Everybody knows Elmo, everybody loves Elmo. So cute how he talks, how he laughs...ah Elmo's voice is just toooo cute! But who is the father, the man behind this innocent, little cutie? His name is Kevin Clash and the new documentary 'Being Elmo: A puppeteer's journey, of Constance Marks will take us back to the very start, when Elmo was born.
Even though he was picked on at school, because people were saying that he was playing with dolls, Kevin still followed his dreams. Eventually he moved to Sesame Street, and Elmo became famous. I saw the trailer of this documentary, and now I really can't wait to see it. For me, this is true art, because he brings a puppet to life, just by using his voice (and movements) perfectly, eventually creating someone that everyone adores, all over the world. I've got huge respect for this man.
The documentary will be released on October the 21th. Go to beingelmo.com for more info. Don't forget to watch the trailer :)
Meet the man who wants to break the record for climbing stairs on his head. Yes just with his head, just walking upside down to the top without using his hands or feet. Will he make it to the fifteenth stair?
What if you have that typical officejob, where you have to dress 'office-properly'. I can imagine having two different wardrobes filled with:
boring officecloths
casual clothing
But now I saw something soooo cute, casual, yet office-properly! This brown Hello Kitty blouse above! I love it! This is just one blouse of the new collection of Forever 21. On November the 18th the new Hello Kitty collection will be available in (online) stores. Maybe you'll find your office friendly outfit here...
Last Sunday we went, to the Dutch premiere of the documentary Live from Tokyo, at festival Camera Japan...with very high expectations...
This doc is about Tokyo's underground music scene, showing interviews, footages of performances at live houses, short images of Tokyo's streetlife/view and short colorful breaks. It was nice to see images of Tokyo again (sushi, traffic, small streets). And that was the only part we liked about this doc! Yes, it showed the underground music scene, but the maker of this documentary actually highlighted one genre. The genre called 'experimental' (experimental squeeking, innovative computer/electronic bits of sounds, some noisy screamings and weird rock-or-isn't-it-rock-noise). Anyway, music that sounds too odd to even understand it. I don't want to nag too much about the chosen music for this documentary, because, well, it's not my cup of tea. But it would be nice to show the other important parts and other genres of the underground musicscene in Tokyo. Not just the weirdest of the weirdest experimental music, because I know that there are a lot of other talents walking around in this metropolis, who are worth to show to the world.
Trio band d.v.d
So there were also footages of live performances, and well, there was only one band that sounded interesting and acceptable for my ears: d.v.d. This trioband consists of two drummers and a visual artist. The drums are connected to the visuals, so you'll experience music on a different kind of level. Well, you just have to watch it, it's difficult to describe.
Having a bad trip
And when I saw the short colorful breaks, uhm....it was like being stuck in a bad trip or something. Extremely bright colorful candies all of a sudden, some floating sushi everywhere on screen, then just a woman standing, looking meaningless at you, paper color buildings...all supported by weird background music. It's okay for a few seconds. But not for a few minutes long. Those breaks were really too long. HM. So I wouldn't recommend this doc. for epileptic viewers (some people even left the cinema during the the screening), or people who are not familiar with Japanese music or culture, because you'll only leave the cinema with one question in your head: 'What the hell-o did I watch?!!!'.
It has some useful information with the interviews. But it's not a documentary what covers live underground music from Tokyo, it just showed a small part of it.
Also, I saw somewhere written online about this documentary: "you can save yourself a ticket to Tokyo by watching this documentary". Well this is SO not true. If you are interested in the underground musicscene of Tokyo, please buy a ticket and experience it for yourself. That's the only way to find out what I'm trying to say with this review.
If your little cousin, niece, sister, brother, child or your annoying little neighbor (or yourself) is having some difficulties with spelling, reading, or just learning the alphabet, then this video might be interesting. Italian artists n9ve made an entertaining spelling video where each character is the initial letter of a font name. Watch it here, at JUMI!
Take a quick tour through crowded Tokyo, arriving at a packed Shibuya station, walking outside on the busy Shibuya crossing, having a fast view on the Tokyo Tower, entertaining yourself at the noisy Arcade hall and watch heavy traffic, while wearing your earphones listening to the ultra-relaxing song And the World Laughs With You of Flying Lotus ft. Tom Yorke....in 2:49 minutes.
Alex Lee made a beautiful video starring Tokyo, by capturing it in different ways using slow motion, stop motion and time lapse. Watch the video here at JUMI!
Today was the opening of a new Hello Kitty themed store in Shibuya. And no, this is not an ordinary ultracute Sanrio/HK store. This one is for the cool girls (and boys): Club KT.
Go shopping and buy Hello Kitty cosmetics, My Melody clothing, Twin Stars stationary or stuff from other Sanriofriends. And at the same time experience the atmosphere of a club! Yes, this store even has its own DJ booth, especially for DJ Hello Kitty's performances.
You can find Club KT at the Shibuya 109 building on the 8th floor, Dogenzaka 2-29-1 Shibuya in Tokyo.
