BALANCE of CULTURE

Sayonara, Yakuza?

Anyone familiar with Tokyo knows quite well the understood influence of the yakuza in Japanese society. This past weekend, however, the Japanese government's organized crime exclusionary laws went into effect in order to discourage and limit (and eventually abolish) businesses from dealing with them completely. If you or your business pays them off in any way, you'll be treated like a criminal, too -- not to mention be publicly humiliated and potentially lose a lot of business (or even your job).

It's a bold move in a tough time for Japan, and it's a society that is generally a lot safer than the US or any European country, no question about it. So this will be a very intriguing case study for the implementation of such new laws that toss a lot of the traditional past in the trash.

And in case you're confused, the government has of course provided a cute illustrated guide that explains the new laws (minus those crazy tattoos though)!

Always got to worry about the pay backs

It's no secret that in the past few years China has purchased government bonds from Spain, Greece and Portugal. Despite mixed financial results of these purchases on Beijing's end, the latest economic commotion in the EU is how Italy may be next in line for support from China.

Though an Italian ministerial source denies such purchases were part of the recent talks between Rome and Beijing, some Chinese economists believe that China has "no other choice" than to help the boot-shaped nation, leaving many to wonder what the real deal is.

Remember the good old days when Europe thought that dealing this closely with China (and most of Asia, for that matter) was a foreign and highly unlikely scenario that they'd never have to deign to do?

And no wonder Japan has been steadily shaking with fear…they massacred their big mainland neighbor many years ago, and that neighbor is now very, very formidable to every economy on the planet. Wow, how things change…got to love experiencing this global economic balancing game...

 

 

Excuse Me, Sir…?

Drunk salarymen on the streets of Tokyo is the focus for Polish photog Pawel Jaszczuk's latest work. Living in Tokyo for seven years now, Jaszczuk documents those wee hours of the morning when grown men have to bow down to the consequences of their debauchery…ENJOY! (wow, even these images really made me realize how much I miss Tokyo…is that weird?)

 

Care Package 2011

Since March 2011 is ancient history at this point to most media outlets, lots of people aren't aware that there are still many citizens in Japan who remain homeless and in limbo. The barrage of aftershocks have steadily continued since the tsunami (a few of my friends in Japan are simultaneously becoming completely fed up with the quakes as well as strangely accustomed to them) and lots of signs are pointing to the fact that Japan's government is withholding information on just how dismal the situation at Fukushima truly is.

Amid all this chaos though, video game giant Nintendo is apparently sending out DSi units with DS Terebi attachments to quake victims. One quake victim shared his photo of the package contents online and although the predictable dissenting opinions on the gift surfaced right away, I'm sure he's thrilled at having some current gadgetry to bide his time with.

I know very few people who'd be able to stand daily life without the modern tech amenities we're so used to, even for a week. Months of such discomfort, loss and disconnection seems unbearable but it's nice to hear that Nintendo is continuing to participate in giving back to the victims of this tragedy (even it it's just clearing out dead stock).

How to Avoid the Paris Syndrome

(Not my photo!)

The most read story on BBC right now is a bizarre older piece from 2006 on "Paris Syndrome," which strikes some of the million Japanese tourists every year in the City of Light:

A dozen or so Japanese tourists a year have to be repatriated from the French capital, after falling prey to what's become known as "Paris syndrome."

That is what some polite Japanese tourists suffer when they discover that Parisians can be rude or the city does not meet their expectations.

The experience can apparently be too stressful for some and they suffer a psychiatric breakdown.

Avoid getting this syndrome by simply realizing that rude and unattractive people can certainly exist amid any cute cobblestone streets, glorified cafes and high fashion! Anybody else not so surprised that this is a syndrome attributed to Japan?

Paris is a beautiful place but reality is never just like the movies...wonder how many 'syndromes' have been documented the past year.

BoC Dérive: 3 June 2011

Returning to LA means one thing: In-n-Out! (And yes, that's his tongue!)

 

Online Dérive:

Syria: Amid widespread unrest, Syria has shut down most of its internet and cell phone data connections early this morning.

RIP: Former LA Black Panther Elmer G. "Geronimo" Pratt has died at 63 years old in his Tanzania home.

North Korea: The government is drawing plans to develop an international tourist spot.

