I am fascinated by many things Japanese. Their culture, philosophy, language, art, etc. I also fancy myself having a Japanese dog as a pet. (That won’t happen for a while.) So I did some research on the Japanese canine breeds. Shiba, Akita, Kishu, Kai Ken, etc. I came across the story of Hachiko, which sounded familiar to me. Maybe I read stories about the famous dog as a child. I don’t know. Then I found out that the story (true story by the way) was made into a movie starring Richard Gere. Richard Gere? That sounded odd, but I rented it anyway. As it turned out, it was a remake of another movie made in Japan in 1987. Anyway, I watched the remake, it was a lot of cheesiness, but the ending had me in tears big time. THEN, as if I needed another good cry, I had to google and find the original movie. Found it, watched it and YEP, tears!

I would definitely recommend skipping the remake and just watch the original. Much more nuanced, giving you a peek at the culture. Also more character building. Before I share the link to the movie, here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia about Hachiko:

In 1924, Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo, took in Hachiko as a pet. During his owner’s life, Hachiko greeted him at the end of each day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return. The professor had suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage and died, never returning to the train station where Hachiko was waiting. Every day for the next nine years the golden brown Akita waited at Shibuya station.

Hachiko was given away after his master’s death, but he routinely escaped, returning again and again to his old home. Eventually, Hachiko apparently realized that Professor Ueno no longer lived at the house. So he went to look for his master at the train station where he had accompanied him so many times before. Each day, Hachiko waited for the return of his owner.

The permanent fixture at the train station that was Hachiko attracted the attention of other commuters. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen Hachiko and Professor Ueno together each day. They brought Hachiko treats and food to nourish him during his wait.

This continued for nine years with Hachiko appearing precisely when the train was due at the station.

Read a more detailed account of Hachiko’s life here.

Here’s the link to the movie on YouTube. The movie is broken up into 8 segments and with English subtitle. You might need tissue!

One of the most fun moments was when the Muppets used the big entrance next to our gallery as a police station entrance. They filmed the Muppets exiting the station, walked pass the gallery to Broadway, then broke out a musical number. At first they changed the name of our gallery to, wait for it, OB1 Gallery (may the force be with you.) But CB told them we really wouldn’t mind our real name being used, they changed it back. So, look out for a cameo appearance of CB1 Gallery in The Muppets, in movie theaters this November.

Another fun moment was when they filmed a video game commercial, setting up the outside of the gallery as a cafe. The game’s name is da Blob, with strange colorful characters. Lots of bluescreen with this one.

And, just a few days ago, they transformed the sidewalk in front of the gallery into a New York street scene for this season’s finale of CSI: NY. They forgot to take the fake bus stop signs with them! The signs were still up the next day. How confusing was that for the bus riders!

Added: just found this Law & Order: Los Angeles promo that was partly filmed in front of the gallery.

SLIDESHOW

His name is Narayanan Krishnan. He was named CNN’s top 10 heroes. He founded Akshaya Trust in 2003. There’s also an US group Akshaya U.S.A.

It is said to be rich in dietray fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. Some also say that it takes longer to pass through your system, keeping hunger away longer after eating. We’ll see how it works for me.

You can sprinkle the seeds on food when you eat. You can also soak it in water for 10 – 15 minutes to make Chia gel. The gel can then be mixed with drinks, yogurt, etc. I drank it directly and it didn’t have any taste at all (without chewing the seeds.)

I got the them on Amazon.

More interesting read:

• Chia Seed its Health Benefits
• The Ancient Chia Seed – How it Can Benefit Your Health

Note: shown below is White Chia that came in a sample packet. The regular kind gel much better and bigger.

Soaking the Chia seeds.

Chia seeds after soaking for 10 minutes. See the gel like coating around each seed.

Not being a knowledgeable art person, I am really just taking on a supportive role in this venture. CB has the leading role. The idea of running an art gallery had been floating around for years, but CB didn’t give it much thought. Since moving to Historic Downtown Los Angeles (Old Bank District), a friend of ours who’s heavily involved in building and promoting Downtown got CB to start attending neighborhood meetings and getting involved in event planning. One thing lead to another, a vacant gallery space was available. Our friend asked CB to organize a pop-up show. The space turned out to be gorgeous. The landlord wanted to make a deal to move in a new gallery before Chinese New Year. It all happened so very fast, we signed the lease and we have a gallery!

Our inaugural show is up now until 3/14/2010. Check out our website cb1gallery.com.

We had a contest to see who picked the most winners, (someone made really nice ballots,) people brought food named after the Oscar nominees, (you must see the photos that I will post below,) the show and the personalities at the party. What an evening. Oh, CB made the ribs. You’ll see them and the name of the dish in the pics. Click to zoom in.