It’s spring and with it comes to the old proverbial ’spring clean’. And so it’s out with the previous annoying template that was causing no amount of problems and in with something a lot more flashy, or as I like to thinkabout it a lot more ‘friendly and nice looking’.

For anyone who has owned or owns a Mac, the theme should be ‘familiar’ as it’s essentially a take on the Apple layout. It’s clean and simple, and what’s more it’s all customisable on the fly - you can click and drag any of the boxes in the sidebars and move/order them as you see fit, and you can also minimise them using the little green button.

The gallery has changed as well, it’s still in the process of being finalised, but it works a lot better than the previous one. There’s still a few things to be changed, improved on but all in good time. I barely have enough time to do what I need to do as it is.

So far everything seems to be working, but let me know if you find anything that doesn’t. So please go ahead and have enjoying, I’ll be doing some much overdue writing in the coming weeks too.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: geeking, Random, template, update, wordpress

The TEFL world just keeps giving to me today. Well actually, Alex’s blog is really the one that keeps giving if truth be told.

I stumbled upon this article which Alex had linked, and which is quite simply amazing in its detailing of the latest forays of English teaching in Japan.

The article details the efforts of a man, who runs a chain of Maid cafes, the quintessential otaku attraction, to set up a school which combines two very simple things: English teaching and cosplay (or cross-dressing using costumes from Anime and Manga). The fact that these two things really have nothing in common doesn’t seem to stop his incredible logic, which is pretty flawless when you consider his argument for such a mind boggling link-up:

Otaku are known for their incredible customer loyalty, while schools are known for their trouble in getting customers to keep on coming back, so I figured a school for cosplayers would achieve the perfect blend

And if all this wasn’t enough, the school’s English focus is also something to behold, deciding to go for that much avoided market of ‘Broken English’… you couldn’t make this up if you tried. Hell, look up the school’s site and its extensive ‘Maximal Broken English’ online lessons!

Still the best is kept for the end, as the article is wrapped up with a quote that I believe could well and truly transform the world of TEFL as it’s known. And if it doesn’t do that, it should at least provide for what could possibly be the most entertaining English lesson to watch or partake in ever.

“I want to start classes for kids some time in the future. And I’ll make the teachers get dressed up in Pikachu suits.”

Somebody give this man an award right now, please.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: geeking, Japan, Random, school, Teaching, TEFL

Came across this article on Japan whilst looking for something the other day. Aside from being an interesting read for anyone who’s lived here for a while or is thinking of living here, the author makes a very interesting point that I can relate to, even though I’ve only been for a very short time compared to his 20 odd years.

And yet beneath all the motion and excitement, something had caught inside me in Japan, and it was perhaps (I see now) all that I couldn’t explain, everything that I couldn’t put into tidy boxes and pinwheeling sentences. I had walked around a temple near the airport at Narita, during a morning layover, waiting for my flight back to New York, and something in the mild October sunshine, the gathered quiet, the shelteredness of the scene, took me back, unanswerably, to boyhood and England: Japan made me feel more at home than I’d been in a life of traveling the globe.

This sense of home he talks about is something I’ve felt on multiple occasions in the last year, and everytime I’ve struggled to fully understand it. I think the main thing I struggle with is that while Tokyo, and Japan, has this ability to make you feel at home, more than even home can, it’s also undeniably alien and very much an environment in which a foreigner stands out, regardless of linguistic skills or social integration.

Yet despite this, Tokyo can very much make you feel at home, make you feel like belong in a sense, or if not belong that you’re in a place where it’s ok to just be. This contradiction between being regularly estranged and feeling embraced at times is funnily enough another contradiction to add to a long list I’ve discovered since being here. Maybe it’s just because of the way the Japanese are, how the society functions and operates that lets you be able to feel that just being is ok, that you are, as strange as it may seem in such a, at times, foreign land, at home.

