« April 2008 | Main | June 2008 »
May 29, 2008
Mark
Posted by Marcus at 7:18 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Stereo Lynch
Posted by Marcus at 6:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Gremlins
After a week spent attempting to boot my PC, I finally bit the bullet yesterday and reinstalled Windows, loosing a few hundred photos and a half a dozen applications in the process.
Yeah, it sucks.
Nevertheless, I'm happy to have my computer working again. Despite being unable to do any editing or posting to the site, I didn't stop taking pictures and I'll be posting the best of them in the coming days.
And now to our regularly scheduled programming...
Posted by Marcus at 6:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 8, 2008
Adobe Media Player
With the recent release of Adobe Media Player, its clear that the San Jose based company hopes to challenge Apple's seemingly unassailable hold on the new media marketplace.
AMP version 1.0 offers streaming video from established content producers such as CBS, MTV and Comedy Central. There are also shows from smaller internet based production companies like Revision3 and Wizzard Media. For geeky-types who can't get enough of Photoshop and Illustrator how-tos, there's a whole channel (Adobe TV) dedicated to tutorials.
In addition to streaming video, AMP's use of Adobe's new AIR software means that users can watch content both on and offline.
Why should you care?
For starters, having only one media player (iTunes) dominate the player market is bad for media consumers as well as content producers. Browsing podcasts in iTunes is akin to finding a summer movie that doesn't contain at least one exploding helicopter: possible, but highly unlikely.
Podcast producers have long complained about Apple's Billboard-like ranking system which has increasingly promoted high-budget/mainstream fare over low-budget shows of similar quality.
Similarly, podcasts which fail to be 'featured' on the front page of the iTunes store tend to vanish into obscurity, or can be downloaded exclusively from the producer's website (much the same thing).
Add to this AMPs AIR-driven fast loading times and aesthetic appeal, the benefits for both consumers and producers are obvious.
Conspicuous in their absence from this first release are features such as social networking (eg. the ability to embed content in a user's webpage), audio-only podcasts as well as the ability for podcasters to submit shows as they would with iTunes. These are slated for inclusion in subsequent versions.
You'll find the software here (free download).
Posted by Marcus at 3:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sunday in the park
Posted by Marcus at 3:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Daido Moriyama: two for one
In the coming weeks The Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography will play host to a pair of exhibitions by Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama. From May 13th - June 29, a retrospective of Moriyama's work will take place on the third floor, whilst on the second floor visitors will be treated to a more recent collection of images, entitled 'Hawaii'.
Moriyama is one of the best known Japanese photographers of the post-war era. His grainy black and white images of mangy animals, outstretched limbs and faded street posters are voyeuristic and often confronting. While many will cite Warhol's influence, Moriyama's photographs remind me of Weegee (but intellectually superior – no hustler mixed in with that bravado).
The Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography is located in Meguro-ku, not far from Ebisu station. You'll find directions to the museum here.
Posted by Marcus at 12:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 2, 2008
Natural Groove Inn
Posted by Marcus at 12:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 1, 2008
Jean Snow
I've been meaning to write something about Jean Snow's design and pop culture blog for a long time. Without doubt, Snow's site is one of the best places to go for what's happening in Tokyo's often chaotic art and design scene.
On the landing page to his site, he describes himself as someone who, "lives and breathes design and pop culture in Tokyo -- sustained by an unhealthy addiction to magazines and frequent visits to his favorites cafes." And this is exactly what you get - an eclectic mix of design news, pop culture, gallery reviews and J-POP.
In addition to his website, Snow contributes to a number of other websites and publications, such as Gizmodo, The Japan Times and the Superfuture Superguides.
Snow is also responsible for introducing me to the joys of buying t-shirts online. Since reading about Threadless on Snow's site a few years ago, I must have bought ten of their designs. Perhaps Snow should ask to be put on the payroll?
Posted by Marcus at 5:51 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack