Month: November 2003

Presently listening to the sweet sounds of the new Halcali single, “Strawberry Chips.” I’m also still getting a kick out of seeing that TV ad, which is on high rotation right now.

Lots of talk by Warren Ellis and Xeni at Boing Boing about a Japanese underground weirdness that’s also a weird offshoot of cosplay: people that get off wearing a latex max to look like a real anime-type character. This of course gets mixed up with sex, and strangely enough asphyxiation. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, this might clear things up. Boing Boing has quite a few despcriptive posts on the subject with lots of links. I don’t know what has brought this up so suddenly with them, but it’s something I’ve seen in the past, sometimes featured on late-night TV variety shows.

I finally picked up the second issue of the magazine ATMOSPHERE the other day. I didn’t know it was produced by the fine folks at Gas, who bring us all those cool multimedia design packages, books, DVDs, and t-shirts. There’s a a Gas shop in Nakameguro that I’ve yet to visit. As for the magazine, it’s definitely something worth picking up if you’re into design. Today I’m going to stop at Junkudo on my way to work and pick up issues 0 and 1.

I was at Depot in Nakameguro last night for a drink with a friend, and while we there we spotted the waiters/barmen in a corner tasting different wines. They all seemed so professional doing it, that I wonder if you need to be a wine expert to work there. I mean, sure, the atmosphere is nice, but it’s not the classiest of places (albeit a step above most cafe-bars). I just found it odd.

While walking to Depot, I spotted a nice looking bar called Cecil B. My friend, who lives in the area, said that it’s rather new. It’s on the road along the tracks that you follow to go to Depot. I’ll try to go next time I’m in the area and let you know how it is.

As I wrote in a comment thread last night, I have a thing for odd/awkward dancing. It definitely explains why I like Halcali so much, and back in the day Puffy. It’s also why I absolutely love Andre 3000’s “Hey Ya!” video (sure, there’s also the fact that it’s an impossibly catchy tune that I can’t get out of my head, but Andre’s dance routine is what keeps me watching the video). I’ll even stand up and admit to liking Fine Young Cannibals all those years ago because of the weird foot dance the guitarist and bassist used to do. I don’t know why I have this obsession for something so unimportant, but it just gets me everytime. I remember a great Beck show in Montreal back in 97 where he was really putting on the moves, but even then, he was almost too slick. It’s the simplicity and awkwardness that I like. The worse you are at dancing, the better. It’s especially satisfying when it comes from something you would not expect it from.

This is probably something I should have kept to myself.

It’s a sad day today as my iBook (which marked my first foray into the Mac world) has died. It got dropped on its side a month or two ago, and the power plug got bent, as well as the insides. We still managed to get it working until now, but you would sometimes have to play around with the plug. Today it just stopped. There’s no way to turn it on as it’s completely dead (no life in the battery). I brought it to a store that sells Macs near my place just to see if the problem was with the plug, but a new plug didn’t help. I know how expensive it is to get these things fixed (it’s not under the warranty anymore), so I don’t think there’s much I can do about it. I might bring it to the new Apple Store that opens next week in Ginza to see what they have to say, but I just can’t see myself paying 50-60 000 yen for repairs (I checked the US site for info and that seems to be the average price of repair for an iBook if it’s not something major). It’s not like I was using it anymore, but Yuko now has no computer at home, which means we’ll have to share the iMac. Fast-user switching is finally going to come in handy, but it still won’t be as nice as when we each had our machines to use anytime or anywhere (she won’t be able to write at her desk where all her books and papers are).

I hate it when computers die. Same thing happened to my old Compaq laptop (problem with the power plug).

Can anyone recommend a good place to have business cards done? I’m looking for something not too expensive, and I would want double-sided cards in color.

In the most recent issue of AXIS there was an article describing toy maker Takara’s new foray into the world of design goods. I wanted to mention this but totally forgot, and something I read yesterday in another magazine reminded me of it. They actually have an English site with loads of info on the new line, including some pics of the products (which are all gorgeous). I lust for these.