It’s definitely one of the things I’m going to miss the most once I’m gone, especially when I walk around Tokyo and just take it in: sights, sounds and smells. It’s also a reason I would recommend anyone try it out here once if they feel they got it in them and want to experience something different. It’s a mindset too, you have to be in the right headspace I guess, it’s not as simple as just turning up and waiting for it to happen. But for anyone who has any experience of living in a different culture, or wants to really try it out, then I think Japan in a weird way definitely holds something nowhere else really does.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Japan, Random, society, travelling, writing

Animosity between neighbouring countries isn’t really anything new. Growing up and living in Europe I’ve become accustomed to plenty of it, from funny stereotypes to nonsense bordering on xenophobia. One thing I’ve realised since working at a newspaper here though is how deep the animosity between Japan and China sometimes runs, and how far and low some people will seemingly act on it.

Like all good rivalries, it runs deep and both ways, but my knowledge of the issue isn’t that thorough if I’m honest. I know the Chinese hold a grudge, well one of the most recent ones anyways, against the Japanese for Japan’s WWII aggressions and past attempts at imperial expansion in Asia (google the rape of Nanking as a good starting point). As for the Japanese, I’m not actually quite sure where their grudge comes from, anyone with any enlightening knowledge please drop a comment. One thing I do know is that I’ve met my share of Japanese who have been vocal about their distrust of the Chinese and seeming belief that China and its people are up to no good (broadely speaking of course).

What’s been really enlightening and entertaining though is the Japanese media’s practice of jibing at the Chinese for anything they possibly can. The most obvious examples I see everyday are those at the newspaper I work at, which is the country’s second biggest, and also on TV. At the newspaper the Chinese jibes are literally everywhere it seems. I’ll be editing a story, and all of a sudden there will be a totally unrelated sentence making a remark, generally negative, about China. If it wasn’t so funny in the way it’s done, it would be scary.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Japan, newspaper, Random, society, writing

Quick one. My good friend Mr Trick linked me to this excellent article on Word magazine’s site about why records all sound the same today. The answer is probably not so shocking for those who follow this stuff or have an interest in it, but the article makes some very interesting points and the examples and references are pretty interesting. Next time you turn on the radio you may well listen to it differently if you don’t already.

Why records DO all sound the same

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Music, Random

Had a good chuckle earlier today after reading this article in the New York Times I was linked to.

For those that don’t know, or can’t be bothered to read, the world-famous Michelin Guide, one of the things the French are most proud of, make no mistake, launched an Asian version of its guide for the first time last year. It chose Tokyo as the first city up for ‘inspection’ and came out with a stagerring amount of praise for the capital’s cuisine and its establishment, giving it more stars than both Paris and New York combined.

Which you’d think was good news for a city. But not for the Japanese it would seem, as the results were not just greeted with pleasure but also with a fair amount of discontent and disdain from some of the city’s top chefs it seems.

My favourite part as to be when chef Toshiya Kadowaki said his Nouveau Japonais dishes, which take inspiration from French cuisine, do not need a Gallic seal of approval. A lot of the disdain and refutal seems to either come from the belief that foreigners are not qualified to judge Japanese cuisine or that bragging, competition and awards go against the Japanese tendency to not stand out from the crowd, to fit in rather than stick out.

Which is all well and good, but when this comes from chefs in a coutry responsible for murdering foreign cuisine in new and unimaginable ways it’s a little funny… nah actually a lot funny.

Still que sera sera right, and whether or not they want to admit it, accept it or do whatever with it, the Japanese are responsible for some amazing cuisine and Tokyo definitely stands out as one of the major culinary centres for any self respecting foodie. It’s hardly surprising that Michelin chose to lavish that much praise on the city and its restaurants, as it is hardly surprising that some of the people reacted in the way they did.

No matter how good food can be in this city though, I still stand by my belief that some of the abberations Japan has come up with when it comes to interpreting foreign dishes is some of the most shocking stuff I’ve been unfortunate to see, smell or taste. Mentaiko spaghetti? Ughhhhh…

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written by Laurent \\ tags: food, Japan, Japanese Food, Random, society

With a week long hangover and impending first skiing trip in nearly 14 years, it’s time for a round-up of my first year in Japan. Traditions and what not, everyone’s probably bored to death with yearly round-ups already but hey it’s the season of excess so I’ll add to it, considering I managed to keep my xmas shopping consumption to pretty much zero this year.

