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Your Guide to Design and Pop Culture in Tokyo

PauseTalk Vol. 60

PauseTalk Vol. 60

PauseTalk Vol. 60 happened this past Sunday (May 13), on the last day of Magazine Library 10, and I must say that it was quite nice to have the event in that setting (in the exhibition space, at Hillside Terrace). It also influenced the talk, and for one of the first times in the series history, we really just stuck to one main topic, “magazines,” although we raised and discussed quite a few points in relation to that theme. I’d like to thank everyone who made it out for this special afternoon (and later than usual) edition of PauseTalk.

We were about 20 or so, and below you’ll find the list of participants who signed the attendance sheet (and thanks, Eric Chan, for the photo above). There will in fact be a PauseTalk (Vol. 61) on the first Monday of next month at Cafe Pause, which will be June 4, so do put that in your calendar.

From PechaKucha to PauseTalk

PechaKucha at Magazine Library

For me, this weekend is truly one where two of my worlds collide. Last night I had a special PechaKucha event as part of the Magazine Library exhibition in which I invited a few friends (Audrey Fondecave, Mike Abelson, Luis Mendo, Antonin Gaultier, and Ian Lynam) to do presentations on the topic of magazines and print culture. It was a far more intimate audience than what we’re used to seeing at our regular PechaKucha Nights, but in the end I think we had nice attentive crowd who really seemed to enjoy the presentations — and all of these presentations should be popping up on the PechaKucha site over the next week or so.

The second part of this double-header weekend happens tomorrow (Sunday, March 13), with PauseTalk Vol. 60 happening again at the same Magazine Library space (Hillside Terrace in Daikanyama), starting at 15:00. It’ll be the same kind of PauseTalk that I always do, so I do hope that regulars will still want to come despite the change in venue and time. Yes, I’m sure magazines and print culture will come up in our discussion, but I’m open — as always — to talk about whatever. And if you’re a fan of the fantastic Apartamento magazine, then you should stick around as the editor-in-chief and art director will both be there to give a talk from 17:00.

Rumi Nagata

The photos included in this post were taken by Michael Holmes — who most of you will of course recognize as the regular PauseTalk and PechaKucha Night photographer. He was on hand to take some photos during the event, but did a few fun shots outside of the venue after with some of the people on hand. The group shot at the top includes a whole bunch of great peeps, and above you have Rumi Nagata of the Winged Wheel stationery shop, and below that is my board gaming brother (and AQ designer) Ryan Ruel.

Ryan Ruel

Codex 52

Codex 52

A new episode of the Codex (52) is up, for your listening pleasure. As I mention on the show — which I also did in my post about the next PauseTalk — if you like the Codex, then you’ll probably dig our live sessions of Radio OK Fred, happening next week, on May 3 and 4 at Hillside Terrace in Daikanyama as part of the Magazine Library 10 exhibition.

PauseTalk + Magazine Library

PauseTalk Vol. 60

You may have been wondering what’s going on with the May edition of PauseTalk, which not only is Vol. 60, but also marks the 6th anniversary of the series. It will be a special edition indeed, and not only will it for the first time not be held at Cafe Pause in Ikebukuro, it will also not be on the first Monday of the month. I am very pleased to announce that PauseTalk Vol. 60 will be part of the upcoming Magazine Library 10 exhibition, taking place at Hillside Terrace in Daikanyama on May 3-13. The exhibition is a lovefest for magazines, and so it shouldn’t be a big surprise that I associated myself with it — on top of the PauseTalk, we will have a PechaKucha event (May 11), as well as the return of Radio OK Fred with two live editions (May 3 and 4).

The PauseTalk will cap the exhibition, happening on Sunday, May 13, with a start time of 15:00. Yes, it will be an afternoon edition, and although I’m sure the topic of magazines will pop up a lot, expect a regular session of PauseTalk, with people sharing ideas and opinions on all things creative. I do hope that many of you will be able to make it for this special edition — and yes, like I did for last year’s 50th edition, I do plan on producing a few badges for the first people who arrive.

PauseTalk Vol. 59

PauseTalk Vol. 59

I don’t quite know what happened for April’s PauseTalk Vol. 59, but not only did we beat the attendance of last month (which was already high) with a total of about 30, but it also marked the first visit of PechaKucha co-founder (and my boss) Mark Dytham at the event. I was very happy to hear afterward that he quite enjoyed it — it’s no secret that I was inspired by PK when I started PT, thinking that it would be interesting to have a more intimate kind of event, with the presentations replaced by a group discussion.

The talk moved around various topics as it often does, and I think much fun was had by all — and the “all” was made up of a nice mix of semi-regulars, new faces, and a few returning champions. Again, as with every event, I need to thank everyone who attended and helped make it such a great evening.

On the topic of the next PauseTalk, it will be the Vol. 60, which also marks the 6th anniversary of the series, and I have something a bit special planned. As most of you know, I have a certain fondness for magazines, and so PauseTalk Vol. 60 will be held as part of the upcoming Magazine Library 10 event in Daikanyama, at Hillside Terrace — this will be the first time it isn’t held at Cafe Pause. The full event runs May 3-13, and I’ll soon be able to confirm on what day the PauseTalk will happen, but I can tell you that it won’t be on the first Monday of the month, as usual.

Below, the list of participants who signed the attendance sheet. Michael Holmes was again there and took plenty of photos, but he hasn’t shared those photos yet — the photo at the top of the post is from last month’s Vol. 58 (see the full gallery here).

