Been a while since I posted a new t-shirt design, but this Japanese design is clever and certainly deserves a mention. The wires of the utility poles are both printed and stitched onto the shirt. (One thing I found surprising when I first visited Japan – a place you mentally associate with clean, minimal design and neatness – is the fact that there are overhead wires everywhere).

Available at Tokyo Art Beat.

(via Jean Snow)

A post on the Flickr blog got me thinking about my 12 ‘Flickr Superstars’. As I made my notes, several themes emerged:

i. The Far East, specifically Japan. Having visited the Far East specifically, and having a Japanese fiancee, it’s no surprise that I’m fascinated by Japan, and I think there’s also a sense of me trying to understand it – culture, people, places, feelings – through images.
ii. Fast lenses. Quite a few of my favourite Flickr images rely on fast lenses (f1.8 and below).
iii. Simple, strong, compositions. If you look in the group devoted to these lists of 12, a lot of the photographers suggested are ‘high concept’. Lots of PhotoShop, and self-consciously arty compositions. Not for me – as with film, music (where I’m a big fan of 80s and early 90s alternative US groups such as The Replacements, Pixies, Nirvana), I tend towards images which are more strongly rooted in reality.

My favourite 12 are after the jump.

1. The first of several photographers on this list based in Japan, I wouldn’t say I ‘like’ .:*ghost*:.’s photos – rather, I’m drawn to them. There’s a sense of darkness in many of his photos that goes beyond spooky or creepy, but the subject matter is never, ever explicit. If anything, it’s the slightness, even vagueness of the subjects – little chunks of light, cats, sunglasses, empty parks – that gives the images their unsettling feeling. It’s the sense you might have when you’re in a strange place, in a strange mood, and the day is changing to night, making shadows and shapes out of normal objects. .:*ghost*:.’s ‘burari’ set is well worth exploring.

2. dannybird is the main photographer at the publisher where I work, and when it comes to still life product photography, he is simply one of the best photographers I’ve ever seen. A genius when it comes to using flash lighting to make even the dullest objects appear interesting, as you can see from this shot.

3. davemason is based near me in South-East London, and his subtle compositions slice up mundane scenes and render them surreal and intriguing.

4. A journalist in real life, there’s a strong narrative to many of greenwood 100’s photos, linked to a great visual instinct. Well worth adding as a contact, as the updates vary between the topical and the personal, proof positive that far from coolly observing the world, the best photographers are in the thick of the action.

5. Yes, yes, I’m a sucker for the Far East and from the moment I saw this terrific shot I’ve been a fan of Gori-JP’s photos. His shots are frequently bright, colourful and best of all are shot from a vantage point that’s completely immersed in the scene.

6. Tim Rudder is another photographer based in Japan, Tim’s portraits are fantastic – there’s a directness to them which I often find lacking photos you see online. He has a way of shooting that renders the glass of the monitor between you and the subject invisible. He’s also never content with the obvious shots either, which in a world when it seems everything has already been photographed, is a real talent.

7. Not only a fantastic photographer, Alieh is also based in fascinating place that is often represented in the media in a very one-sided manner: Iran, specifically, the historic city of Isfahan.

(This is my fave shot of hers, but she’s disabled off-site images.)

8. Navid J. There’s a real sense of poetry to his shots, and his sense of composition is very strong – frequently managing a fine balance of simplicity, abstraction and intrigue.

(This is my fave shot of his, but he’s disabled off-site images.)

9. Horses and Tigers provides subtle travel photography from places such as China and Iran; it gives the viewer a sense that there’s another world out there, and that strange as it seems, it’s not as radically separate from your one as you might think.

10. I’m a big fan of fast lenses, and re.mo always inspires me with the way he uses his Nikkor f1.4 turning simple objects into scenes filled with wonderful blobs of bokeh.

(This is my fave shot of his, but he’s disabled off-site images.)

11. Jonas Peterson is a pro and you can see why. Unlike many photographers on Flickr he’s not drawn to maximum contrast and whacked up colours – instead, what you find are a sensitivity to muted tones and the power of soft light.

12. There’s nothing showy about Kimicon’s photos – if anything, at first glance, they’re homey snapshots, almost to the point of being dowdy, but spend some time really looking at them and they’re have an undeniable charm which really communicates a strong feeling and humanity. You’re never in any doubt of the warmth of the heart and hands that held the camera and framed each shot.

(This is my fave shot of hers, but he’s disabled off-site images.)

