Happy Birthday "Oh, By The Way" 2023!

Congratulations "Oh, By The Way," you are fourteen years old today!

Fourteen years ago, I had a dream in which I started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” When I woke up that morning, I went to the computer and promptly started a blog called “Oh, By The Way.” Seriously--it was the first thing I did that morning, and yes, I often act out in waking life things I have dreamt.

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/clothing or interior designer/model/singer/actor/gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/photo/film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/band... or, read this book/poem/inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

Followers and regular readers: thank you so much! I hope you find this blog fascinating, beautiful, interesting, moving, inspiring, informative, and uplifting. Welcome to the birthday party. This year I am virtually serving a gorgeous cake topped with incredibly realistic buttercream flowers from Atelier Soo in South Korea. Enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OBTW!

"Wave" by d'strict

South Korean digital design firm d'strict has just created a startling LED project in Seoul entitled "Wave." It is shown on the largest high-definition outdoor advertising screen in South Korea. The anamorphic illusion is completely convincing.

http://www.dstrict.com/kr/

A Keyboard For Breakfast

The Cafe Int. at the Nexon Computer Museum in South Korea serves a very clever breakfast: a waffle made in the shape of a keyboard and little brioche in the shape of the accompanying mouse! Sides are syrup, fruit, sorbets and a little "pâtisserie."

http://www.nexoncomputermuseum.org/english/?mcode=0303
http://www.nexoncomputermuseum.org/english/

Just watched...

..."Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring," a 2003 South Korean film from director Kim Ki-duk.

In the continuing effort to try to stay current with the ever-growing Netflix queue, we finally watched this film I had been meaning to see for quite a while. I came across some production stills from it a few years ago and it looked like a must-see piece of art. I am so glad it did not fall off my "To See" list.

This gorgeous, simple film about a very small Buddhist monastery—which floats on a pristine lake in the untouched beauty of a mountainous region—with a single Master/herbal healer and a small boy apprentice touches on ideas of inner and outer desires, dissatisfaction, atonement, love, and karma.

Divided into five sections, one for each of the seasons in the title, we trace not only the literal quarterly shifts of the year, but also the figurative seasons of the life journey (spring is childhood, summer is adulthood, fall is old age and winter is death) of both the Master and his apprentice.

When a mother brings her ill teenage daughter to the floating monastery to be healed, the now-teenaged apprentice falls in love. But as the Master tells his young charge, “Lust awakens the desire to possess. And that awakens the intent to murder.” The young apprentice runs away despite the warning, and the wheel of karma is set in motion. The cycle of seasons, the cycle of life...

Both the compelling story and the breathtaking visuals make this film a rich experience (see stills below). The recurring motif of doors plays an important part in the film--where they are, how they are used, and who uses them, sometimes even when there is no wall! Much of the action takes place without dialogue, which reinforces the quietude of the surroundings of the monastery; it also helps us concentrate on the deeper meaning of the story itself. It unfolds like a gorgeous ancient Korean painting on silk.

Recommend? Yes. Truly beautiful to see and to contemplate.

http://www.sonyclassics.com/spring/

BEAUTY: Painting--Nu Ryu

South Korean artist Nu Ryu interprets the natural world and the animals in it through a traditional Korean lens...


http://www.nuryu.com/

These paintings remind me of a poem I wrote many years ago called "Dense Beasts."

Dense Beasts

I know of a place
that’s much darker,
where I can hear them
talking to each other
from the forest.
I crouch by the trees
and listen to them
jabber.
I can hear their
innocence
in the noises they make.
I can hear it
in their chirping,
in their grunting,
in their sigh
and the beasts
from the forest say,
“It’s OK.
We know what’s wrong.”

Through the trees
I see their wide button eyes
shining in the dark.
I can feel
their warm fur.
I hear them breathing
and chattering,
they don’t mean harm.
Sitting on branches,
sleeping in dirt,
the beasts say,
“It’s OK.
We know what’s going on.
We’ll stay here.”

©JEF 1983