Saturday, February 28, 2009

Rite of passage

I built my first ever Ikea unit with help from my dad. I think putting one of these things together is a rite of passage. Everyone at least once in their life has to assemble a piece of Ikea furniture. We did make one mistake in putting this together because if you look closely at the picture above, you'll notice that one of the boards (the middle one) going across is darker than the rest. That is due to the fact that there is no finishing on that side. It should have been switched around, but it's too late to disassemble the "Billy" bookcase now.

I'm just excited about the increased productivity introduced into the room. Now I no longer have to waste time rummaging through tons of books just to find the one of I want. The top section is devoted to foreign language books and tapes. In addition, I have created photography and travel sections. The next piece of Ikea furniture to be assembled is a wardrobe, but not today.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Walking on Eggshells


Pictures of soldiers coming home in caskets are now allowed if their families do not object. An article on this can be found at the Washington Post. I think this is a change for the better. The only reason pictures were prohibited previously was to prevent more anger from percolating amongst the American public.

Pictures are very powerful. When you see so many soldiers coming home from war zones dead, you can't help but be moved. Here are scores of young lives cut short by war. They could have led long productive lives if it were not for this darn war thing.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Lingo


I subscribe to various electronic newsletters that get sent to me daily and I found this gem today. It's an article from Harvard Business Publishing about business buzzwords that are all too often bandied about in Corporate America. Click here to read. Be sure to read the comments too because readers have added even more buzzwords. The most cringe-inducing buzzword in my opinion is "out of pocket." The first time I heard it was last year when a manager said that his boss was out of pocket the rest of the afternoon. Basically it means that someone is not available. Apparently it originated in American football. Another phrase that gets on my nerve is "penetrate".

Off topic, I have a recurring dream/nightmare. In this dream, I'm traveling, but either I forget my passport or I didn't pack something essential like clothes. That would truly be a nightmare! Do you have recurring dreams? If so, please share!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Sad Clown


I don't know why this guy was dressed up as a clown, but this wasn't the first time I saw him. He was trying to talk to people, but no one paid attention to him. I don't blame them. You don't know whether he's sane or not. He could have been dangerous. San Francisco is full of such "individualists".

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Backpack & puff of air tests

These are pictures of the Eaglecreek backpack I'll be using for my trip in April. It holds 71 liters and is pretty spacious looking. One feature I like is that it opens like a suitcase for ease of packing. See picture. I will have to test it out to see how much I can pack in there. My goal is to pack light so that I won't have a huge load on my back. Plus, I would like to leave some room for souvenirs! The backpack above comes with a detachable daypack as well. Here are the professional specs.

In other news, I went to the eye doctor to get a pair of prescription sunglasses. I decided to finally order a pair because I'm planning to go snowboarding and will need some protection from the glare of the snow. Anyway, they ran me through a gamut of eye tests, one of my least favorite being the puff of air test. They put a machine in front of your eyes, ask you to rest your chin on a rest, put your forehead flush to a forehead cradle, focus on a green light and then just relax as you wait for the puff of air. It's nerve-wracking because you know it's coming, but can't do anything about it. The experience reminded me of the Friends episode in which Rachel visits the eye doctor.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Nation of Cowards

Tools

A "nation of cowards" - Those were pretty harsh and provocative words coming out of the US Attorney General Eric Holder's mouth recently. He was referring to how America is a nation of cowards when it comes to having honest discussions about race. Furthermore, in his speech he mentioned that the workplace is mostly integrated, but on the weekends everyone just self segregates.

I agree with the Attorney General because his statement about self-segregation on the weekends is for the most part true. People generally congregate with others who look like them or have a similar cultural background because there is a certain comfort level there. You know you share commonalities with a certain group of people. There is less of a need to explain yourself and your values.

Also, he is correct when he says there is definitely a need to have honest discussions about racial issues. For example, often Asians are stereotyped as being quiet and therefore not suitable for management positions. But if workplaces in America truly valued diversity, there should be a place for people who lead by quiet example. Not everyone has to be a loud mouth.

