nike af1 x darbotz

Indonesian artist Darbotz produced this video to promote the classic Air Force 1 model's position in the Nike Sportswear division.

Nike AF1 x Darbotz from Randy Rais on Vimeo.

callie shell: obama pics

Beautiful photos of Obama throughout his campaign courtesy of Callie Shell. One week to go peoples!

defaced

Video courtesy of Lovely Productions. Kinda like that Aha! video but instead features a guy escaping his corporate advertising poster for a street art love.

DEFACED from LORCAN FINNEGAN on Vimeo.

typocalypse now

Each font has its own distinctive personality and holds the power to transform a design all by itself. Design pubs spew historical and/or psycho-analytical breakdowns of a particular fonts and font families. There was even a movie on Helvetica. Designers love to play their favorites - some of my former colleagues have even dressed up as fonts for Halloween. Only a graphic designer would come up with something like that. Here's a funny breakdown on fonts courtesy of typocalypse:

jazzanova/dela

Jazzanova feat. Phonte | Look What You're Doin' To Me
Jazzanova feat. Phonte | So Far From Home
De La feat. Blu | Vibrate

randoms

Mos Def | Life In Marvelous Times

BoA is a huge Asian pop star from South Korea and she's aiming to test the U.S. market in '09. This single sounds pretty generic but that's pop music for ya.
BoA | Eat You Up

Shout out to my pinoy brethren Babu:
DJ Babu feat MF Doom & Sean Price | The Unexpected

Kanye West | Heartless

Ludacris feat. Common | Do The Right Thang

black, white whatever

Although Hispanics are getting more love due to their sheer numbers, race issues in politics are still often discussed within a black/white scope. Even with this historical presidential election, mainstream media discussions rarely go beyond breaking down polling demographics by race. How about setting numbers aside and examining the issues concerning each group? While it is easy to cry foul, its more effective to force your way into the discussion. For example, why do Asian Americans get left out or shitted on? In part, because they allow it. Sounds simplistic, but there's some truth there.

Back in my freshman year in college, I dormed in a closet sized room with a half-Japanese/half-American from Tokyo. Next door to us was a black football player and his South Jersey hillbilly roomate - they obviously didn't choose each other because that pairing would have made a great reality show. Two strong headed dudes from totally different worlds cooped up in tiny room. Lots of typical race-baiting discussions like "Why do you people use lotion so much?" "I don't know. Why are you white people always serial killers?" So, it wasn't suprising that they agreed to me and my roomate's idea of permanently opening the adjoining door between our rooms. I wanted more space and access to their video games...they wanted more space from each other. So we opened the adjoining door, shoved all 4 beds in one room, and kept the other room open as a 24 hour lounge for music, video games and parties.

There were only 5 percent people of color in this college - and they all seemed to hang out at our lounge. So the hillbilly, perhaps feeling left out or threatened, verbalized his frustration over the constant hiphop controlled by us 24/7. He turns to me and says, "Why do you listen to this black music?? You're not black!" Before I responded, the football player (who affectionately called me his n***a) jumps in, "He aint white either?! Why should he listen to your countrified bullshit?!" As they glared at each other, I interjected, "Yo, I just listen to GOOD music."

Nice spoken-word piece from Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai (from Def Poetry fame) pointing out that race discussions are more than just B&W.

fly aswang

Filipino animation series based on Philippine mythology.

coping & the culture of disclosure

We recently received sad news that my father in-law in Japan was recently diagnosed with liver cancer. Language barriers prevented deep conversations between me and him, but I always felt we had an unspoken bond. One of our shared activities in Japan was watching the Yankees game during breakfast in the morning. He enjoyed American baseball and we would conversate, smile and nod at each other between the plays. I always remembered our first meeting in Philly, when he mentioned to me (through my wife's translation) that I have "kind eyes". He is skinny as a rail, but he always projected a quiet strength to me. This is the strength that makes me believe that he will fight through his illness.

From my limited perspective, it is interesting to learn about cultural differences in cancer treatment and doctor-patient relationships. Historically, Japanese physicians do not disclose cancer diagnoses to patients. Instead, the doctor will inform the patient's family and they will decide if, when, and how much to inform their loved one of their illness. That process was difficult to comprehend as it would lead to ethics charges and lawsuits in the States - and personally, I would want to know every little detail of my diagnosis and treatment. But again, these differing perspectives are largely cultural. Recently, more Japanese physicians are moving towards selective disclosure based on age, psychological stability, decisional capacity, family support. But unlike most western countries, universal disclosure is not the norm yet.

My wife is fairly Americanized and she finds the doctor-patient relationship in Japan to be curious and at times frustrating. Its not common for older Japanese to question the doctor and at times information is left in the dark for patient and family. This is also a by-product of her mother not wanting to know developments if they are discouraging.