A lot has happened in one year. I’ve changed jobs much to my surprise, I’ve visited a lot more of Tokyo and Japan than I thought I would and I’ve also managed to attain a somewhat decent ‘beginner’ level in Japanese.

So to sum it up are two lists of what I consider good and bad points about living in Tokyo and Japan.

This’ll be my last post of the year. I’ve still got a bunch of things to write up which have accumulated and which I’ll get onto in the new year - once I’ve drunk away all the money I need to live and am forced to do nothing but work and sit in front of my computer at night.

Happy new year and wishes for 2008 to everyone.

2007 in two lists, bullet points and randomness  

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written by Laurent \\ tags: food, Japan, Random

Spannered is a year old this month, and for the occasion the guys at the helm of one of the nicest music sites around have decided to re-design the whole ting. As anyone who’s ever attempted such a thing on a site with a substantial amount of content will know, it ain’t easy. The guys have pulled it off nicely though, and the whole thing is a lot easier to navigate and still looks funky fresh.

If you don’t know about Spannered yet I can only recommend you head over and find out more. Not only do they have a nice archive of interviews, features and reviews covering a wide range of music, subjects and artists, they also do it in your earhole with a podcast series and a hefty archive of live, recorded and exclusive mixes from featured artists and others - all streamable and downloadable.

For me it’s definitely one of the nicest music sites around thanks to its content and variety, and no I’m not saying that because they’ve featured my interview with Goth Trad on there a few months back  :lol: .

A new addition to the site is an mp3 blog, which will be taking shape over the coming month as the contributors get digging and uploading. The list of contributors is pretty sweet too, including the likes of DJ C, Kid Chameleon, Kone R and various other people dotted around London and the world. So I was pretty chuffed when they kindly asked me to take part as well. I’ll be contributing various bits once a month or so, with a look at exposing some of the weird vinyl I’ve come across in Japan as well as some rarer and more exclusive material from the Turntable Radio archive and artists I know. My first contribution should be up in a week or so, featuring a few bits from the TTR archive and some random Japanese records I picked up over the summer.

In the meantime, the guys have started it off with some wicked Brasilian gems and it’s only gonna get better so you know what you gotta do  :smile: .

Big up Ali and the Spannered crew for this!

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Music, Random, writing

While I’ve been busy this last month with a change of jobs, impending flat move (the worst possible thing to do in this town at this time of the year) and other assorted pleasures, I’ve still managed to spend a few days around the city. In this case two days spent re-discovering two areas I’d already visited, but doing so in different conditions. The old and new together cliche of Tokyo is, well, a cliche but it’s also something that hasn’t bored me yet, and the two trips I made this month only made that clearer to me.

First up was Asakusa, home to the oldest temple in Tokyo and one of its most famous tourist spots. I’d been to Asakusa in the summer during rainy season, which gave the place a certain charm as people sheltered from the rain under the temple or in the shops. Going back on a crisp, sunny winter day totally changed the vibe and feel of the place, with bright colours grabbing your attention everywhere, and as was the case back in July, a throng of people to fight through.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Japan, pictures, Random, Tokyo

Music, the sweetest thing. Here’s a list of recent favourites I’ve been bumping in the iPod and on the computer (I don’t got a car!). It also kinda serves as an end of year list too, in case I don’t get round to doing one.

Pinch ‘Underwater Dancehall’ - quite possibly one of the albums of the year for me. It just gets better and better with every listen. The vocal tracks are superb. It has echoes of previous Bristol classics like Massive Attack, but it’s entirely its own thing.

Stones Throw ‘Now Again:Re Sounds’ - been a while since I bumped something like this. Re-edits and remixes of classic tracks unearthed by the Stones Throw historians. Some great moments with Percee P on there who proves that he is still one of the best.

Oh No ‘Dr. No’s Oxperiment’ - Madlib’s little brother does good and comes up with an incredibly funky collection of short beats and loops taking their cue from Turkish music. Another grower.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Music, Random

One more thing on the whole piracy subject, and this one is gonna be short and sweet. I came across this video on the dot-alt blog, and it’s another great addition to the whole debate about piracy, not just in music but in every aspect of society.

