Tag Archives: Jon Riki Karamatsu

December 31, 2016 · 10:36 am

Here’s a song for you to dance into the new year!

Here’s a song for you to dance into the new year called “Physical” by St. Lucia. This band produces that feel good music that I love, which reminds me of the songs of my childhood in the 1980s, and it has that electronic sound in what we now call EDM or Electronic Dance Music, an area I’ve been involved in through my friend DJ G-Spot, my friend since college at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. To have that 80s and EDM sound is awesome! Hmm, I have some ideas as I’m writing this entry.

For those of you still preparing for 2017, enjoy and make the most of your last day of 2016! For the rest of you, Happy New Year! I have a very good feeling that we can do great things in 2017!

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Filed under Blog, Concerts, Dance, Dance Music, Electronic Dance Music, Festivals, Hawaii, Journal, Live Events, Live Shows, Music, Performances, Performers, Pop Music, Production, Promoter, Promoters, Rock, Song, Tunes

Tagged as concert, Concerts, EDM, Electronic Dance Music, festival, Festivals, Hawaii, Honolulu, Jon Riki Karamatsu, Live Music, music, Music Events, Oahu, Physical, pop, Promoter, Promoters, Rock, St. Lucia

December 28, 2016 · 9:48 pm

2017 New Year’s Jodo Mission of Hawaii President’s Message

2017 New Year’s Jodo Mission of Hawaii President’s Message

Dear Members,

Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu! Wishing you a Happy New Year! For 2017, my wish is for you to be filled with happiness a great majority of the time.

In a perfect world, we could wish for happiness all of the time, but when we think about it, without some suffering and challenges, life would become boring and we would not have the experiences that make us appreciate life even more. When we fail, we appreciate our efforts and all the ups and downs, so when we do succeed, it’s oh so sweet and wonderful. Even the impermanence of life, the fact that our time is limited in this living realm, encourages us to appreciate the present moment, so we cherish our time with our loved ones, work passionately on projects that excite us, and absorb the beauty of nature such as the sun setting into our beautiful blue ocean. We develop a deeper gratitude through our understanding of impermanence so even when we lose a person we love; we are able to generate positive energy by all those wonderful moments we shared with that person, and it’s this energy that encourages us to live life the best that we can with the precious time we have before us. Thus, suffering and challenges can be a fuel for our happiness through our practice of gratitude. When you combine gratitude with all your positive practices of the Eightfold Path – Right Understanding, Right Purpose, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Livelihood, Right Endeavor, Right Thought, and Right Meditation, you will be filled with joy.

With Warmest Aloha,

Jon Riki Karamatsu

President of Jodo Mission of Hawaii

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Filed under Blog, Gratitude, Happiness, Inspiration, Life, Love, Mindfulness, Writing

Tagged as 2017, 2017 New Year, 2017 New Year Message, Compassion, Eightfold Path, Impermanence, Inspiration, Jodo Mission of Hawaii, Jodo Shu, Jon Riki Karamatsu, joy, life, love, New Year's, New Year's Message, Peace, positivity, President's Message

December 28, 2016 · 9:31 pm

Vanessa Hudgens Would Be A Top Choice For Lead Female Character In My First Novel

If I were ever so lucky to get my first novel published and made into a movie, a paranormal romance and suspense based in Hawaii, my top choice for the lead female role would be actress Vanessa Hudgens because the lead female character in my novel is Asian and Caucasian like her. Moreover, she would play the personality of the character nicely who is loosely based off of someone who was once a small part of my life.

To change popular culture in the United States to be more reflective of its diversity, it is very important for writers, producers, and entrepreneurs to develop stories, novels, movies, products, and services that share the unique cultural and ethnic diversity in our country rather than what we mainly see in popular culture in the United States today. It has gotten better, but it still isn’t truly reflective. I’m optimistic that commercialized story-telling will become much broader.

MONACO – MAY 25: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME. MANDATORY CREDIT PHOTO BY DAVE M. BENETT/GETTY IMAGES REQUIRED) Actress Vanessa Hudgens poses backstage before the Amber Lounge Fashion Show Monaco 2012 at Le Meridien Beach Plaza Hotel on May 25, 2012 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)

Actress Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the Neutrogena Fresh Faces of Music Benefiting VH1 Save The Music at Jim Henson Studios on September 26, 2009 in Hollywood, California. Neutrogena Fresh Faces of Music Benefiting VH1 Save The Music – Arrivals Jim Henson Studios Hollywood, CA United States September 26, 2009 Photo by Jordan Strauss/WireImage.com To license this image (58494556), contact WireImage.com

Vanessa Hudgens Photo by Janet Gough 2008 Teen Choice Awards – Arrivals at the Gibson Amphitheater August 3, 2008 – Universal City, California Celebrityphoto.com P.O. Box 1560 Beverly Hills CA 90213 – 1560 – USA Tel # 310-786-7700 Fax # 310-777-5455

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Filed under Blog, Books, Creative Writing, Entertainment, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Goals, Inspiration, Journal, Novels, Stories, Writing

Tagged as Actress, Asian, Asian American, Book, Books, Creative Writing, Diversity, Entertainment, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Ethnic Diversity, Fiction, Hapa, Hollywood, Jon Riki Karamatsu, Lead Female Character, minorities, movies, multi-cultural, multi-ethnicity, novel, Novels, Stories, story-telling, theater, Vanessa Hudgens, Writing

December 27, 2016 · 11:07 pm

Leaving Flowers to Wither

I always go home,

leaving flowers to wither.

Love frozen in time.

– Jon Riki Karamatsu, 12/27/2016, Haiku #51 –

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Filed under Creative Writing, Haiku, Journal, Life, Poems, Writing

Tagged as Creative Writing, Haiku, Haiku Poems, Haiku Poetry, Jon Riki Karamatsu, life, love, poem, Poems, Poetry, Writing

November 20, 2016 · 2:01 pm

Love and Peace Between Christians and Muslims

Amazon (AMZN) has created a very heartwarming commercial that shows how multi-religions can live together harmoniously, especially between Christians and Muslims where there has been conflict between leaders and members of the two religions for hundreds of years. This positive message can be applied to unify all conflicting groups. We can all make a difference in making our world peaceful by spreading love and compassion to everyone we interact with.

The commercial features a priest and imam having a pleasant conversation over tea. As the the imam prepares to leave, both men remark at their sore knees, share a hug, and part ways. Afterward, they both take out their smartphones and buy the other knee braces through Amazon Prime.

The commercial ends with both the priest and the imam kneeling to pray while wearing the knee braces they received from the other via Amazon Prime.

I love this. So touching. Wonderful work Amazon!