Contrariwise ramblings

I really like sushi. At least I like "American" sushi. You know, things like Tuna Rolls and California Rolls or whatever. With a little wasabi - just enough for some bite but not enough to clear your sinuses - it's great.

I've been to Japan twice on business. Let me start by telling you, sushi in Japan is not the same as sushi in America. Inocuous-looking nigiri can end up coating your mouth with an amazing slimey-smooth mouthfeel that you've never experienced before-- and that lasts for way, way too long.


You end up eat stuff that you've never had before and you have no idea what it is. Unless you're in a restaurant sitting next to a Japanese techie- geek who knows no English but does have a Japanese-English electronic translator, like I did once.

What an opportunity to satisfy my morbid curiosity! I picked up each piece of food with my chopsticks and asked him what it was. Some were somewhat familiar. Some didn't translate well into English. Others were rather, shall we say...interesting. For example, a round grey blob turned out to be octopus brain with octopus eggs. Whether it was really octopus brain or whether these cephalopods really stored their eggs in their heads didn't really matter. Whatever it really was, it was probably something I didn't want to attempt to chew. I deftly placed that morsel to the side of my plate.


Of course that didn't stop me from waiting until one of my American colleagues was chewing on the grey blog to announce what it was.

You know, I just live for moments like that.

Anyway, I'm rambling. (Note the name of this blog.) What I really meant to talk about was faux sushi. For some reason, sushi seems to be a great thing to replicate in various (inedible) forms. I don't know why this is, but it's pretty amusing.

You may have seen sushi replicated in plastic. (Or not.) I've seen plastic sushi replicants used as refrigerator magnets (because everyone needs plastic sushi on their refrigerators), earrings, and bracelets. However, some people go beyond plastic or polymer clay

Yarnbeast (http://www.yarnbeast.etsy.com/) has reinterpreted the plastic sushi magnet using her own personal artistic medium, yarn. I would never have guessed that you could knit sushi:


Her description reads:

"5 piece sushi magnet set served on a decorative plate with bonus wasabi, chop sticks and pickled ginger magnets. The set is wrapped in green plastic wrap and a perfect gift for any sushi lover! The pieces are 2 avacado and cucumber rolls, one California roll, one crab sushi and one salmon roe roll. "


For those who like a Japanese theme in their furnishings, what could be more fun than having your own oversized shrimp nigiri pillow?



This is brought to you by The Original Sushi Pillow (tm) (http://www.sushipillow.etsy.com/). The shrimp pattern is handpainted onto a cotton/polyester mix and a subtle rice pattern can be found on the cotton rice pillow. Black/green crinkle taffeta imitates the nori wrap perfectly!



While this isn't sushi, edamame is a wonderful accompament to sushi, and looks really cute as a pillow too. It measures about 36" long and 8" wide, so it could be used for a sofa or bed pillow, and is made with fiberfill. (Sorry, there are no removable beans.)










Oh, one last note. The Japanese also like salad. But you need to be wary if your salad has little crunchy bits on top that resemble Durkee's Fried Onions. Look closely, because each tiny cruchy bit may have two teeny tiny eyes staring back at you.

Fairy doors are popping up around Ann Arbor, Michigan. No one knows who's building them. They just mysteriously appear. The entryways are Thumbelina small and are so subtle and incongruent that they're easy to overlook -- or dismiss. At first glance, you might mistake one for an electric socket or a mismatched brick. But look closely and you'll see evidence that, yes indeed, something very little could be living there. Are they appearing there because they're being displaced from their rural homes by urban sprawl? Perhaps.

Here's only one of the examples of Fairy Doors in Ann Arbor. It can be found at the Sweetwater Coffe Shop:

You can find lots of unique items on Etsy. In fact, you can spend days just looking at items that range from high art to garage sale rejects.

8 Reasons You Should Buy Handmade Products over Commercial Products

1. Handmade products are unique. Do you really want the same scarf, mug, earrings, necklace or other item that 20,000 other people have? Of course not! Handmade items are always unique, even if they are the same type of product because they are not made by machines - they are crafted by human beings so each piece will have its’ own unique characteristics.

2. Handmade items have personality. Life is not about being blah. Life is about expressing yourself and to do that your things need to have as much personality as you do. If you are happy with buying mass produced items that have no personality off a shelf at Wal Mart think about what that says about you. Don’t you want to express some personality?

3. Handmade items are special. When you get a gift don’t you feel a little bit more loved when someone gives you a handmade gift? Everyone loves getting handmade gifts or wearing something that was made just for them.

4. Handmade items last longer. Because they are made from high quality materials and handcrafted by trained artists items that are handmade last longer than low quality imported mass produced items.

5. Handmade goods are high quality. If you are a person who values the quality of an item more than the price then you already know that handmade items are far superior to mass produced items. While a mass produced item may be cheaper initially is it really cheaper when the item needs to be replaced a month later? When quality matters, go handmade!

6. Handmade items are not made by children in sweatshops in Third World countries making 10 cents a day. Experienced and trained craftspeople make each handmade item. So while you might pay a few dollars more for a handmade item it’s because you are paying for quality materials, years of experience, artistic talent, and well-honed craftsmanship. Isn’t that worth paying for?

7. When you buy handmade you are supporting traditional arts and crafts techniques that have passed down through generations. In today’s high tech world the old arts and crafts traditions are being replaced by mass production but when you buy handmade you are saying that you prefer your items to be high quality pieces of art instead of mass produced trinkets.

8. When you buy handmade you are supporting local and small businesses. By paying artists and craftspeople for their goods you are supporting them and all the businesses that they do business with. If you are a person who believes in supporting your community economically then buying from local artists is a great way to support your community and make sure that your money goes to support local businesses.Keep these things in mind the next time you see a scarf, a bracelet, some great handmade soap or other item and think,” I could get that for half price at Wal Mart.”!

The above was originally written by CozyCat. You can find her at http://www.cozycat.etsy.com/