While at Ikebukuro’s Parco yesterday — I wanted to check out the renewed spaces for the Graniph and Smith (Delfonics) stores — I was very happy to find that the Taschen JAPANESE GRAPHICS NOW! book has joined their 25th anniversary program, and so picked it up for 2000 yen! It’s a great book, and I still can’t believe they’re selling it so cheap.
Apr 30, 2006
The universe decides to balance the scales again — the same week I got my new MacBook Pro, the screen on my old iMac (that I was still using the create my wireless network among other things) went dark. Since the 3-year warranty has expired, and with this Apple support discussion thread suggesting that the problem would be pricey to fix (and with no money to do that right now), I’m pretty much left with no choice but to store it for now. I am rather lucky that it happened after getting the new laptop though, so I shouldn’t complain too much I guess.
Apr 30, 2006
Apr 30, 2006
Nice to read that the first issue of A Public Space (I mentioned it here, and got my copy a few days later) is now sold out!
Update
A reader points out that the first issue is available at the Aoyama Book Center.
Apr 30, 2006
Tokyo Art Beat keeps getting better and better! Just in time for GW, they’ve now launched a new much appreciated feature that lets MyTAB users add reviews to event listings (basically, a new commenting system), as well as “Blog it!” section that lets you easily copy/paste the review (including all event info) on your blog. Long live TAB!
Update
Please note that I’ve added a TAB badge of my recommended events in the sidebar.
Apr 30, 2006
A work in progress from Yuki — I like the colors, and for me, it puts me in a Spring mood, just in time for the start of GW.
Apr 29, 2006
I’ve been quiet regarding yesterday’s announcement that the Nintendo Revolution will now be called Wii — at first I thought it was a ridiculous name, but a day later, I have to admit that it’s growing on me — since I don’t figure there’s anything I can add to what has already been said, but I did quite like this image of 2channel’s Mona (found on Kotaku) celebrating the new name!
Apr 29, 2006
Ghibli World is offering a second trailer online for Ghibli’s upcoming LEGEND OF EARTHSEA film. Link via AICN.
Apr 28, 2006
It’s nice to see so many of my friends here in Tokyo being so busy and productive with work lately. Paul — you might know him as Mr. TAB — just finished work on the redesign (with AQworks) of the French-Japanese Institute in Tokyo’s website, and it’s quite nice. This is what they have to say about the new site:
The biggest improvements:
- Permanent individual event pages to establish a record that can be shared, printed, revisited and indexed by search engines.
- Vivid, human photography highlighting the institut’s charismatic teachers, and stylish yet approachable decor.
- A flexible, cross-linked information architecture that encourages discovery of other facilities and programs.
- A standards-compliant platform, ensuring accessibility for everyone, including visitors with disabilities, and optimal visibility on search engines.
Apr 28, 2006
Patrick came over to the Northern First Nations live event/party at Cafe Pause last night — it was good catching up with him, and he pretty much convinced me that I absolutely need to get to Nakano sometime soon to try out a Sasebo burger — and took this picture of Keith Wolfe-Smarch doing some storytelling.
Apr 28, 2006
TOKYO.NOW is a soon-to-launch series of 5-minute programs produced by W+K TOKYO LAB, and set to air on NHK. From the Shift blog:
The first episode will air on May 1st (Mon) around 23:00. It will feature a world premier of UC a.k.a. DJ Uppercut’s newest music video for “What You Standin’ For”, the lead track from his album “Street Revolution” released last December. It will be the first airing of this video before any other music channels, so don’t miss it!
I’m really excited about seeing this, but honestly, I’d rather have it offered as a podcast.
Apr 28, 2006
DOMUS’ website has a short piece on Hiroshi Sambuichi’s dental clinic, which gets a camouflage covering courtesy of artificially mounted hedges.
Apr 28, 2006
Chin Music Press is more than just gorgeous books — they’re also behind the very cool Buzztracker web app, and it’s been nominated for a Webby in the “Netart” category. If you wanna show some love, you can always cast your vote in the the People’s Choice section!
Update
You may have noticed that Buzztracker is no longer listed, and it seems that the inclusion was some sort of technical glitch. It’s a shame, because the site definitely deserved some sort of nomination.
Apr 28, 2006
I’m definitely going to be checking this out during GW:
The screenings are being held at Tokyo Wonder Site Shibuya starting tomorrow (until May 27), and the admission fee is only 500 yen.
Apr 28, 2006
Remember that great region-free DVD player (Beans) I got last week from RegionFreeJapan.com? Seems like the post I wrote sent a few readers their way, and as a thank you they’re offering a discount to new orders.
I just thought I’d take the chance to say thanks and offer any of your readers a 1000yen discount. They can email us in advance of their purchase and a special link will be sent to them or they can email us immediately after their purchase and a refund will be sent with their player.
I’m still very happy with the model I got, and as I mentioned before, got great service from them.
Apr 28, 2006
Where's all the regular art/design-related content you used to see here? Check out SNOW Magazine, a Tokyo-based online magazine featuring news and guest columns -- see the full list of contributors -- covering the cultural landscape of Tokyo/Japan.
The SNOW Magazine Cafe is a month-long celebration of art, design, and culture magazines from around the world, on display for everyone's reading pleasure at Cafe Pause in Tokyo.
PauseTalk is a regular series of events that take place at Cafe Pause on the first Monday of every month, with a start time of 20:00. The idea is to create a forum where Tokyo-based creatives can get together and discuss their own projects, as well as cultural currents of the city. The next edition is September 6.
PLAY is a series of events with Jean Snow spinning some of his favorite virtual discs in a casual setting at Cafe Pause. See the setlist for previous editions here, and subscribe to a feed of the mixes.
Being a survey of recommended titles for your gaming pleasure. New games are added 2-3 times weekly, and all selections are by your host, Jean Snow, a Tokyo-based writer and gamer.
Jean Snow is a contributor to Arcade Mania, your guide to the arcade gaming scene in Japan (Amazon US/Amazon Japan). He also provided assistance on Tokyolife: Art and Design, a guide to Tokyo's cultural output of the past few years, covering the works of over 80 influential creatives.
He will be contributing to the upcoming fifth editions of The Rough Guide to Tokyo and The Rough Guide to Japan, due for release in 2011.
He's a member of the Pecha Kucha team, working on various projects, including updating Pecha Kucha Daily, a blog that highlights the creativity coming out of PKN events worldwide.
He serves as editor-at-large at Néojaponisme, a web journal covering social and cultural aspects of Japan. Read the manifesto, by founder and chief editor W. David Marx.
He also writes a monthly column covering Japanese product design for The Japan Times, called "On Design." It appears on the last Thursday of every month, in both the print edition and online.