PauseTalk Vol. 58

PauseTalk Vol. 58

No, these are not the participants from this month’s PauseTalk — which was a fantastic event, but more on that in another post — these are rather the participants from March’s PauseTalk Vol. 58 (held on March 5) which I hadn’t put online yet. As you’ll see from the rather extensive list — again, these are just the people who actually signed the attendance sheet, but it’s mostly complete I think — it had a great attendance, and I’d like to thank everyone who came out and helped make it such an interesting and fun night of talk.

So below, the list of those who signed the attendance sheet, and here’s another great Facebook gallery of photos taken at the event by the always amazing Michael Holmes – I had to use that photo of me for the post, because I love the crazy angle it puts on my body. I’ll talk more about when the next event will be held in the post with the Vol. 59 attendance.

PauseTalk Tonight

Just your friendly reminder that PauseTalk Vol. 59 takes place tonight (April 2) at Cafe Pause, with the regular start time of 20:00. Come join us for some chittin’ and chattin’, and a bit of drinkin’.

PauseTalk Next Week

Just a reminder that the next PauseTalk (Vol. 59) is this coming Monday (April 2). It will happen, as always, at Cafe Pause from 20:00 — feel free to come earlier to hang out before the start. 

Who Doesn’t Love Posters?

PechaKucha Posters Tumblr

I know it’s been slow going these days here, and oh how I wish I could share with you some of the cool things we’re developing on the PechaKucha front, but that’ll have to wait for a bit. One fun little thing I did the other day was to put together a Tumblr blog to just share PechaKucha Night posters, as I thought it would be great to see them all together up on a wall like that. It only includes posters from 2012 (so for the past 2 and half months), and I’ll keep updating it with new ones I receive.

I know I haven’t put up the last PauseTalk participants list yet, but I’ll do that soon, and in the meantime, you can have a look at photos by Michael, up on Facebook.

I haven’t had time for much else, but I do hope to record a new episode of the Codex tonight, and over on Warren Ellis’ blog, you’ll find a few thoughts I shared with him on the topic of magazines.

Despite this gray and rainy weekend, it really does feel like warmer spring weather is just around the corner, which should mean my bike life will become active again — can’t wait.

PauseTalk Tonight

PauseTalk

Yes, it’s cold and rainy, but don’t let that stop you from coming down tonight (March 5) to PauseTalk Vol. 58 at Cafe Pause — official session starts to 20:00, feel free to come earlier.

Also, as promised, over the weekend I added quite a few galleries of photos from past PauseTalk events, all taken by Michael Holmes, who will be there tonight. Just go to the Facebook page to see them all. Pictured above, the scene at October 2010′s PauseTalk Vol. 45.

Codex 50

Codex 50

Here we are, episode 50 of the Codex, and to mark the occasion I’ve decided to spotlight one band, and for anyone who has been listening regularly to the show, it should come as no suprise that it’s The Pixies. They remain my favorite band to this day, and so here’s a collection of 10 tracks that I love (but as I warn on the show, I wouldn’t necessarily call them my favorites, since there are just too many tracks that I love so much). Hope you enjoy it, whether you’re a fan of the band or not, and if you’ve been listening to the show for a while, thanks for sticking around.

This is the second of my personal projects that reaches the number 50 — last year PauseTalk had its 50th edition — and this year also marks my 10th anniversary of blogging. I can’t speak to the quality of everything I do, but dammit, I’m pretty proud of the fact that I’ve been consistent with all of these things.

PauseTalk Next Monday

Just realized I forgot to post a reminder that this coming Monday (March 5) is the time for PauseTalk Vol. 58, at Cafe Pause as always, with the regular start time of 20:00. Also, I’ll be adding all of the amazing photos that Michael Holmes has been taking at recent events on the Facebook page over the weekend, so check in for that — and Michael should be there this Monday too.

PauseTalk Vol. 57

Well, it was indeed a terrific start to 2012, with PauseTalk Vol. 57 attracting a really nice group of around 20 or so for some good old fashioned talk. I’m thankful for the great turnout, and again, let me remind you that I made a short 1-minute video recording after the official session was over. 

Below, a partial list of the partipants (those who signed the attendance sheet). Please note that PauseTalk Vol. 58 will be held on March 5.

TOKYO X CREATIVES

If you regularly check the participants list of PauseTalk events, then you’ve probably spotted the name Niko Lanzuisi quite a few times. A regular at the events, he’s a very talented filmmaker, and he’s been working on a few different video projects over the past year, and the latest is called TOKYO X CREATIVES. The idea is to create a series of shorts, with each focusing on one Tokyo creative — I’ll humbly add that I will be one of the initial six interviewees. Included in this post are the two first video teasers, and there are four more to come. Niko is actually trying to shop these around, to get some funding to continue doing them, so if you like what you see help spread the word (or if you’re a production company or publisher, get in touch with Niko).

The trailer above is for the interview with UAMOU creator Ayako Takagi, and the one below features chiptune artist OMODAKA performing at last month’s FAMIMODE event — you’ll find more details on each of the video’s Vimeo pages.

1 Minute of After-PauseTalk

Here’s a new 1-minute video for Vimeo’s “1 Minute” group, this time recorded after last night’s main session of PauseTalk Vol. 57 was over. I’ll have the participant’s list up later today.

PauseTalk

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.

Codex is a weekly music podcast hosted by Jean Snow, recorded in Tokyo. Playlists for all episodes are posted on the site, and you can subscribe to RSS feeds of posts and episodes.

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.

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PechaKucha

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.

 

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The "Jean Snow" logo is written using the free Kirimomi Swash typeface. The "M31" logo is by Ian Lynam, and is part of a series of 31 unique designs. The site's design is based on the Grid Focus WordPress theme by Derek Punsalan.

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