I’ll have the list of participants from last night’s PauseTalk (Vol. 36) up later today or tomorrow, but in the meantime I wanted to share the latest round of portraits taken by Max Hodges, which are all viewable in this gallery. As with last time, I’m really loving these, and I’m hoping that Max keeps doing them, and then maybe culminate in some sort of exhibition to celebrate the fourth anniversary of PauseTalk next year. Max is also talking about compiling PDF books of the shots, which I think is a great idea.

And in case you’re wondering, the t-shirt I’m wearing is Gelman‘s “Sorry I’m Late!” tee he did for Uniqlo a couple of years back.

Felissimo in New York is hosting a Japan Brand pop-up shop during the holidays (until December 24), and it’s been getting some coverage on a bunch of NYC-based blogs, including JoshSpear.com and Spoon & Tamago.

Pictured above is a bicycle designed by Gelman, made of lacquer, silver plating, and gold leaf. It was created for his “Gelman’s Masterpieces” exhibition earlier this year at the Kakitsubata gallery in Nakameguro. I was actually given the chance the take it for a spin after the show was over, but I chickened out — was just too nervous that I might crash it or something.

Tonight (November 6) marks the official launch of Postglobal, a new book (in Japanese) that takes a look at Gelman‘s activities since his “business” retirement a few years ago.

[T]his book is an illustrated documentation of Alexander Gelman’s thrilling adventures in Japan since his retirement from business a few years ago. He’s not the author, rather the subject. The book contains extensive research and information about deep Japanese traditions and culture. In a way, it reintroduces Japanese readers to their heritage. Things they take for granted come in a new light, other issues explained for the first time. The broad range of Gelman’s encounters makes the book quite rich in visual and thematic content and promises for an addictive educational reading.

Gelman will be on hand tonight at Aoyama Book Center in Roppongi from 19:00 to 20:00 to signs copies of the book.