WE MUST RETHINK EVERYTHING!

The following images all have been added to my tumblr blog: seed capsules tonight... all except the final one ... as you'll see!

Michael Chase: area of interest tumblr

Cant help but think this event in Japan one week ago today that disrupted millions of lives (and has the potential to continue doing so in ways we can hardly bare thinking about) raises big questions and begs of us all we actually consider what is worth fighting for in terms of our collective future. The Uranium debate was running cold for years now... the climate change debate is still pooh-poohed in parts... Food security has been on the boil for some time now... but the event we are watching unfold somehow

asks us to think very carefully... and I think not wait for govts and big business but to be a bigger part of the change ourselves.

People in places like Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have shown enormous courage and have taken centre-stage in the battle they believed was worth it. And we know the role social media played in that!!!

I've been painting since I was five...no matter what Ive always keep faithful to art somehow, through thick and thin! Yet five years ago I felt that it was looking foolhardy to approach life as an artist with the same kind of values and priorities that one might have in the past.I observed an increased focus on 'the getting of wealth', constant talk of superannuation, aquisition of property, taking care of personal portfolios, travel, status objects, entertainment and general consumption. None of these things are negative in themselves ...but the dialogue was swamped with this chatter ... attention veering away from all that is part of our true inheritance on this planet ...being the habitat and all living things ( which we are so dependant on if we only remembered where it mattered!) ... and our connection with community...and the well-being of the collective.

I just got sidetracked at twitter 10 mins ago and found this article at the Guardian:Is rampant consumerism ruining our lives? 

Tim Jackson live Q&A   click here

The author of Prosperity without Growth answers your questions about his theory that our obsession with economic growth makes us prosperous but unhappy – Friday 18 March, 1-2 pm
How fitting to find this as I write here! That constant noise about "having", "getting" and "aquiring" against the panorama of loss and lack all around really challenged me to find new ways to move forward that made more sense. As an artist and as a human being. Blogging puts me in touch with many like minds... people who dont think of rampant consumerism as a particularly good idea... people for whom sharing and foraging and gleaning, repurposing and bartering is a part of life ... an important part of life. Thank the heavens for that.
You know what ... I think we could all turn up the message a notch or two. Leadership has to come from many places ... top down has not been terribly inspiring in a long while! Come on bloggers ... lets use our art and creative gumption a whole lot more ... there's so many ways to make it a better world! There's room for all our intiatives and to pull together on this!

Treehotel, Sweden, 60 miles south of arctic circle:tumblr-polychroniadis

 Buckminster Fuller- tumblr-polychroniadas

Curated by Norman Foster and Luis Fernández-Galiano ‘bucky fuller & spaceship earth’ is an exhibition , which brings the different strands of buckminster fueller’s influential career together with original drawings and models and will be the first chance to see the recently completed recreation of the dymaxion car. 


Thinking outside the square...







DYnamic -- MAXimum - tensION

At the heart of Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion concept is the idea that rational action in a rational world demands the most efficient overall performance per unit of input. His Dymaxion structures, then are those that yield the greatest possible efficiency in terms of available technology. Here are a few examples:

Dymaxion House

Conceived and designed in the late 1920's but not actually built until 1945, the Dymaxion House was Fuller's solution to the need for a mass-produced, affordable, easily transportable and environmentally efficient house.Read more

Dymaxion Map

The Dymaxion Map is the only flat map of the entire surface of the Earth which reveals our planet as one island in one ocean, without any visually obvious distortion of the relative shapes and sizes of the land areas, and without splitting any continents. Read more

Dymaxion Car

The Dymaxion car was designed by Buckminster Fuller in early 1930s. The car could transport up to 11 passengers, reach speeds of up to 90 miles per hour, and ran 30 miles per gallon. Read more

Dymaxion Bathroom

Worried by the poor sanitation, inefficiency, and high cost of bathrooms, Bucky came up with a solution in 1936. Read more

Arup's bug hotel

Beyond the hive-Arup associates:tumblr Polychroniadas

London-based arup associates have won the top golden beetle prize for their design 
of ‘insect hotel’ in the competition hosted by british land and the city of london, ‘beyond the hive’. The brief called for a sustainable and creative insect habitat for the city of london parks.

mulleindown - hundertwasser - high-rise meadow house by manhardt…

well its only a model...but anyone who knows the work of Hundertwasser ... painter and 'architecture doctor' - knows that he actually had his plans for buildings realised. Its not for nothing he remains so well loved by so many... and interestingly ... children adore his work! 

