Japanese New Year’s Card 2014 / Year of Horse

Gosh !   It’s the season again

to see the search-term looking

for the New year’s card design,

which ended-up here.  

— On the beginning, I just used

a card design for myself, then next

year people asked me where did I get ?  

—– and to give the informations became an annual custom here.

Those samples were provided by the Japan Post and they are free to use

for your personal greeting card though, the image I could copy here were

not in full size, and you are advised to go to their site and

properly download. 

( They are enticing you to send out the card by Yahoo Mail, otherwise,

they made it harder for just copying it as they are [png] format, 

not simple [jpg] = I guess, Yahoo use the data for their AD

—– free mean there is always a catch.  😀 )

Japan Post —– http://yubin-nenga.jp/search/ —- click here will open this 

Then, clicking left of Hose-man will open right screen-shot which is

showing thumbnails of ready-made New year’s card templates (1000

of them),  or if you click right of horse-man, the page will show you the

 material for you to design a card.

  (I’ll show you in the next post)

 

Autumn Color – (2)

Unlike the color of eggs from super-market which color was 

controlled by the coloring agent in their feed, the color of autumn

leaves are completely natural phenomenon. (You can’t dye them.  😀 ) 

If only the selection of plant may be artificial, such as Japanese Maple

was imported to the west only because of their blazing color in autumn.

When the plants was exposed to the air of sudden chill, their

Green colored  Chlorophyll noticed that their role to carry-out  

Photo-synthesis come to the end —– hence they disappeared.  

—–> Once the green has gone, another color underneath which

has been masked by the green, such as red Carotene become visible

= Voila’ glorious Autumn color on fire !  

Appreciate it while you can (if you like) !    🙂

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Last Remain of Flowers —– of this year ?

When I was a bit younger and in business, there was a phrase “4 o’clock irritation”.

= before closing time, something could still be done —– otherwise, became too late,  

so, what has been done, haven’t been done etc ETC ! —– You know what I mean  😀

—– And coming to the time 4 o’clock in my life, I have to do the stock-taking.

= And in the same context (Useless thinking in Buddhist’s term  😀 ) see the nature

and feel  “Oh, you still giving your effort” — but with sigh.

Don’t think.  Just see as they are.

Some might have done the work.  More than enough or just — what ever

it was a given opportunity and only an opportunity.

(What a bloody hell, Xmas is next month —- I thought,

Xmas was yesterday !)  😀  😀

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Parakeet

This Parakeet  is a bird originated from the centre of the Africa to Indian

Subcontinent, but said to be spread many area in the western Europe as well,

while adapting to live in the urbanized human environment. 

Someone said it started more than 50 years ago though, I heard the story

about 15~20 years ago as the birds increased its population enormously

and becoming a pest (in the west London ).  —– Yesterday, when me and

my friend who bought a DSLR (and more lens) having a shooting session

in a park, he pointed me this bird since they spread east of London as well.

(He is a guy who bought 800 mm lens to shoot birds photo though, he

didn’t bring it on this occasion = Too big and heavy !)

This morning (well nearly mid-day, still much earlier than yesterday) 

I went back the same place to shoot the bird with 500 mm lens though,

not many of them today.  (The park-keeper told me, that they are more

active when the sun is going to set. = after 4:00, like yesterday —– but

I wanted to have the direction of the sun-light from the side.    🙂 )

Anyhow, I have to comeback again and again to get one nice photo.  😀

(By the way, the photo above, a bird eating Acorn = Using just the beak,

still able to open an Acorn shell and eat only its carnal then drop

the empty shell —– What a skill !  = You may try to eat a packet of KitKat,

while holding it on your mouth (of cause without using your hand)

leaving only empty packaging. —– I’m not asking you to fly, but just eat

sweets = even a bird can do.  Why not a man.  😀  😀 ) 

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Fancy Vinegar Flask ! ——- ? ? ?

Week ago I’ve bought rather fancy item from Lidl shop.  

I don’t know the name which the receipt said Geschenkset.  = Anyhow

this is a Glass Flask to serve Vinegar and Olive-oil on the dining table. 

They were sold as a gift set (for a Xmas ?) —– Olive-oil and a Vinegar

together with a glass flask for £7.99 !

In fact, I was not interested in to

buy Olive-oil nor Vinegar, but

fascinated by the design of

glass which I can use it to

design strange sculpture kind.

Though, watching this many

days, I still couldn’t figure out

“How to make this” —– how a

Glass Craftsman made this !

Simplified description is, “Small glass flask inside of larger flask”

though, it is an utter puzzle to me = How it was made ? —— through a

hole of large flask, inserts a glass pipe with melted glass on the tip-end

and blow it up to make a small flask inside, and weld two together on

the edge of the hole —– though,  as the photo above showed, the neck of

the small flask is not an one-piece straight pipe = inside small flask was

made separately and the outside pipe was welded later.  But how ? ? ?

= If anybody who is reading this knows about the way to make,

please put a comment “How it was done” !

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Looks false image ! ?

They are the Photos from Greenwich London though, as you may feel,

somewhat all fishy image.  😀 —– Fishy if not irritating.

It’s definitely wrong —– isn’t it ?

M m m m m ?

Ha ha ha, you got to be joking.

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On the River Thames

Photo session in Greenwich naturally came down to the river side.

