Video Slide Show of our Nov. 2014 Trip to Zion National Park

http://youtu.be/lk25LrG3DYIhttp://youtu.be/lk25LrG3DYI

Cathedral of St. John in New York & the Phoenix's by Xu Bing

Trip to Mongolia 2014

for about 2 weeks this year, and one week last year, I stayed at this retreat center in Mongolia. A very good way to rejuvenate oneself.

The next few pics show the few from my balcony.

Since last year they added this wonderful little gazebo to sit under.

Below is a picture of the back from last year.

Nanka Nikkei News: Hinamatsuri JACCC 3-1-2014

I rambled over, or wandered over, to the JACCC in Little Tokyo Los Angeles today, for their Hinamatsuri Celeberation. It's always great to have a chance to meet up with my teacher Hirokazu Kosaka; and to support his events at the JACCC.


It was great!

As usual...

Thank you Sensei,


below is a link to the Nanka Nikkei News Blog where I posted the pics already.



Nanka Nikkei News: Hinamatsuri JACCC 3-1-2014: Hinamatsuri at the JACCC: I expected a nice talk about the history and meaning of Hinamatsuri, perhaps by the Artistic Director Mr. Hi...

Art Center College of Design

So this week I went to Art Center College of Design.

As you can see it was dark, foggy, and raining.

But everything was really cool anyhow, in fact, it lent itself to a mysterious adventure.
The cafeteria was closing down, just a few students on their laptops (mostly apple) and/or their phones.

I drove up in our new hybrid

So it kind of set the tone for a futuristic feeling.
The buildings at the Hillside Campus are mostly concrete, glass, and steel.
As I drove up it certainly seemed futuristic too,
but actually it's almost timeless.
Could be from the 50's or 60's even, anytime from then till now, and into the future.

I stopped by the outdoor library.

Though I couldn't get a good shot of it, there is luckily a well used library indoors too.
Through the windows above the bridge, there were plenty of books to study.

Art Center is well known for their Transportation Design, I was told that students come from auto makers around the world to study.

But they really have courses and tracks in almost every field of design and visual arts: Film, Graphic, and many  more.

The view from the hillside down into Pasadena is alone worth the short drive up. But once up, it feels like a different world. No wonder Art Center graduates some of the top sought after young designers.
Why was I up there? Well, my daughter goes there. So maybe I'm a little prejudice about just how good the place is. But actually that's the reputation, and why my daughter wanted to go there so badly. Glad she found the school just for her, and close to home. Happy that I can drive up there now and then too.

Helen Keller Quote

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart." Helen Keller

Huntington Library 2-15-2014

The Huntington Library/Garden is one of my favorite places to take a stroll. Of course, the Japanese Garden is a must for me. Today the guide took us to what I thought was my least favorite as well, the Desert Garden; but actually, I found it quite an amazing place to visit.

http://www.huntington.org/