While at Ikebukuro’s Parco yesterday — I wanted to check out the renewed spaces for the Graniph and Smith (Delfonics) stores — I was very happy to find that the Taschen JAPANESE GRAPHICS NOW! book has joined their 25th anniversary program, and so picked it up for 2000 yen! It’s a great book, and I still can’t believe they’re selling it so cheap.
Month: April 2006
The Bad with the Good
The universe decides to balance the scales again — the same week I got my new MacBook Pro, the screen on my old iMac (that I was still using the create my wireless network among other things) went dark. Since the 3-year warranty has expired, and with this Apple support discussion thread suggesting that the problem would be pricey to fix (and with no money to do that right now), I’m pretty much left with no choice but to store it for now. I am rather lucky that it happened after getting the new laptop though, so I shouldn’t complain too much I guess.
Stadium-Sized Advertising
Dove tells Japanese women there is “no need to hide” their beautiful skin on the world’s biggest ad placed on the rooftop of Pacifico Yokohama Convention Center. The ad measures 3.5 times the size of a soccer field. (Crisscross)
Update (16/09/17): The image is no longer available.
A Public Space 1 Sold Out
Nice to read that the first issue of A Public Space (I mentioned it here, and got my copy a few days later) is now sold out!
Update: A reader points out that the first issue is available at the Aoyama Book Center.
Your Reviews on TAB
Tokyo Art Beat keeps getting better and better! Just in time for GW, they’ve now launched a new much appreciated feature that lets MyTAB users add reviews to event listings (basically, a new commenting system), as well as “Blog it!” section that lets you easily copy/paste the review (including all event info) on your blog. Long live TAB!
Update: Please note that I’ve added a TAB badge of my recommended events in the sidebar.
Colored Faces
A work in progress from Yuki — I like the colors, and for me, it puts me in a Spring mood, just in time for the start of GW.
Wii
I’ve been quiet regarding yesterday’s announcement that the Nintendo Revolution will now be called Wii — at first I thought it was a ridiculous name, but a day later, I have to admit that it’s growing on me — since I don’t figure there’s anything I can add to what has already been said, but I did quite like this image of 2channel‘s Mona (found on Kotaku) celebrating the new name!
Second Trailer for Legend of Earthsea
Ghibli World shares a second trailer online for Ghibli’s upcoming LEGEND OF EARTHSEA film. Link via AICN.
New French-Japanese Institute in Tokyo Website
It’s nice to see so many of my friends here in Tokyo being so busy and productive with work lately. Paul — you might know him as Mr. TAB — just finished work on the redesign (with AQworks) of the French-Japanese Institute in Tokyo’s website, and it’s quite nice. This is what they have to say about the new site:
The Institut is more than the most popular French language school in Tokyo. With its regular festivals, expositions and performances, a multimedia library, restaurant, and cinema, it’s no less than the epicenter of activity for Tokyoites in love with French culture and language. All of this is now apparent on its web site, following the recent redesign by AQ.
The biggest improvements:
– Permanent individual event pages to establish a record that can be shared, printed, revisited and indexed by search engines.
– Vivid, human photography highlighting the institut’s charismatic teachers, and stylish yet approachable decor.
– A flexible, cross-linked information architecture that encourages discovery of other facilities and programs.
– A standards-compliant platform, ensuring accessibility for everyone, including visitors with disabilities, and optimal visibility on search engines.
First Nations Live Event
Patrick came over to the Northern First Nations live event/party at Cafe Pause last night — it was good catching up with him, and he pretty much convinced me that I absolutely need to get to Nakano sometime soon to try out a Sasebo burger — and took this picture of Keith Wolfe-Smarch doing some storytelling.