This is a video of Matt Mason, the founding editor of Rewind magazine, doing a presentation about his new book ‘The Pirate’s Dilemma’. The video is quite long but really worth it especially if you’re interested in this whole subject. It’s hard not to be drawn in by Matt’s cleverly put together presentation and pretty spot on argument. He doesn’t actually focus on just music piracy, though he touches on it, but draws an interesting parrallel between pirate radios, and pirate movements, and pioneering. It’s definitely on point I think and gives more ammunition to the whole debate.

His book is definitely going to be worth a read.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Music, Random

UPDATE - hours after I posted this Ed sent me another link, and one that couldn’t have been more relevant to the subject. The head of Warner Music admits that the industry was wrong to go to war with consumers, and what’s more he delivered that speech at a conference for mobile phone companies warning them of not repeating the same mistakes on the digital platforms that were made on normal computer platforms. Additional food for thought…

Continuing the recent series of posts about piracy and torrents, a friend of mine (Ed again!) sent me a very interesting link from someone who used Oink, worked in the music industry at various majors and who puts forward some very interesting points regarding the whole debate surrounding piracy, outdated business models and new technology.

You can check the article here. While not everyone may agree with his total disregard for the record industry (the majors that is, not the indies) it’s hard not to see some sense in a lot of the points put across - especially with regards to the record industry essentially missing the boat 8 years ago when p2p networks first surfaced. Something I’ve also mentioned before and which I really believe is what this whole debates does boil down to. They missed the boat and then went for the worst of the two remaining options: pretending that they were the victims and continually refusing to move on and adapt to the new world of music as a digital medium, with no tangible, physical aspect. There are other good points, regarding the bully tactics employed by the remaining majors and organisations like the RIAA, as well as some of the suggested possibilities for a new business model (which I don’t totally agree with).

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written by Laurent \\ tags: computers, Music, Random

A lot is happening right now so I haven’t got much time to post, but I managed to record a quick mix the other day.

Was feeling pretty shitty but the mix actually came out all right. Made in Ableton for bumping in the iPod, maybe you’ll enjoy it as well. Some new and unreleased bits alongside some favourites of recent times - turn up the bass and sit back.

Download link and tracklisting below.

Also the first two mixes I did in Ableton are still available online at the links below. Both these are varied mixes, over 2h long each:
http://www.lo-la.co.uk/2007/08/15/brand-new-mix-attention-deficit-disorder/
http://www.lo-la.co.uk/2007/01/12/packing-shit-up-2-hour-mix/

Kper - Dejitaru Mikusu
http://www.lo-la.co.uk/Kper_-_Dejitaru_Mikusu.mp3 (right click and save as - 256kbps, 135mb)

Flying Lotus - Spicy Sammich - Warp
2tall - Untitled 2 - Unreleased
Disrupt - Jah Bit Invasion - Jahtari
Digital Mystikz - Ten Dread Commandments - DMZ
Jazzsteppa - Jackin’ - Hotflush
Slaughter Mob - No Big Deal - Hotflush
MRK1 - Bones - Earwax
Nika D - Felt The Need (MRK1 remix) - Aphex
Toasty - Let Me At Em - Unreleased
Peveralist - The Grind (Bass Clef remix) - Unreleased
RSD - Corner Dub (Blue & Red mix) - Punch Drunk
Dz - Slum’s Dub - Hotflush
Kode 9 & Spaceape - Quantum refix - Hyperdub
2562 - Channel Two - Tectonic
Nyabingi - Japanese Wolf - Hotflush
RSD - Kingfisher - Earwax
Rustie - Response - Stuff
Various Productions - Bun - Various
Dysfunktion - Canton - Kursed
Kano ft Vybz Kartell - Buss It Up - 679 Recordings
Skyfish - Hesocha (Skyfish remix) - Unreleased
Lone Wolf - Low Rider - Unreleased
Scuba - Out There - Hotflush
Durrty Goodz - Take Back The Scene (prod. by COki) - Awkward
Distance - Fallen (Vex’d remix) - Planet Mu
The Bug ft. Warrior Queen - Poison Dart (Baku megamix) - Ninja Tune
The Bug ft. Warrior Queen - Poison Dart - Ninja Tune

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written by Laurent \\ tags: download, dubstep, kper, Music, Random

If there was need for proof that commercialisation of culture has truly gone awry in this day and age, then Japan and Halloween would probably constitute the perfect example. If you think that the commercialisation of christmas was bad, then trust me you need to witness Halloween in Tokyo. I remember about 6 weeks or so ago I was walking along the street and noticed some Halloween decorations in a shop window. To which I thought, ‘hold on a minute it’s mid September… you what?’. I can’t really say I’ve ever cared for Halloween, what with it being a primarily American celebration, but the sight of Halloween decorations 6 weeks or so ahead of the time left me feeling a little weird.

