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Your Guide to Design and Pop Culture in Tokyo

GF1 Field Report Part 2


Craig Mod follows up his recent Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 field report with a closer look at the video aspects of the camera, including a video gallery.

Urban Abstract

The video above, “Urban Abstract,” is a project that was created in Tokyo for a Finnish TV channel, a collaboration between art director Jopsu Ramu and Shun Kawasaki (Artless).

Urban Abstract is a journey across urban space that unfolds in forty, 5 second parts. The journey, in one, two and three dimensions, is a bit like abstract sur?ng in which the original destination is only reached a er a number of seemingly random yet linked detours occur. Points , lines, planes and other abstract elements create a journey through an Urban Abstract.

Plants+

Plants+ is the web spinoff that came out of the now-defunct Planted magazine, and here’s a video (via Click Opera) of Ito Seiko and Lucas Badtke-Berkow (founder of TOKION and Paper Sky) talking about the web venture, with English subtitles.

Sia Aoyama Building


0300TV has put together a rather nice video of the Sia Aoyama Building, designed by Jun Aoki. Via Dezain.net.

Luv (sic) Pt. 2

Terrific video for Nujabes‘ “Luv (sic) Pt. 2.”

Inside Atelier Bow-Wow’s Studio


I’ve long had an obsession with the work spaces of creators, and so I’m absolutely delighted to finally get to look inside Atelier Bow-Wow’s studio, courtesy of a video shot by 0300tv. Via Core77.

Senseware in Tokyo



Kenya Hara’s “Tokyo Fiber ‘09 Senseware” exhibition, first shown at the Milano Salone earlier this year, is coming to the 21_21 Design Sight, but for one week only (September 18-27). The video above is a preview of the show. Via Spoon & Tamago.

Tokyo by Joan Jimenez


Following the Live from Tokyo trailer, here are some more visuals from Tokyo, this time courtesy of Joan Jimenez.

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 March 8.

PLAY is a series of events with Jean Snow spinning some of his favorite virtual discs in a casual setting at Cafe Pause. The next edition happens in January. See the setlist for previous editions here, and subscribe to a feed of the mixes.
Game

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.

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Jean Snow lives and breathes design, pop culture, and gaming in Tokyo -- sustained by an unhealthy addiction to magazines and frequent visits to his favorites cafes. He has reported on these obsessions for the following online/offline publications: Time, Inside (Australian Design Review), Gizmodo, Gridskipper, Kotaku, 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, and The Japan Times. He also manages the gallery space at Cafe Pause.

He writes a monthly column covering Japanese product design for The Japan Times, called "On Design." It appears on the fourth Thursday of every month, in both the print edition and online.

Pecha Kucha Night

I'm also a proud member of the Pecha Kucha Night family, working on various projects, including updating Pecha Kucha Daily, a blog that highlights the creativity coming out of PKN events worldwide.

PauseTalk

I serve 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.

Colophon

The "Jean Snow" logo is made up of the Blackout open source 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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