Nuclear: With Japan's ongoing struggles with the Fukushima reactor, Switzerland and Germany have developed plans to phase out their dependence on nuclear energy.

Tech: IBM has opened its first office in East Africa in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with plans for more offices throughout the continent by 2015.

Film: The Tourist, which pretty much bombed in the US, is shining overseas -- revealing the real market objective for movies these days.

Chocolate: 40-year old supermodel Naomi Campbell is suing confectioner Cadbury for an allegedly racist ad where she is compared to a chocolate bar.

For your summer travels: The Telegraph's 250 best iPad travel apps!

Dog rescued after 3 weeks on a floating house!

SO sweet.

BoC Dérive: 1 April 2011

Spring fever has officially hit this week, giving Los Angeles a gorgeous backdrop for all of the events going on lately. The city has been so bustling with activity that I think people have finally come out of their hibernation from the winter! I myself had a little time to organize some art pieces from our storage -- the Kaws stuff above is only one of the things we've revisited this week, from years ago, that have since blown up like crazy! You might notice that I did a bit of a redesign to the blog earlier this week as well. I'm still tinkering around on it but it's a nice visual change, especially after a year. The watercolor portrait of me at the top of the page is by an artist whose work I always enjoy, Luke Vicious (you may have heard of him from the Electro Wars)! Enjoy your April Fools' Day!

Online Dérive:

Japan: Have you canceled your plans to visit during cherry blossom season? You're not alone!

Video Games: Sega has put their official E3 Bayonetta costume up on Ebay for auction, with proceeds to go to earthquake and tsunami relief in Japan.

Fashion: Designer Prabal Gurung, who grew up in Kathmandu, Nepal, has been named a Goodwill Ambassador by the nonprofit group Maiti Nepal to spread awareness on human trafficking.

Cote d'Ivoire: Heavy fighting continues in the main city, Abidjan, as the West African country faces a political and humanitarian crossroad.

Los Angeles: The city's museums are not well-attended at all by the public, according to a national survey.

LOL: A handy checklist on how to be a NYC tech entrepreneur.

3D: Ballet and opera companies embrace 3D!

RIP: Engineer Paul Baran, who worked at the RAND Corporation (an "old haunt" for me) and helped create the technical foundational platforms for what is now the internet, has passed away.

Libya: Even though he arrived in the UK late Wednesday, so far Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa has not received any immunity from the state.

Paris-Tokyo Remix by Sarkozy & Kan

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Japan came as a pleasant and interesting surprise to me when I found about it earlier this week. I wasn't aware that France is the most dependent country on nuclear energy, so Sarkozy's visit to Japan -- which gets a whopping 30% of its energy from nuclear sources -- makes perfect sense.

The stakes of nuclear energy for these two states are so high that even the vast distance between Asia and Europe couldn't keep these two men apart for very long. And I'm sure that not just Japan, but all of Asia, is watching Sarkozy's visit with keen interest.

Maybe Kan will host Sarkozy to a night at Le Baron?

[Photo: AP]

Charity's LCD: The Culture of Consumption (and that's ok)

Want to buy this poster to help Japan?

Now that the entire design world has seemingly jumped on the "Help Japan" t-shirt/poster concept, does that leave the movement caught in the "CNN effect"?

A writer for Slate Magazine thinks so: "Considered collectively, we might call it the propaganda of concern. Because it's been spread largely by cool design blogs, which are suddenly awash in Japan-awareness products, it's appealed to an audience that's generally more engaged with Desirable New Stuff than with Serious World Events."

He does have a point; I think we all have seen how the masses tend to engage in a sense of urgent charity as a result of disaster porn in the few days right after a tragedy, only to see the public interest fade away as other topics replace the "old" Serious World Event (because it's no longer Desirable New Stuff).

One certainly can't expect the broader public to forever be engaged in helping an international tragedy (look at how Haiti's hype has definitively dissolved into only the most "compelling" stories, such as Wyclef Jean's hand getting grazed by a bullet), especially when the majority of the media's consumers are simply interested in...consuming.

Does that make any of these more light-hearted charity efforts less relevant? I don't necessarily think so, but I do think that offering material things (like shirts and posters) in exchange for someone giving a hoot is, whether we like it or not, often the only way to even momentarily engage the majority of the public. They want the symbol of "caring" -- now, before it's "over."