     Stephane Couturier Tumblr: polychroniadis

'Usine Toyota n°1’, Series: Melting Point by Stéphane Couturier from the exhibition for the shortlist of photographers in the 2011 prix pictet photography and sustainability competition.

I had to stop and consider this work carefully - its from a series called Melting point - given the last week I wanted to make sure what I was viewing. Below are inks to the site where you can read more on this photographer... this series taken inside the Toyota assembling plant in France in 2005.

Biography
Stéphane Couturier: The Artist’s Path In 1994, Stéphane Couturier showed the first works in a series called Urban Archaeology. Viewing the city as... more

Artist statement
Stéphane Couturier – Melting Point - Toyota The series of twenty large photographs depicting the Toyota assembly plant in Valenciennes (France)...more

Tunisian kitchen; Tumblr:roam cold highway

I look at this and am reminded of so many kitchens the world over where pride is taken in prized cooking vessels and keeping the simplest of spaces tidy, practical and pleasing to the eye.

It makes me wonder about the western preoccupation, rampant in some parts more then others, of continually gutting kitchens for state of the art sets ups with all the trappings of success... and very often barely used and barely appreciated.

When I think of landfill I think of all that waste ... and it contrasts with the images of spaces above like this where hospitality and careful maintaining of cultural traditions and relationship to where the food comes from is a shared experience and a celebration of life.

Lest we forget!

from roam cold highway tumblr

50 JAPANESE NUCLEAR ENGINEERS ARE STAYING BEHIND AT THE FUKUSHIMA POWER PLANT TO TRY AND PREVENT A NUCLEAR MELTDOWN. THEY ARE GETTING THE SAME AMOUNT OF RADIATION PER HOUR THAT A NUCLEAR ENGINEER RECEIVES IN HIS/HER ENTIRE CAREER. GET THESE HEROES ON THE FRONT PAGE.

viasquaredd:

via REDDIT, nzherald

prayerflags:

(by Ornella Bagnato)

Posters for Japan I found at tumblr 'rery likes' with this note below:

poster by Steven Jodistiro

Japan was devastated by an 8.9 earthquake and tsunami today, causing widespread damage. They need our help. Donate to the charitable organization of your choice to do your part with relief efforts

• Canadian Red Cross
• American Red Cross
• Doctors without Borders
• The Salvation Army
• Oxfam
• Global Living
• Care
• ShelterBox (…)        
Haven’t decided yet through which organization my contribution should go and know that it might not be consequent. But as a dear friend said very well:        
"No contribution is insignificant, because all together makes a lot, maybe not enough, but one must do what is possible."

I wish to finish off with a note from a dear blogger friend in LA Mlle Paradis whose post today was one I wish to share.. she writes at her "Day of Speaking Out" post:

I don't mean to be awkward but watching the BBC News has made me feel that it is time to do exactly the opposite.  I know the bloggers who have organized the Day of Silence below have their hearts in the right place, but watching BBC TV tonight I feel that we have been silent for TOO LONG!

I've left this note on several blogs this evening and will leave it on many more.  I've called Japan Consulates in L.A. and Honolulu, the American Consulate in Tokyo and have left emails for President Obama and my Congresspeople.  Perhaps you would like to do the same.  