Turns out that was just the beginning. Halloween’s about 10 mins away my time, and I’ve been subjected to more Halloween related merchandise and decorations in 6 weeks than I ever have in 27 years previous to that. Surely that must rank as some sort of record. Even though the overkill commercialisation of something like Halloween is quite ‘normal’ today, it’s still a pretty mental experience. Considering that Japan is as far removed from Halloween as I could have imagined, seeing the place covered in decorations for the best part of 6 weeks and the insane amount of commercial tie-ins has actually left me wondering wtf for the best part of that time. From Halloween flavouring of all sweets and chocolates and drinks and ice creams imaginable (Baskin Robbins takes the crown on that one with something like 10 Halloween related flavourings) to Halloween Kitty, I’ve had the colour orange burned into my retina and sub-conscious, and will be glad to see the back of all these pumpkins.

Ok so there is the logical explanation: American occupation following WW2 has left a massive footprint across parts of Japan, especially the big cities, with the country being pretty much Americanized (see the z there?  :lol: ) in any way possible which makes the Halloween celebrations not so surprising. But still the total overkill is quite a shock to the system the first time round. There is cultural imperialism and then there is this - hyper-imperialism/commercialism which is quite fitting, in a land full where compound names using hyper can be deployed for a lot of things.

According to one of my students today this situation wasn’t always the case, and has only got worst in recent years. What’s more while there is all this Halloween related business for 6 weeks, most of the people don’t actually seem to celebrate it. There’s no massive trick or treat about to happen as far as I know, and by all accounts it’ll all be over as fast as it started come thursday morning, with nothing much to show for it apart from a whole bunch of discarded orange paraphernalia. I’ve spent the last 3 days doing Halloween lessons for kids, most of which know pumpkins, ghosts and the usual related figures, but haven’t really got a clue about the rest of the associated ‘traditions’ (and I use that word loosely).

If Halloween’s that bad I dread to think of what christmas might throw up. Yet another celebration which has really no relation to the country or culture, apart from commercial and imperialistic ties, ready to flood the streets and shelves of shops. Ho ho ho…

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written by Laurent \\ tags: halloween, Japan, Random

While the sight of temples and shrines has now firmly lost the exciting appeal it had after first arriving in Japan (after all there is only so much you can take in before going a bit meh, kinda like churches in Europe), there is one thing I still thoroughly enjoy the sight of day in, day out: Japanese architecture. Though that might be a bit of a far reaching term, considering the architectural mish mash that actually consitutes most of Tokyo and the Japanese knack for knocking down old buildings and replacing them with crappy new ones (oh yeah and the earthquakes). Still I’ve always been a sucker for architecture in a way, not in a deep sense but just cos I like the shapes of buildings and just looking at streets and areas that are either old and quaint, or new and nice looking, or just weird looking like say Tokyo, or even Soho in London.

There’s also something about traditional Japanese houses, I don’t know what, but they do it for me. I think it’s the roofs, I really like them. The roofs are actually the only parts of temples I can still look at with any real interest as well. So it was lucky that we went to Kawagoe on our holiday this week, about 40 mins outside of Tokyo and nicknamed Little Edo (Edo is the old name of Tokyo), as it still holds traditional buildings and houses from the Edo period. Most of these seem to be clustered in one part of the town, which has now become a big shopping street (nice tactic there), and they make for a fascinating day out - not just because they’re old and traditional, but because you’ll find them alongside a variety of modern buildings, including red brick walls, fancy architectural nonsense and European buildings. All of which makes for a refreshing sight. And actually the shopping isn’t bad either, and the area is really nice.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Japan, pictures, Random, travelling