through the looking glass

A Music and Gaming Journal

Jun 8

PMX presents ‰λ-MIYAVI- event June 11th

Category: Travel

An event was also announced for June 11th where cosplayers and crafty artist can present their depictions of ‰λ-MIYAVI-. I really gotta see how those toys turn out…

Press Release:

MIYAVI EVENT AT SUGOI LIFE THIS FRIDAY

Miyavi will be at Sugoi Life in Northridge, CA on Friday, June 11,
2010 starting at 5:00 PM. Sugoi Life is hosting the Spirit of Miyavi
Cosplay Contest along with the Miyavi Munny Design Contest. PMX is the
only convention invited to judge this unique contest. What’s the
prize? A chance to meet and greet with MIYAVI himself at a
winners-only part of Sugoi Life. Winners of the Munny Design Contest
will have their Munnys autographed by Miyavi at the meet and greet.
Sugoi Life will also be giving away tickets to Miyavi’s June 12th
concert at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles!


Sugoi Life / Pacific Media Expo MIYAVI Cosplay Contest

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Jun 8

‰λ-MIYAVI- North American 2010 Tour

Category: Music

MYDADI

Baby daddy ‰λ-MIYAVI- is bringing his guitar to North America and rocking on a new tour. Select dates will have events which include meet and greets and all that fare.

NEO TOKYO SAMURAI BLACK WORLD TOUR 2010

-North American Leg-

2010/6/10 San Diego, House of Blues EVENT
2010/6/12 Los Angeles, Club Nokia Live
2010/6/13 Anaheim, The Grove of Anaheim
2010/6/15 San Francisco, The Fillmore EVENT
2010/6/17 Vancouver, Commodore Ballroom EVENT
2010/6/18 Seattle, Showbox
2010/6/19 Portland, Roseland Theater
2010/6/23 Chicago, House of Blues
2010/6 /24 Toronto , Sound Academy
2010/6/25 Boston, Harpers Ferry
2010/6/27 N.Y., The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza
2010/6/29 Washington, 9:30 Club
2010/7/01 Atlanta, Masquerade
2010/7/03 Dallas, House of Blues EVENT
2010/7/04 Houston,House of Blues EVENT

Source: MySpace / Official

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Jun 8

69! ƒ€ƒbƒN‚Μ“ϊ

Category: Music
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–ρ‘©

Today (in Japan) is ƒ€ƒbƒN‚Μ“ϊ (MUCC Day)! Released today is their latest single –ρ‘© (yakusoku/promise) which comes in three variants, the standard limited, vanilla, and an anime covered one. Anime version is for ‘MŒυ‚ΜƒiƒCƒgƒŒƒCƒh (Senkou no Night Raid) for which the single is the opening theme for.

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Jun 3

VAMPS Returns to the US on 2010 World Tour

Category: Music

VAMPS

VAMPS duo HYDE and K.A.Z are returning stateside for a few select dates before moving on to the rest of their world tour.

As seen on their blog:

VAMPS LIVE 2010 WORLD TOUR

NORTH AMERICA

EUROPE

ASIA

SOUTH AMERICA

Source: VAMPS Official / VAMPS MySpace

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May 26

Peep some sex through Tokyo Scope: “Hot Tears of Shame”

Category: Fandom,Film

Sex!

Patrick Macias enters the ring for his 4th match of Tokyo Scope. This bare chested bout has Macias going tit for tat against the sex in Japanese cinema and he’s taking it to the mat! Don’t miss this no holds barred night and get a ring side seat to every low blow, submission, and leg lock this event will display!

Friday, June 11th at 7:00pm at VIZ Cinema Admission $10 / ADULTS ONLY!

