It’s the tale of a pug, a kitten and the adventures they have. It starts on the farm… but Milo never listens to his mother. Here’s two of my favourite scenes:
Crab Attack
Otis Meets The Fox
Did you know that Milo and Otis is a Japanese made film and was released in English 4 years after the original release? Me neither! Did you know Dudley Moore was the vivacious and hilarious narrator? Not I!
While there has been some controversy over the use of animal actors in the movie, I still love this romp (and have done since I was 5). It’s a good film to watch from bed while hanging out in your pyjamas. Nostalgia rules.
Dinner with Murakami is a 2007 documentary directed by Yan Ting Yuen about the life and work of legendary Japanese author Haruki Murakami.
“Largely structured round Murakami’s enigmatic absence, the film dramatizes Murakami’s impact on his readers and takes the camera into the hinterland to determine what is “Murakamian” in the Japanese landscape. The resulting film has a beautiful sense of form and poetic structure.” [Indie Flick Pick]
In the film everybody from groupies who hang outside Murakami’s old jazz club to schoolchildren, share their piece on the publicity shy writer. Norwegian Wood has been likened to the Nippon equivalent of J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye; so it is unsurprising most Japanese people have a story to tell about their relationship with Murakami’s work.
Australian & New Zealand friends -Yen Magazine and their surfy mates at Rip Curl are running a fashion blogger competition. Dip your toes in the frothy sea of fashion power scribing.
This worked, I tried it! “Nearly-instant mood lifter: throw 5 cinnamon sticks & some orange peel in a pot. Add lots of water. Bring to a boil. Simmer. You’re welcome.” – Emma Alvarez Gibson.
The number one reason for our Wellington visit (I use the word ‘our’ but in reality I was gatecrashing my friends’ holiday) was to go see the Yayoi Kusama: Mirrored Years exhibition at the City Gallery.
To celebrate the exhibition, they kitted the entire gallery exterior out in polka dots!
Yayoi Kusama is an avant-garde Japanese sculptor, painter and novelist.; her work concerns many themes, but is usually expressed through the polka dot and infinity net motifs that are her trademarks. Kusama started painting dots at a young age, after suffering ‘hallucinations’.
In her twenties, Kusama moved to New York and nurtured her talents further, gaining recognition for her large scale works, working in the same sphere as Warhol and other notables. In 1973 she returned to Japan and produced several novels and anthologies while continuing to create art.
Today, Kusama’s trippy paintings, tentacle like sculptures, performance art and installations have attracted a cult following around the world, and she has found acclaim as one of the world’s most important living artists.
The Mirrored Years exhibition is on in Wellington till February 10, so if you’re anywhere in the region and you haven’t scoped it out yet, you simply must! It’s simply dotty, mind boggling and a lot of fun to be immersed in.
This past week I have been thinking about Japan A LOT. Tokyo, most of all… Here’s a ‘Destination Japan’ reading list I wrote for Mausumi (such a sweet, refreshing blog). It’s a few must-read books that involve Japan somehow. Sigh! Where do you dream of from your armchair?
In the film Tokyo Pop bleached haired goddess Carrie Hamilton plays Wendy, a rock singer from America. She moves to Tokyo on a whime and, as the stories always go, meets a boy. Hiro and Wendy form a band; finding stardom and love. It’s also story about American customs confronting the Tokyo lifestyle.
My friend Sarah reckons when Aggy Deyn was reinventing herself, she just trotted down to her local video store and rented a copy of Tokyo Pop. Other people reckon Sofia Coppola took a good hard look at the film too, before embarking on the Lost In Translation journey.
From what I’ve seen, I’d agree! Except.. I’m incredibly grumpy because unfortunately I haven’t managed to track down a copy yet, even on VHS. If you ever come across a copy (or if you’ve seen it), pipe up, let me know!
It looks amazing; a cheesey pop love story with candy coloured cinematography, set against a retro Tokyo backdrop. Here’s the trailer:
This made me smile! A collaborative video for Sour 日々の音色 (Hibi no neiro) or ‘Tone of Everyday’, connecting their fans through webcams. The song is nice too.
Thinking I might post a few of the cool tees that I snap here and there. Stories too, if there is one.
Jess’ Osaka Castle tee was purchased by my friends Jerm & Jules in Japan, a souvenir of their adventures through Asia. Apparently they had bought a ‘cooler’ shirt earlier, but as is the life of backpackers, one of them ran out of clean shirts and pilfered from the stash of gifts. This one is still very nice! It reminds me of cyanotypes and classic pottery.
If you have a graphically devastating or favourite t-shirt you’d like to show off, email me!
A friend of mine is in London right now and has kindly offered to do a bit of shopping for me. Hurrah! I had the choice of American Apparel, Urban Outfitters and my current favourite, Uniqlo. I love Uniqlo because, as Sarah-Rose declared, it has “cheap cashmere in amazing colours, great jeans, great outerwear. You have too many options!”
Too many options? Hells yeah, there are some lovely pieces to choose from. However I managed to narrow it down, here’s my picks:
1.Extra fine merino cardigan in blue. Recently Klein Blue was splashed all over runways. I’ll wear it to work with pearls, black skinny jeans and studded boots and drink out of pink porcelain tea cups.
2.Striped hoodie in navy. This feels very A.P.C. and sailor friendly. You should wear it down to a pub or dinky cafe you’ve never been before – it’ snug enough to keep you feeling comfortable in a strange environment.
3.Cotton cashmere cardigan in yellow. A chirpy wee number that screams positivity. Wear it, take names and kick ass.
I’m so excited… the last time I bought something from Uniqlo was in Japan and it was mostly t-shirts for my boyfriend. Sadly I couldn’t wiggle into the XL girl’s sizes – Japanese clothes are crazy small! Godspeed, little Uniqlo package of cool.
I’ve marvelled at the magnificent lashes of Shu Uemura for a while now and was delighted to find an interview with Kakuyasu Uchiide, make up artist, at Ping Mag.
“Japanese youth culture is a powerful market well watched overseas. How do you see the Japanese youth and their fashion obsession today?
Being an extreme thing is not so good. I like young people who are trying to find their originality through fashion and make-up that is suitable for their income.” ❤
I like them too, people of any age who express their originality in clever (not the latest, greatest) ways. Magical eyelashes definitely fall into this category.
These are all over the shoe blogs this morning, and with good reason! Made by Visvim, a Japanese brand, these sneakers have been inspired by the colour, texture and patterns of Mayan culture. I really like the faded navy colour but as shown, it comes in black and white too. Far more interesting than your average pair of Converse! Available from Nos Japan.
Milk Fed was founded in Japan, circa 1998 by the stylish and talented director Sofia Coppola and Stephanie Hayman. Reminiscent of Coppola’s Virgin Suicides characters, MilkFed is fun, quirky and eternally 17 years old.
The latest collection is a homage to California, as seen through the eyes of Japan – slightly twisted images that look ‘right’ on first inspection, before the charming flaws become apparent. MilkFed is available at Sofia’s store Heaven 27, which has outlets around Japan. For those of you not about to travel to the land of sakura and karaoke soon, MilkFed has kindly put up some fun desktop wallpapers & icons on their site.