In discussing American strategies of full disclosure and pro-active doctor-patient treatment strategies, my mother-in-law suggests that these approaches are shaped by culture. In her view, many Americans have a stronger sense of self, individuality and a strong belief in some sort of religious faith. These characteristics help them face their illness head-on and foster a postitive working relationship with physicians during treatment.

My mother-in-law points out that the Japanese approach places a premium on delivering compassionate medical care. In her opinion, her husband does not have a strong sense of religious faith (she suggests that Buddhism and Shintoism are utilized as a way of life rather than a fervent faith) and his fragile state of mind would not take the disclosure well.

Coming to terms with helping a seriously ill parent is a difficult process - especially if you live on the other side of the world. Initially there is a sense of helplessness and regret. I consoled my wife towards overcoming these feelings by suggesting we can help by providing counsel to her mother over the phone. Let her talk through these stressful times. Its a form of therapy that works for all involved.

cassette closet

Courtesy of Dutch designer Schuur

de la

Ok, this is one of the best mixtapes I've heard in some time. 80 minutes of De La Soul courtesy of DJ Jaycee. De La is one of my all-time favorite groups and they definitely represented hiphop at its creative apex. Definitely took me back to my childhood with their classics. Great read on their impact here.
From The Soul: The Music & Influence of De La Soul

RGB glasses

RGB rainbow glasses designed by Luis Porém. Hollowed out glasses filled with ink. Hope they never leak.

death note "the last name"

I'm not a huge manga/anime fan, but I really enjoy the Death Note series. The story grapples with interpretations of morality as the powers of death gods are given to characters who are disgusted with a decaying society rife with insufficient justice. The story is paced with an incredible sense of suspense while focusing on the cat & mouse mental battle between L and Light.

Viz Pictures brought the second installment - "Death Note 2: The Last Name" to U.S. theaters for a special two night only engagement. I watched the first installment on DVD - so I was particularly interested in seeing how the movie plays to an American audience. Upon entering the theater, I thought I stepped into a high school auditorium. These kids were likely drawn in from the Death Note anime run on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Many of them sported "L" and Shinigami shirts informing each other that there were more available at "Hot Topic". I chuckled, feeling old as dirt - but thankfully their enthusiasm was more good natured than obnoxious.

There were a few asians who strolled in looking exactly like "L" and "Light" with their teased mop hair. Maybe they thought it was a casting audition for the next movie. Peeped some typical white guy/asian girlfriend couples. Then, the older otakus started filtering in. I hate to perpetuate stereotypes, but most of these guys fit the bill: bifocaled, overweight, couple pony-tails, anime-themed wardrobe, and the fresh-from-my-moms-basement swagger. But all jokes aside, they are genial and incredibly knowledgeable about any aspect of Japanese culture that gets represented in anime or manga. Its always great to see people open to other cultures and if anime is the motivating factor - so be it. Nonetheless it still amazes me when I hear them reciting Japanese names or explaining mythology behind each story.

As the movie began, a big applause surged around me. The casting (even the non-blonde Misa Misa) successfully captured the essence of each character. I especially enjoyed the reverent Iron Chef's Chairman Kaga as Light's dad and the accurate shinigami renderings. "L" seemed to be the most popular - with his anime mannerisms and suger addiction drawing the most favorable reactions.

Even though the original manga prioritized driving morality themes over deep character development (as evidenced by the cold emotional state of lead character Light), each character has managed to develop a following. In the director commentary, Shusuke Kaneko mentions that when he talked to his family about "L" in the movie making process, his young son immediately hopped into his chair with both feet perched on the cushion - just like his favorite character "L". This amazed him and likely motivated a more consciously character driven movie. As a result, the vibe feels more campier than the darker anime series and some depth is lost in condensing the original story.

Still, Death Note: The Last Name manages to carry the original themes and was entertaining throughout. The story is altered a bit in an attempt to strengthen emotional ties between characters and the audience. The director explains his efforts to inject more humanity by bringing his personal experiences and perspective to the adaptation. You can see this as the movie invests more emotional time in the father-son relationship.

Most interestingly, the director talks about the issue of expressing Japanese culture while pursuing universal themes. As a younger director, he pursued communicating themes that translated around the world across all boundaries and cultures. But now, while still recognizing the potential of international markets, he also cherishes the uniqueness of Japanese culture. In admitting that he doesn't fully understand the complexities of his own culture, he is curious to see how exporting a movie like Death Note will translate around the world. Judging by the audience reaction in the theater, not much was lost in translation. But, I was sitting with established fans. With Warner Brothers picking it up and swirling rumors of an American remake - it will be interesting to see how much Death Note will be Americanized, bastardized and received.

To top off the evening, we shared a laugh when spotting a parked car next to ours with the license plate "INUYASHA". Then amazingly we saw a whole white American family noisily expressing their enjoyment of Death Note before piling into that car. Wow, a whole otaku family in jersey!

shizentomotel

Photographer Remo Camerota recently published "Graffiti Japan". One of the artists featured in the book is Shizentomotel: