Just got back from seeing the final program presented at the onedotzero_nippon festival, a reprise of the wow+flutter program. It is described as follows:

“a shift from previous editions is felt here with more work with creators tacking narrative and documentary using the skills and techniques picked up through visual experimentation. Still true to its pioneering roots there are also a wide range of styles spanning the full spectrum of animation, motion graphics and abstract experimentation from a wider geographic spread-flagging up mew hot spots and fresh talent. many of these works have been specifically produced for the festival or are receiving their japan premiere airing.”

I really enjoyed this, especially the short “Salaryman”, by Jake Knight. Presented in an extreme letterbox view, the composition was beautiful, and well suited the subject matter (loneliness in the big city).

It really is inspiring to see all of these works presented together like this. I’m already getting excited for the upcoming Resfest in November.

If you haven’t done so yet, do check out the online comic When I Am King from Demian.5. It’s really interesting how he uses the Web to tell his story in a non-traditional way. Do take the time to go through all the chapters, as things really evolve (in the way he uses the medium) in the later chapters. There’s an interesting profile of the author at the Shift magazine. For another great example of the types of comics that are really taking advantage of the Web, check out the Pay Your Reality Tax site.

Escaperail is a site that presents pictures of fire escapes. Really nice photography.

Just got back from the onedotzero_nippon festival. The program I was supposed to see, J-Star, was sold out, so we hung out around Ginza for a few hours until the next program, Wavelength, which featured music videos. I got to see the following:

shynola: an eye for an eye / unkle
julian gibbs + julian house / intro: there goes the fear / the doves
johnny hardstaff: push, pulk / like spinning plates / radiohead
bardou-jacquet / houplain / de crecy / h5: number one / playgroup
alexander rutterford: gantz graf / autechre
lobo: total control / golden shower
logan: information contraband / money mark
cedric perrier / mitgetvideo: la rue cause / karlito
run wrake: we belong in this world together / stereo mcs
geoff mcfetridge: one dimension / simian
michel gondry: fell in love with a girl / white stripes
dominic leung: pillow / capitol k [directors cut]
geoffroy de crecy: tempovision / etienne de crecy
shynola: is a woman / lambchop
lynn fox: hayling / fc kahuna
oliver boscovitch: smile / the youngsters
stylewar: main offender / the hives
tim hope: trouble / liebestod / wagner [directors cut]

Really great stuff, most of which I had never seen. And for the stuff that I had already seen, it was definitely nice to get to see them projected on a big screen with great sound.

Tonight I’ll be checking out one of the programs at the onedotzero_nippon festival. The program I’ll be seeing is called “J-Star” and it features Japanese artists’ works in the digital moving image field. I’ll also try to check out some more programs on Sunday and Monday. I would also like to catch the documentary called NO MAPS FOR THESE TERRITORIES, which is described as follows:

“a journey that starts from an overcast morning at lax terminal 2 goes right across america from west to east and south to north, from los angeles to new york, from virginia to vancouver. a limousine is rigged with digital micro-cameras and electronic devices to record gibson’s impressions as he travels. the entire film consists of material generated by this four-wheeled media machine. a documentary on william gibson’s life and work by the man himself.”

The Stilling Project by Nei and Lena has some nice photography, presented in a simple yet attractive slide-show format.

DELVE is a nice online zine with a nice mix of photography and design. I like the way the magazine is presented, which makes it feel like a print zine.

From Japan Today:

“Campaign girl Vanilla Yamazaki, 24, takes part in a beef promotion by the Tokyo Meat Industry Co-Operative Association in Shinjuku to improve the industry’s image in the wake of the mad cow disease and mislabeling scandals. Free steak was given to pedestrians.”

Even in Japan, almost everything on TV right now is something about the 9/11 rememberance. Earlier tonight there was a live show with Takeshi Kitano in New York as host. It was very strange seeing him being serious on Japanese TV, as we’re used to seeing him being a complete clown all the time.

And speaking of Kitano, I finally saw HANABI (FIREWORKS) recently. Another great Kitano film. I am really looking forward to seeing his new film, DOLLS, which just recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival. It’s a bit of a departure from his usual directorial projects as he doesn’t appear in it. You can get more info on the film, as well as a beautiful Flash intro, at the official site.

I like this graphic for the Real Tokyo Market:

I’m watching a late-night Japanese animation on TV right now (started at 2am) called RAH-XEPHON. I think it just started, but man, talk about fucked-up. It’s kind of like walking into a David Lynch film during the strange bits. The presentation is very cool, all dark colors, and letter-boxed. It takes place in a sort of future, and there seems to be angel-type figures fighting, and then it jumps to someone who thinks he’s dead, or maybe not. Lots of talk about gods. There’s confusion as to what world/dimension all the characters are in. Very strange indeed. It sort of feels like the last 2 episodes of EVANGELION. The soundtrack for the show is really nice, mostly piano, and great at creating the proper mood.

From Japan Today:

“Drag queens gather at Yoyogi Park before the beginning of the Tokyo Gay and Lesbian Parade Sunday.”

Apple released their new iCal program today. I’ve already started using it and must say that it’s pretty nifty and easy to use. I’ve been trying to get my schedules in order for a while now, and hopefully this will help out. It’ll also be nice when their iSync program comes out at the end of the month, which will let me put all of my calendars on my iPod.

Also, after having listened to a few other tracks from the band OK Go that I found online, I have to say that nothing else excites me like the single. I really hate these one-great-single bands. I’m having a harder time finding Ikara Colt tracks.

I just posted a new Tokyo Boy log at The OPi8 Forum. More pics from China.

In Japan we get to see 2 episodes of THE CONAN O’BRIAN SHOW a week, that they show during the weekend on CNBC Asia. I was watching them this week and on one of the shows there was a performance by a band called OK Go. They rawk, and have a definite Pixies vibe. Not long after, I saw the video for the same song (“Get Over It”) on SpaceShowerTV (a music video channel). I’ve just downloaded a bunch of MP3s to check them out some more. Also, today I saw a video by a band called Ikara Colt. I swear that at first I thought it was a young Sonic Youth (the video is made to look old, and you don’t see the member that well). They also have the rawk.