On the flip side, no one wants to be the bad guy and talk candidly about these racial matters for fear of being labeled a racist. It is very uncomfortable. Because we like to be comfortable, we will go on with our daily lives, tiptoeing around the elephant in the room that is race.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Spring Cleaning

Memories

I did some spring cleaning today. It was much needed because this one room was getting so messy that it was inefficient. You couldn't move around for all the clutter and junk lying about.

I found boxes of old books that you can see above. A part of me just wants to donate it to the public library, but another part does not want to let go of all the Nancy Drew books that I accumulated over the years. Nancy Drew is a character in children/young adult mystery books.
How I loved that series! Every time I went to Costco I'd have to buy a set of Nancy Drew books. Over time, I accumulated quite a collection of books. I also have a lot of "Cat Who" books that are somewhat hard to just give away.

Then after tackling the clutter on the floor, I attacked my file cabinet. I got rid of so much paperwork! Now my life feels a tad more organized and streamlined. There's still a lot more to clean up though.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Lost in Translation

Window Bars

I used to fancy myself a translator, but that bubble has been burst.
I'm currently volunteering with "Watching America" to provide translations of articles of my choice from German into English. One requirement is that the article must be about America, so that Americans can understand how they are perceived in foreign countries, despite the fact that they may not read certain foreign languages. That is the mission of Watching America.

I selected this article from the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" to translate. Below you will find my first draft, which still needs to be reviewed by editors. One thing I realized after translating is that translation is not very creative because all I'm doing is translating a story written by someone else into another language. True, there is some subjectivity to any translation, but for the most part I have discovered first hand that it's not really something I want to do long term. Plus, the translation profession is not helped by the fact that translators are usually paid by the word. Interpreters earn more I've heard.

Another learning I've gained from this experience is that some ideas in a foreign language are just very difficult to translate into another language. For example, I conceptually understand the German phrase "Kulturfoerderung", but a single comprehensive word just does not exist in English to reflect the same idea. I had to use the phrase "support for the arts", which is wordier than the German.

By the way, I welcome your comments on my translation. I had problems translating the title of the article, so suggestions would be great!

=========================

The Arts in America – A Value Adding Economic Engine?
By: Jordan Mejias

February 17, 2009
President Obama visited a museum in order to give the American economy a boost. On Tuesday in the Museum of Nature & Science in Denver, Colorado, President Obama signed the economic stimulus bill, which only a couple weeks ago did not include funding in support of museums, art centers or theaters. Even Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York voted against funding for the arts and culture. But mostly it was his Republican colleagues who warned against spending taxpayer money on cultural pursuits, deriding it as a sign of leftist elitism. The Republicans were clearly voting on their party line.
Nonetheless, with a flourish of the pen, Obama gave the arts $50 million. Compared to the $787 billion stimulus package, this amount may seem like small change. However, for a country that spends very little on cultural institutions at the federal level and even views support of the arts as un-American, $50 million is a considerable sum. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the only two federal cultural foundations in America have over $145 million of funding in the current year. Forty percent of the additional $50 million will be allocated at the state and local level, while the remaining sixty percent has been earmarked for individual projects, which is common practice at the NEA.

Arguments in Favor of the Arts
The surprising turn of events in favor of the arts was a result of the efforts of many. One of these supporters is supposedly Robert Redford, who called Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to convince her of the benefits of supporting the arts. Similar to Redford, 10,000 artists and cultural officials also put pressure on Washington. Arts lobbyist Robert L. Lynch, who heads the organization “Americans for the Arts”, considers the $50 million a huge win for the creative industry in America. He even believes that in these hard economic times, his fellow Americans have come to understand the inherent value of creativity. Naturally, that would depend on what Lynch means by “value”.

Redford and his compatriots referenced the economic value that the arts add to society. The star explained that the Sundance Festival, which he founded, brought in $60 million to Park City, Utah, where the festival takes place. According to the arts lobby, the creative industry created 6 million jobs, generated $30 million in federal tax revenue and added $166 billion to the economy. This amount is derived from such diverse areas as parking fees at garages, souvenir shops or the popcorn counter found at multiplex movie theaters. The value of culture is therefore measured solely in economic terms. This seems to be the only way for the creative industry to assert itself against other more practical industries, which seem to have no trouble obtaining funding.

