Keep Pushin by Kero One Epik High featuring Kero One
I recently had the pleasure of photographing and hanging out with a cool bay area hip hop artist Kero One at the "Direction in Sound" concert in San Francisco. Kero One's soulful and upbeat sound reached globally and has devoted followings in both Japan and South Korea. Last year, Kero One opened up for the very popular (And my favorite) Korean hip hop group Epik High on their "Map the Soul" world wide tour, which I regretfully missed. As a result of their creative collaboration, both groups were able to put together some pretty tight tracks that feature their amazing musical talents as well as their voices. Having seen and heard Kero One's awesome live performance, I've now become one of his huge number of fans. Keep a look out for Kero One's future projects and performances at his Official Site and check out some samples of his music above and below. Go to my photo site, Light Conversationalist to see Kero One's images.
Here's some track only videos. Must listen folks!
Rocksteady: Epik high featuring Kero One When the sunshine Comes: Kero One featuring Epik High Keep Pushin: Kero One featuring Epik High
My Shogun Warrior toy was Mazinga (Mazinger-Z) with shooting fist and tons of rockets that I could launch from his hand. I used to play for hours, having some spectacular battles in my friend's backyard with his collection of Shogun Warriors. Just to be fair, we took turns losing the fights. Great memories.
Being a huge Star Wars fan and having loved my Mazinga Shogun Warrior when I was a little dude, I got extremely excited when I heard about the Super Shogun Stormtrooper last summer. Toy design company Super 7 which also has a store in San Francisco created this Star Wars and Japanese toy mash-up for all you collectors and geeks.
Super 7 is accepting pre-orders now and they will take care of shipping charge. This cool collector's toy is selling for $299 and is limited to 2,000 worldwide. Japan will receive 500, Europe will receive 500 and U.S. will have 1,000 available for sale. You can pre-order the Stormtrooper Super Shogun at Super 7's website.
McFarlane Toys was rocking big time ten years ago with their Spawn line and other gems like this Naomi Armitage action figure from 1994 Japanese CyberPunk anime, Armitage III: Poly-Matrix. Something about these android chicks with guns...just couldn't pass it up. Oh yeah, the anime rocks too!
Hooked on this song right now...such beautiful vocals by the Indonesian born lead singer Dougy Mandagi. This indie rock band from Melbourne, Australia has the right stuff to get big here in the States and abroad. I'm definitely keeping both my ears and eyes peeled for this totally dope band from down under!
Behind the scenes (The Art of Performance Capture)
Every several years or so, a groundbreaking film is introduced to audiences that will both transform cinema and set higher standards in moviemaking. In my opinion, Avatar is this new groundbreaking film deserving lots of kudos for accomplishments in motion capture CGI effects and new 3D technology. If Avatar continues to do well in the box office, I believe theater owners will finally realize that digital projection screens capable of showing 3D is unquestionably the future of movies.
The moon world of Pandora is an exotically beautiful place where plenty of danger lurks for those who are unfamiliar with its eco-system. Yet for Na’vi, the indigenous population of Pandora, this hostile environment is a natural paradise where they are spiritually and physically connected to all living things. With the help of 3D, I was able to immerse myself in James Cameron’s fantastic universe. I was just as curious as Jake when he first began exploring the lushly colorful forest floor in his Avatar. My own inquisitiveness was satisfied when Jake began prodding at wondrously bizarre plant life and seeing some interesting results. As Jake and Neytiri took to the skies on the Banshees, I shared their exhilaration of flight among the floating mountains. The thundering explosions on the ground caused by insinerary rounds from Samson flying vehicles made me want to duck for cover. This awesome movie experience is definitely worth my twelve bucks.
The combination of gorgeously rendered CGI effects, amazing sound and 3D worked harmoniously to bring Avatar to life. As you can tell, I really enjoyed this film. Once the movie ended, I wanted to revisit Pandora all over again. I don’t think I felt this way about a film since my first Star Wars experience.
IMO there are just a hand full of K-Pop groups that have consistently delivered both dope tunes and performances. One of these group is 2NE1...all of the tracks in their first self titled mini album rocks and they always put on a good show!!!
Okay, there's been a lot of talk of R2-D2 making an appearance in J.J. Abrams' new Star Trek movie for a while now and finally people over at Gizmodo confirmed it. Since Abrams is a Star Wars fanboy at heart, it makes sense that he would hide our favorite Astromech droid in the Star Trek movie as an Easter Egg. I wonder if this is going to piss off some hardcore Trekkers. Click on the image to see R2-D2 in detail.
More than 30 underground artists participated in an art show at Art Asylum Boston with works arranging from original paintings to hand painted vinyl figures all inspired by Star Wars. Check out their BLOG site to see all the art.
These two behind-the-scenes photos taken during a break from filming of Return of the Jedi, shows Carrie Fisher and her stunt double sunbathing on Jabba's Sail Barge set. The photos were leaked on to the internet recently, stirring some excitement for the Star Wars geek dudes :)
I've mentioned repeatedly that Epik High is my all time favorite K-Pop group and I'll say it again, Epik High rocks! They keep putting out dope tracks and this time TWO awesome music videos which are parodies of blockbuster Korean monster flick, "The Host". Being a Star Wars geek, I totally flipped when I saw lead member Tablo wield a lighsaber in the videos. You gotta check them out!