In my previous post, which began as an excuse to post some pictures of autumn, and then changed to become a ramble on seasonal rigidity here in Japan, I mentioned how the large number of rules governing Japanese society – and its perception of the world, gives:

“A sureness and certainty and a sense of organisation to things.”  

But ‘rules are made to be broken’ says the Western saying; they’re perecieved as bad, as limiting. Not always: the Jesteress has borrowed her brother’s keitai, but forgotten the charger and now it has run out of battery. Her mum asked me this morning if it was on the NTT DoCoMo network, like her phone.

“Yes,” I replied. She then got her phone’s charger and – even though it’s a completely different model - plugged it in to bro’s phone.

“All NTT phones have the same charger socket?” I asked, surprised. “Yes,” she replied. “Of course.”

A good example of how rigidity can create convenience. Fat chance of Orange enforcing this in the UK though.

So last week I got to see Autumn in Palau and this week I’m in Japan, visiting the Jesteress’ family and friends, and of course, enjoying Japanorama for myself. Like many Japanese, the Jesteress is fond of saying that one of the reasons Japan is so great is that it has four seasons. At first this seems a bizarre claim - fine, places so close to the equator such as Palau don’t have distinct seasons, but the UK certainly does… but when you’re here in Japan, you appreciate there is a very certain, very definite distinction between the seasons. Even though it’s been quite warm, the people on the trains are often swaddled in woollen jumpers, because it’s autumn. In restaurants we’ve been enthusiastically served mackrel (“an autumn fish”). There are posters advertising particularly scenic autumnal locations at the railway stations.

It’s often said Japanese society is very ritualised and subject to many rules. This extends to the seasons and the observation of the seasons. Whereas in the UK you might say ‘oh, it feels very autumnal today’, or talk about an ‘indian summer’, in Japan, the date says it is autumn, so it is autumn. Although this is rigid, from such rigidty comes a sureness and certainty and a sense of organisation to things.   

Speaking of scenic autumn locations, we’re currently in Gunma where the Jesteress’ mother lives, and along with some friends we went to Lake Haruna this afternoon. I joined in with a horde of photographers comitting the fabulous foliage to memory.    

The Jesteress, the most expert YouTuber I know, just sent me this link to an exerpt from a Japanese TV game show, where contestants play “human tetris”. They’re the last block and must complete the game by fitting into the shape in the advancing wall. It’s a funny watch, but even funnier was what happened when I saved it to Delicious.

Delicious suggests the tags other users have used for any item you save; normally, it’s a very handy time saver, but as you can, its suggestion for this particularl video was…. “todo”.

Blimey. I know it’s something of a passe meme to browse the web and conclude some people have somer strange hobbies, but… human tetris? Really?

Everyone knows Ninjas are awesome – indeed, after Godzilla, they’re Japan’s number #2 cause of unexpected, unexplained death – but they take skill to deploy. You can’t just plonk them down anywhere, so all the more kudos to Microsoft and its well written ad campaign for Forefont (click the image to see it full size). The supporting website doesn’t nail the joke quite as well, but it’s still better than many promo-sites.

(Ad seen in the latest issue of PC Pro.)

Lots of people these days are down on email – my friend (the “internet famous tech writer”) Wil Harris and Stan Schroeder at the nifty Frantic Industries blog are two of its most recent critics, and both have good points: Wil’s bogged under with spam and Frantic Industries complains about email’s slow, relatively inflexible nature compared to instant messenger and clever web 2.0 stuff such as Wikis or Basecamp.

However, I still love email. For a start, it’s easy and low-tech: anyone can use it, and *everyone* has it. I love checking Flickr and seeing my contacts’ new photos, but only a couple of my friends regularly update it, despite all my advocacy. Same with Twitter. Same with blogs. I like all these things, but there’s no doubt they just don’t fit with a lot of people’s lives just yet.

Secondly, just because email isn’t great for co-ordinating projects with co-workers doesn’t mean it’s totally screwed. It’s great for newsletters. Low-tech, pre-filtered, focussed and personal: I know that doesn’t sound terribly sexy, but seriously, try a couple from this list, and if you don’t start feeling better disposed to the moment your inbox says (1 new mail), then I’ll give you your money back and access to this bank account I have where I’m keeping $100 million dollars of diamonds in trust for a guy from Nigeria who died in a plane crash.

