photo by enpen

Olympia public art.

Saturday January 6, 6:02 AM EST

TOKYO (AP) — Momofuku Ando, the Japanese inventor of instant noodles — a dish that has sustained American college students for decades — has died. He was 96.

Nissin Food Products Co., the company Ando founded, said on its Web site that he died Friday after suffering a heart attack.

Born in Taiwan, Ando founded his company in 1948 from a humble family operation. Faced with food shortages in post-World War II Japan, Ando thought a quality, convenient noodle product would help feed the masses.

In 1958, his "Chicken Ramen" — the first instant noodle — was introduced after many trials. Following its success, the company added other products, such as the "Cup Noodle" in 1971.

"The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum" opened in 1999 in Ikeda City in western Japan commemorating his inventions.

Ando gave a speech at the company's New Year ceremony and enjoyed Chicken Ramen for lunch with Nissin employees on Thursday before falling ill, Japan's largest daily Yomiuri reported.

He is survived by his wife, Masako.

I urge all members of the Democratic party to reread your platform and look at Mr. Mah's record. You'll find glaring inconsistancies across the board. This fall, the Democratic party is running a candidate against Tim Sheldon that is more in line with their values. Doug Mah should be treated accordingly.

If you are an Olympia Democrat, don't let Doug Mah use your party as a tool to get votes, while bastardizing your mission, vision, and values.

On Equality Day, clergy and people of faith-both straight and Gay-will gather with other allies and members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community to lobby their legislators to end legal discrimination against Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender individuals and families.

A noontime rally will provide legislators and others an opportunity to hear prominent clergy & community leaders speak in support of Gay rights. The Equality Day rally typically draws over 1,500 attendees.

As Olympia mayoral elections approach, I think as many of us as possible should send out e-mail invitations to potential candidates encouraging them to post a platform Blog here, open to the community for comments, and to actually enter into a dialogue between candidates and citizens. What say you, fellow OlyBloggers?