I saw swans on the Thames before, but this time there were quite few

Cormorants = may be Thames got enough number of fish now.  🙂

The Seagull I saw this time were rather small kind and doesn’t show much

dramatic flight ! —– (By the way, the photos in this post were all taken by

Tamron SP 500 mm F8 / Canon 5D Mk-III  and on the AV mode)

Of cause the Greenwich is a place on the Thames River. (southern side of it,

in more accurate term) and used to be the centre of the Global  Navigation Technology.  

In order to make a sea journey accurate and safe, Sea Chart / World Map has to have

exact positioning to the giography, hence the angular grid to define the Global position

was invented and made the imaginaly line running North to South, and a line running

on the Royal Observatory in Greenwich was made as the original point = 0 degree !  

Since the Sun goes round, “If you found the Sun in Exact south at 1:00 Pm Exact, you are

on the Longitude of 15 degree west”.   And on the Equinox Day, the hight of the Sun on

the 12:00 Noon Exact, tells you where you are on the Latitude. (If the Sun was 90 degree

on top of your head mean, you are on the 0 degree (Equator) or If the Sun was just on

the horizon (0 degree) , you are on the North or South Pole ! = How lucky you are 🙂 )

—– It’s mean, to have an exact measurement was crucial = not only an instrument to

measure the angle but also a watch, which can tell exact time.  (Hence, Briton and other

Nautical Giant (= other colonialist) Dutch were competing to invent accurate clock. )

Anyhow, it was a time when British Empire was ruling all the 7 seas.  

Not much activities these days but the remains became good show-piece for tourism.

Basically, Photography is the response to the MOMENT, 

but to capture a flying bird is a bit physically demanding task.  

Ha~ he~, —– once I was a young man.   Ha ha ha  😀

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Autumn Color

I popped out to the Greenwich with my friend who just bought DSLR this week

for a sort of photo session.  He has been watching YouTube Tuitorial viz kind of

“How to make a good photo” and “How to use DSLR”, though, they are still a

theory or knowledge. = Same as a Buddhist’s idea, it takes enough practice to

sink into a level of spontaneity. = Look into view-finder and see the Matter is

such as That “Depth of Field” what a viz told him. —– Anticipate, if the depth

changed what would be looks like then. —– Then own control starts.

Anyone can learn good composition / framing from the sample “To make Post Card

like scene to Post Card like Picture” though, to make “Nothing Special image to

Interesting Photo” need to have a good photographic talent. —– Exaggerate or

enhance the color would make a photo something looks nice though, its saturated

color gives irritation to the eyes too. = Here is the “Middle way” = the level of

saturation which our brain thinks !!! is always too much to our subconscious, since

our subconscious follow what is natural.    (Photos here are over saturated  🙂 )

Are you convinced ?  —– Take Middle way.  

(Looks unusual doesn’t necessary mean Special.

= in most of the case, it is just odd.  🙂

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Halloween ? —– Yah, it’s coming !

Nothing special, I just came across the girls who seemed to have a rehearsal kind

for a tomorrow’s event.  (I guess  🙂 )

The color has been a bit over saturated. —– It wouldn’t harm anyone.  🙂  

Have a funful Halloween.

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Eating Kombu / Kelp Sea-weed

Since I don’t have a habit to pick up a cracker / biscuit or sweet kind, instead,

I’m having a kind of light cooking for an odd bite. 

I wrote about green-bean / string-bean with Goma-ae source, daikon etc etc before.  

And here, how about boiled Kombu / Kelp.

Although, I, myself never seen how it’s grow in the sea bottom, Kelp is not a special

sea-weed, it said to have deep forest of sea-weed of which each Kelp is 20~30m long !  

—- I saw them when they were spread and dried on the beach = 1′ wide of long long strip.

And, neither they are special item in Japanese or Chinese food shop.  

 Japanese eat them most commonly for Dashi (soup-base) and in many other cooking.  

(I don’t think, I need to repeat how nutritiously good they are, as it was too well known.  🙂 ) 

 

I have no idea how Chinese eat them still, we can buy dried Kelp easily and quite cheap

in Chinese shop. (Photo Left) 

To make Kombu-maki — first soak  the dried kelp strip in the warm water for 10 min’ or

so and thoroughly wash-off the sand and dirt.  Then cross-cut them 2~3″ and roll-up.

(Authentic Japanese Kombu-maki roll was tied-up by edible Kanpyo string though

I short-cut it with tooth-pick. Photo Center )   And boil them in the plain water half to

one hour, then add a packet of Dashi or if you like fishy taste, add a piece of dried squid

as well. (photo Right) —– and after while, add a Soy source according to your taste, and

if you like even a bit of sugar ( I like to put some hot staff as well) — keep boil them until

rolled Kombu become very soft. ( I heard, the authentic one was slow-cooked over night !)

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(Boil them how many hours depend on the quality of the Kombu and your taste. — even

from the same pack, some Kombu would be boiled very soft, less than one hour though,

tough one may be still hard even after two hours. —– If you found it still hard, just put

it back to a pan and boil further.  🙂 )  Generally, Japanese Kombu / Kelp is soft and good to

eat but more expensive —– still, considering the serious environmental pollution problem

in China, may be spent a bit more and buy it in the Japanese shop could be wiser choice.

Most of the Japanese Kombu came from northern Japan / Hokkaido where no problem of

radiation scare has been reported — thanks goodness.   

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