These are the e-mail newsletters I’ve never wanted to unsubscribe from. They’re the ones I’ve forwarded to friends, quoted at them in the pub and the ones I read straight away when they ping into my inbox:

5. OTHER MUSIC
This is the most recent one on my list, but I already love it. One of the things the net does really well is music recommendation, and while I use Last.FM, I find not algorithms but people and their very specific POV that I seek out: Pitchfork, my friends (like Hi-ReS’s regularly updated list of ‘insanely catchy tunes caught in our heads’) and the Other Music email newsletter. Other Music is a store in NYC (which I’ve never actually visited) and their weekly email is great: a list of diverse new music accompanied by pint-sized articles that are interesting and passionate without ever tipping over into garbled music geekery:

“Of course this is on Sub Pop. I can’t think of another record that so perfectly captures the winsome vaguely-twee, sugary, acousti-pop energy of Seattle’s finest label, so much as Loney, Dear’s Loney, Noir. One memorable hook after another, even the Shins’ last record doesn’t quite “out-pop” Loney’s hailstorm of glockenspiels and vintage keyboards and saxophones, and blissfully unapologetic nasal vocals. In fact, this little unassuming album so damned perfectly captures the whole “indie” zeitgeist I’m surprised it doesn’t come with a deluxe edition pre-packaged with a cardigan sweater and horn-rimmed glasses.”

All the emails are archived here and you can subscribe by going to the site and adding your email to the box on the top left.

4. GamesIndustry.biz
The web is awash with games content, so why do you need more emailed directly to you? GI send out a daily list of headlines, but once a week, the email contains their editorial. It’s like the Leader article in a broadsheet newspaper: opinionated but mature, a carefully written argument with a point – the complete antidote to the instant snotty-sneering and fanboyism that’s far too common in games journalism. It’s business orientated sure, but it makes you think:

“2007 [will] be an interesting year for PC gaming. Unlike console developers, PC developers have no transition period to struggle with – they are used to aiming at a moving target in terms of PC specifications, after all – and unlike publishing on a console, PC games are not subject to the whim of a single platform holder who can delay launches or provide insufficient hardware, rendering your product commercially inviable in a single swoop.”

You can sign up here – the box is on the left hand-side.

3. Photojojo

“You just found one damn fine photo newsletter” says the Photojojo website, and they’re not wrong. Once a week, one great tip or piece of creative inspiration (or at least a link to one). If you’re a regular reader (yes, both of you) you’ll know I’ve just bought a fabulous Nikon D40 dSLR, and Photojojo has proved a great companion. Take the advice they found about getting round people blinking in a group photo – simple and practical:

“For groups smaller than 20, divide the number of people by three if there’s good light and two if the light’s bad. That’s how many shots you need to take.”

You can sign up here.

2. IA

A bit of a cheat this one since it’s not an email newsletter, but an email notification of when Information Architects‘ web notebook is updated. You do get the first few lines of the new post though, so you can tell how good it’s going to be. And yes, it is a question of how good. IA are a firm of advertising/branding creatives in Tokyo, founded with the idea that “usability and branding should be brought together, as for the users they are essentially one.” The very smart Adam Greenfield used to work there, and the site buzzes with a serene, simple creativity. You might have seen their WebTrend 2007 map which did the rounds on Digg a while back: a representation of ideas in the form of a subway map. It’s well worth keeping an ear open for what they have to say.

You can sign up here.

1. J-Box / J-List

Absolutely my favourite email on this list are those from Peter Payne, who runs online retailer J-Box, which sells all many of Japanese stuff – t-shirts, manga, books, iTunes credit for Jpop downloading – over the web. He’s a long term Gaijin resident of Japan, fluent in Japanese and doesn’t live in Tokyo, which makes him a very different type of voice than many of the Japan based foreign bloggers. Although each email is nominally sent out to plug new additions to the J-Box store, they also contain anecdotes on life in Japan, bits of cultural info, and best of all, Japanese language tips. Japanese is a fascinating language, especially in its written form, and the J-List email provides really entertaining insight into it.

“Without a doubt, one of the most famous words of Japanese is “baka,” the all-purpose insult that takes the place of many more anatomically colorful words in English. Meaning “stupid” or “idiot,” the word is used by Japanese of all ages, from three-year-olds to the elderly. Someone nearly hits your car in an intersection? Let fly with a “baka yaro!” (“stupid jerk!”). Your gaijin husband mistakes a mimikaki ear scoop for one of those spoons used in Japanese tea ceremony? The proper response to this would be, “baka ja nai?” (“what are you, stupid?”). The word is also used to describe someone who goes overboard with love of something, like “oya-baka,” parent-fool, the word for mothers and fathers who are absolutely ga-ga over their own kids; and “tsuri-baka,” meaning fishing-fool, someone who likes to fish so much that he does it whenever he can.

