Mike's Blender - Japan

Tokyo Skies

Slate grey might be the default setting of Tokyo's skies, but every so often it produces some dynamic and photogenic weather patterns. Living on the 9th floor of the tallest building in the immediate area around it, I'm often treated to some great sunrises, sunsets and what have you...

Art Show 2009 - Pink Cow

2 years, a bit of blood, a lot of sweat, a couple of tears, and 33 paintings later, my artwork is once again on display at the Pink Cow in Shibuya. First things first, thanks to those of you who made it out to my reception held last Sunday (Nov. 8th). I appreciated the great support from about 20 of my hipster friends and acquaintances, and I managed to sell two more paintings!

Ueno Zoo - Animal Prison

I'll come right out and say it, I don't like zoos. The idea of keeping wild animals in small, boring and ugly cages just for the purpose of entertainment is fairly repulsive to me. Having said that, I'm sure people will comment, maybe angrily, that zoos have an educational purpose as well, and I'll pay very slight homage to that, however just as much education, if not more, can be gained by watching a good animal documentary on TV. Watching how animals behave in zoos is hardly a reflection of how they act in their natural habitat anyway...

Winter Beauty

The fifth (and last?) in my series of girls in traditional Japanese kimono. I told myself I'd do 5 of these, but I ran into a couple of problems...

Coke plus Fiber

Unlike Pepsi who is busy making up bizarre but interesting flavour alternatives of its most popular drink, Coke seems determined to bore us with its line up of 'healthy' Cola options. Following Coke plus Vitamin C and Green Tea Coke, comes 'Coke plus Fiber'. Constipated Coke lovers can now breathe a sigh of relief that their favourite beverage is taking their regularity in hand. No need to eat Bran Flakes and prunes every morning, just guzzle some softdrinks!

Japan's Concrete Coast

Sometime back in the 1960s, the idea of 'stabilizing' coastal areas; protecting them from erosion, became en vogue. However by the 80s, most countries figured out that concrete shores, walls and 'tetrapods' as those huge 4 pronged jacks are called, actually speed up erosion, not prevent it, and the practice was discontinued, even reversed. Except for Japan that is, whose love affair with concrete knows no bounds.

Big Joe in Gorilla Park

What do you do if you're a dingy, grey suburb located outside of Tokyo and want to reinvent yourself? If you're the town of Kawaguchi, Saitama, famous for being dingier and greyer than most of the suburbs bordering Tokyo, you build a statue of a gorilla in a park and then give it an original name such as 'Gorilla Park'. Dinginess begone! Putting it under the overpass of a massive super highway was also a stroke of genius. No sense wasting valuable, quiet, real estate on things like parks right?