Posts from ‘October, 2008’

Lots of good Japanese food, it seems! Soba, udon, rice dishes, etc…I’ve passed this restaurant many times, but I’ve never been inside.
At the top, on the left, it says, 「旬の料理」which means, “seasonal food.” Although modern supermarkets and refrigeration allow us to eat food from around the world year round, Japanese cuisine still [...]

Andy Williams from SmugMug posted an article about the CHDK firmware enhancement for certain Canon digital cameras back in August.
Apparently, CHDK allows you to extend the capabilities of your Canon digicam, adding features such as RAW shooting. Prosumer and Professional DSLR cameras allow you to shoot in RAW, which gives you complete control [...]

From the Beijing Capital Museum (北京首都博物馆), which opened earlier this year.

As always, you can click on the image to see a bigger version

I guess it’s true what they say: “You can’t escape the Banana Republic.”
Ok, so they don’t say it. But I just did. Considering all the restaurants, stores, and other things that could do well in Tokyo, but aren’t here…
Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against The Banana Republic. I don’t [...]

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved dragons–especially those of the Chinese variety. I have an affinity for them; when I did Chinese martial arts, my best animal form was the dragon, and when I studied Japanese, my first Japanese teacher nicknamed me “Dragon” in Japanese (”Ryu,” 龍 or 竜). [...]

This man is practicing Qi Gong (pronounced “Chee Gong;” or in Chinese: 气功) in a park in Beijing. Qi Gong is a kind of Chinese Yoga and breath-focused meditation for health and/or spiritual development.

I like the eery contrast of this picture. This was taken at a mountain temple in Beijing in April 2008. You can click on the picture to see a larger view.

My friend Alexander recently sent me an article from Yahoo News, titled, Japan’s Online Scene isn’t so social. The article, written by Jay Alabaster, an Associated Press Writer, outlines the problem that Myspace, Google, and other popular American internet companies have encountered with Japanese users–They rarely reveal their true identities online.
The article is very [...]