On my list of favorite modern age comic artists is Mike Mignola, the creator, artist and writer of Hellboy published by Dark Horse Comics. This comic book series continues to attract fans today not only for Mignola’s distinctively styled art, but also for the well-written folklore and mystical storylines that captivates the readers. Popularity for the red demon hero went mainstream after the two successful Hellboy films hit theaters. There is rumor that a third film is in the early stages of conceptualization. Although now artist Duncan Fegredo is doing the art for the interiors, Mignola still writes and renders the covers for Hellboy comic books.
Mezco Toys, which I never heard of until I bought the figure, produced a series of 7” Hellboy characters in 2005. I actually picked up this Hellboy figure in Tower Records when it was still around. For an action figure, it has very detailed sculpt that is accurate to Mignola’s character. Oh, it’s heavy too…real solid. Although it’s not in any of the pictures, the figure also came with a horseshoe that you can hang on his belt.
My hotel alarm clock buzzed loudly right at 4:00 am and man, it was tough getting out of bed. Went to sleep pretty late after having a delicious Shabu Shabu dinner with artist Tsuneo Sanda and his wife, so it was even harder to get up this early in the morning. I needed to get my butt out of bed quickly or else I would miss the Tsukiji Maguro (Tuna) auctions, which started at 5:00 am. Without washing up, I put on my clothes and got my camera gear ready in just under fifteen minutes. I rushed down to the hotel lobby and hailed for a taxi, since the trains don't run this early. From Shinagawa, it took about twenty minutes and ¥3,000 yen ($35.00...Ouch) to get to the entrance of the fish market. This place was huge...got lost right away. As I ran through the market where the vendors were setting up, all of my senses came alive with the incredible display of fish everywhere and people hurriedly moving about on their highly maneuverable motorized carts, carrying fish of course.
After getting some confusing directions from security guards and fish stand owners, I made it to the Maguro auction just when it opened their doors to the public. I was breathless by the time I got there, but excited from the energy of this place. The sight of huge frozen solid Tunas lined up neatly in rows was eerily amazing. It was preview time and many buyers wearing rubber boots, carrying a pick and flashlight were inside the chilly warehouse to inspect the tunas. They went from tuna to another tuna, poking, picking, touching and even tasting the meat from the tail end of each fish to check for quality. After thoroughly examining the tunas, buyers carefully scribbled down the assessments of their favorite fish on notebooks.
The cowbells rang and the auctions began. A man stood up on top of a wooden stool and began shouting without a microphone. What I heard next sounded like a tribal chant, a melodic tune actually pleasing to the ear, created by auctioneers and buyers hollering to place their bids. As one auction ended, another began. This continued until all of the tunas were sold.
Once I left the auction, I took my time touring the fish market, trying to enjoy and take in the sights, sound and smell of the amazing surroundings. I got to see where many of the sold tunas went. They were brought to vendors located throughout the market that saw them up in various pieces. After having my fill of the market activities, I started looking for a place to eat. My stomach was growling and after seeing all the fish, I was ready for some fresh maguro. Being in Tsukiji, finding a good place to eat fresh fish wasn’t difficult. Not far from the market, I stumbled onto a small restaurant with a long line of locals waiting at the door to eat. This was the place for me. I ordered Chirashi-don (Raw fish over rice) with Toro (Fatty tuna), Uni (Sea Urchin) and Ikura (Salmon roe)…so good! This was an awesome way to end my visit to the Tsukiji fish market.
Did you know there is a museum dedicated to Hayao Miyazaki's animated films in Tokyo? Mitaka, a western suburb of Tokyo is home to Ghibli Museum. This fantastic place opened its doors back in 2001 and has become a popular tourist destination for both the Japanese and foreign visitors. Although the museum is geared toward children, I guarantee the grown-ups will enjoy the playful displays just as much as the kids. Once you step inside, you will loose yourself in Miyazaki's world and forget you're an adult. One of the treats you'll receive for the visit is viewing one of five exclusive short animation features that runs for about 20 minutes inside their Saturn Theater. "Water Spider Monmon" short was playing during my visit.
I wish I could've taken more photos, but the museum has a strict rule about taking pictures inside the building. You can take photos outside the museum and also on the roof where the giant robot from "Castle in the Sky" watches over the garden. Straw Hat Cafe is on the second level and they serve some incredibly delicious deserts. If you want to take some souvenirs back with you, goto the third floor where the gift shop is located. Trust me...you're going to walk away with a Totoro stuffed doll like I did :)
My new friend Totoro!
Here's directions. First, get to the Shinjuku station. From there, you'll need to take the Chuo line (Rapid Service) to Mitaka. Once you get to the Mitaka station, go out the South exit, turn left and walk down to the ground level. You can either take a bus at the stop located right at the ground level or walk along the Tamagawa Josui (Waterworks) to the museum. Walk all the way down until you see a major street, make a right and walk about 300 meters on the park side, then you'll see a small gate to the museum. It's about a twenty minute walk.