If you can't imagine sweet Hello Kitty as DJ Hello Kitty, then you should watch this video of a performance last year, hihi!
'Why the hell-o did you bring that silly piece of origami?' I think some people wouldn't understand why you would carry along this cute origami piece.... Hah! Just wait and see what you can do with this silly piece when you unfold it! Drink tea with it! Huh?
Designer Lee Seo Jin created a teabag and teacup in one. The teabag is folded into an origami artwork (hexagon and octagon structure). You can unfold it into a cup, pour water and enjoy your tea. 'People can save the environment with CUPTEA by reducing disposable tea package'. So no more fuss with holding a seperate teacup and teabag in your hands, just put your CUPTEA in your pocket!
Already tired of Hello Kitty being the superstar, posing like a diva on every Sanrio sneaker you can find? Well, maybe you'll like this one. The Italian footwear label Forfex collaborated with Sanrio to create Sanrio sneakers, with much more Sanriostars than just the kitty diva: My Melody, Badtz Maru, and Keroppi. And they'll only cost about 135 euro. Unfortunately there are no other colors available. Go to Forfex.it for more info.
If you don't like these sneakers, maybe you'll like of one these: Sanrio Dr. Martens, Hello Kitty Vans or Hello Kitty Reeboks.
Ok, I can't wait to watch the Korean movie You're my Pet, starring Jang Geun Suk. According to Asianmediawiki it will be released in November (in South Korea), so I really need to be a bit more patient.
The movie You're my Pet is an adaptation of Yayaoi Ogawa's Japanese manga 'Kimi wa Pet'. This manga was successful and in 2003 it won the Kodansha Manga Award. In the same year the story also got its own Japanese live-action drama. And I really really loved the drama!
The story is about a young smart and successful woman, who returns home from a depressing day of work. Suddenly she finds a big box on the street, with a young man lying in it. Then she decides to keep him as a pet since the man reminds her of her childhood dog. And the man agrees. How cute. This is the start of a 'strange' relationship. Yup, if you haven't read/seen the story, the movie sounds a bit weird. But believe me (if the movie will be kind of the same as the Japanese drama), the story is soooo funny!
Anyway, I'll keep you updated about when the whole movie will be available on the net. For now, enjoy the trailer.
Check out the drama Mary stayed out all night if you want to see more Jang Geun Suk. If you love his music, you might like JUMI's English cover of Let me Cry. Click here to go to our videoclip.
So I was pretty impressed by the Adidas sneaker creations of Jeremy Scott. Now I saw an unique creation of another artist, Freehand Profit. This artist made something new with just a pair of Adidas X Star Wars Superskate Mids: a Stormtrooper helmet! I don't know how he sewed it, but it looks funny and you can actually wear it (well, if you can stand the smell of new shoes). And good news for the Star Wars freaks, you can buy it on Ebay. Click here for more information.
Imagine this: You've just missed your train and now you have to wait thirty long looong minutes for the next train to arrive. Nooooooo! So you're already annoyed, standing on the trainplatform. And the annoyance is getting worse, because you're surrounded by noisy annoying people. And on top of that, you're having a view on old, half broken grey walls, with chewed bubblegum sticked on it, meaningless writings and ugly drawings and maybe some old smelly ketchup of a hamburger, that some crazy person just smeared on it.
Well, I wouldn't be that annoyed if I was waiting for my train at, uhm, let's say.... the Osaka Station City complex in Japan! I don't even mind missing the next train, and the next train and the next train. I think I would be too hypnotized to feel some annoyance, just by watching this waterfall display at the station.
Mmmm, what will you do, if you see these jummy chocolate beauties in front of you? Eat it? No, no, please don't, because these beauties are actually erasers. And you can simply make it yourself, with a special toolkit. Cut, mold, shape and put it in the microwave. Wait a few minutes, and there you have it, your own unedible jummy looking chocolate beauties. Watch a demonstration of the 'cookingprocess'.
If you're a Hello Kitty fan, you'll probably already have (seen) the Hello Kitty Vans. Recently Sanrio published the video about the collaboration process with Vans. So they had a meeting, of course with Miss Kitty herself. Even though Kitty knew the appointment was at ten o'clock at the Vans headquarters, she wasn't able to make it on time. Why? Well, she was having too much fun with her skateboard :) Check out the video, here at JUMI.
While I'm looking forward to see the live action movie Gantz at the Camera Japan festival in NL, I found out about another live action movie that will premier during the festival: Usagi Drop (or Bunny Drop). Another must-see at the festival.
Usagi Drop is a josei manga/anime about a thirty year old man, Daikichi, and he goes to the funeral of his grandfather. That day he finds out that grandfather has an illegitimate six year old daughter, abandoned by her mom. Now nobody wants to take care of the little girl, Rin, and she's treated as an outcast in the family. So Daikichi decides to be her guardian, even though he doesn't know anything about taking care of little children. This happening changes his life completely.
