What does a night in the museum really feel like?

Definitely none of those nightmare-ish experience where ancient animals survive to claw you alive.  I've stayed in an art museum before - well, sorta.  To be exact, it's an entire art island on its own which is called Naoshima in the South of mid Japan, which was truly an unforgettable experience.  Just to give you an idea how beautiful it was:

The Bennese Art Site at Naoshima was designed by Tadao Ando and he is one of the world's most revered architects.  Speckled around the island are some of the world's finest artists and one for example is Yayoi Kusuma's spotted pumpkin - you could see works by Andy Warhol and Claude Monet (yup, there's where they kept em' waterlilies!).  If art is your thang, you've come to the right place.  Dug out some of my photos I took when I was there in 2008 and boy, that's nostalgia...

Here's Cat conquering the world.

Yea, little guy likes ice cream on waffles :)

The underground museum that you could 'experience' art via immersion like the first picture you saw on this post.

Yup, that's me.  Walking Cat.

Yayoi's famous spotted vege.

Up, close and personal with the pumpkin.

The Benesse Art House, hotel.

Clean, simple design - truly Andao's blueprint.

The rooms were simple, equipped with 'smart' carpentry system.  A push and a pull of a board/cover/wall, you could transform the place to something else.

Cat reading up on Naoshima.

Love healthy breakfast :)

That's Cat and my Japanese mom asking for directions.

Glass steps to the shrine.

Beautiful 'noren' - the piece of cloth that's hung at the entrance of Japanese traditional homes.

Functional art - toldja they were speckled everywhere.

Another of Yayoi Kusuma's pumpkin installation.

Yes, brought back so much memories.  And in my pursuit of extraordinary travel experiences, I came across another boutique art hotel recently.  Now if this doesn't make your heart leap in excitement, I don't know what does:

Ladies and gentlemen, introducing HOMA - Hotel of Modern Art, Guilin, China.  Who would have thought there's such a fine piece of design in Guilin?  

Am planning a trip there in April.  Hey, landscape baby, wait for me :)

子供たちために、すごいかわいい福島話のアニメをつくんだ！

お医者さんたち、がんばるよ！

One idea at one a time.

Last week, we talked about the possibility of people opening up their own homes as shelter. And today, it's already happening. Couchsurfers are giving out their 'couches' as a shelter of relief to Japan's earthquake victims till things get better. I'm on it, are you?

Okay, one down, next?

Can advertising help Japan? Yes, we can!

Well, since we're always talking about ideation in our line of work, then I think this shouldn't be excluded. So, we're thinking of innovative solutions on how to help Japan to get back at her feet, while her people are so wonderfully, heartwarmingly, calmly and respectfully trying to help one another to hold the fort.

According to the news, Japan needs blood donors, money for aid, food, water and electricity. These are common needs which normally arise during natural disasters but they have a more serious situation looming, which is nuclear radiation.

So while the world is raising funds for aid and relief and countries are sending in their expert teams, maybe... just maybe we can help them by different ideas and solutions? Here are some that were kind of brewing:

1) Their economy is in a disastrous state. The government is pumping in money to sustain it and calling Japanese all over the world to send money back to the country. What if, we from all over the world can send 'investment loans' to Japan? Maybe the country will return the loan in 5 years, 10 years, or whatever stipulated years without interest? If 1 million people provide $100 and 500,000 people invest $1000 and 100,000 gives $10,000, we would have a total of $1.6m already.

2) This may sound very utopian, but if every family can take in another who has been a victim of the earthquake disaster for a short period of time instead of leaving the homeless in the shelter, this will give the government enough time to concentrate on recovery and rebuilding. In no time, Japan will be as good as new. I suppose, this works best within the country.

3) Stretching the idea from number two. Due to the radiation situation, what if the people around the world can loan a home to the Japanese until things are calmer and warmer? Especially for the elderly, pregnant women and children?