S-E-X: TokyoScope Vol.4 gHot Tears of Shameh

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May 21

J-Rock Band

Category: Fandom,Gaming,Music

Creator’s of the Rock Band franchise had approached Jrock Revolution asking which Japanese rock bands fans would want to see added to their playable track list. A great opportunity for Japanese music to entertain us, those who don’t live in the land of the rocking sun. Yes. And hell no. Harmonix has glossed over (perhaps accidentally) the fact that JRR is a site dedicated to the promotion of primarily Visual Kei bands. As a listener of VK (I’m listening to 9GOATS BLACK OUT – TANATOS while writing this), I’m not self loathing here, just simply pointing out the fact their question needs to go out to additional people. Results from the JRR fan poll:

1. the GazettE
2. Dir en grey
3. X JAPAN
4. MIYAVI
5. GACKT
6. An Café
7. D’espairsRay
8. Nightmare
9. L’Arc~en~Ciel
10. Versailles ~Philharmonic Quintent~

source

Okay, if Rock Band is going to add a VK Shock Pack with primarily VK artist, then hell yeah! But what I do know about the Rock Band folks is that they try and cover as many genre’s as possible to include as playable tracks as long they are fun to play and, well, rock. If Harmonix is looking for Japanese rock, they looked in the wrong place. Why not talk to the JaME folks or cruise last.fm? Well both are not exclusive to the US Japanese music fanbase. Judging from the reaction to Beatles: Rock Band, global community input would be a plus.

I decided to grab some data from Last.fm.
Ranked by number of listeners and using the larger of numbers for bands listed under different spellings:

1. L’Arc~en~Ciel 11,774,711 plays (184,009 listeners)
2. Dir en grey 22,851,599 plays (180,294 listeners)
3. ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION 9,646,907 plays (157,400 listeners)
4. the pillows 9,488,349 plays (142,707 listeners)
5. X JAPAN 5,395,297 plays (116,097 listeners)
6. GACKT 11,093,197 plays (115,575 listeners)
7. Maximum the Hormone 5,879,766 plays (91,725 listeners)
8. Polysics 2,931,644 plays (87,277 listeners)
9. Nightmare 2,885,468 plays (84,215 listeners)
10. ‰λ-miyavi- 7,955,352 plays (81,931 listeners)
Miyavi 4,348,297 plays (55,203 listeners)
11. Shiina Ringo 5,713,815 plays (80,611 listeners)
12. ƒ€ƒbƒN 8,041,826 plays (78,557 listeners)
13. PUFFY 1,243,935 plays (69,196 listeners)
14. D’espairsRay 7,065,326 plays (65,559 listeners)
15. the GazettE 7,508,947 plays (50,781 listeners)
ƒKƒ[ƒbƒg 7,679,897 plays (63,238 listeners)
16. OLIVIA 2,408,932 plays (62,947 listeners)
17. Mr.Children 3,890,571 plays (61,640 listeners)
18. Dragon Ash 1,382,356 plays (61,568 listeners)
19. B’z 3,797,961 plays (59,996 listeners)
20. GLAY 1,831,737 plays (55,517 listeners)
21. Versailles 1,945,444 plays (43,559 listeners)
22. ‚­‚ι‚θ 3,500,454 plays (36,226 listeners)
23. An Café 1,407,565 plays (32,879 listeners)
ƒAƒ“ƒeƒBƒbƒN-ΰΫΰθ“X- 2,559,837 plays (33,589 listeners)

I just grabbed random artist that tend to be popular in the US. Well not random, I didn’t include hip hop, R&B, or pop which would pepper this list with Ayumi Hamasaki, Utada Hikaru, Kanno Yoko, Johnny’s, and Hello! Project’s. I picked bands that Rock Band would consider.

L’Arc is listed as #9 on JRR’s poll while here they are #1 with three times as many listeners as The Gazette which is their #1. Adding non-visual artist pushes only four of their poll’s artists out of the top 10 which proves that JRR’s poll is still influential and shouldn’t be discounted.

Many Japanese artist are adored outside Japan and I’d love to see them in Rock Band.
I sincerely hope that Harmonix isn’t using only JRR’s community as their only source of possible artist suggestions.
Harmonix, hit up JaME, they tend to cover a wider variety of genres. Also cruise last.fm.
And to the folks at JRR, I still love you! Keep spreading the word on the music we love!

And for me, bands (non-indies)I want to rock the fuck out to on Rock Band:
Dir en grey, MUCC, Blue Hearts, BUCK-TICK, The Tigers, Kuroyume…
Though my last.fm may tell you otherwise.

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May 6

Update: Street Fighter: Legacy

Category: Fandom,Film,Gaming

Following the the trailers for the fan made Street Fighter: Legacy film, is, well, the film. Enjoy!

My take:
Opening has too many fast cuts, fight is not bad but not as awesome as Beginnings End, and the quality damn good. Ryu’s hadoken trapping after a knock down had me laughing. Overall: We need more of these fan films!

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May 5

Download Lost Planet 2 demo for Charity

Category: Gaming

Time is almost up on Capcom’s goal to donate $25,000 to a charity if the Lost Planet 2 demo hits 1.5 million downloads. If you have a 360 or a PS3, download the demo and help a good cause!

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May 5

L’via, te quieren matar, dientes de machete…

Category: Film

Since today is Cinco de Mayo.

Courtesy of Dr. Brown

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May 4

Fan’s Fight Back Against Hollywood Blunders of Street Fighter

Category: Fandom,Film,Gaming

SSFIV Roster
Street Fighter is getting lots of love this month with the release of Super Street Fighter IV as well as two fan made film projects.

Street Fighter: Beginning’s End

Street Fighter: Legacy (Trailer 1)

Street Fighter: Legacy (Trailer 2)

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Sep 2

GLAY Returns to the USA for 3 more Dates

Category: Music
ustour2009
Pop-Rock act GLAY will be returning the West Coast  for three lives.
From their site:
2009.07.29 GLAY RETURNING TO THE US!!
Following last year’s widely successful tour, the band will be returning
to the US to perform shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

GLAY U.S.TOUR 2009 THE GREAT VACATION

9.9iWebjThe Fillmore (San Francisco)
9.11iFrij House of Blues Sunset Strip (Los Angeles)
9.12iSatj House of Blues Sunset Strip (Los Angeles)

Venue info:

‘The Fillmore
‘House of Blues Sunset Strip

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Aug 6

64 Years ago

Category: Travel
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140,000 people (mostly the elderly, women, and children) were killed by one bomb.

At 08:15 (Hiroshima time) the gravity bomb known as “Little Boy“, a gun-type fission weapon with 60 kilograms (130 lb) of uranium-235, took 57 seconds to fall from the air to the predetermined detonation height about 600 metres (2,000 ft) above the city. Due to crosswind, it missed the aiming point, the Aioi Bridge, by almost 800 feet (240 m) and detonated directly over Shima Surgical Clinic. It created a blast equivalent to about 13 kilotons of TNT. (The U-235 weapon was considered very inefficient, with only 1.38% of its material fissioning.) The radius of total destruction was about one mile (1.6 km), with resulting fires across 4.4 square miles (11 km2). Americans estimated that 4.7 square miles (12 km2) of the city were destroyed. Japanese officials determined that 69% of Hiroshima’s buildings were destroyed and another 6–7% damaged.

Over 90% of the doctors and 93% of the nurses in Hiroshima were killed or injured; most had been in the downtown area which had been greatly damaged.

Although the United States had previously dropped leaflets warning civilians of air raids on twelve other Japanese cities, the residents of Hiroshima were given no notice of the atomic bomb.

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Aug 3

HAKUEI of PENICILLIN and machine to have autograph session in San Francsico

Category: Music

Hakuei

PENICILLIN‘s front man HAKUEI will be appearing at San Francisco’s Japan Town Nihon Machi Street Fair. Hosted by Black Peace Now, HAKUEI will be appearing for a brief autograph session and attendng a pre-launch party celebrating the Peace Now’s clothing store in the soon to be opened NEW PEOPLE shopping center in San Francisco’s Japan Town. NEW PEOPLE will be having it’s grand opening August 15th, housing a theater focusing on Japanese films, it will also showcase art, and bring to the US contemporary Japanese clothing brands with 6%DOKIDOKI, Black Peace Now, and Baby, the Stars Shine Bright retail stores.

Source: NEW PEOPLE Official

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Jun 25

Michael Jackson dead at 50

Category: Music

MichaelJacksonMillen_sm

According to Reuters, Michael Jackson was found not breathing in his home, suffering from cardiac arrest.

Taken to UCLA Medical Center hospital, one of the worlds most famous musicians is reported dead.

Despite his tabloid frenzied career and strange behavior, MJ knew how to sing, write hits, and entertained millions for decades. I personally didn’t like a lot about this guy but I always acknowledged his talent and success.

Reuters

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Jun 15

VAMPS LIVE 2009 U.S.A. TOUR

Category: Music

vamps_tour_2009_poster

HYDE is coming back around and he’s teamed up with Oblivion Dust’s K.A.Z. in their joint project VAMPS.

I’ll be checking out the San Francisco show.

VAMPS tour dates and performance locations are as follows:

Saturday, July 11, 2009:
New York NY:  The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza

Sunday, July 12, 2009:
Hartford CT:  Warped Tour New England Dodge Music Center

Tuesday, July 14, 2009:
Columbia MD:  Warped Tour Merriweather Post Pavilion

Thursday, July 16, 2009:
Baltimore MD:  Sonar Baltimore

Sunday, July 19, 2009:
Seattle WA:  The Showbox at the Market

Monday July 20, 2009:
Portland OR:  Hawthorne Theatre

Saturday, July 25, 2009:
San Francisco CA:  Regency Grand Ballroom

Monday, July 27, 2009:
Las Vegas NV: Wasted Space at the Hard Rock Hotel
gVAMPS Official Partyh

Wednesday, July 29, 2009:
San Diego CA:  SOMA

Saturday, August 1, 2009:
Los Angeles CA:  The Wiltern Theater

US site: www.vampsliveusa.com

Official: www.vampsxxx.com

Press Release Below

Read more

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Jun 9

Gundam RX-78, 59ft of pure hotness

Category: Fandom

Newtypes, get in line

This beautiful life size RX-78 Gundam recently erected in Odaiba has been photographed for our viewing pleasure. Apparently it will be gone after 2 months (before Char gets wind of it’s location). Check out its majesty!

Assembled Life Sized RX78 Gundam

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Jun 8

Pre Hands On

Category: eCulture

palm_pre_1

Had a quick hands on with the Pre in store. The sharp edges are freaky, but only when you fondle them, with general use I didn’t really notice them. WebOS is very nice, fast, can’t wait to see how it matures. The size and feel was surprising, like a small stone, though it does feel kinda like a toy with the light plastic. Camera was quite clear. Keys are too small for me personally, though my typing test was successful with very few miss strikes.

Overall not bad, just did not win me over as there are still more devices to feel out this year.

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Jun 8

Yawn, Apple WWDC 2009

Category: eCulture

20090326wwdc
Apple finally catches up with copy/paste, video, 3m cam, and mms (but ATT drops the ball on actually providing it). No flash. But hey, for the past 2 years ago they didn’t have these standard features so I guess that’s a big plus for them!

3GS, the S stands for speed, as in ‘getting up to’.

Low price point for the old model is a plus, though being shackled to ATT is definitely a deterrent. My desire for consumer to demand a higher stand from the hardware manufactures is trumped by the gouging the carriers are doing.

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Jun 5

Los Angeles Trip 2009

Category: Gaming,eCulture

Entertainment

E3 is over. Currently spending a little time with friends and family here in Los Angeles.

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Jun 4

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Category: Humour

A friend introduced me to this wonderful piece.

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