Mike's Blender - Japan Mike's Blender - Japan Follow the adventures of a Canadian guy in Japan as he takes a look at some of the more bizarre foods, places and ideas of our Eastern Cousins Articles
Time-lapse - Silver Lake Provincial Park
2010-10-28 00:33:00 One of the first things I did when I got back to Canada was go camping. I've been going to Silver Lake with my family since I was a kid, and after a 10 year absence, it was nice to see that the place hasn't changed in the slightest. Days were spent swimming, canoeing, hiking, taking photos, etc., but mostly just relaxing. This is my first time-lapse video, something I've wanted to do for a while, but I've a new respect for people that do longer, more in depth ones. I used a shooting interval of between 10 to 30 seconds for my shots, and when 1 shot equals only a tenth of second, that translates into standing around for a really long time while your camera takes the necessary shots... Anyway enjoy! More About: Time , Park
Tokyo International Forum
2010-10-28 00:33:00 Upon entering the Tokyo Kokusai Forum , your first impression will probably be that of awe. Far more impressive looking on the inside; when you look up from the bottom floor far below, you might get the feeling you're looking up at the ribs of a whale, or perhaps the skeleton of a massive ship. Your second thought will probably be something like: 'So what exactly is the purpose of this place?' Good question. After sniffing around a bit it's hard to credit it with being any more than a massive waste of extremely prime real estate, and of course money. The forum has other sections which are used for exhibitions, conferences, various performances and the like, but this particular building (below photo) seems to exist almost solely for the purpose of just looking good. Oh there are a couple restaurants on the top floor (right hand side) and some small conference rooms below that which can be rented out for extraordinary sums of money, but for the most part they remain empty... More About: International
Abandoned Ginza
2010-10-28 00:33:00 What if one day, for no particular reason, nobody at all came to Ginza? Photographic proof that the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction...
All Good Things
2010-10-28 00:33:00 Mike's Blender would like to thank: -Japan, for always having just one more interesting and beautiful destination to go to, one more bizarre food to eat and one more insightful or infuriating situation to be in. -The city of Tokyo, for being itself. I sometimes loved you, and sometimes hated you, but life within your borders was never dull. -All the people that passed through my life during the 10 or so years in my adopted country. I will never forget any of you, and I will miss most of you more than you probably know. -And of course, last but not least, all the wonderful people that stopped by to have a look at these pages over the years, whether you commented or not. It's been a great ride. More About: Things , Good
Flowers for Cath
2010-10-28 00:33:00 Long time no update! School has been busier than I expected and leaves little time for anything else, and unfortunately that includes personal projects like painting and this website. I have a few paintings I'm working on, but they're on hold for now. Hopefully I'll be able to finish them before the end of the year. Here's the first new piece I've finished since coming back from Japan, another flower commission! I've already mentioned that flowers aren't exactly my thing, but I'm happy to do them if people want me to... More About: Flowers
Ontario Wildlife
2010-10-28 00:33:00 One of the things I was looking forward to doing when I got back to Canada was taking photographs of Ontario 's wildlife. Tokyo doesn't have much in the way of wild animals, unless you consider pigeons, crows and cockroaches exciting photography subjects. Anyway I've been back for a month now and haven't been disappointed. Here are some of the more common, and easily seen, subjects around me... More About: Wildlife
Star Photography
2010-10-28 00:33:00 No doubt you've had it happen to you at least once. You're out in the countryside in the middle of the night, you look up into a perfectly clear sky and see millions of stars. Amazed, you try to take a photograph of this wonder. You point your little digital camera up into the sky and click, but all you get on your LCD is pure blackness. Shooting the night sky is surprisingly difficult. To do so there are a few things that are a necessity. You'll need a tripod at the very least, as well as a camera that allows you to: take long exposures, change the aperture, and adjust the ISO (sensor sensitivity). Of course it also helps to be in an area that is not drowned by artificial light, such as in a city or even a whole country (if you've ever seen a satellite image of Japan at night you'll know what I mean). Other factors are things like clouds and haze. Clouds will of course obscure any stars, but even atmospheric haze (from hot muggy weather or pollution) on a clear night can obsc... More About: Photography , Star
Atlas Rocket
2010-10-28 00:33:00 If you're not familiar with the Ottawa area, and find yourself driving down St. Laurent Boulevard, you might be surprised when you pass an open park-like area and see what looks like a large missile on display. What gives? Is it some sort of cold war deterrent against the Russians? A warning to the Americans or to the French people of Quebec? Not to worry, war is not imminent; you're just passing the Canada Science and Technology Museum... More About: Rocket
Odor Fighting Gum!
2007-03-28 00:00:00 IHow many times have you ridden the train or subway in Tokyo and had some big, smelly, old guy cram themselves in beside you in those tiny little things they call seats? More About: Fight , Fighting
Mega Mac...
2007-02-10 03:52:02 A lot of Western people are finally waking up to the fact that they are the fattest people in the history of the world, and that their diet's suck. More About: Mac , Mega
It's Time to Find Out Who You Really Are
0000-00-00 00:00:00 The second of three large centerpieces for my upcoming art show in November at the Pink Cow (although I'm not sure I'll manage to finish the third...), I began working on this almost three months ago, and the devil, as they say, is in the details. This is the first time I've painted snow or ice, and I had a hell of a time trying to make it look realistic. After many trials with various styles and colours, I finally settled on this version. This is the third in the torii series, you must know by now how I love torii. More About: Time , Find |
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