4) One of Japan's key economic pillars is tourism, what if we explore the possibility of 'voluntourism' instead? Normally, voluntourism is popular in third world countries but not somewhere like Japan, but this could be a good time over the course of a year for people from all over the world to not just visit the country, but experience her spirit in the face of such moment. People could help to rebuild the country by volunteering their time, money, resources and most importantly, encouragement. The Japanese thrives on the 'gambatte' spirit :)

5) Japan has always been good at building brands. And their brands have always been extremely nationalistic. Which is why, many corporations like Toyota, not only compete with its native competition, but also the likes of other brands, more so by nationality, namely Korean, Chinese, etc. What if these other national brands can put aside their nationalism and competitiveness for the sake of humanity, instead focus on donation to the Japanese people?

6) This must be a miracle, but what if we don't stop buying Japanese brands? But pledge our brand loyalty for the next two years as part of our 'economic donation' to help them back to speed?

7) A candlelight vigil in every country. People queue in silence with candles for minutes and even hours, till they reach the end of the line, where they get to send a video message to the people in Japan. The vigil itself allows others to experience the need for calmness and discipline in time of crisis. And for once, we're hoping that news channels will broadcast this to the Japanese instead of the other way round allowing the people to tune in to a specified channel 24/7 and watch hundreds, thousands, if not millions of people queuing with them, sharing messages that will lift any discouraged spirit.

Well so far, we only have seven ideas. Some definitely jolt you a little but before, before, before you switch into auto mode and say 'no, that's not possible', please, please, please consider thinking outside the line for once. You need innovative ways to help a country that already has a longstanding innovative culture.

While all these ideas were bubbling in the cauldron, I had a 'lightbulb' question. For every disaster that strikes somewhere, there is of course, a standard set of dire problems that need immediate attention. But almost, always, there is always an additional problem (or two, or three) that are entirely unique to the country due to its political, economical, technological, social, environmental, and even geographical nature. But the global solution to these problems are always the same. Fundraising. Yes, money is important and that we have already established before. But what else? Haiti after the disaster, sent the country back 20 years ago (or maybe more) but Japan who is a fairly prosperous country, will lose maybe 5 years of its future. I'm not implying that money aid is not important to them. But economic stability seems to me, weighs more in the long run. While we tackle immediate visible issues, how do we put in place a strategic plan to tackle mid to long term, invisible ones? Yes, the question is, what else?

We always tell our clients, every one of their problems need a tailor-made solution. Likewise, likewise, how can we as a global community, put our heads together to tailor-make a solution for Japan, simply because like a good friend of mine had put it, "We are all citizens of Earth". How can we get our neighbour back on her feet quickly?

And because Cat is Japanese. I am responsible for reassuring him that his hometown is in good hands.

Stuck in between two loves.

For the past few days, I've been glued to the TV and the internet. I found myself extremely agitated with the oncoming news coverage of Japan. First was the quake, then the tsunami, then the fires, then the explosions at the nuclear plants, then the radiation leaks, then the blackouts (in winter!)... I was distressed because I have friends and family (close, foster and distant) in Japan. I found myself considerably more stressed than when natural disaster happened elsewhere. And admittedly, even more than when our country's East Coast was flooded.

I started texting and emailing everyone I know, searching for them via Facebook, hoping that everyone is okay. Well, thank God everyone is okay. But how can you be in the face of such destroying force? They must be shocked, worried and scared. Not knowing what will happen for the next few days. Then I tweeted, there wasn't a time that I wanted to go back to Japan as badly as now. Because I just want to be there.

I thought about my spiritual family - I had the closest walk with God when I was in Kofu because Suzy was my spiritual mom. Then I thought about my foster parents, Mutsumi and Hideo who took me in so warmly when I was sort of left homeless for about two years. Then I thought about Future, the school I was teaching in and all the kids I taught and my 'bootcamp' boss, Ishikawa-san. Then I thought about the umpteenth time I've been in Dentsu and everyone whom I have met, the ones who really taught me the spirit of not giving up and the ones who gave me so much opportunities to pursue outside my boundaries. Then I thought about my sister-in-law's family who took me in like one of their own while I was living in Hokkaido. Then I thought about my old apartment by the river, and the serenity of nature surrounding it. Then I realized that I am really deeply disturbed by this sad news and I wish I could go 'home'.

