A new episode of the Codex (33) is up, another entry in the alphabet series. And while I have your attention, let me mention that this Wednesday (June 29) is PechaKucha Night in Tokyo Vol. 83 at SuperDeluxe, and it’s looking like a great lineup.
Jun 29, 2011
A new episode of the Codex (32) is up, for your listening pleasure — a mix of old and new, with a bit of concentrated nerdiness at the end.
Jun 23, 2011
Let me start by again thanking everyone who attended last week’s PauseTalk Vol. 51. It was a terrific night, and one of the most spirited discussions we’ve had in a while — I had to reign it in a few times, which is absolutely fine. For some reason, as the cafe manager told me, a lot of alcohol was consumed as well (more than usual), so whether one affected the other is an interesting question.
Below, a partial list of attendees (those who signed the attendance sheet). The next PauseTalk (Vol. 52) will be held on July 4, so there will be no need to check your American flag or fireworks at the door.
Jun 15, 2011
I’ll be honest, I haven’t been excited about any music coming out of Japan in quite a while, but as I mentioned in that quick post on the new episode of Codex, I am absolutely in love with the new album by Salyu (using the name “Salyu x Salyu”), s(o)un(d)beams, produced by Cornelius (Keigo Oyamada). It’s basically like getting a new Cornelius record, but an inspired one (something I did not feel with 2006′s Sensuous).
Above is a video for the first single from the album, but even better is to experience it using the Chrome Music Mixer (and here’s another video that sort of replicates the same effect). There’s also an iPhone app music visualizer based on the album.
Jun 15, 2011
A new episode of the Codex is up (31), for your listening pleasure. In it I play a track from the new record by Salyu x Salyu, produced by Cornelius, which I’m hopelessly in love with right now.
Jun 15, 2011
Just a reminder that PauseTalk Vol. 51 happens tonight (Monday, June 6) at Cafe Pause. The cafe is reserved from 19:30, and the official session starts at 20:00. Looking forward to it!
Jun 6, 2011
It’s been quite a while since I’ve been out hiking, something that was rectified earlier today when we headed out to the Okutama area. We decided to head to Mitake mountain, and took a cable car up (pictured above), with the idea of walking down (we didn’t really have time to walk both ways).
It may be silly to say — and believe me, I did enjoying the walk — but one of my favorite things when we go out hiking is that we usually pick up a bento (lunch box) for the trek, and since we passed through Shinjuku station, we were able to get some really nice ekiben (bento that is aimed specifically at people travelling long distances by train, sold at stations that have lines that leave the city).
And what I always like to point out as well is that all of this happened within the bounderies of Tokyo-to, meaning you don’t even have to leave the city to go on these wonderful hikes.
To get there, from Shinjuku station you hop on the Chuo line (the orange line) and switch trains at Ome (you may need to switch at Tachikawa on the way, depending on your train), to then get off at Mitake station. Across the street from the train station is a bus station, with buses that take you up to the cable car station (270 yen for the bus, 570 yen for the cable car, one-way).
Jun 6, 2011
PauseTalk Vol. 50 didn’t mark the end of anything, on the contrary, we kick off a new era — well, numerically speaking at least — with Vol. 51 this coming Monday (June 6) at Cafe Pause. As always, the cafe is reserved from 19:30, and the official session will kick off at 20:00. Come on down for some good talk and some good company! And just a reminder that the PauseTalk presence on Facebook has changed to this new page.
Jun 3, 2011
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 happens June 4.
We hereby define a new term, that of the magaziner, described as a person who exerts an unhealthy amount of love for all things magazine. The Magaziner is a site that mostly focuses on the intersection between magazines and the digital frontier, and what it means for the medium. This does not preclude the inclusion of a healthy amount of print love.
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.
Jean Snow is Executive Director of the PechaKucha organization. He also helps run the PechaKucha Night in Tokyo -- please get in touch if you are interested in presenting at a future event. For a more intimate salon-like discussion group, join him at his monthly PauseTalk event.
A longtime resident of Tokyo, he lives and breathes design, pop culture, and gaming, sustained by an unhealthy addiction to magazines and frequent visits to his favorites cafes. He has reported on these obsessions for various online/offline publications, including the following: Time, Inside (Australian Design Review), Gizmodo, Gridskipper, Kotaku, 1UP, Tokyo Q, Superfuture, OK Fred, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, I.D. (International Design), Metropolis, Azure, MoCo Loco, Kateigaho International Edition, Wired's Game|Life, PingMag, CNNGo, Phaidon, and The Japan Times.
You can subscribe to an RSS feed of this site, and also follow him on Twitter and Facebook, or get in touch by email.
