Day 5122: Demura Sensei & Yuji Okumoto & A Woodpecker's home.

"Pairs":: altered old photo, collage, acrylics, ink & digital

                                                                      

Want music?

   Click here: Earth,Wind & Fire, September.

2GN2S

 Demura Sensei & Yuji Okumoto
   

A friend to Demura Sense for many years, they reconnected during the Karate Kid II movie set.

I have known Yuji for over 42 years. He was kind enough to come to the annual Costa Mesa Dojo 1988 holiday tournament & signed autographs after making Karate Kid II.

Yuji was a guest of honor at Demura Sensei's 25th  

Anniversary Banquet,1990, a great black tie event.

 So it has been wonderful to follow his acting and producing career. A recent interview, here. 

A great interview into his career and family. I enjoyed his movie,

 Paper Tigers on Netflix and loved not only the action, but 

especially the humor not often found in martial arts films.

Angie, Yuji , Kailee 

If you're in the Seattle area, the Okumoto's have two great restaurants, Kona Kitchen, featuring Hawaiian specialties.

   

Yuji Okumoto, one of the good guys.

     

(Street light got replaced, but they took care of the woodpecker's house.)

  

  

 

A 7 minute video, Soft Rain, here.

 

 

Just because ...

Grey- headed swamphen

Wednesday's Smiles ... 

 

Hoping you feel all the good things in your day.

  

 

 

 

Day 5121: Artist, Hiro Sugiyama & High School Boy heroes

"I Observe": ink brush

  

Want music?

    Click: Ryan Toby, Oh Happy Day.

2GN2S

Hiro Sugiyama Recreates Hokusai’s ‘Great Wave’ With 750,000 Dahlias

sky-view

Once every two years, Brussels turns its Grand-Place into a living work of art. This year, artist Hiro Sugiyama transformed the cobblestones into a vibrant floral display as the Belgian capital celebrates the 24th edition of its Flower Carpet featuring one of Japan’s most-iconic images.

 

The artist spent 8 months developing the design. But on August 13th, working with over 750,000 dahlias, the 1,680 m² (18,083 sq ft) artwork was assembled in less than four hours with the help of over 120 volunteers. The four-day installation runs August 13–16, 2026, and marks 160 years of diplomatic relations between Belgium and Japan.

•With heat on the rise everywhere around the workld, I couldn't help feeling weary for the workers who spent hours in the outdoor heat, the flowers were in water.

   

At Great Lakes National Cemetery near Detroit, some funerals are completely empty. No family. No friends. Just a funeral director, a priest, and a few teenage boys wearing white gloves.

These teenagers are part of the St. Joseph of Arimathea Pallbearer Ministry. Started in 2015 by students at University of Detroit Jesuit High School, the program ensures that no one is buried alone.

At their very first service, the boys carried the caskets of three homeless veterans whose bodies had gone unclaimed at the county morgue. Named after the biblical figure who cared for Jesus's body, the ministry has inspired dozens of students from the all-boys school to step up as "men for others."

Dressed in matching suits, they carry the caskets and pray at the gravesite. "We represent the family that is not here and that is a privilege" said student co-founder Lenny Froehlich.

The experience sticks with the students long after graduation, completely changing how they see people who go unnoticed by the world. It proves a simple but powerful truth: the ultimate service is simply showing up to be present for someone.

  

  

 

A 5+ minute video, Caterpillars in Paris, here.

 

 

Just because ...

Indian paradise flycatcher 

Tuesday's Smiles ... 

 

Hoping you feel all the good things in your day.