STUDIO APARTMENT

감동했단 나...

2008-03-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

사랑은 오래 참고 사랑은 온유하며 투기하는 자가 되지 아니하며 사랑은 자랑하지 아니하며 교만하지 아니하며 무례히 행치 아니하며 자기의 유익을 구치 아니하며 성내지 아니하며 악한 것을 생각지 아니하며 불의를 기뻐하지 아니하며 진리와 함께 기뻐하고 모든 것을 참으며 모든 것을 맏으며 모든 것을 바라며 모든 것을 견디느니라.
(고린도전서 13:4-6)

感動した私...
キリスト教と聖書の興味がありませんが、人間と宗教の関係はとても面白いと思う。英語、日本語、韓国語も書かれた聖書を一緒に読んでいたからリエちゃんが私の一番好きなところを韓国語で教えてくれた (コリントの信徒への手紙13章4-6節)。キリスト教を信じていなくても、リエちゃんの心からの聖書の説明で感動した。そんなに素直な話で、キリスト教の信じている人をもっと分かって来た気がした。

ayu-mi-x 6 / SILVER & GOLD

2008-03-26T21:39:00.000-07:00

As per usual, Hamasaki Ayumi (浜崎あゆみ) has recently released a couple of remix albums that cover the last few releases she's had. Usually I wouldn't bother to mention any of them since she has so many releases, but the DJs she had mix her songs this time are amazing. It's a pretty star studded list.

Like her first ayu-mi-x album, there are "2 sides" (she's done club/orchestra and black/white before, so this time it's gold/silver). I haven't found any particular musical difference between the two sides like in her previous ones. (Ex. On her black/white releases, the black songs were sad and the white ones were more upbeat.) It's been a while since her last club mix releases, so this should be interesting.

But anyway, on to the DJs!!
The ones that originally caught my attention: dj KENTARO (DMC Champion. Saw him be a judge for the DMC Japan competition last summer. Seriously crazy...and has the gold turntables to prove it), Shinichi Osawa (MONDO GROSSO), ARMAND VAN HELDEN (who did GHETTOBLASTER), and Daishi Dance (piano melody/house mixmaster). Not to say the other DJs aren't good, because all of the mixes are great, but these are the ones I knew before I listened to the album. Here's the tracklists...definitely worth checking out if you like mix/club music.

ayu-mi-x 6 -GOLD-

1. STEP You [The Young Punx Remix]
2. Moments [dj KENTARO Remix]
3. Talkin' 2 Myself [Stonebridge Remix]
4. Beautiful Fighters [MSTRKRFT Remix]
5. INSPIRE [ARMAND VAN HELDEN Remix]
6. Greatful Days [Para One Remix]
7. Startin' [Shinichi Osawa Remix]
8. Glitter [Soul Central Remix]
9. BLUE BIRD [7TH GATE Remix]
10. Ourselves [Coldcut Remix]
11. Ladies Night [AFRA & INCREDIBLE BEATBOX BAND Remix]
12. HAPPY ENDING [MAD PROFESSOR Remix]

ayu-mi-x 6 -SILVER-

1. GAME [YOJI Remix]
2. Together When... [CO-FUSION Remix]
3. No Way To Say [High Contrast Remix]
4. alterna [FREEFORM FIVE Remix]
5. Heaven [Daishi Dance Remix]
6. fated [MAKOTO Remix]
7. About You [Black Strobe Remix]
8. decision [Force of Nature Remix]
9. JEWEL [STEPHANIE POMPOUGNAC]
10. CAROLS [PLAYGROUP Remix]
11. Part of Me [Carl Craig Remix]
12. walking proud [CALM Remix]

Fun stuff. It's taking a while to listen to, but it's a nice change of pace from all her regular releases that they play everywhere. Some of the songs I hate in their original release, but love in remixed form. XD The verdict? GOLD > SILVER

Art from Hongdae area in Seoul

2008-03-12T22:34:00.000-07:00

I just got back from visiting South Korea yesterday (Seoul and Gyeongju). I stayed in the Hongik University area so there were a lot of students and great nightlife there. We saw a ton of artwork and graffiti all over the place, so I started taking pictures. One of the more 'mysterious' things we kept seeing was a heart with the letters 'YOU' in it, sometimes accompanied by 'NANA' or 'NANA IS REAL'. It was literally everwhere in the area.

