Blog
2 days ago
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I'm sure you don't need my review in today's Japan Times to tell you, but the new Flying Lotus album is pure ear fudge. Check out live set and a mix he did for Radio 1 not too long ago here. Mmm, wonky.
5 days ago
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I picked up the current edition of international affairs coffee table mag Monocle at Heathrow Airport, largely because it costs half as much in the UK as it does here. Always a stimulating (and occasionally infuriating) read, the latest is no exception, reprising as it does last year's ever-so-slightly controversial Most Liveable Cities survey.
Now, this is Monocle rather than The Economist, so fans of statistics and complex algorithms will have to get their fix somewhere else. As editor/publisher Tyler Brûlé writes in the introduction: "To clear up any potential confusion, Monocle's survey has not been developed as a guide for ex-pats looking for the next plummy posting. Rather, it has been created to identify the cities that put its [sic] residents' happiness and well-being first." The criteria are a mix of stats and more touchy-feely subjective stuff: from transport, crime rates and health care to tolerance, eco-friendliness and whether the bars stay open late enough to keep jet-setting freelance journalists happy.
In practice, this means that Copenhagen comes in at Number 1, while London and New York don't even get a look-in. In fact, no British cities are even mentioned, while the only American ones to make the cut are Minneapolis and Portland.
Interestingly, three Japanese cities were included this time: Tokyo at No. 3, Fukuoka at No. 17 and Kyoto at No. 20. The fact that Tokyo made it in there shouldn't come as much of a surprise, but it's interesting that they chose to rank it so highly, praising it as "a big city getting the basics right." Those "basics" would be things like the efficient public transport, public order, low crime rate, quality of service, "24-hour-a-day metabolism" and "endless possibilities." And when you put it like that, I guess this is a pretty sweet place to live.
Oh, and just in case you're wondering, the Top 10 looks like this:
1. Copenhagen
2. Munich
3. Tokyo
4. Zurich
5. Helsinki
6. Vienna
7. Stockholm
8. Vancouver
9. Melbourne
10. Paris
6 days ago
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Being able to check in online, taking advantage of sites like Seat Guru to ensure you get the best seat on the plane: Brilliant.
Ending up wedged next to the fattest passenger on the plane: Weak.
Well, at least the selection of films was good.
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Wow, Hot Fuzz is only just coming out in Japan? That was released over a year ago in England. Bizarre. Great film, either way. You should watch Spaced some time - it's the TV series that Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright et al. did before they started making movies. Don't think it was ever released in Japan, but it all seems to be up on YouTube. Random clip here: http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=q9is5gJORl 4&feature=related
8 days ago
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Status
back in Japan
Jun 06, 2008
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Status
going back to Blighty
Jun 05, 2008
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Well, that took long enough. I think Softbank's latest "Collection" must be the first where all of the phones have 3G.
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What, you can't take out one of those expensive Apple insurance plans for it?
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Yeah, I'd be amazed if this didn't do well over here. Japanese consumers were a bit slow getting into the iPod, but they seem totally hooked now. Softbank's managed to repair a lot of the damage that Vodafone did to their customer base, too, so they should have plenty to work with. Let's just wait for them to screw things up by doing something stupid like releasing the iPhone without 3G.
Jun 04, 2008
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First Obama gets the nomination, now this? What is this, "bet you never saw that one coming" news day or something?
People on Jrim
May 31, 2008
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miki65398 saysHey, was good meeting you earlier. I'll stick the guppy picture up in due course! ;-)
Apr 25, 2008
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Muta saysborges, i love it! you have good taste
Apr 24, 2008
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fryza says
hello!
newbie here,
dropping by and say hello
hehe
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