I was brought up in the Asian culture to behave nicely and stay quiet until called upon to put my two cents in but I feel, that a week into the crisis in Japan, more must be done and it's not enough for ordinary people watching this happen to sit home in silence.  If the Japanese government/people are anything like the Asian people I grew up with, they are very good at offering help, but have a very hard time asking for it themselves.  Here is what I'm saying:

i’m asking you to add your voice to those who are calling for an airlift/drop of food into northeast japan. by a non-japanese entity, if necessary. within 24 hours. it seems that the japanese government are overwhelmed and it is just heartbreaking to think that people are now starving there after all that they have been through. it has been six days since some of them have had a proper meal and those who are being fed are sharing one riceball between two people!

thanks if you can. it’s terrible to stand by and to feel we can do nothing to help.

well ... my post is in large part inspired by Mlle Paradis and her "Day of Speaking Out" She pondered Japan being a country willing to come to the aid of others but perhaps no wanting to be seen as overwhelmed, needing support, not managing well... stoicism has its downsides as any of you with that tendency knows! 

I'd meant to go to Green drinks tonight...but was out much of the day at a wonderful event that some time I will post on. Great conversations with some wonderful people. Came home most inspired!

So if I didn't get to Green Drinks then at least I can offer this post to start some conversations or prompt your thoughts on these various matters.

Have a good and safe weekend all as we offer our best thoughts and prayers to all in the land of the cherry blossoms!

PS two creatives using their artistic talent to raise funds for Japan... read here - catkin and teasal and hello sandwich!Hello Sandwich on twitter.

JUST ADDED:
Mlle Paradis has updated with further info on:
Emergency! Japan Needs an Airlift: Here's Why Be sure to read this update from her if you wish to understand this most pressing situation for the people north of Tokyo who are cut off from supplies!

NB: if you try to comment and it falters... try second time...  it seems to work. S x

Pacific neighbours

Its been a long time since I visited this wonderful country... I have strong memories of an amazing trip in 1988 when I was lucky to stay with my friend Hisae who'd been an exchange student from Hokkaido in my final year of high school. Todays news took my thoughts back to her family and places we visited.

Skyline of Tokyo

photo illustration of seismic chart

Thoughts turn to Japan ... hoping people everywhere are finding their way to safety! The tsunami warning that was sent out across the pacific has been updated here in Australia with the Bureau of Meteorology saying the threat to Australia and New Zealand has been downgraded with little impact expected. 


I wrote this post this afternoon an hour or so after the earthquake struck and the following Tsunami. Now its midnight here and I'm watching the news broadcasts and noting that the Phillipines seems to have come through OK and eastern parts of Indonesia describe a small tsunami with no reports of damage.


Reports from Japan grow more sobering all the time... fires in Oil refineries, Nuclear fears, missing people and the rising toll. Warnings persist for Hawaii and other parts of the pacific and west coast of northern America. 

Our little globe is taking a huge battering of late ... we can only hope the rest of the year is quieter! Thoughts go to all who, in whatever way, are affected by this tragic news.

I thought I'd share these altogether different stories from Japan below that caught my attention whilst reading the Japan Times online ...the first one titled Trends in Japan 2010: yama boom.

This is a country which brings trends to light in a very big way (many of you probably know this better than I)... especially trends for young people.

Trends in Japan 2010: yama boom

December 20th, 2010 by Felicity Hughes

The phrases “yama girl” and “power spot” both appeared in Jiyu Kokuminsha’s list of the year’s popular Japanese expressions, reflecting the fact that during 2010 Japan’s hills were alive with hordes of young female hikers. These women, attracted by the promise of powering up on spiritual energy, while sporting fashionable threads, were dubbed yama gaaru (mountain girls) by the media and have fueled what’s been called the yama boom.

Add caption

Companies have been quick to cash in on the trend. Alpine-wear makers have  rolled out new lines with the stylin’ hiker in mind. Hotel Nikko in Nara is unveiled a yama girl plan, offering a discount for female hiking groups. Yama girls also have their very own magazine called Randonnée, which features articles on mountain fashion as well as the more practical aspects of hiking.

When they hit the countryside trails mountain girls wear sensible footwear and bright leggings coupled with cute short skirts. Some like this look so much that they wear it out in Tokyo’s concrete jungle.

