Archive for October, 2007
Tuesday, October 30th, 2007
Also called giongo, these are what manga artist use to convey a sound to its readers. Well, Atsushi Fukunaga has brought these giongo to life in some 3d sculptures. (i wish i could read some japanese to actually know what these “sound” like) more picutures at http://www.atsushifukunaga.jpn.org/ in the 2007 works link.
sound of an airplane roaring
sound of pencils breaking
sound of electricity
sound of mice squeaking
sound of falling rain
Source
Posted in Art/Design, Japan | No Comments »
Friday, October 26th, 2007
John Cho has signed on to play Hikaru Sulu in J.J. Abrams’ new Star Trek movie, which is a reboot of the whole franchise. I think this is pretty cool news. John Cho, who is 35, is way older than George Takei was when he first started the role of Sulu in the 1960’s, but John does tend to play ‘younger’ with his roles anyway. I’m quite pleased with the casting of the new Star Trek movie, especially Simon Pegg (HOT FUZZ, SHAUN OF THE DEAD) as Scotty (originally played by James Doohan) and Zachary Quinto (HEROES) as Spock (originally played by Leonard Nimoy). John Cho seems to be another inspired choice. Even though he is known more for his comedic roles, this might actually help since Star Trek has always had moments of levity and lightheartedness and I think John Cho and Simon Pegg can pull off these moments better than actors with zero sense of humor. In my opinion, Sulu and Scotty are probably the Star Trek characters with the most sense of humor so John Cho and Simon Pegg fit very well.There might be some controversy about a Korean-American playing the part of a Japanese-American. But George Takei recently said at SDAFF 2007 during his interview panel that Sulu didn’t really represent Asia but Asian-Americans and that even though Sulu was proud of his Japanese heritage, he spoke with an American accent and was influenced by many cultures. So the fact that John Cho is Korean is a non-factor in my eyes because he’ll be playing an Asian-American and not just a Korean-American.And to seal the deal, here is George Takei’s reaction to John Cho as Sulu:
Sulu’s in good hands. John Cho is an exciting actor. I’ve seen Cho in many productions at East West Players and he always brings a vigorous sense of individuality to his roles. Under the leadership of J.J. Abrams, the Star Trek franchise is being infused with new energy and I hope John Cho plays a critical part for many years — and films — to come.
If George Takei has given his full support, than there’s nothing left to be said.Source: Trekmovie.com
Posted in Asian American Life, Film, Japan, Korea, U.S. | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
Marié Digby, a Japanese/Irish-American singer-songwriter, is the new YouTube celebrity.
She started putting her videos up on YouTube about 4 months ago, and her acoustic cover version of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” got over 2 million views.
The song was subsequently played on the radio station STAR 98.7, was featured on the third season opening episode of the MTV show The Hills, and peaked at #10 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.
She was traveling to Japan to visit her grandma, when her friends told her that her acoustic cover song was getting huge popularity in the U.S.
She also appeared on the late night talk show Last Call with Carson Daly.
However, there has been a little controversy over Digby’s YouTube popularity. The Wall Street Journal found out that she had record deal with Walt Disney’s Hollywood Records and suggested that Digby feigned a grassroots effort and amateur status in order to generate buzz as part of an online marketing campaign created by Hollywood Records.
Well, in my opinion, who cares. She can sing good and/or pretty enough to catch over 2 million people’s attention.
update: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118903788315518780.html
Posted in Japan, Music, U.S. | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai is Chinese Taiwanese American spoken word artist, and she performed at our first annual Imprint conference last year.
By-Standing: The Beginning of an American Lifetime
“Kelly Tsai speaks truth to power as she raises her voice against war and complacency.”
Her spoken word is made into the short film by director Karen Lin, and won the War & Peace Award in the Seventh Annual Media That Matters Film Festival.
Posted in Art/Design, Asian American Life, U.S. | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
Japan Probe reported that a new robot exhibit at the National Science Museum in Tokyo opened yesterday.
The exhibit will feature some samurai-era robots, as well as some newly developed robots, such as a ballroom dancer bot and a soccer goalie bot.
Of course those recently developed humanoid robots are awesome, but the samurai-era robots that are made by woods are amazing too. The exhibit will be open until January 28 next year, and the entrance fee is about $10. For more information, please visit museum site.
Posted in Japan, Tech/Electronic | No Comments »
Monday, October 22nd, 2007
Japanator reported that legendary Japanese Metal/Rock band X-Japan’s new song, cleverly titled I.V., will be featured only in the end credits to the forthcoming SAW IV film, and not on the official soundtrack album.
One point of note is that the song will feature some hot licks from the deceased guitar player Hide (hee-day) recorded before his death. The song also contains English lyrics, so as not to scare away those skittish SAW fans.
Posted in Japan, Music | 1 Comment »
Monday, October 22nd, 2007
GamePro reported yesterday that Xbox 360 overtook Wii in sales in September because of Halo 3’s popularity.
“Halo 3 posted phenomenal results for just 12 days of sales in the month of September,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier in a statement. “True to its name, the game rubbed off on hardware sales too – the Xbox 360 realized its best month ever in unit hardware sales outside last holiday season.”
Xbox 360 sold 527k units last month, followed by 501k Wii units, 496k DS units, 285k PSPs, 215k PS2s, and 119k PlayStation 3s above 75k Game Boy Advance units. “If ever there was a doubt that great content drives hardware acquisition,” Frazier added, “[Halo 3] should put that doubt to rest.
Other top selling games for the month of Sept. going by names other than Halo 3 included Wii Play (crazy, I know), Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS), Madden NFL 08 (multi), Skate (360), Metroid Prime 3 (Wii), Bioshock (360), Brain Age 2 (DS), and Heavenly Sword (PS3) in that order.
Posted in Game, U.S. | No Comments »
Monday, October 22nd, 2007
You can cast your vote for Uniqlo Tshirt Grand Prix 08 at their site. At the UTGP home page, you will see two t-shirt designs and you have to vote either one to see other two. This site loads pretty fast, and fan to vote. The vote page will be up until October 24th and they will decide the Grand Prix champion.
Posted in Japan, Style | No Comments »