There were also some pretty great murals and stencils around. Take a look:

There are quite a few more, but I'll stop there... =)

Jero (ジェロ)

2008-02-29T04:59:00.000-08:00

I was walking around in HMV (I like to visit music stores a lot since things change quickly..) and I noticed an advertisement for enka that really surprised me. It was a black guy singing. So I went home and looked him up. Jero is part Black part, Japanese and learned to appreciated enka from his grandmother. I don't know that much about enka, but he sounds good to me, though when I saw the video it was a bit jarring. The whole cultural fusion/unexpected foreigner singing in Japanese (enka no less) takes a little getting used to. This song is "海雪"(Ocean Snow).

He is quite buzzworthy though, there aren't even many Japanese people who bother with enka anymore. Go Jero!

BLT Proposal

2008-02-22T08:53:00.000-08:00

Being a fan of Justin Lin's film, "Better Luck Tomorrow" I subscribed to Parry Shen's blog a long time ago. Just recently he posted footage he used as his wedding proposal, which basically reworked his character's birthday scene. If you haven't seen BLT, this probably won't make any sense, but if you have, it's absolutely genius...and absolutely hilarious. Enjoy!

Check out Shen's blog for more detail: http://www.xanga.com/ParryShen

Kashiwa Sato (佐藤可士和)

2008-02-13T04:35:00.000-08:00

I didn't know anything about this designer until just recently, but apparently I've been seeing Kashiwa Sato's designs all over the place, I just didn't know he was responsible for them.

He's created a ton of things I see all the time, like the Uniqlo Harajuku UT store, packaging and advertising for Smap, Mr. Children and Tsutaya,and the logos for Rakuten Ichiba (the online shopping website I bought my rice cooker from). Then there's Docomo, Meiji University, Issey Miyake, and Loft. Even PARCO! (I just went there for the PIECE OF PEACE exhibit.) He's EVERYWHERE. It's really amazing just how much of his work I've seen without knowing it. If you want to see someone who's design work is well done, versatile, and successful, Sato's your guy. His design uses a lot of bold colors and boxy shapes, but works out really well, especially in terms of using text.

For more of his work, check his website: kashiwasato.com

Justin Nozuka

2008-02-13T04:23:00.000-08:00

I just recently listened to Justin Nozuka's album "Holly" and it's a great, solid album, one of the best ones I've heard in a while. Unlike his brother (R&B singer George Nozuka), he sings in a sort of acoustic-soul style that sounds really good. His voice is pretty intense, and some of the songs also have some really strong lyrics, but it's a good listen. The last track is a mix of singing and spoken word, a collaboration with his other brother, Philip.

Track List:
1. Down In A Cold Dirty Well
2. Golden Train
3. Be Back Soon
4. Mr. Therapy Man
5. Supposed to Grow Old
6. After Tonight
7. Criminal
8. I'm in Peace
9. Oh Momma
10. Save Him
11. If I Gave You My Life
12. Don't Listen To A Word You Heard

I recommend tracks 1, 4, 6, 7, and 10. But really, the whole album is good. =)
I'm not sure how popular he is since he's mainly in the Canadian market right now (Half American, half Japanese-American born, raised in Canada), but hopefully it'll get to the US, and hey, maybe Japan too, after all, his I've seen his brother's stuff here.

Seasonal Kit Kats

2008-02-01T05:03:00.000-08:00

If you have ever been to Japan, you've probably seen all of the seasonal flavors that come out for just about everything. Candy, cookies, alcohol, juice, ice cream, chips, ect. (The seasonal alcohol flavors are great; I wish they sold asian pear chu-hi and strawberry royale cocktail all year.) Kit Kats are one of the most fun to try since a lot of the flavors they release here aren't released anywhere else. So far I've had apple, green tea, kiwi, and these two recent ones: black tea and hazelnut. I've also seen melon, salt (I promise I'm not lying.), banana, milk & cookies, white chocolate and grape.

