Food
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Reykjavik is kind of like a neighborhood in Brooklyn. You could walk the perimeter of downtown in a few hours. Laugavegur is the main strip where most of the shops, restaurants, and cafes are situated. By complete coincidence, I ended up arriving the night before Icelandic Independence Day or Þjóðhátíðardagurinn where the streets were jammed, and families were out to see the live music and take part in the street carnivals. Notable things here are the antique car show, the street fashion, the cat food, the birds, and the light. The light in Iceland is unlike anywhere I’d ever been.
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Tags: 17, 2010, birds, Boston, Caviar, Downtown, goths kids, Iceland, Icelandic Independence Day, James Ryang, June, Laugavegur, Light, Nike windbreakers, Pussi, Reykjavik, Seagulls, street fashion, vintage cars, Þjóðhátíðardagurinn
While Keren and I visited the desert, we had the pleasure of staying two nights at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs. It’s about an hour away from Joshua Tree and half an hours distance from the Coachella Valley Preserve. I don’t really have to sell anyone on how nice it is to stay there; I think the images kind of speak for themselves. I would definitely recommend it and especially the hotel diner, The King’s Highway. Such a good burger and amazing breakfast and coffee among other things. Stumptown is served. I wanted to eat all my meals there. Also, in the evening, the pool is open late and they screen films and have live music. During our stay, they played Zabriskie Point by Antonioni, perfect selection seeing where we were headed; and a few bands driving to SXSW stopped by on their way to Texas.
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Tags: 2010, Ace Hotel and Swim Club, Antonioni, breakfast, burger, California, Coachella Valley Preserve, Coffee, James Ryang, Joshua Tree, Keren Richter, King's Highway, March, Palm Springs, palm trees, ping pong, Stumptown, SXSW, Texas, Zabriskie Point
Trains and more people. The best okonomiyaki in all of Osaka I propose is at Kuro-chan, where each one is made by a famous master of the dish. DiFara’s is to pizza as Kuro-chan is to okonomiyaki. He and his family run this complete hole in the wall with some photos of him from television appearances in the 80’s. My cousin Chia ate two. How? I do not know. She’s tiny. Anyway, Osaka is an okonomiyaki town. Email me if you want directions. It’s pretty hard to explain. The whole time I was thee I could only think about my friend Ari and how he needs to go there.
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Tags: best okonomiyaki in Osaka, Chia, James Ryang, Japan, JR, Kuro-chan, master chef, okonomiyaki, Osaka, Photography, Portraits, trains
Nights in Osaka are amazing to see. Most young people hang out around Namba. A long arched promenade stretches for multiple city blocks leading up to the Osaka canal where the buildings are lit up in neon. Around Namba, food stalls are hidden away in dark alleys and arcades stay open really late. After the sun goes down, the city really lights up electric and people head out. The “cutie” photo booth to me is a phenomenon. I understand that it’s a way for people to keep memories after a night out together but the “cute” photo booths in the arcades are more like Adobe Photoshop / Illustrator. You have to go through like 30 steps of design and retouching before your photos will print. Nuts. Oh yeah, everyone stares at their cellphones constantly. Worse than here.
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Tags: 2010, Arcades, Bikes, counting cute, cute, cutie, dining, eating, James Ryang, Japan, JR, Namba, Osaka, Osaka4, photo booth, Photography, Promenade, train
Riding the subway in Japan never gets old. Its efficiency is astounding. Also, very recently, women have been given their own designated train cars to prevent sexual harassment in the trains. It’s a very Japanese solution to a problem: finite and direct. Osaka is one of my favorite cities in the world. It is a huge, frenetic city but in the quieter moments it can get very peaceful, comparatively. Even in a pachinko parlor or a JR station. This is an assortment of portraits above ground and below, inside spaces and out. This is the hospital where my grandmother had been. Seeing pictures of it now gives it some kind of new significance, I guess, our last meeting place. Also, a portrait of my dad which I’d never really done until now. This is where he grew up. Also, more things with faces on them i.e. food packaging.