My friends never stop to take a jest out of me, saying that I am sometimes more Japanese than Malaysian, although my perpetual answer has always been: Aku anak Malaysia. I love my country but I can't help not missing Japan. But sometimes, sadly... I feel that I resonate with the Japanese values more, sometimes even feeling more at home in Japan. Is that wrong?

Sometimes I get the Japanese but for the life of me, cannot understand why Malaysians can be so cynical, giving up without even trying. Sometimes I too have the never-say-no spirit, this unquenchable optimism to attempt solutions and sometimes Malaysians tell me not to be silly because things will never change, but all they do is complain, at home, at work, everywhere about how everything is not working for them or could be better. Especially on how Malaysia can never be one.

Sometimes, like now, I feel torn. Sometimes I share what I feel and when I do, others think I've betrayed my citizenship so I have stopped sharing. But now? You know what? I couldn't careless about what they think. My heart is with Japan and the ordeal she is going through now. I wish I could do something to ease her pain.

The story below shows a true reflection of a selfless spirit. Really makes us think. When disaster strikes, everyone's for themselves (and you'll be surprised that in Malaysia, even when disaster DIDN'T strike, everyone's STILL for themselves). But not the Japanese. Always service first and even more so in its darkest moment. She taught me many things when I was with her. Her lessons are priceless. Her spirit is unbreakable.

***

Story from here (scroll down for simple translation).

看日本人如何面对灾难（值得全世界的人学习！）--- 加图了！本帖最后由 ~樱子~ 于 2011-3-12 05:50 PM 编辑

‎* 现在全东京电话都不能用，只有网络。所有人这时候都在走路回家，电车瘫痪。日本人只担心没食物。店长还很敬业的开店，怕大家没食物吃。只有超市关门，货物都倒了，无法营业。

** 几百人在广场避震完毕，整个过程，无一人抽烟。服务员在跑，拿来一切毯子，热水，饼干。所有男人帮助女人，跑回大楼为女人拿东西 ，接来电线放收音机。几个小时后，人散，地上没有一片垃圾。

** 地震後，日本三得利公司宣布所有販售機將免費供應飲料！日本的711和全家全部免费提供食品和饮水！渴了，自动贩卖机免费；饿了，便利店免费；累了，大超市开放避难；寂寞了，公众电话免费；听不懂日语，电视台中文喊话教怎么避难。這就是國家形象，日本雖然受災，日本人卻給世人上了一課。

* 一日本网友说：说句心里话，虽然我在日本，但其实庆幸是发生在日本，不然死伤人数肯定很恐怖，我相信全世界只有日本才可以把死伤降到最低！



看看某些中国人对此事的看法：

可恶的是这一群人：
http://club.autohome.com.cn/bbs/thread-a-100010-9777683-1.html
人家日本发生这么严重的事情，一些中国人竟然在庆祝
imxiaomii 发表于 2011-3-12 10:10

***
Translation from Babel Fish. Not perfect, but you get the meaning:

Now the entire Tokyo telephone cannot use, only then network. All people at this time is walking goes home, cable car paralysis. The Japanese only worried that does not have food. Shopkeeper also very professional opening a shop, feared that everybody does not have food to eat. Only the supermarket closes, the cargo but actually, has been unable to do business.

** several hundred people shocked proof in the square finish, the entire process, did not have one person to smoke. The service person is running, brings all blankets, the hot water, the biscuit. All men help the woman, runs back the building to take the thing for the woman, meets the electric wire to put the radio. Several hours later, the human disperses, a ground not piece of trash.

** after earthquake, Japan three profit the company to announce all sales machine the free serve drink! Japan 711 and entire family free provides food and the potable water completely! Thirsty, trades automatically machine free; Hungry, convenience store free; Tired, the big supermarket opening seeks asylum; Lonely, public telephone free; Can'tunderstand Japanese, how the television station Chinese frontline propaganda teaches to seek asylum. This is the national image, Japan, although hits by disaster, the Japanese actually gave on the common people a class.

* a Japanese net friend said: Spoke the sentence at heart words, although I in Japan, but rejoiced is actually occurs in Japan, otherwise the casualties are very definitely terrorist, I believe the world only then Japan only then to be possible to fall lowly to the casualty!

