Categories
Design Events

Collect.Apply Exhibition

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Kyoto-based design unit collect.apply have an exhibition opening tomorrow (April 24) and running until May 14 at the Japonica Music Store & Cafe Gallery in Kyoto, with an opening party this Saturday (April 28, 19:00-23:00). “It Might as Well be Spring” will be a showcase of their work, past and present. In Tokyo, you can catch some of their work as part of the “Music Graffiti” group exhibition (includes 30 members of the Tokyo Type Directors Club, and 20 graphic designers in Japan) at Space ‘O’ in Omotesando Hills (April 27-May 13).

Categories
Magazines

OK Fred 9

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A new issue of OK FRED (9) is out, in which they celebrate all “The Mamas and the Papas” out there. My contribution to the issue is the return of my “Sekai no Omiseyasan” column, in which I cover a few spots in Nakameguro. You’ll also find an old picture of my parents on the “Outro” (contributors) page. Even though it’s out on newsstands, they haven’t updated the site yet for orders — Ay2 and Yoshi are currently in New York — but you can order it from Amazon Japan.

UpdateTo celebrate the release, an OK FRED Fair will be held at LIBRO (Parco Part 1 in Shibuya) from April 25.

Categories
Cafes Design Meta

Cafe Pause 3rd Anniversary T-Shirt

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We recently celebrated the 3rd anniversary of Cafe Pause, and produced this t-shirt (not for sale). It was designed by Next Century Modern. Below is the color we used for the final tee.

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Categories
Anime

Spring 2007 Anime, Follow-Up

Another spring 2007 anime guide, this time from Anime News Network, and they include thoughts on the start of each series. I’ve been following a few of them, and will post my own thoughts probably later this week.

Categories
Art Web

Kansai Art Beat

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Kansai Art Beat launches, doing for the Kansai region what TAB has been doing quite successfully in Tokyo for a couple of years now.

Last December, TAB’s non-profit organisation Gadago entered into an agreement with the Flanders Center, a non-profit foundation based in Osaka to provide them technical/design support for the launch of Kansai Art Beat in April 2007.

Needless to say that we have been very impressed by the work that the KAB team has been putting into this launch over the past 6 months and are also proud to see our TAB system expand to another city.

Today, Kansai Art Beat launched with more than 300 current and upcoming events at more than 300 venues in the areas of Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Nara, Shiga, Wakayama, and Mie.

Categories
Architecture Design Events

Artek by Shigeru Ban

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Dezeen has posted a few photos from the Shigeru Ban-designed Artek installation in Milan.

Categories
Architecture Events

TABlog on 21_21 Design Sight

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TABlog has a review up for 21_21 Design Sight‘s inaugural exhibition. You’ll probably recognize the photos, taken from my Tokyo Midtown Flickr photoset.

Categories
Meta

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What is TB.Pensar? Find out here.

Is it just me, or has everyone in the world picked this month to come to Tokyo for various projects. It’s been a rather hectic month all around, and I’m definitely looking forward to the upcoming Golden Week holiday to re-energize and re-focus — I will also need to take that time to prepare for other things, but more on that some other time.

Just to update things with PauseTalk, a deadline has been decided for the 8mm film project: May 7, which is the date of the next meetup. That’s not to say you can’t make your short after that deadline, but I need to hear about it by then. The reason for the deadline is because I want to move on to other things, and so figured this was the best way to do so. As far as the PDF magazine project, I had a very interesting chat/meeting with Alin before he left town — he’s away in Europe for a couple of months, doing an apartment exchange with the M. — and we’ve pretty much decided to take this away from just being a PauseTalk portfolio showcase kind of thing, and make it our own project. Of course, we’ll be looking for contributors, but it’s mostly going to be our baby.

If you haven’t been checking VBS of late, you should make it a point to see their 5-part “True Norwegian Black Metal” series, part of their black metal — that would be death metal injected with a true belief in satanism — theme week. The ending is truly chilling. That being said, where’s Trace? Where’s Ian? It’s been weeks since the last new installment of SOFT FOCUS, and I’m really missing it.

It’s also been a good week in terms of media exposure. First an appearance in the latest issue of PEN, and then yesterday I was interviewed by TRAVEL+LEISURE for a piece the writer is doing on bloggers worldwide (I’ll post more on that later). Also, it looks like I’ll probably be back in front of the camera for NHK come June.

And now, games (you knew it was coming). Actually, I’m thinking of spinning this off into its own regular column, a place where I can just go nuts on the games I’m playing. My latest obsession: the first PHOENIX WRIGHT: ACE ATTORNEY for the DS. A lot of silly fun that I’ve really been enjoying, although the final “extra” chapter has been frustrating at times (almost done though). I’m already looking forward to playing the second one, and of course the third (out later this year). Next, some sad news. My game partner in crime, Brad — we really are the worst of influences, enticing each other to play games that we normally wouldn’t — has finally pushed me to try that most evil and addicting of gaming crack, WORLD OF WARCRAFT. So last night I popped my WoW cherry: I downloaded the game and started playing with their 10-day trial. My biggest fear — and what has kept me from trying out the game until now — is the “Joi Ito Situation.” Must be strong, must have control. If you want to play along, my character’s name is Jordak, I’m a big-ass tauren, and I play on the Moon Guard server (because that’s where Brad was playing). After one night’s play, I’m now at level 6.

Now, time for a delicious Sunday lunch at the French restaurant Nishimura no Mise, just down the street. Yuko’s waiting…

Categories
Art Events

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly of Art Fair Tokyo

ozaki161_01TABlog’s Ashley was not a big fan of the recent Art Fair Tokyo, and Tetsuya Ozaki’s latest “Out of Tokyo” column offers up a different, much more positive, take.

Categories
Web

Blogging in Japan Is #1

From an editorial in today’s edition of THE JAPAN TIMES:

Japanese, a recent survey found, is the most common language for blogging. With 70-some million blogs now in all languages, Japan edged out even English and Chinese for the top spot of blog language. A third of all blogs in the world, or virtual world, are written in Japanese. Japan is now number one — at blogging.