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Using only black Strathmore paper and glue, Matthew Shlian has updated the ancient art of origami.

Hello Sandwiches.

I just took a quick walk after work along my local Daizawa nature walk to see the sakura. So so so so incredibly beautiful!!!







































If you're ever in Shimokitazawa, I really recommend walking down to Daizawa nature walk - it's beautiful all year round - but especially gorgeous at this time of year.


Love Love
Hello Sandwich
xoxo

1. The Sommelier Olympics.

2. Beware the fungi in your bagpipes.

3. Claims about why there are so few female magicians.

4. International textbook resale is allowed by the Supreme Court.

5. Interview with Jason Brennan.

When looking at Tate Maris's player profile page on the University of North Dakota's men's hockey team website, three variations of "did not see any game action" are listed for his freshman, sophomore and senior seasons. But now, when UND's 2012-13 season is finally over, Maris, the team's third-string goaltender, will be able look back on his final year in Grand Forks and say that he did get into a non-exhibition game.

This past Sunday, as UND wrapped up its first round WCHA series with a 6-0 over Michigan Tech, Maris had his "Rudy" moment.

Rudy Ruettiger was a football player at Notre Dame in the 1970s who walked on and earned a place on the scout team. In the final game of Ruettiger's senior year, he finally made it into a game and recorded a sack on the last play before being carried off the field by his teammates.

Sunday's game was the last home game at Ralph Engelstad Arena for UND's seniors. With four minutes left to go in the game, and a crowd chanting his name, head coach Dave Hakstol decided to make a goalie switch, giving Maris the first live action of his collegiate career.

Maris' final stat line: 4:02 played, 1 save, 0.00 goals against average. Perfect.

UND kicks off the WCHA Final Five today against Colorado College, and while Maris won't see any action barring a disastrous situation happening to their crease, there was no hiding how much of an affect he's had on the entire program.

From Tom Miller of the Grand Forks Herald:

Hakstol said the decision to put in Maris for goalie Clarke Saunders, who had a 27-save shutout at the time, was an easy one.

“Tate means an awful lot to the guys in the locker room and a lot to our program,” Hakstol said. “He’s earned a hell of a lot more than four minutes during his time here. We’re happy to at least get him those four. He’s extremely important to our locker room — all you had to do is look how hard the guys played in front of him those last four minutes.”

"Am I doing a good job? I'm new to this," asked Maris during his first ever post-game media scrum.

Never recruited by UND, Maris, like Ruettiger, walked on to the team and waited for his moment. After four years of waiting, it finally came, and afterward he was still trying to process that it finally happened.

"Indescribable," he said. "I'm kind of at a loss of words for it."

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

I visited a gallery near Akihabara the other day and thought I might pop on over to Ueno koen to see the sakura while I was in the area. Wow, I'm so glad I did. That pink tree was breathtakingly beautiful.











I walked around for a little while stopping to take photos, and then ate an onigiri and combini sandwich on side path ledge. Sometimes it's nice and relaxing to have a mini picnic by yourself in the park isn't it.

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Hello Sandwich
xoxo

The Special Hockey International tournament is an event for the developmentally challenged – this year it took place in Kitchner, Ontario. You can check out their website here, where they describe the event as such:

The annual SHI tournament brings together teams from across North America and Europe once a year for a major gathering, attracting more than 70 teams. This tournament traditionally alternates between a Canadian and American City, but has also been hosted in London, England. The SHI tournament is not a traditional tournament, however. There are no elimination rounds, no one team is crowned champion. In our eyes they are all champions. Every team plays 4 games and every player on every team plays equally.

The goal above from the event is amazing. Just pure patience, earnest goodness and love. Hope you enjoyed it – there’s some more background on it here.

Growing up, my best friend in middle school had the raddest tee. It was simple enough - navy and fitted - with a tiny line of white text on the front. But it's message was far from subtle, reading "Labels are for jars. And you are not a jar." She'd picked it up at a concert, and in the age of Guess jeans and "Button Your Fly" t-shirts, it was a bold alternative to the walking billboards that infiltrated our small town. Yet I've always wondered if - even when we're not toting brand names or ad slogans - we're still labeling ourselves? Are we becoming billboards for our lifestyle?

...continue reading The Style Of Self

The paper cuttings of artist Rachael Ashe of Vancouver, British Columbia caught my attention recently on Flickr. Because we are used to seeing flat cut paper in frames, I found it refreshing that Rachael is exploring ways to design paper cuttings as freestanding, self-supporting sculptures.


In reading back through her blog, it was interesting to note the ways Rachael's art has evolved. She studied creative photography in college and for the past several years has been using recycled materials and found objects to create collages and altered books.


Paper cutting has been her focus this winter. A love of nature finds its way into her work, as she often cuts waves and leaves.The shadows cast by these sculptures add another layer of interest.


Rachel doesn't draw a design first, but instead cuts a repetitive shape freehand, obviously with much control. This pyramid is separate paper cuttings adhered to one another, unlike the box-shaped sculptures that are one piece.


While the word Art is not 3D, Rachael created it after visiting paper artist Elsa Mora's new site Art is a Way. She shares how she went about cutting the design here.


Typography is not an area of interest for Rachael normally, but she enjoyed combining it with paper cutting. Her perfectly cut crescents result in lovely letters and I hope she'll continue.