Natsuki !

Give it up for Natsuki Yasunami! Natsuki skates for 5Nuts skateboard shop, Japan.

In 2006-2007, Natsuki, myself, and friends skated all over Yokohama's Naka Ward, and Shin-Yokohama, every week, usually at night after we got off from work. We had some really fun times living the urban Japanese dream through skateboarding; guzzling beers and devouring butter peanuts outside of convenience stores, wandering the dense urban forest that Yokohama and major Japanese metropolises really are, and catching the last train home, exhausted with sweaty socks and beer breath. Experiencing Yokohama's vast array of architecture and 19th century European influence, as well as Yokohama's China Town, was a blast! And to experience it with Natsuki and friends (5Nuts crew) really made my time in the Far East memorable.

Oden

Last Minutes with ODEN from Eliot Rausch + Phos Pictures on Vimeo.

MIA

Dali x Kuniyoshi

Voluptas Mors, photograph by Philippe Halsman (in collaboration with Salvador Dalí), 1951

Most people know of Salvador Dali; a Spanish painter, whose imaginative
renderings catapulted the surrealist movement pre-World War II. Dali’s imagination was distinctively authentic, eccentrically unique, and far-out groovy, man! But from where did his imagination propagate? Perhaps you can find slight similarities in
Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s woodblock prints, circa 1840-ish, and Dali's collaborative work, Voluptas Mors, that has wiggled it's way into pop-culture.

Give Thanks Every day

The world needs more role models, and we all need to realize we encounter role models everyday. Observe and learn from people, cultures, and nature; observe and learn from your surroundings in a positve manor.

"The greatest patience is humility. "

Farewell San Francisco

After a four year stint we decided to press on into familiar AND uncharted territories, with hopes of establishing a new base camp. The food options better be good...

Herbie Hancock - 1975

Harvest Moon

Tomorrow the sun will pass directly over the earth’s equator and the Fall Equinox will be underway, or perhaps it will have taken place. Along with the Fall Equinox, star gazers and horizon hunters will be awed by the Harvest Moon, a concurrence that hasn’t happened in 19 years, as well as a small star-like light close to the moon; “star-like” because it’s not actually a star, but the planet Jupiter. This will be the closet Jupiter has come to Planet Earth since 1963.

“Harvest Moon” was coined by Native Americans, denoting the proper time to harvest crops and bring the yield in pre-winter weather, and to give thanks to all living things of the fields and earth that provided them with life. Let’s give thanks

Photograph by Jeff Kiessel, Ludington Daily News/AP

Vernal Equinox

The earth’s axis has once again tilted, allowing the northern hemisphere to be closer to the sun, hence the vernal or spring equinox; March 21, 2010. Spring is here! And with spring comes 12 hour days and universal growth. Praises to the sun for rejuvenating the masses!

Hanami - Japan

Nowruz - Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Tajikistan

May Day

Kite Day - Pakistan

Holi - India

Easter

Chinese New Year

The Year of the Tiger

The Year of the Tiger commences on February 14, 2010 and ends February 2, 2011. The tiger is the third sign of the Chinese Zodiac and it’s also the sign for bravery that is thought to keep away the three main tragedies from the household; fire, thieves, and ghosts.

Tigers are physically powerful, gracious, independent, and bold. They are loving and kind but also selfish with short tempers. They seek attention and power and can become envious in a relationship. Their quest for excitement leads them to take risks with a daring, noble grin. They are natural leaders, protectors, and protestors, and their personalities are charismatic, outgoing, and straight forward.

The Year of the Tiger is the third year in the cycle of “Heavenly Branches”, and it is called the “Yin”.

Winter Solstice

“Man, I can’t get out of bed, what’s the deal?” This was the second thought rolling through my largest organ after I snoozed my alarm and stared at the ceiling around 6:45AM this morning. Despite the fact that 6:45AM is somewhat of an early time to rise, it seemed a bit colder and darker today, on December 22nd. The reason for this slight change in temperature and prolonged darkness was because of yesterday, the Winter Solstice. The Winter Solstice doesn’t just promote a large gathering of pagans and non-pagan spectators at Stonehenge, it marks the first day of winter when the earth’s axial tilt is furthest away from the sun. This means the northern hemisphere will start to have shorter days and longer nights, and if we lived in less than modern times we would have slaughtered all our livestock to conserve farm food and stock up on meat, and the fermenting of wine and beer would have come to a halt just in time for the cold winter season. The Winter Solstice, along with it’s twin sister season, Miss Winter, marks a time of rebirth and merriment, hence international winter holidays and the celebration of a new year; a rebirth of the sun.

Druids at Stonehenge on Winter Solstice

Pagans and Mother Earth

Surya; Hinduism's solar personification

Caribbean sun god

Ra

osechi; New Year's food

Amaterasu; Shinto's sun goddess

SAMHAIN; All Hallow's Eve

Halloween is a black and orange day that traces back to Celtic cultures’ festival of Samhain. Samhain roughly translates as “summer’s end”, and it was celebrated to welcome the darker half of the year by parting with the lighter half. The Celts believed the border between this world and the Otherworld became frail on Samhain, and thus allowed spirits to pass through to either side. This belief parallels the tradition of wearing costumes. By wearing a costume and disguising oneself as a spirit or demon, the Samhain participant would then avoid harmful and harmless spirits by being cloaked in masquerade. Bonfires were prevalent, food storage was imperative for the coming winter, and traditional characters like vampires, werewolves, devils, zombies and goblins were portrayed. I remember Halloween.

Autumnal Equinox

Teresa and Adam in Nikko's Autumn

Adam and Canadian randoms; Nikko Autumn

Randoms from the land of freedom and fries; Nikko AutumnAussie randoms; Nikko Autumn

I swear these aren't my parents. Aussie Randoms: Nikko Autumn

Welsh "Mabon"

Shūbun no hi 秋分の日 - Shinjuku, Tokyo

At 21:18, today, September 22, 2009, the tilt of the Earth's axis will be inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the Sun being vertically above a point on the Equator, thus schlepping in the autumnal equinox. The longer episodes of daylight that we’ve all been enjoying will now cease to exist until the transition from spring to summer in 2010, when the sun moves from the southern hemisphere to the northern.

In ancient Greece the grape harvest took place around the autumnal equinox along with other festivals and celebrations to honor Dionysus, the god of vegetation, the vine, and resurrection who taught humans cultivation methods of grapevines and making wine from fruit. The autumnal equinox also welcomes the Resting Tide, when the physical labor of spring and summer are rewarded with produce from the second harvest. Hence the original Pagan holiday of Thanksgiving; a day to celebrate the last harvest by feasting on the outcome of hard work, both material and magical. The autumnal equinox is celebrated with harvest festivals in countries like Korea, China, and the United Kingdom, and is recognized as a holiday named Shūbun no hi 秋分の日 in Japan and Mabon, a Welsh celebration of old, by Wiccans and Neopagans, as well as World Story Telling Day on a global spectrum.