what happens twice happens three times

April 2, 2007

photography: thailand, laos, and cambodia

Filed under: photography — frankie g @ 9:54 pm

in march 2007, i went to southeast asia for my second time. my route was bangkok –> ayutthaya –> chiang mai –> chiang kong –> luang prabang (on the mekong river) –> vientiane –> phnom penh –> bangkok.

some of the best experiences that i had on this trip were not documented on film or pixels… but here is a sample of the ones that were…

to view the picture set, click on the image below…

if you have, or could come up with the time and money to take a trip in southeast asia, i highly suggest it.

video: how to make authentic phad thai

Filed under: video — frankie g @ 9:46 pm


Ingredients

  • 80 grams of rice noodles
  • 1 cup of bean sprouts
  • 2 tablespoons of tofu, cut into small pieces
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped pickled white radish
  • 1 tablespoon of crushed roasted peanuts
  • 1/3 cup of juice of ripe tamarind (or 2 tablespoons of white vinegar mixed with 3 tablespoons of water)
  • 1.5 teaspoons of sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of fish sauce (or soy sauce)
  • 1 teaspoon of chopped Chinese leek (or spring onion)
  • 1 tablespoon of dried shrimps
  • a pinch of salt
  • a pinch of chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon of oil
  • 3 cloves of crushed garlic
  • Preparation

  • Heat up the oil a wok on medium heat.
  • Fry tofu until crunchy and golden brown, then turn the heat to low.
  • Add garlic, pickled radish, dried shrimps, and chili powder. Stir until fragrant.
  • Add tamarind juice (or vinegar) and noodles, and turn the heat up to medium.
  • Stir fry until the noodles are soft.
  • Turn the heat down to low.
  • Move the noodles to one side of the wok. Add the egg and scramble.
  • Add the fish sauce, sugar, salt, crushed peanuts, bean sprouts, and Chinese leek and turn the heat up to high.
  • Stir fry thoroughly until well mixed.
  • Serve with a piece of lemon and a fresh salad.
  • after typing all of that, i am extemely hungry

    video: biking along the mekong river in luang prabang, laos

    Filed under: video — frankie g @ 8:32 pm


    March 5, 2007

    art: graffiti in osaka, nagoya, and tokyo

    Filed under: art — frankie g @ 9:32 am

    here are some pictures of japanese graffiti… from around osaka, nagoya, and tokyo. there’s one shot in there (of the sideways face) that i took in bangkok.

    to view the picture set, click on the image below…

    December 7, 2006

    video: the duck girl

    Filed under: video — frankie g @ 6:10 am


    filmed in nippombashi, osaka.
    call me crazy, but i could watch this over and over again.

    December 1, 2006

    photography: monkeys

    Filed under: photography — frankie g @ 6:53 pm

    everybody loves monkeys, and one of the benefits of living in the kansai region is being able to hang out with monkeys whenever you want to at arashiyama’s iwatayama monkey park. i encountered some wild monkeys in cambodia around angkor wat as well.

    to view the picture set, click on the image below…

    October 19, 2006

    video: tarako, everyone’s favorite pickled fish eggs

    Filed under: video — frankie g @ 11:21 pm


    what’s tarako? it’s mentaiko.
    what’s mentaiko? it’s pickled fish eggs.
    sometimes they’re spicy.
    sometimes they’re grilled.
    sometimes they’re served in a rice ball.
    sometimes they’re spread over baked goods.
    sometimes you see them being advertised on giant TV screens around the city, being promoted by a pair of singing and dancing kids wearing mentaiko hats.

    what’s that? you want to buy the CD? really??

    September 7, 2006

    video: cambodia: the streets of phnom penh by pedicab

    Filed under: video — frankie g @ 11:08 am




    the last two are from a busride out in the countryside. my camera couldn’t handle the pace, but i thought i would post them anyways.



    photography: cambodia

    Filed under: photography — frankie g @ 2:33 am

    here are two photosets of pictures that i took while i was in cambodia in february, 2006. they are from phnom penh, battambang, siem reap, angkor wat, and from a boat journey from siem reap to battambang. every time i look at these pictures i want to go back.

    to view the picture sets, click on the images below…

    set one:

    set two:

    September 5, 2006

    art: streamline design and art deco

    Filed under: art — frankie g @ 9:12 am

    here are some pictures that i took at the international design center in nagoya. they have a special show on now about art deco and it’s influence on design throughout the 20th century. lots of eye candy. check it out.

    to view the picture set, click on the image below…

    August 7, 2006

    video: robot fight!