Perhaps there is no other way; perhaps politicians can only grasp arguments based on dollars. Given the critical state of affairs, the idea that the arts can be more than an economic engine is merely a second thought. Nonetheless, it is sad that artists are only recognized in society when they can justify the commercial success of their work, thereby undervaluing themselves. The next chairman of the NEA has his work cut out for him in terms of spreading awareness of the value of the arts.

After the resignation of the highly acclaimed poet and chairman of the NEA Dana Gioia, Obama has yet to appoint someone to fill the post. As with the broader economic stimulus plan, one can only guess how this injection of funds will affect the arts scene in America. The rejoicing over the $50 million cannot cover the gaping holes left behind by shrinking endowment funds and decreased donations from private patrons.



Friday, February 20, 2009

Ciao Bella


Gelato

Since it's Friday, I felt that it was time to treat myself to some Ciao Bella. In the photo above you see 2 pints of my two favorite gelato flavors - hazelnut and espresso. The gelato is tasty, but unfortunately the enjoyment is fleeting, just like so much in life (e.g. buying a new toy).

By the way, I saw a picture of a swollen-looking Rihanna that was leaked online. She looked so bruised and battered! I have just lost any shred of respect I had for Chris Brown. Actually I have some of his songs like "Wall to Wall" and "Forever", but I really don't want to listen to songs from woman beaters anymore. I hope that John Legend keeps his image squeaky clean because I like his songs and wouldn't want to have to boycott them! :-)

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Monkeys gone wild!


I heard about the bizarre chimp story over lunch.
A chimp that went berserk was attacking a woman as a separate woman called police. Her police call was replayed on the news channel, which was turned on in the lunch room.

Then there was more brouhaha over a political cartoon about this chimp. Some people were offended because it seemed to refer to Pres. Obama. This story is just too twisted for me to follow. Poor monkey

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Forms, forms & more forms!

Waiting for Godot

I received the book "Waiting for Godot" as a secret Santa gift when I was in middle school and think I might have discarded it. How was I supposed to know that it was a classic? I still don't think it was an appropriate gift for a kid. I tried reading a couple pages, but did not understand the story line.

Anyway, I have been filling out forms galore today and burning the midnight oil to fill out more forms all about myself. One tip I would offer you is to keep a copy of one of these forms so that you have a quick reference should you need to regurgitate the info for other forms. Once I had to list out the foreign countries I visited in the past 7 years and detail it out my month and year. That's insane because I can't remember what year I visited each country. It's very difficult to say the least.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Seasons

Kirschblueten/Cherry blossoms

I love the look of cherry trees in bloom. So festive and springy!
Spring is my favorite season, a time of renewal, rebirth and pretty pink flowers.

Monday, February 16, 2009

No Rest for the Wicked


While the rest of America had the day off (President's Day), we had to go to work. So understandably it was very quiet in the Financial District today.

So I was sitting in my cube working (yes, working) when this new person checked into the cube next to me. It's always interesting to see who my neighbor will be every day since my cube was vacated by a manager who got promoted into an office. A rotating cast of characters sit there. Today it was someone I had never met before. I peeked over and noticed she had black hair.

When she spoke on the phone, I happened to notice her accent and speech pattern. It had a slightly British cadence to it and the pronunciation of the "o's" were weird. From what I could deduce, she was an auditor. Because I am very interested in languages and accents, I found myself trying to emulate her accent and pronunciation of words.

Finally, as the day came to a close, I decided to break the silence and ask her where her accent came from. Mystery solved - my assumption was wrong. She's actually from Sydney, Australia, rather than England! I really have a hard time distinguishing between English and Australian/New Zealand accents.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Rainy Day Photography

Before & After

It's been raining the entire day almost, which limits my photographic adventures to the four walls of my house. Above you'll see a picture I took of the pots and pans waiting to be put away.
Since it is a gloomy day without much ambient light, the photo turned out a bit dark. (See image at the left). After I corrected it in Lightroom, it miraculously looked much better. (See image at the right). Although I am still a dunce when it comes to using Lightroom, it has some very cool features. For example, there is a vibrancy slider that increases the color saturation of only certain parts of your image. This is much better than using the saturation slider, which affects the entire image. Secondly, I discovered the vignette tool that corrects for the vignetting in images. Vignetting is when the corners of your image are dark because of the lens.