I'm watching the anime now, and I really love it. Rin is sooo cute! It's a josei anime/manga, so it's a mature story, which is quiet, touching and beautiful.
Now there has been made a movie about it, starring Kenichi Matsuyama. Yup, that guy who is also the leading star in Gantz. If the movie is as beautiful as the anime, I'll definitely have to bring a big box of tissues to the festival.
Usagi Drop/Bunny Drop, the movie, will be shown on the 23th and 24th of September at Lantarenvenster in Rotterdam and on the 30th at Kriterion in Amsterdam. Check out the whole schedule of Camera Japan at camerajapan.nl.
I enjoyed combing and braiding the hair of My Little Ponyfriends. Unfortunately they died a long looong time ago :( Today, I was thinking back of those good old days with my little ponies, when I saw pictures of these celebrities.
A Finnish artist, Mari Kasurinen, created My Little Pony celebs, from movie characters such as My Little Joker and My Little Alien to musicians My Little Lady Gaga and My Little Elvis Presley. She even made Spock and He-Man. I wish my little ponies could see these celebs....Check out her other creations at marikasurinen.com
Little Mad Hatter Pony
Little Luke SkyPony
Did you see the Amigurumi celebrities too? No? Click here.
Mmmm, this cute tiny Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream looks good huh? But watch out and don't get tempted by its look. One bite of it, and your tooth will fall out or you'll get pain in your stomach because of a piece of plastic, metal or other unedible stuff.
This jummy creation is handmade by Heathernwells. She creates charms, earrings, rings and other stuff in the shape of jummyjummy food. Check out her foodcreations at Etsy.com
Maybe you'll like phony edible iphone covers too. Click here to check them out.
OK, so next time I set foot on Japan, I'll run immediately to the restaurant where they serve supersized sushi. Afterwards I'll fly to this place, the Tokyo Sushi Academy, to see (and eat) the most beautiful sushi creations. Besides eating at the academy, you can join courses of making your own sushi and sake tasting. Even tourists can participate. They offer 2 hours sushi lessons.
Anyway, reporters in Japan visited this place and what they saw was a Barack Obama sushi, Mt. Fuji sushi and much more sushi artwork. Very nice. Definitely a 'must-see' in Japan!
Just read an article about the world's highest ferris wheel. I was so excited!! But now I've seen pictures of it, I am a little bit disappointed. Because the ferris wheel is not vertical like we use to see them, but has been placed horizontal on top of the Canton Tower (Guangzhou TV Tower) in Guangzhou, China. Ok so it's not super horizontal, the track goes up a little on one side.
The tower is 450-metres high and the ferris wheel is resistant against 8.0 earthquakes and typhoons of scale 12. So nothing to worry when you're up there ;)
Well anyway, I am still adding this on my to-do list when in China next to visiting the Hello Kitty park. :D
We all know that some spices (and too much garlic) can have a negative effect on the smell of perspiration. And here, in our little country, we've had some hot days. And one days like these, it's not really nice to sit in a overcrowded bus, with sweaty people everywhere. Luckily we have deodorant. But unfortunately, as I smelled it today around me, it looks (uhh smells) like this doesn't work for some people.
Now Lucy McRae, an Australian body architect, came up with something new, that will make your sweat smell pleasantly. It's a perfume capsule which you have to swallow. And then the fragrance molecules will be excreted through the skin whenever you're sweating. It's not available yet, but it won't take long, or we will swallow our perfume. So the more you sweat, the better you smell!
Captain Planet, he's the hero who can save and protect the world against pollution and other environmental unfriendly stuff...well, in cartoons. But in real life? Honestly I think he'll go nuts, when he sees earth. Check this video out, here at JUMI!
A few days ago we've seen a video of the giant sushi. Now I've found a video of ultra tiny sushi. This one will not be served in a restaurant, but it's a project to make people aware of appreciating the small things in life. Because, well, we do live in a society where everything gets bigger, or must become bigger and bigger.
Here are some wise words of the creators of this project (Dave Seah, Hwee Chong Chan and Jody Yeoh):
Are we so consumed by all things big that we lose ourselves in them?
What if fulfilment rests on a grain?
What if we can find purpose in small things?
Like humility, simplicity, and even significance?
Take rice, the staple food for the world. A grain so humble and infinitesimal. Yet, a cradle of life for so many.
Seek out the small.
For within them, we find greatness.
OK, how would Mario be like, in real life, nowadays? Well, these guys made a short film trailer about it, starring (of course) Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and even a turtle. Funny video, hehe.
It's been a week now, since they announced the winner of a dance competition during the Robot Japan 2 event in Japan. No, I'm not talking about a contest with humans performing a robot dance. It's a 'So you can think you can dance' competition for robots. And the winner is: Toko Toko Maru, designed by Azusa Amino. It's a robot who performed a traditional Japanese dance, really beautifully and elegant. And to complete the picture, Toko Toko Maru also wore traditional clothing including folding fans. Cute! Watch the performance, here at JUMI!