Some  alpinists have said, however, that the city streets is where novice hikers should stay. The veterans’ warnings about the volatile weather conditions of Japan’s rugged mountains were proven right a couple of months ago when a group of young hikers got stuck on Mount Sawaguchi  in Kawanehoncho, Shizuoka Prefecture. According toSankei News, the group of two women and three men were on a yamakon (mountain climbing group blind date), when a sudden change in the weather made them lose their way. Having no map nor compass, they were unable to find their way back to the relatively easy hiking course. Fortuntately, they were rescued two days after they went missing.

If only they had had Mapion’s new cell-phone 3D maps, which went on the market on Oct. 27, just a couple of days before they set off on their hike. The CG-illustrated maps, made to appeal to a younger generation of climbers, are reported to be visually stunning and give the user an easy-to-navigate view of the terrain.

Beautiful scenery is not the only pull of mountain climbing. Another attraction is the power spot, places that are purported to posses large amounts of spiritual energy. Earlier this year we wrote about the increasing growth of this trend and the publishing boom in books about power spots.

According to an article published yesterday in the Yomiuri Online, the power-spot trend shows no sign of abating and large numbers of young visitors continue to visit famous sites in search of enlightenment. While it’s now getting a bit too cold to hike up Japan’s mountains to gather spiritual energy, other urban power spots, such as Meiji Shrine, are still enjoying healthy numbers of visitors.

This  article got me thinking. Young Japanese girls I met in Melbourne in the 90's who were spending 6 months traveling and working in Australia were all seriously searching for something outside the expectations of their families and tradition. I met numbers of travellers when they came to visit someone staying at my place ...and there was a very restless spirit in those I conversed with. Its always interesting to consider what exists under the surface of trends and so-called fads ...in this light I found the Yama-girls most curious.

What a long and fascinating history this country has had - evolving at an extraordinary rate since 1945!

Another article I thought I'd share that reflects on the food culture past and present:

Vegetable boom growing steadily

February 8th, 2011 by Felicity Hughes

Despite the hallowed status of vegetables in traditional Buddhist cuisine and the healthy reputation of the Japanese diet, let’s face it: The majority of restaurants in postwar Japan are about pleasing carnivores, and most often the main-course options are limited to animal proteins. In recent years, though, vegetable-centric cuisine — not to be confused with strictly vegetarian fare — has been gaining popularity, with the number of restaurants focused on fresh produce growing steadily.

Don’t expect the waiters to be wearing Birkenstock sandals at these new style veggie restaurants, and the soup stock won’t necessarily be fish-free. The vegetables and their provenance do, however, take center-stage. This is literally the case at Nouka no Daidokoro (Farmer’s Kitchen), which just recently opened its fourth restaurant in Tokyo. At the Ebisu location, patrons enter through a fully stocked produce locker (which doubles as a veggie store), and a vegetable hothouse and veggie buffet are the restaurant’s centerpieces. On the walls, large posters sing the praises of the star farmers of Japan and at the register, the shelves are filled with condiments and snacks made from local goodness.

Yasaiya Mei, now with six locations, is slightly more up-scale but places the same emphasis on domestically grown vegetables. Quiz the staff on a particular vegetable, and there’s a good chance that they’ll not only impress you with their in-depth knowledge, but that they’ve actually been to the farm where it was grown.

Late last month, a new face arrived on the yasai scene: Vegetable Sushi Potager, which features nigiri-zushi topped with ingredients such as shitake, carrots, radishes and cauliflower. Aya Kakisawa, the chef and owner of Vegetable Sushi Potager, has searched not only domestically but also globally for ingredients that would work well on a bed of sticky rice.

Kakisawa also owns the extremely popular Pattiserie Potager in Nakameguro, which sells “vegetable sweets” such as carrot and chocolate flans; edamame cheese cakes; and purple sweet potato Valentine’s chocolates. She’s obviously on to a good thing. We chanced by Pattiserie Potager on a Sunday last month and the queues were out the door.

Despite the good times, industry website Tokyo Food News Online has sounded a note of caution to budding restauranteurs: There are plenty of vegetable cuisine restaurants that have gone under over the past few years, so it’s important to get the formula right. The Japanese are extremely partial to a nice bit of meat, so drawing the focus away from carnivorous delights has to be done well.