***

True I was born in Malaysia, and this is and always will be my tanahair, tanah tumpah darahku. Somehow along the way, I guess I was inspired by and picked up some other values from another place. They say Asian values are the same no matter where you are. Asian family values that is. But not national values. And most unfortunately, our national values are vague. I guess I was longing for a place where people would unite in both dark and good times. People who thought about the bigger picture, the collective good rather than their individual selves. People who saw further than their auto-gates.

Don't get me wrong, I've met some really racist Japanese too who for some strange imbecilic reason still perceive Malaysia to be under Japanese occupation. I'm the first one to crawl over the boardroom table and show him my definition of Japanese occupation. My level-headed colleagues would be the ones holding me back to avoid a catastrophic ending. Well, I guess you can never get rid of all the bad apples. But the trick is, not to generalize.

Malaysians, who are with me? Can you hear me? Are you out there? Am I the only one? If our country was distressed, would you stand with her?

Dear Japan, from us with love.

【prayforjapan】世界から届いた日本への祈り [NAVER まとめ]

Japanese automakers halted production.

From The Star Motoring, today.

TOKYO: Japanese automakers halted production at assembly plants in areas hit by Friday's 8.9-magnitude earthquake. One Honda worker died after being crushed by a collapsing wall.

More than 30 other people were injured when walls and parts of a ceiling crumbled at a Honda Motor Co. research facility in northeastern Tochigi prefecture, the company said.

Production at two Honda plants was halted, but resumed shortly afterward at one, it said.

Waves of tsumanis sweeping ashore along Iwanuma in northern Japan on Friday. - AP

Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest automaker, shut down two auto assembly plants, in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures.

There were no immediate reports of injuries among its workers, spokesman Monika Saito said. Parts makers were also shut down, she said.

Nissan Motor Co. halted production at five of its plants in northeastern Japan and in the Yokohama area near Tokyo. It said two workers were slightly injured at its Tochigi plant and its technical centre in Kanagawa prefecture, near Tokyo.

The quake, the biggest in magnitude in modern Japanese history, left hundreds of people dead or missing, and triggered a tsunami that swept over towns, farms and an airport.
-AP

ゆりかもめの玉子Soキュッとですね！

Japanese is so Japanese :)

Cat x Monocle ;)

I miss Cat. He's been hibernating long enough. It's time for some exploration ;)

Why buffet is an insult to Japanese food.

No one can dispute the Japanese attention to details. It's a land of craftsmanship. From traditional wood craft to electronic design and everything in between. Having a buffet spread is like shaving off the eyebrows of the sushi masters still living the art of precise slicing. There is no craft to buffet. The way we grab and chow down the artless variety of foods is certainly not very Zen. Japanese food is half presentation and half appreciation and having a buffet spread that does neither feels like you're just prostituting it.

I'm never one picky about my next meal. By choice, I would never step into a Japanese buffet restaurant nor one of those conveyor belt sushi place. But of course if my hungry company prefers, then I wouldn't say no too. But I'll probably consume with great difficulty. To my conscience that is.

The secret of Japan.

Am back. Shop's open, work resumes as per usual. Sigh.

A good sigh for a good trip :)

Anyway, one of the best parts of my trip was to finally be able to articulate what I thought was amiss in my own country. The habit of always, not resting, not giving excuses, not dampening others' efforts, to always, ALWAYS find a solution to every problem. That's the essence of Japan's entire being. The secret to their success. So if you want to be successful, emulate that.

But of course, there are many supporting but significant factors which continuously spur this spirit of innovation. One of the many is volume. With a population size of approximately 127 million, they have enough volume to almost support any sort of invention. Whether or not it takes flight or flop is a different story. The inventions almost always evolve from the initial concept anyway, constantly improved on which explains why everytime you fly with JAL, you'll be pleasantly surprised in the little improvements made here and there. And why everytime you fly with MAS, it's same old same old, you can almost rehearse the safety script with the Malaysian Girl :)

Imagine niche inventions evolving into bigger ones, combining with other concepts, constantly changing and meeting more needs, solving more problems, serving a bigger purpose. Like an amoeba. Except this one, instead of dividing itself to survive, it keeps swallowing the smaller ones causing it to grow bigger and bigger by the day. Countries with the will but not the volume needed to support it, will have to take bigger risks and higher investments to pursue innovative concepts. It could be a longer route (and a more expensive one) but it will get there. Countries such as South Korea maybe? Taiwan? Singapore? But countries with volume that can swallow up the globe, unfortunately may not have the same mindset and/or skill set (yet). They will also take some time to fully realise their potential. India? China? Brazil?