Both of these flavors are really good, better than the sakura one that I swore was my favorite when I tried it for the first time. I suppose I'll keep changing my favorite each time a new one comes out, but for now, black tea is winning. =)

Junya Ishigami (石上純也)

2008-01-22T00:04:00.000-08:00

I found out about the architect Junya Ishigami from the "Space for your future" exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT). He did an amazing cuboid balloon that's four stories tall. I thought it was just part of the museum as a permanent showpiece when I went in, but then I realized that it was actually part of the exhibit. Going up the escalators and looking at it from different perspectives and seeing it move was really cool since it was mirror-like and reflective, so I could see myself in it. It weighs a ton. Literally. It's really amazing to see. Take a look:

I've looked at some of Ishigami's other work and he seems to stay away from too a lot of color, but his use of space and understanding of form is really beautiful.

Maybe I'll be able to find more information in the 'Space for your future' exhibit book. But that will have to wait since I've already sent it back to the states.

HEART STATION / Stay Gold

2008-01-20T09:32:00.001-08:00

Utada Hikaru's new single, HEART STATION / Stay Gold is out...or has been leaked. I'm not really sure which, but either way, it's a great double a-side single. If you know me, you know I'm a huge Hikki fan. Recently, her work has been getting a little weird and experimental, but this is a good, solid pop single. It's nice and upbeat and the lyrics are really cute. (Plus, she's finally using her low range again.) HEART STATION is my favorite of the two tracks. I think I'll be playing this a lot in the next few days.

HEART STATION

肌寒い雨の日訳ありげな二人
車の中はラジオが流れてた
さよならなんて意味がない
またいつか会えたら素敵と思いませんか

私の声が聞こえてますか
深夜1時のHEART STATION
チューニング不要のダイヤル秘密のヘルツ
心の電波届いてますか
罪人たちのHEART STATION
神様だけが知っている I Miss You

忘れなきゃいけないそう思うほどに
どうしていい思い出たちばかりが残るの
離れていてもあなたはここにいる
私のハートの真ん中

あなたの声が聞こえた気がした
深夜1時のHEART STATION
いつもどこかで鳴っている二つのパルス
心の電波届いてますか
恋人達のHEART STATION
今夜もリクエスト来てます I Love You

私の声が聞こえてますか
深夜1時のHEART STATION
今も僕らを繋いでる秘密のヘルツ
心の電波届いてますか
罪人たちのHEART STATION
神様だけが知っている秘密

19.20.21

2008-01-20T02:08:00.000-08:00

19.20.21

19 cities in the world with
20 million people in the
21st century.

Living in Tokyo, I come home everyday to this tiny apartment on the third floor. Whenever anyone asks what I thought of Japan when I first came here, one of the things I always say is that it's small and crowded. This research project that will be studying 19 of the largest cities in the world and what it means for the future. And according to this website, Tokyo is the largest city in the world with about 35,197,000 people. Osaka-Kobe comes in at number 13 as well, so Japan's population is enormous. I'm really curious to see what this 5+ year research project will find. After all, I'll chances are I'll still be living in a city then. Take a look at the site, it's designed very well, easy to look at, and really effective. It's unbelievable how many people there are.

The Host

2008-01-19T08:23:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been getting into a lot of art, film, design and lifestyle-related things, so here's a place for me to put them all. Enjoy!

The Host (괴물)
Bong Joon-ho, 2006

Lately, I haven't watched very many movies, but I just got around to seeing this one. (After two of my bosses and my friend recommended it to me in the same week I decided I simply had to watch it.) It's basically about a pathetic man named Kang-doo trying to save his daughter from a monster that shows up in the Han River. I was under the impression that it was a horror film, especially with the look of the cover and the title, but it was surprisingly humorous. Though at certain points it gets a bit predictable, but it had some great shots and I really enjoyed it.