• MAC POWER (207) sports a cover story on Steve Jobs. It’s of course all in Japanese, but there are quite a few classic quotes that pepper the piece, and they make for a good read (and some nice old photos as well). The issue also puts the spotlight on a few independent magazines, and there’s a look at “Kashiwa’s [Sato] Life & Work Style.” I think there was something about Sato in every magazine I browsed through this week.
• BRUTUS (611) is a REAL man’s magazine this week: “Cars to Drive, Suits to Wear.” I wrote a while back on my desire to get a bit more smart with my clothes, and so suits have been on my mind of late — I want a 60s cut, with cigarette pants — but there’s nothing I can really afford in here. For the car component, I did find it more interesting than usual because it’s mostly about celebrities and their cars. I will say that comedian Gori (of the duo Garage Sale) has a mean-looking ride (I forget the name, but it looks like a classic Mustang, all in black).
• This month’s cover feature for TOKION JAPAN (57) is — drum roll, please — Kashiwa Sato, as the “glocal creator!” It seems like TOKION is already taking a step back from what they were doing since the re-launch. Now, don’t get me wrong, I quite like Kashiwa Sato’s work — and hadn’t realized that he created the logo for the National Art Center, Tokyo — but I’m not sure it was necessary for TOKION to use him for a feature, especially since there is no lack of Sato on the newsstands these days.
• +81 (35) celebrates its 10th anniversary with their “Now and Then 10th Anniversary Issue.” You’ll find a satisfying collection of creator interviews, and rich in images, as we’ve come to expect from the magazine.
• Music fans rejoice, the latest issue of PEN (193) is all about design in rock, so album art galore, as well as a look at a few creators, and celebrities listing their faves.

Remember that “My Private Tokyo” corner I did on Nakameguro for the NHK World TV show TOKYO EYE? I’ve finally gotten around to putting up the segment on YouTube. This is the first time I’ve done something like this, so be gentle.

A writer and a photographer from PEN magazine dropped by Cafe Pause yesterday to do a short interview with me and take some photos that should appear in an upcoming issue (out in April I think). Looks like they will also mention PauseTalk. It’s part of a feature on Tokyo favorites, and it seems that a writer for ROUGH GUIDES mentioned Cafe Pause as one of his faves (and I believe the cafe and PauseTalk will also get a mention in the next Tokyo edition of that series).

I get quoted — along with Patrick and Sonia — in the current issue of J-SELECT (Vol. 54 No. 2) in a piece on blogging. It’s sort of funny that the three of us who were contacted for the article all happen to be Canadian.

When he’s not busy designing massive art centers — that would be the National Art Center, Tokyo — architect Kisho Kurokawa is dabbling in politics, with a run in the next Tokyo gubernatorial race.

Uniqlo gets a conscience.

Read the entire THE JAPAN TIMES article here.

Quick, you have a presentation at Pecha Kucha Night and haven’t had time to prepare. What to do? Oh, just head over to Delicious.salted.com, which will create a PKN-formatted (20 slides) presentation from your last twenty Del.ico.us bookmarks.

YouTube is hosting a video interview done by Designboom with architect Shigeru Ban.

I stopped by the Uniqlo flagship store in Ginza yesterday — the one designed by KDa — and picked up the t-shirt you see pictured above for my wife (they only have them for women), a collaboration tee between Nagi Noda and Osamu Tezuka. It’s a page from Tezuka’s PRINCESS KNIGHT (RIBBON NO KISHI) manga, with some of the panels acting as pockets. I was also happy to find a nice pair of black (not faded) skinny fit jeans for myself.

PingMag considers fashion in their latest piece. “Tani Ryouna and Maya Ishii (both slaving at Comme des Garçons in Paris for years) recently started their fashion label ENCADREURS in Tokyo with the idea to collaborate with a different artist every season.”

First thing this morning I went to the Junkudo bookstore in Ikebukuro, and was very happy to find 2 stacks of copies of the first issue of MONOCLE in the foreign magazines section. They even had them on one of the top shelves, with a small info card next to them, which they don’t usually do.

The verdict? I’ve only leafed through it without reading anything yet, but I absolutely love what I’m seeing. It looks smart, and feels smart as well, with a layout and design throughout that stays consistent, and doesn’t feel overblown. I’m also a big fan of magazines that use uncoated paper stock, but at the same time, here, I appreciate the splash of glossy pages at the end for the “Expo” section. You also get an original manga by Takanori Yasaka, which I hope is going to be a regular feature.

As far as pricing, some have mentioned the high price, even at Tower Records Shibuya, in my previous post‘s comment thread. That 2200 yen is the magazine’s Japanese price — they have official distribution in Japan, same as weekly’s like TIME and NEWSWEEK — so we won’t be able to get it at a cheaper import price. Sure, it’s a bit pricey, but you do get quite a lot of content, so I don’t necessarily feel cheated (also, I’m used to paying close to that for certain design-related Japanese magazines).

Update
Dan Hill, in charge of web content for the magazine, has posted on his blog some details on what’s going on with Monocle.com.

Update 2
Editor Andrew Tuck has a piece for the THE INDEPENDENT on what it took to launch the magazine, and some of the thinking behind it.

Back in November of last year, I wrote about getting an iPod shuffle, and then in the comments thread mentioned that the clip didn’t feel very strong, and that it wasn’t the sort of thing that would let you run safely (depending on where I clipped it, it could fall). I just thought it was a design defect, but then when the new colored versions came out, I was checking them at a store and noticed how sturdy the clip was. So today I went to the Apple Store in Ginza, and after I showed it to them at the Genius bar, was quickly given a new one. Definitely happy to have one with a sturdy clip, as the previous one had fallen off a few times.

TAB Jobs is one of this site’s affiliates, and so here’s a bit of an update on some latest postings. If you haven’t heard of TAB Jobs yet, it’s Japan’s only bilingual job site specifically for the creative industry — reach 300,000 passionate professionals in Japan and abroad. Since launch, 80% of the positions were successfully filled in 30 days or less. Ads cost 20,000Â¥ for 30 days, and go to support Tokyo Art Beat, a free online service provided by the Non-Profit Organization Gadago NPO.

Some recent design jobs posted on TAB Jobs:

• Less Rain Tokyo seeking a Flash developer
• Hakuhodo i-studio Inc. seeking a Web designer
• Imagination Limited, London seeking a Creative Group
  Head

I’ve been a big supporter of the Nakaochiai Gallery — it’s great to see what Julia has done since launching it — and here’s an update and some big news.

Also, the next exhibition is set to start March 4 (until March 24, with an opening party March 3, 19:00-21:00). “Beautiful Flux” will feature the works of Amanda Bowder.

You’ll notice a new sponsor on the site today, with the ad in the sidebar. Tokyomade is an online store that offers all sorts of fun design goods, straight from Tokyo. It joins other current sponsors Tokyo Recohan, OK FRED, and affiliate TAB Jobs. As always, if you are interested in advertising on this site, please contact me for info on rates.