Month: June 2007

KOG Reprints

Post author By Jean Snow
Post date June 30, 2007

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The King of Games is getting set to release reprints of a few of their tees (on sale July 1, to ship July 14), and so now’s your chance to pick up what you may have previously missed out on. Remember, these tend to sell out fast, so if you really want that Zelda 20th anniversary tee, get on it now!

TB.Pensar 7

Post author By Jean Snow
Post date June 29, 2007

What is TB.Pensar? Find out here.

Well, here I am, writing this from Apple Store Ginza. This week’s updates from Apple have not been kind to my MacBook Pro, first the 10.4.10 update screwing with my wireless connection (Airport card) and battery, and then yesterday’s Superdrive firmware update killing it. I brought in my MBP this morning, and they will replace the drive, but it means I’m without my MBP until Sunday (if I’m lucky) or Monday — this also means that this Monday’s PauseTalk will not be using the projector. At least they were cool about it, and even though I’m out of warranty, they will replace the drive for free, since it happened because of their firmware update. I’ve never been so happy that my main working tools are Gmail and Google Documents. I think the only thing I really miss is access to Ecto, for all my web writing, since I find it a pain to deal with adding links while writing in the WordPress admin. Anyone know of a great web-based blog posting app?

Might as well take this opportunity to make a few announcements I’ve been wanting to do. It’s been a suprisingly (and I’m very happy this) hectic month, with lots of work keeping me very busy, from pieces for various publications, to trend tours (I do them occasionally, until now quite unofficially, but will probably make the service more official sometime soon), presentations, and things keep ramping up. As of next month, I am the new editor for the Tokyo edition of the SUPERFUTURE SUPERGUIDES. These are just great — and you really need to print one up and fold it to see to what extent — and I’m excited to be involved with the entire project. Currenty they are only available for Tokyo and New York, but plenty of cities are going to be added this year. Also, as of next week, I will become a regular contributor to Gizmodo, starting with 3 Japan-related posts a day, as well as a couple of features a month. Most readers know I’ve been involved with the Gawker family of sites for quite a while now (first Gizmodo a couple of years back, then Gridskipper, then Kotaku), and I’m happy to see that relationship grow even more.

I have a few other big projects on the go, which I’ll keep hush-hush for now, but let’s just say that the move to full-time freelancing is looking like it was a good one, making it an exciting and happy time for me right now.

Anime Film

The Japan Times: Genius Party

Post author By Jean Snow
Post date June 29, 2007

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THE JAPAN TIMES reports on the various creators behind the upcoming animated film, GENIUS PARTY. Mark Schilling reviews the film as well.

Architecture TB.Grafico

It Glows Green

Post author By Jean Snow
Post date June 28, 2007

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Last week while in some backstreets of Harajuku (towards the Bape Cafe), I was struck by these glowing green lights on theses panels hiding some construction work.

Architecture Stores TB.Grafico

New Bic Camera

Post author By Jean Snow
Post date June 28, 2007

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The Bic Camera store you see in the back — that’s actually their flagship store, located here in Ikebukuro — has just undergone major renovations, finally revealing this beautiful white exterior (you can’t see it here, but there are brand names written on white all over the building).

Magazines

This Week in Magazines

Post author By Jean Snow
Post date June 28, 2007

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PEN (201) devotes its latest issue to the works of photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, with the usual PEN treatment that includes a retrospective of his life, photo galleries, testimonials from admirers, etc. You can catch some of his famous photos right now at the second-floor gallery of the Leica store in Ginza.
IDEA (323) takes on a tour of “Wim Crouwel’s adventures into the experimental worlds.” It’s a terrific survey of the creator’s groundbreaking graphic design work.
EYESCREAM (2007/7) rocks out with their “Edge of Rock” cover feature, looking at the world of rock, from esthetics to, yes, the music itself.
MAC POWER (211), among many interesting pieces, presents “15 Keywords to Know 65 Movie Creators.”
If you’re a food fiend, that’s you’ll definitely want to pick up the latest issue of BRUTUS (619), which takes a look at “Food Trends 2007-2008.”
Re:S (4) continues its coverage of the slow life/LOHAS movement, explaining on the cover that everything “regional” is good!
CASA BRUTUS (88) devotes this month’s issue to current international design trends, as well as a thorough look at the fallout from this year’s Milano Salone. There’s a piece that has designers highlighting their favorite manga, and also a travel guide to Nara.
Finally an issue of STUDIO VOICE (379) I can get into! This month, it’s all about Japanese graphic design.
TOKION JAPAN (61) covers “Tokyo Creativity Now,” as a follow-up to their annual talk events. Profiles and interviews with various creators throughout, all linked to artist Naohiro Ukawa.

Events

Happening in Tokyo

The new show at the NANZUKA UNDERGROUND gallery in Shibuya, “Letter Forest” (June 30-July 29), will celebrate the works of Brazilian artist Yoma Augusto, his first solo show in Japan. Things kick off with an opening reception tomorrow night (June 29, 20:00-22:00).
Today marks the start of the “International Tokyo Toy Show 2007” at Tokyo Big Sight. Today and tomorrow are buyers days (June 28-29), but the weekend (June 30-July 1) will be open to the public.