The New Year Is Here,

and in Japan it is the year of the rabbit,

so here is a selection of New Years cards from Japanese artists and designers, some are even animated, above from illustrator Yuiai,

artist Yasuko Aoyama creates multi-colour prints by carving erasers, this nengajo was created using that same technique,

a plain and simple theme here from illustrator Wakiko,

this dazzling card was from motion graphics artist Motionist, 

going from that to the simple yet elegant print from illustrator Tatsuro Kiuchi, 

and on to the pop art style of almost Andy Warhol, from Tokyo-based illustrator who goes by the name DADA,

and a great animated card from 3D CD artist Yasutaka Fukada, 

I liked this one, the almost unseen the rabbit in the distance welcoming us to join him in the New Year from artist Nao Sakamoto,

I am showing my age now, rabbits, Playboy? I knew there was a connection! from illustrator Hisao Ohmae,

and lastly a more traditional card from watercolour painter Hiroki Takeda, who uses a lovely use of flora and fauna, Happy New Year!

It Might Look Like A Dog,

but it is not,

last May I made a post about a gentleman that hired Zeppet Workshop that supplied the photographs,

and this video of him, to make a dog costume to wear for him, well since then the company has been busy with another transformation, this time the client choose a wolf, 

photographs Zeppet Workshop, “Because of my love for animals since childhood and some realistic animal suits appearing on TV, I dreamed of being one someday,” the unnamed client wrote on the Zeppet website. “At the final fitting, I was amazed at my transformed self in the mirror. It was a moment when my dream come true.”

“My order to ‘look like a real wolf walking on hind legs’ was difficult – to say the least – but the complete suit looked exactly like what I imagined,” the mystery client told Zeppet, 

“Not only did the specs perfectly cover all of my preferences, but the ventilation slit for the wearer’s comfort and the devices that let the wearer put it on without help showed me that the designers paid close attention to the wearer’s comfort.”

the Japanese company reportedly took fifty days to complete the unusual project, the companies staff “checked images of real wolves to discuss the smallest details” and ways to incorporate them into the costume, and how much does it cost to become a wolf? The costume when completed came in at 3 million yen, at today’s rate £19,056.00 or $22,948.50, it seems a lot, but I guess if it makes the client happy, that is all that matters.

This A Special Sunday,

the first day of 2023, 

first a read and a sherry, the book I am reading for myself is just so enjoyable, the book is about the life of one of my favourite non-fiction writers, the Reverend J. G. Wood, written by his son, Theodore Wood, titled The Rev. J. G. Wood: His Life And Work, 

what I like about books like this is the trivia that is mentioned, for instance in the Reverends collection of natural curiosities he had a stuffed skin of a hedgehog, the reason for it being in the collection along with some poison arrows was and I quote from the book:

 'a hedgehog which had fallen victim to a prick from one of the arrows: strong testimony to the potency of the venom, as hedgehogs have little objection to arsenic, strychnine, and prussic acid, receive the bite of the viper with perfect equanimity, and are practically poison proof.' 

I never knew hedgehogs were 'practically poison proof', and it is titbits like this I enjoy so much reading about,

time for our starters, for today chicken liver and bacon pate,

'Cheers!',

for our main course, gammon ham, pineapple and egg for Diana,

lamb chops for myself, 

another 'Cheers!', we were so full we did not have a dessert, we then decided to pull the last of the Christmas crackers, I will refrain form mentioning the jokes, they were just too bad!

in the late afternoon it was feet up for Run Fat Boy Run, a funny upbeat London based comedy, made even better with Dylan Moran playing the sidekick who we first saw in that great comedy series Black Books, I should mention the film has the best comedy fight scene I have ever seen,

we then watched the last episode of Wednesday, what a great series, the ending leaving ample scope for a squeal,

by now it was late so we rounded of the evening with 7 Women and a Murder, it was an Italian movie dubbed in English, and would not have seemed out of place if it was written by Agatha Christie, the plot believable, the settings just right and the actresses all playing their parts so well, after the finish of that we were off to bed.

We Have All Heard Of The Leaning Tower Of Pisa,

but how many of us have heard about about the leaning Taihe Zhenxing Palace (振興宮舊址)?

I have tried to credit this photograph but can not find the photographer, in August of 2009, Taiwan was hit by Typhoon Morakot, this was the most violent typhoon to hit the island in its recorded history, it led to huge amounts of rainfall that resulted in massive mudflows and intense flooding throughout Taiwan, the typhoon left massive destruction and regrettably took several human casualties, but it also produced one of Taiwan’s most unusual tourist attractions, the Taihe Zhenxing Palace, a place of worship tilted at about 45 degrees, 

earlier this year, after photos and videos shot there went viral online, the Taihe Zhenxing Palace was even featured on national television and dubbed Taiwan’s version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, for the full story have a look here, what a great place for a photoshoot!