One shop that has been thriving is the Chofu-based Misatoya. The shop also doubles as a grocer selling organic vegetables to a loyal clientele. It’s this model that Tokyo Food News think might be the key to success, just as fishmonger’s have successfully started up izakaya (drinking establishements) on the premises in recent years, grocers might think to expand their business by setting up a restaurant in store.

Would a delicious slice of pumpkin satisfy as the main attraction to your meal or do you think nothing can replace a good steak? Are you up for trying out vegetable sushi or sweets?

(Nouka no Daidokoro photos by Mio Yamada)

This article below is precious ... had to post it too! There are many ways in which to experience and understand the particulars of a culture. These are certainly evocative even if somewhat unusual!

Unusual souvenirs deliver Japan in a can

Monday, January 17th, 2011

Browsing the shelves of Tokyu Hands the other day, a member of the Japan Pulse team came upon a display of weird and wonderful sweeties. Among the items on sale were various cans of bizarrely flavored sweets including: katsudon (deep fried pork cutlet) drops from Aisu and yaki udon (fried noodle) dropsfrom Kakura. After marveling at these canned items, a story in Nikkei Trendy caught our attention: From May this year, visitors to the volcanic island of Sakurajima will be able to buy cans of volcanic ash to commemorate their visit. Once we’d read that, we had to satisfy our craving for more weird and wonderful canned goods being sold as souvenirs in Japan. Here’s our roundup of what we found:

Katsudon drops with extra "source"

Aroma! Osaka: These three cans each contain aromas that are designed to conjure up the atmosphere of the city. Each can is meant to contain a smell that sums up a particular area of the city. The smell of thick stage makeup in one can is supposed to conjure up an image of Dotonbori’s theatrical past. In another can, the smell of the sea is meant to make you think of kimono-wearing mama-sans from the Kitashinchi entertainment district. The aroma of Tenpouzan, Osaka’s harbor village, is billed as a “scent of memories” — that first date on a Ferris wheel. Ahhh. Surprisingly, there’s no takoyaki (fried octopus ball) scent.

Akihabara canned oden: Oden, a soup which contains thick chunks of radish, eggs and other delights, wasput into cans by Chichibu Denki and went on sale on the streets of Akihabara from vending machines back in the ‘90s. The product has been hugely popular with the town’s geeks who consume the stew while waiting in line to purchase limited-edition goods. If you’d like to try Akihabara canned oden, you can buy a can on Flutterscape.

Canned pearls: These cans contain shellfish that you are supposed to prize open to extract a pearl hidden inside. The color of the “freshwater pearl” you end up with will signify luck in a particular area of your life: a pink pearl indicates you’ll be lucky in love; white guarantees good health;  cream is for all-round good fortune; purple is for study and black bodes well for your finances. While this is not necessarily a souvenir, it can be bought at souvenir stores in seaside tourist destinations such as Matsushima.

Canned drops: These canned sweeties come in “traditional” flavors, yet not exactly the sorts of flavors you’d normally associate with candy. Each flavor is linked to a region. For Fukuoka, there’s Motsu Nabe, which captures the taste of the region’s famous offal hotpot. Yum! Others taste treats on offer include Kyoto Tsukemono (pickled vegetables), Mojiko Yaki Curry (fried curry) and Ooita Yuzu Kosyo (yuzu pepper). (Here’s a photo gallery of a few.) As mentioned, you can currently find these on the first floor of Tokyu Hands Shibuya, and online at JBox.

Hai! Douzo: What’s the perfect souvenir to bring back from a volcanic island? Canned volcanic ash, of course. The name of Sakurajima’s Hai! Douzo plays on the double meaning of “hai,” which can mean both “yes” and “ash.” We reckon that those buying the can of ash will probably be purchasing it more for the joke than for its contents. Hai! Douzo is scheduled to go on sale from May this year.

You can read more at this Japanese Times blog Japan- Pulse here.

Im sure you'll all join me in sending heart-ful wishes to these Pacific neighbours and any in the surrounding region at risk tonight!