Eros was in a huge plastic dome  😀

Until decades ago, the drunken people in the Xmas to New-year’s Eve,  

were accustomed to climb up the stature and caused a damage, was an

annual ritual together with jumping into a fountain in Trafalgar square

though, as the England grown into a civilised country, Eros Stature has

been covered-up by ugly boarding —— and now, it’s in a plastic dome !

After some shopping in the China-town I went up to the Oxford Street.

Before, “after Xmas Sale” literally started after Xmas though, with

a rather harsh economical situation,

all the shops are having their Sale already started.

And it is in the season of Christmas Carol, I encountered a Steel-band

playing beautiful Xmas tune !  

I still couldn’t comprehend how and why the slight dent on a

steel-drum can be tonally tuned = What a beautiful invention ! 

They are almost a fixture in a Christmas time,

the Special Window Decoration of the Selfridge.

—————– (Photo right:  LED decoration on the South Molton Street )

————————————————————- ( Photo right: London Rikishow !)

——- (Piccadilly Circus again —– The plastic dome with it’s AD panels

——- seems to be a good business venture.  🙂 )

Same old Trafalgar Square and a Christmas Tree

= an annual gift from the Norway.

Northern side of Trafalgar square is the National Gallery.  

Western side is Canada House and east is South African House.

And there is a mountain of flowers for departed Madiva. 

After walk up Oxford Street to Selfridge and walk down from there ,

it was already the night —– still it wasn’t too dark for a photo or two.

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Mouhitsu = Blush Calligraphy

In the Japan-Post New-Year Card design Free Template site,

they are also offering two interesting design tools.  

One is the Blush Calligraphy other is to design Name Stamp.

Calligraphy may seemed similar to other drawing program though,

their one is using the speed of finger movement to the thickness of

the line = hence a bit closer to the real blush touch. 

When you start the program by clicking red button on the bottom,

loading takes minuet and open the screen like this above. 

—– you may have the choice of colors or Black ink, and three sizes

of Blush.  ==> then just try. (as many times you like.  🙂 ) 

Black button right bottom is to re-start, and Red button for finish.

Use the finished Calligraphy into their Design-kit and to upload is

straight forward though, use it as an image, it’s “png” format

has to be converted to “jpg”. 

( To convert “png” to “jpg” is in this process:

—– Bring the Downloaded image to desktop.  and

Double-click this => “Open with” =>[Paint] —– then click and open

left top icon and go to “Save as”=>”jpeg” (Yes, to asking small window)

—–> The saved image in “jpg” is on the Desktop ! —– or somewhere.)

(I found a fun without having a mess of Blush and INK ! —– but,

write on touch-pad is very different from real blush writing, of cause.)

To design Stamp (they says Hanko) needs Japanese character input.

(To do this you can Google and download Microsoft, IME Japanese, or

you may pick up letters in the Net and Copy-paste as a design input)

—– So, these are the samples of the Name Stamp (Hanko) I made.

—– Left = the Seal of Yoshizen (良禅之印)   Center = Kinetorori (キネ瀞裏)  

—– Right = James (じえむす) in Hiragana  🙂

Japan Post is providing those service only till January —– so, if you like to

design your own Stamp, better do rather soon than later.

Anyhow, enjoy if those program / Design Tools are useful to you.

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