The word is also found in Japanese proverbs, like “Baka ni tsukeru kusuri wa nai,” or “there is no cure for stupidity.” The word baka is written with the characters for “horse” and “deer,” and there’s an interesting legend about how this word came to be. It seems that in ancient China there was an Emperor who was not very well liked by his retainers. One day, one of his underlings presented the Emperor with a deer, instead of a horse as was customary back in those days. When the Emperor pointed out that it was a deer, the man insisted that no, it’s a horse. He kept this up until he convinced his lord that the deer was, in fact, a horse, and thus Emperor became famous throughout the land for being so stupid that he couldn’t tell the difference between the two animals.”

You can subscrine to the email from J-Box here. There’s also a J-List version which includes references to the adult content J-List sells.

Pretty much all the IT hardware I see at work comes from outside the UK, and while some of it is designed in the US, a good deal comes from Taiwan. Despite the fact that I’ve met plenty of Taiwanese through work, and the fact that my Chinese doesn’t really go beyond ‘ni hao’ (and the international language of pointing and smiling), I’ve never talked to anyone via a translator. This changed last week, when I got to interview Fujistu’s head of design and several senior members of their design team last week. Direct from Japan, they also had a translator with them.

I was sitting next to the translator, and across from the Fujitsu team; at first I tried directly addressing the translator as well as the Fujitsu guys – something that confused everyone there and gave me neck ache. The best approach seemed to be to basically ignore the translator and address questions directly to the Fujitsu team. This does however, leave big pauses where the translator asks your question and listens to the response, and so there is the question of where to look and what to do while you’re waiting for the translation. While this big pause is a little uncomfortable, it does force you to rely on other aspects of the interview to judge how things are going, and how to follow up questions – body language, vocal tone – different and more challenging to an interview where you know the content and context of the answers.

I was really happy with how the interview turned out; it’s always good to get to talk to senior and influential company stuff. It’ll be a while before the article comes together though – still got quite a few different people to track down….

Koishikawa Korakuen
Originally uploaded by Sifter.

Regular readers will know I have quite an interest in Japanese things – stemming probably from my love of Nintendo when I was a child (well, a much younger child than I am now). However, as well as the bright lights and blinking sounds of Mario, I’ve also enjoyed the works of a lot of Japanese writers. The Guardian’s Culture Vulture blog has been running “World Literature tours” recently, where readers add in their favourite suggestions of books to read from a certain country. They’ve just done Japan, and the thread has turned out to be an awesome treasure trove of stuff to read both from and about Japan.

There’s a lot on there I’ve not read, so looks like Amazon will be cashing in… From what I have read, here’s what I’d recommend to start with:

First up for any traveller has to be Alex Kerr’s ‘Lost Japan. It’s about the traditional Japanese arts, and how they’re surviving (or not) in the modern world. It’s written by someone with a real love for very traditional Japan, and he really communicates his passion well. I’ve not read the follow up, but most reviewers reckon it’s much more trenchant and negative, so perhaps isn’t the best place to start.

In terms of novels, Haruki Murakami is a good bet, and I’d also say try Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist Of The Floating World. It’s about an old man in Japan after the war, a painter, trying to come to terms with his support for the pre-war government. Whilst Ishiguro was born in Japan, he’s pretty much anEnglish novelist. Yukio Mishima is the one of the best Japanese novelists, and his Temple of the Golden Pavilion is definitely worth reading. It’s a very strange book, beautifully written but incredibly dark (it’s the one I recommended on the Guardian thread).

Aside from these books and the ones recommended by the Guardian blog, try Jean Snow’s weblog (www.jeansnow.net). He’s a Canadian living in Tokyo, writing about art and design. Very good for finding out shows, cafes, places to go in Tokyo where all the hip kids are. Also try Marxy’s blog (http://www.pliink.com/mt/marxy/) -  it’s where J-Pop meets PhD thesis and conspiracy theories. It’s brilliantly written, in a very academic style that’s somehow also a lot of fun.

My first column for the excellent website Bit-Tech is now up, and it looks at two original PSP games, the Japan-only Beit Hell 2000 and Exit.

"Although it is a mini-game compilation, it’s a lot stranger than that: having played it for the past couple of months, you could perhaps describe Beit Hell as a love letter to the ‘Akiba-kei’: the denizens of Tokyo’s Akihabara district, the hardcore gamer geeks who queue for hours for new consoles and who still obsess over the death of Aerith.

As you might expect from a country that was contemplating tentacle love at a time when in England a bare ankle could get you deported to the colonies, Beit Hell is a pretty warped love letter."

You can read the full article here. Please do, more hits means I’ll get recommissioned