How about Malaysia? Will we one day be able to catch this thinking? Even if we're 100 million heads behind?

Brand showroom.

Consumers have evolved. Period. At least the urban ones have, becoming smarter, pickier and more distinguished in their choice of brand. Most often that not, this post-modern consumer who is bombarded with thousands of parity brands, make his or her choice based on an alignment of values - obviously between him or herself and the brand. When functionality and/or functional difference are/is out of the equation, then it all boils down to values, the shared vision and interests. If people really do buy brands like they make friends, then we really ought to think about the hospitality we're currently giving to our 'friends' when they visit. Audi did it right although it's not the first, following many other megabrands. Having a brand showroom versus a car showroom, provides customers an experience which definitely lacks in the usual dealer showroom. Long long ago, in far away lands, other brands have already been creating concept stores to showcase products, innovations, history and concepts - Sony has their Sony Centre (for your information, Sony Building in Ginza has been there wayyyy before our dear KLCC), Toyota has its Megaweb, Honda has its mother of all brand showrooms in the form of a circuit in Motegi, Adidas has its Original Store and Apple obviously did not lose out.

I don't think it's necessary for a cool brand to own a conceptual space. Neither do I think its a sure ticket to cool-dom. I think what matters is what do you have to say to your customers whom you want to make friends with? Building a relationship means opening up your past, creating present moments and working towards the future together. It means shared interests, values and respect for each other. Isn't this how we all make friends since the day we dropped our diapers? How did we manage to forget such basic rule?

p/s: Audi Forum? Nice :) check back for some juicy R8s

The future now.

During my recent trip to Tokyo, I was once again, bewildered with Japan's technology of tomorrow for today's people. As my comrade rightly put it, "Sh*t, this is the future. And it's not even supposed to be here yet!"

Right.

The future is here and now. Digital photoframes that can read memory cards, plug and play with your PC, digicam, whatever. Yes, plug it in and watch each of your captured memory slides in and out of the frame. Your album in one single frame. Your whole life in one single frame.

Now, that's putting a new meaning to: As I watch my life passes me by. How apt.

Are we depleting our protein source faster than we can say fish?

Awhile back, I was doing some research on agri and aquaculture production and market demand in various countries in South America. Honestly, I was appalled at the numbers (chart above belongs to Chile). We were chomping down a helluva of pesce if you know what I mean! In Japan, Tsukiji fish market (the world's largest) feeds about one third of its population daily, transacting approximately USD20 million which is equivalent to approximately 17,000 trucks worth of seafood load. Even for less than well-to-do countries like Cambodia, the Tonle Sap lake is dubbed the heartbeat of the country because it supplies fresh water fish to approximately a million Cambodians. Whoa. Hang on a minute. Does anyone know what's the reproduction rate of fishes? At the rate we're chowing down on them, they better be popping babies at F1 speed. However, after a bit more of reading:

The ability of the fisheries to naturally recover also depends on whether the conditions of the ecosystems are suitable for population growth. Dramatic changes in species composition may establish other equilibrium energy flows that involve other species compositions than had been present before (ecosystem shift). (For example: remove nearly all the trout, the carp take over and make it near impossible for the trout to re-establish a breeding population.) - Wikipedia

I realised that it doesn't do the fish community any good too if we keep eating one of their cousins and not eating enough of the rest. Hmm. God certainly is a strategic planner with a cool sense of humor.

I read somewhere that the 'haves' population consists only approximately 20% of total world population. 'Haves' meaning people who can afford to put bread (and fish) on the table 3 times a day. So can you imagine? All those nice scrumptious fish from all over the world are being eaten only by 20% of us?