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Tags: 2010, bicycles, Chuo-ku, Hong-Son Ryang, hospital, James Ryang, Japan, JR, Osaka, pachinko, Photography, Portraits, quiet moments in a hectic city, sexual harassment, subway, Tamatsukuri, train
Malls. If you live in Seoul, and you’re not at home or at work, you’re in a mall. Pretty much guaranteed. They have everything. And these aren’t like Southern California malls; these are mega malls of insane proportions. Basically at every major subway station in Seoul, a shopping mall awaits you above ground. I got to spend a lot of time in them just going from one part of town to another. And it’s not so much about the shopping experience, but the hanging experience. Couples just stroll and eat and hang out, go to the movies, the arcade. Oh man, the arcade was bananas. I mean I watched a kid hold court on Tekken 6 for like an hour behind a wall of glass from his opponents as to prevent conflict, and this dude play the drum track of Lithium by Nirvana on expert mode. Also, a long suspicion of mine has been confirmed that the KFC colonel has slightly thinner eyes in Asia. Terrible.
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Tags: 2010. New Year's Eve, arcade, Drum Station, eating, Imax, Insadon, James Ryang, Korea, Lithium, Mall, mega mall, Myedong, Nirvana, Photography, Popeye arms, Seoul, Shinsegae, Shopping, subway station, Tekken 6, UFO Catcher
FOOD. Koreans love food. We love eating food. We also anthropomorphize food. It’s in the grocery stores, the streets, the mall food courts on plates and in plastic, and even the arcades. It is everywhere, and it is good. Best finds: Meta Hurricane Ice Cream Cones, Stuffed Sushis, and the Stuffed Pickled Daikon Radish. I wanted to win that so bad. Also, coffee. Let’s talk about it. Freeze-dried coffee is the norm. If you want fresh ground bean coffee, you have to shell out clams. I only had Taster’s Choice for almost two weeks straight.
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Tags: 2010, Anthropomorphic Food, Daikon Radish, Food, Food Courts, Inanimate Food, James Ryang, Lotte Mart, Meta Hurricane, Plastic Food, Seoul, South Korea, Stuffed Animal Food, Stuffed Sushi, Sweet Home, White Bread
I should preface this post by writing that this entry is not for those with weak stomachs. It gets real. Masan is a port city on the southern side on South Korea. It’s famous for seafood. The Masan Fish Market is a daily affair, and it is the REAL DEAL. I’ve been to a few in my day and this one just felt the most raw. And there’s more than fish…..way more. Curiosities I still can’t fathom or interpret. Totally wild.
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Tags: clams, crab, dog penis, dried fish, dried frogs, fish, fisherman's wives, Food, king crab, korean lunch, mackerel, Masan, Masan Fish Market, mussels, octopus, open market, oysters, pig's feet, pig's head, pork, raw, saba, seafood, shellfish, snapper, South Korea, squid
The next day, we took the long journey back across the island. With the assistance and hospitality of the local caretakers, we successfully located the tomb site.
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Tags: 2010, barbershop, brush, Cheju, farms, Food, Harabagi, Hong-Son Ryang, Island, James Ryang, Jeju, Korea, korean breakfast, Landscape, lemons, mounds, Myung Kim Ryang, Photography, pogs, Robert Ryang, televisions, tomb, volcanic land
This is something I wanted to do for awhile. Martha is amazing. The whole thing is bonkers. I’d never been in or seen a studio audience before, except for that time when I was shooting on a sound stage by the Family Feud in L.A. The set, the kitchen, the smells, the cheering women. We stuck out like sore thumbs. I’m even like, “what??!!! did that really happen?” It did. She gave us plant food and a gift certificate. Palazzo and I were the only guys there, except for this guy who stood up when asked where you were from and he yelled out, “Montreal.” I’d never seen so many Chimera softboxes in my whole life. Creamy lighting. That’s all I can say. Woah.
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Tags: chelsea studios, crafts, James Ryang, Live, martha, Martha Stewart, marthastewart.com, NBC, New York, NY, Photography, plant food, studio audience, taping, The Martha Stewart Show