    Filed under: video — frankie g @ 10:07 am


    a robot lovers dream come true. part of the nippombashi street festa. wow.

    July 7, 2006

    video: nippombashi street festa

    Filed under: video — frankie g @ 10:25 am







    make sure that you check out the pictures, too…
    cosplayers in nippombashi

    June 19, 2006

    photography: engrish

    Filed under: photography — frankie g @ 7:35 pm

    bad english is funny.

    why is it called “engrish”? because there is no difference between the “r” and “l” sounds in japanese, so they have a hell of a time learning how to pronounce english words with these phonemes. it also leads to funny typos all over the place.

    to view the picture set, click on the image below…

    photography: robots

    Filed under: photography — frankie g @ 7:05 pm

    here in japan, everyone is well aware of the fact that robots will take over the human race, and that it is just a matter of time before we have to deal with supreme robot overlords. these pictures are from robocup 2005 that was held at intex osaka, and from robo cafe (japanese only site), a robot-themed store and cafe near my house in osaka.

    to view the picture set, click on the image below…

    art: ukiyoe, shoji, emaki

    Filed under: art — frankie g @ 6:31 pm

    most of these pictures were taken at temples, castles, and museums. they are of traditonal japanese art. i have taken pictures of ukiyoe (woodblock prints), shoji (painted sliding doors), and emaki (rolled paintings/prints). people take pictures all the time in temples and castles, but i never know if someone is going to come up to me and ask me to stop taking pictures of the artwork, especially if i’m pressing the camera right up against a glass display cabinet. most of it is well over 100 years old — surely the copyright has expired?

    to view the picture set, click on the image below…

    photography: kimono

    Filed under: photography — frankie g @ 9:21 am

    here is a photo set of kimono fabric that i have taken over the last year. my girlfriend is into kimono in a major way, so i’ve accompanied her to many shops, mostly in kyoto. these are pictures that i have taken in those shops, and randomly in my daily life.

    to view the picture set, click on the image below…

    kimono fabric

    video: sushi, the japanese tradition

    Filed under: video — frankie g @ 9:20 am


    satirical video about the japanese tradition of sushi.

    if the video stalls while you are watching it, pause the video and allow it some time to buffer before watching. it’s worth the wait.

    photography: sake kegs

    Filed under: photography, art — frankie g @ 9:14 am

    here’s a photo set of japanese sake kegs. the sake brewers give kegs of their product to shrines as an offering to the gods celebrated by those shrines. the labels usually feature traditional japanese calligraphy (shodo) as the main design element. most of these pictures were taken at itsukushima jinja shrine in miyajima (near hiroshima) and a shrine near himeji castle.

    to view the picture set, click on the image below…

    a sake keg from itsukushima jinja

    photography: nippombashi street festa 2006

    Filed under: photography — frankie g @ 9:04 am

    this is a photo set from the nippombashi street festa 2006. nippombashi is the center of “otaku” culture in osaka, second only to akihabara in tokyo. also known as “den den town”, this area was almost exclusively electronics stores in the 80’s and 90’s. recently, more and more of the retail market of electronic goods is shifting towards electronics superstores like yodobashi camera (japanese only) and bic camera (japanese only), so as the electronics shops go out of business one by one, otaku shops take their place (anime/manga shops, maid cafes/hostess bars, toy shops, etc). words can’t explain the fantasy world that these people live in (at least my words can’t do it justice), so i’ll let the pictures do the talking.

    to view the picture set, click on the image below…

    cosplayers in nippombashi

    June 18, 2006

    video: denki groove music video

    Filed under: video — frankie g @ 8:49 pm


    Yes, things like this do still seem strange after living here for one year. Music Video of Denki Groove (directed by Pierre Taki and Masakazu Amahisa).

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