After using Lightroom on a trial basis, I decided to take the plunge and purchase it. Likely I will have to take a workshop to learn how to use all the bells and whistles of Lightroom.

Onto a separate topic, I watched a couple famous films on DVD yesterday: Annie Hall and What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Annie Hall was directed by Woody Allen and mostly about his main character's relationship with a woman called Annie Hall, played by Diane Keaton. It was released in the 1970's, but sometimes you couldn't really tell that from the clothing, which I found interesting. "Gilbert Grape" is a much different animal. It's about a Gilbert Grape's (Johnny Depp) struggle to hold his family together in a one horse town in Iowa. His family consists of an obese mother, 2 sisters and a mentally handicapped brother played by Leonardo Dicaprio. It's quite a moving story. Watch it if you can. I just borrowed these from the public library.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Flower Power

This being February 14th, Valentine's Day, I'm sure the flower shop guy above is doing brisk business. I was tempted to buy myself some red roses so I could photograph them. You never know when you'll need a picture of a dozen red roses or Valentines themed pictures. However, my thrifty side won and plus I was busy at work, so I resisted and didn't make the purchase. The flower stand owners probably jack up the price on V-Day anyhow. Other Valentine's Day images include a picture of a Valentine's card, a box of heart-shaped chocolates and rings.

Some people hate Valentine's Day. There is even an anti-Valentine's Day movement with greeting cards and all. By the way, I found this little video spoken in a jaunty British accent that's relevant for the topic of the day.


How To Survive Valentine's Day If You Are Single

Friday, February 13, 2009

Valentines Eve

Sunlight

A picture of a sun-kissed rose for your Valentines Eve enjoyment!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Faceless


Taxi!

Social networking is the buzzword of the times.
Everyone's connected to everyone else through Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, Plaxo and many other networking sites too numerous to list.

Sure, these websites may add value by allowing us to keep tabs on our friends and acquaintances, but they're no substitute for old-fashioned face to face meetings. When you see someone in person, communication is much more complete as you see their facial expressions and body language as well, which make up much of a message.

Sometimes I think people spend way too much time on Facebook grooming their virtual pets, updating their status or superpoking everyone. I admit, it's fun in the beginning, but after a while it gets old. In the interest of full disclosure, I too was caught up in the "25 Random Things About You" tsunami of note creating on Facebook, but other than that I try to limit my time on that site and instead try to focus going to "real" events where I see real people.

Off topic, BTW, yesterday I wrote about the lack of volunteer opportunities for me and then as if someone overheard me, the Wall Street Journal published an article about organizations that can match you up with volunteer organizations. The article listed volunteermatch.org, idealist.org, usaservice.org and 1-800-volunteer.org. I knew about volunteermatch, but not the others.

I found this perfect volunteer opportunity for me. It deals with translating German articles into English every other week, so that Americans can have access to international articles although they may not speak that language. The website is called Watching America. It will force me to read more German and also make sure I understand all of the content as I translate it. Perfekt!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Good riddance!


Modeling Seagull

I was glad to read that the city has decided to clean up the annual Bay to Breakers race that happens every year. It's usually quite a spectacle with many of the runners in costume or sitting on floats. Some of the "runners" if you can call them that, walk around naked. Funny thing is that it's usually those who should do it least that walk around naked on the public streets.

I found myself in the middle of all this bacchanalia last year and was disgusted by the many kegs of alcohol I saw on the floats and the public urination. It's like a huge frat party gone wrong. According to the SF Chronicle, there will be a ban on nudity, alcohol and floats. I'm fine if the runners wear costumes, but the rest of it needs to be cleaned up.

On another note, I've been trying to find an organization that I can volunteer at but so far nothing very promising has come up. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that volunteering is more popular in the US than in Germany. One reason I'd like to volunteer is to build up my leadership skills. Plus, it's good to be able to give something back to the community. I just need to find an organization that I want to support with my time and energy.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Lightroom

Roots

This picture of roots that I took in Golden Gate Park was corrected using Adobe Lightroom. It's the first time I've used it to correct photos. I kind of like the results. It costs less than Adobe Photoshop, but has great correction tools available such as vibracy, clarity among others.
I didn't go out and buy Lightroom, rather I am testing it out on a trial basis for 30 days. If I like it, I may buy it.

Monday, February 09, 2009

Spoilt

I had a slice of cranberry orange cake and a small chai this afternoon, which unfortunately spoiled my appetite for dinner. Now it's almost 8 PM and I'm still not hungry.

Instead of eating, I played the Wii Fit. The River Bubble game is absolutely addictive. The objective of this game is to maneuver yourself through a winding river pathway, while you are in a bubble. It is extremely tricky. I have yet to reach the end of the obstacle course. Click here for a description of the games on the Wii Fit.

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Loewenzahn - Dandelion

Loewenzahn means dandelion in German. Dandelions represent a world of possibilities. When you blow on a dandelion, the seeds are spread all over. Where they will land and form a new life, no one knows.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Artistic Indulgences

Shadow Play

I prepared tax returns for my parents and myself. This was the first time I used Turbo Tax, which is quite amazing. I had a first draft of my return in under an hour! Imagine that!
After all that administrative stuff, I indulged in some waste of time called playing with the Wii. I also managed to dig out my camera and take some pictures, train the eye, be artsy again. My goal was to capture the light. My setting was my backyard. Even in such a mundane setting, I was amazed at all the beautiful details that caught my eye. This picture above is a shadow of my father cast on the fence. It turned out quite nice. Notice the little question mark shape at the upper left of the photo. I'm not sure what that is, but it adds a mysterious air to the picture.

I feet much better after having taken the pictures. It's like I needed desperately to release my pent-up artistic energy. Plus, the more pictures I take, the better I'll get at photography, in theory at least.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Toilet talk

Porcelain Throne

The best way to bond with your colleagues is to sit in a room with them all day. You can't help but talk to one another and share stories. Yesterday as I was sitting with 3 other people, who happened to be female, the talk turned to how the men's restroom looks like inside. Person #1 was adamant that there were no doors, just urinal stalls. Person #2 said, "Let me instant message this guy and ask him." Apparently the answer is that the men's restroom is a hybrid. They have urinals and some stalls. The stalls would be for those who need to "do #2", aka "poo".

I was cracking up the whole time as I was listening to this conversation progress because usually you don't hear someone say the word "poo" in a work setting. Then Person #2 mentioned that she feels sorry for the guys because if one of them had to do actually poo, they would be instantly identified by the others as having to poo because he would have to go into a stall. Women, on the other hand, have it easier because it's more ambiguous due to the uniform stalls that are present. Finally Person #2 volunteers that she doesn't poo at work because it's dirty. Not sure if she was referring to the act of pooing or the cleanliness of the women's restroom.

If you don't want to be found out, some people recommend flushing the toilet in order to mask the sound. In Japan, there is a toilet with a button you can press that simulates the sound of flushing.

In the same vein, I found a hilarious story (in German) about one guy's experience in the mens restroom. Then to top that, I found this laugh out loud funny "how to" in English.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Executive Salary Caps

Lucre

I'm happy to hear that President Obama supports imposing a $500K salary cap on executive compensation for those companies accepting bailout money. In general, senior executives in the U.S. make so much money that the pay gap between them and the little people is just disgusting. Why does one person need to earn multiple millions of dollars each year? Some people may not be aware of this, but executive compensation at publicly traded companies is public information disclosed in 10-K filings. You can check out how much the execs make per year.

I think it's justified that compensation is finally being talked about. Some people fear that such salary caps will hinder the search for talent. However, I doubt that someone's brain power could be worth so much money. Most of these folks are just business folks. It's not like they are going out and saving the world or researching the latest drug to cure the worlds' diseases. I could see those folks being paid the big bucks because what they do improves the lives of so many people across the globe.

People who earn such excessive amounts of money should be required to give a percentage of it away to charitable causes. This way society as a whole could benefit. Let's share the wealth. ;-)

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

The Big Photo Book Faceoff

Golden Boy

My mission was to create a photobook documenting my travels in 2008. I decided that it would contain only pictures from Boston and Hawaii. It was a long and arduous journey to create the final product. First I had to select the pictures, then correct them in Photoshop and finally decide on how to lay them out in a book format so that the order would make sense. It has probably been a 1 month project with me working on it in my free time.

Anyway, I decided to use Blurb to make my book because MyPublisher is insanely expensive. My creation arrived today, so I was so excited to see it and rip open the packaging. After reviewing it with a critical eye, I noticed some things about Blurb. Firstly, their printers don't print at high enough a resolution, so all of the pictures are kind of dotty and pixelly. It's not my camera because I submitted high res photos. Secondly, their paper is not glossy, despite the fact that I selected premium paper! In my opinion, the positive things that Blurb does better than MyPublisher are the customizable book jackets and the huge layout options.

Lulu is another book printing option, but I've never used them before.
My conclusion: If you want a premium finished product and price is not an issue, go with MyPublisher. Blurb might be cheaper, but the cheaper paper also shows because the pictures are printed on more matted paper.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

American Pop Culture 101

Monkey Attack

I was sitting in a conference room with my coworkers today and the topic turned to television. They talked about shows like Gossip Girl, House and 24 and discussed the characters as if they were real people. The discussion goes on for 5 minutes or so. The entire time I have no idea what they're talking about. Finally one of them asks me if I watch these shows. I had to answer no.

I don't watch much television because I find it's usually a waste of my time. I'd rather spend it creating something. If I do watch TV, it's usually Masterpiece Theater, or some show with people wearing costumes and speaking with British accents. I guess this makes me out of touch with the mainstream.

Anyhow, I feel like I need a primer on American pop culture, so I did some online research on the shows mentioned. It's still not a priority of mine to follow these shows, but at least I know what the youngsters are watching these days.

Another aspect of American culture I needed to catch up on was the Superbowl, especially the advertisements. I found a good website that shows all the ads in the 4 quarters. Some of the more talked about ads are as follows:

1st quarter
1. Pepsi Forever Young
2. Doritos snow globe
3. Go Daddy

2nd quarter
1. E-trade babies
2. Teleflora rude flowers

3rd quarter
1. Coke picnic
2. Monster - moose

To view all the commercials, you need to click on each of the quarters (1st, 2nd, etc.) My favorite was the Coke picnic commercial with the Monster - moose coming in second.
Okay, now I'm more culturally informed.

Monday, February 02, 2009

Gibbons

This is a Japanese painting of cute gibbons swinging around. Look at those faces and the fuzzy fur! Japanese are skilled at making things cute, even back then.

Allergy season has officially arrived because the weather's been so warm these days. Pollen's been flying around, which causes my allergies to flare up. Yesterday evening, my symptoms were pretty bad (watery eyes, runny nose that dripped like a broken faucet and sneezing). Usually I just ride it out until the symptoms go away, but this time it got so annoying that I decided to take some medicine for it. I got Claritin this morning from Walgreens, which seems to have done the trick for the most part. I just need to remember to take it daily.

Sunday, February 01, 2009

San Francisco Asian Art Museum

Heads

The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco offers visitors free entrance the first Sunday of each month as this is financially supported by Target Corp. I took advantage of this opportunity this Sunday because a group was going to meet up there. Seeing as how I haven't been expanding my social network lately, I decided to go.

The Asian is currently located in the Civic Center area, right across from City Hall. I must say that the area looks really run down now and probably would scare visitors who are not used to living in a moderately big city. There were many homeless people sitting around just watching. Plus, the street smelled unsavory, which caused me to walk quickly to my destination.

One of the things I like about museums is the architecture - the high ceilings, bright courtyards with skylights and the Asian Art Museum does not disappoint in this regard. Architecturally it combines modernity with a Beaux Arts center. To make the most of your visit, the museum encourages you to take the escalator all the way up to the 3rd floor and then work your way down. It's somewhat counter-intuitive, but apparently this sequence would roughly parallel Buddhism's spread throughout Asia as India, Southeast Asia, China, Korea and Japan is the order of the galleries.

Photography is allowed as long as no flash is used. See the Buddha heads I photographed above. More Asian art to be featured in the following days.

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