well, not really. its only about to snow but wotever.. i am up in hokkaido, staying with a mate for a couple of nites which is fantastic. hit an onsen last nite at like 10pm, one of the real ones, volcanic hotsprings style and the smell of sulfur.. yay. could see snow from the outside hot pools and it was freezing wen you werent in the water. tomorrow mite head out to an active volcano and go to the onsen there, where you can see the volcano from the onsen, as you look out over a whole bunch of snow. fantastic.
but anyway, my mate has some awesome usugrow gear. he is a japanese artist, who does fantastic illustrations and figures.. amazing shit, and so so hard to find in the western world. but to honour that, here is some usugrow goodness for you, from me, in japan.
he has an amazing graphic style, and a completely unique typography that can either be kanji or english, but looks rad either way.
so, last nite we hit the cans, and by hit the cans i mean it would have been frowned upon in australia. some afternoon chill beers in the cafe attached to our accomodation, then we hit dinner, which was greatm cheap curry.
but thats wen the nite started to get really interesting. we were searching for a bar, called den-en, but couldnt find it, so we wandered round kyoto just going into random buildings and hitting tiny pubs, getting a beer in each that was cheap enough and then we found one called radio clash - it was a clash tribute bar, that had so much clash mrmobilia that it was intense. we could request any rock we wanted there, so we stayed a while before heading on. thenm we managed to find den-en. the reason we were looking for den-en is cos they have a gerat deal on drinks – ￥1600 for all you can drink for 2 hours. so about 20 bucks for all you can drink.. which is unbelieavle. we started to get messy, and some scandinavian girls came and we chatted, then our 2 hours were up, so wots next?? vending machine beers. ahhh yeah. then, how bout some 3am bowling? oh yes, with more drinking and a few strikes. after bowling we went into a sticker photo booth and did that, which was awesome japanese stye. and then we hit a ramen bar for some ramen and gyoza. the most memorable part of the nite was comparing tattoos with a yakuza, and then swapping gifts, i got some beads, a disneyland coin and a patch that wll protect me, for my beanie. got the guys number so we can meet up in toyko wen we are there. got back to the huose at 5am japan time (7am back home time) and fell asleep. intense.
so to commemorate such an awesome country i present a videom which is a montage of all the photos from a couple`s trip to japan. he totally stole my idea, and used the perfect songm but hey, its all good, and now i know wot i need to do to outdo him..
i am in osaka japan atm… sitting on tatami as i write this. its about 6degrees outside and i was just out there in shorts taking some shots..
so 24 hours iin japan and i am in love… i will live here as soon as possible!!!! this place is mindblowing, so to help you feel like i feel, check this out!
the guys over at boston globe`s online section have got some great ideas about tricking your brain into hallucinating… iwthout drugs….
the words i mean, not the practice. i think what some people are doing with their website design and layout cant be called web design anymore.
it is something much more than that. in an age of broadband connections and high res screens, the good old internet just doesnt cut it anymore. recently i have come across some amazing sites that take web design into web fucking awesome design, or something along those lines.
most impressive was the site of laimonas stasiulis (try saying that after a couple of beverages) and his amazing portfolio site. he is a phtographer born in lithuania and based in england, who has been shooting for a few years, in 2007 he even took out first place in a competition.
his photographic work is top notch, but its more the site interaction that blows me away.
i came across some brilliant sculptural work from kevin francis gray, very dark, but also beautiful to look at, really does amaze me at the way some people can work.
amazing living jewellery from icelandic product designer hafsteinn júlíusson. its got real living icelandic moss, and the shop which was set up in a gallery for their launch is visually breath taking too, reminiscent of the icelandic landscapes.
and from a good friend of mine, comes the recommendation of illustrator jasper goodall.. and apart from having a rocking name, he does some super clean, stylistic illustrations.
and for those of you out there who are scrubs fans, there is a double header on american abc tonite, which is scrubs new home.. i cant wait to see new eps!!!
i tend to spend a lot of time on the internet. i am not a nerd, i just like searching and stumbling throught the information abyss to find pearls to present to you fine travellers.
it seems there has been an increased interest in motion typography, and while i am a fan of taking things that are normally static, and making them move i never expected to be so… turned on, by text.
this video, from a photovoltaic engineering student (random i know) from unsw (booo, they have cofa, booo) really blows me away. not only is it one of my favourite songs ever (online songs by blink 182) but the clarity and synch of this video is really worth a watch.
i have been trying to replicate these amazing bubble drawings by charlotte sullivan for a few weeks now, and i honestly have no idea how she does it. all mine pop, or soak the paper, or look like mushed something.
but, she has pulled it off, and made some awesome, almost x-ray looking works for you to drool over.
omg i wish i could get at least one to work!!!! ahh well
not new news, but refill magazine (who seem to be on a timeout) had the 7 series. a show with amazing artists, the likes of which have been featured here before, like mike giant, fafi, dmote, parra etc. all awesome people, very much in the now. so, these skateboard decks have the designs laser etched into them, which leaves room for some absolutely amazing designs. limited to 50 of each deck, and at 500aud per deck, these are the kinda decks you hang, not skate.
finally, i came across a new magazine starting up called rice candy, and apart from instantly falling in love with the name, i submitted some work and will actually get a photo published in the mag!! yay for me!!! besides that, the guy putting it out (RT) asked if i mite be interested as being a creative consultant/some how involved in the magazine. which i am super keen for. will keep you up to date when issue 1 is available, but submissions only just closed onthe 3rd of jan, and these things take time.
issue 2 will be open for submissions soon, and the theme is shapes, so get thinking, and head on over to – www.ricecandy.net