As Many Of Our Friends And Readers Know,

I am a philatelist, 

that is I collect stamps, and thought I would make a post about this one, it is a 1856 postage stamp that is considered the world’s most expensive object by weight, ‘The British Guiana One-Cent Black on Magenta’, a bit about the stamp, the British Guiana One-Cent Black on Magenta isn’t even a real stamp. In 1856, a local news office in British Guiana printed a number of pieces of paper adorned with an image of a three-masted ship and the colony’s motto, ‘We give and expect in return,’ to temporarily replace a batch of postage stamps the postmaster considered counterfeit, these replacement stamps were taken out of circulation in just a few weeks, after a new batch of actual stamps was brought in, but 17 years later, in 1873, a 12-year-old boy found one among his uncle’s letters and sold it to a local stamp collector. Fast forward 150 years and that little piece of magenta paper is the world’s most valuable object by weight, for the full story and provenance of the stamp have a look here, as for the weight, it is only 40 milligrams, so for weight for money to put that into perspective, the average 0.2-carat diamond (which also weighs 40 milligrams) in a ring costs about £650, 

the stamp was recently sold for £9.5 million, but here is the thing, you can actually buy a piece of it! Stanley Gibbons, the owners of the stamp have decided to sell parts of the British Guiana One-Cent Black on Magenta stamp like shares of a company, the stamp was split into 80,000 pieces or shares that anyone could buy for £100 ($121) per piece, it sounds like a great investment, as the value of this extremely rare collectible is only expected to rise with time, and would I like a share? Yes please!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

to everyone, 

for us we had a quiet day on New Years eve, as Diana was at work, but in the evening we decided on a Indian meal, I should say I am only making one post today, I did not set the alarm and slept in! back to yesterday evening,

 

glad rags on and we were out,

onto the number 54 bus to our favourite Indian restaurant, the Kathmandu Masala, then a bit of a problem, normally we are the only dinner or sometimes just one or two tables are taken in the course of our meal, but today, New Years eve, the place was fully booked, thankfully we were early,

and they managed to fit us in, 

so poppadum's and relishes to start,

'Cheers!'s, as it happens we were the only dinners, most had booked for a late evening start,

for our starters,

a mixed kebab,

with salad for Diana,

a prawn puri for myself,

eyes down and tuck in,

our main course arrived,

mushroom and peas pulao rice,

aloo gobi,

a lamb dish whose name I have forgotten for Diana,

and a chicken dish for myself, we also had some nan bread,

'Cheers!', the bill came to £86.00 including service charge, 

back home it was feet up for a film to take us up to nearly midnight, as it happens a great old WWII movie was on, The Dam Busters, having read the book and watched the film many years ago we decide to watch it, but the PC brigade had been out, no longer was the 617 squadron dog called Nigger, it had been changed! and as it happens Nigger was the real mascot of the squadron, we had better start burning the books now,

we had decided to see in the New Year with Jools Holland, so all ready to open the bubbly, 

look nearly there, 

and pop goes the bubbly, Happy New Year! the show we watched was Jools Holland's annual hootenanny, which sees him and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra bring in 2023 with a host of musical guests including George Ezra, who performed his song Green Green Grass - one of the most popular tunes of the year, the singer, who landed his third number one album this year with Gold Rush Kid, also there was Rebecca Lucy Taylor aka Self Esteem, who was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize this year, Dreams singer Gabrielle, with singer-songwriter Cat Burns was also in the show as was Welsh guitarist and singer Andy Fairweather Low, who played alongside Jools' Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, as it happens I really like the songs of Fairweather Low, my favourite being one of his lesser known numbers at the time of release, Gin House,

and here it is playing live with Jools on the piano, what a great performer, every time I hear the song it brings back so many memories of when it was released by Amen Corner in 1967, when I was just 17 years old! also there, Roland Gift of Fine Young Cannibals, who performed some of the band's most popular tunes, along with Jazz duo Rachael & Vilray and singer Ruby Turner complete the guest list, and of course the line up was made complete with the classic Pipes and Drums of the 1st Battalion Scots Guards, who performed at midnight, 

and as the midnight hour stuck Diana made a video of the moment, and here it is above, we stayed up for another couple of hours enjoying the company of Jools and his guests until the show finished, and with that we were off to bed.

A Final Though For 2022,

and the start of 2023,

the words are so meaningful, many thanks to Rainham Steve for sharing.