ecstasy on the dancefloor

The Be@rbrick on the right is a lookalike of Tomoyuki Tanaka (a.k.a. the Fantastic Plastic Machine), the hot & hip Japanese DJ who is a proponent of the Shibuya-Kei sound, a variety of Japanese pop music that combines bossa nova, lounge/house music with 60s movie soundtracks. His music has been featured in movies like 'Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me', in albums of other famous DJs like Stephane Pompougnac (Hotel Costes), and in TV commercials created by artist Takashi Murakami for Louis Vuitton.

Club DJs like Tanaka (below, at a Tokyo club) are movers of the night life and shakers of the dance floor. Like puppets, people sway, gyrate, hop, wave, bump and grind to their groove.

In my view, if the club DJ is as good as The Fantastic Plastic Machine, there'll be no need for mood-enhancing drugs. Dancing alone will be a spellbinding trance... a natural high. More ecstasy than Ecstasy. :-)

Info from Wikipedia / Pic from Tanaka's Blog at honeyee.com / Find Tanaka's music at amazon.com or thru Limewire

skeletons in the closet

Right now, I am reading the New York Times' number 2 bestseller entitled 'The Quickie', a novel by suspense writer James Patterson (with Michael Ledwidge.)

The premise is gripping. A woman catches her husband having an affair. She decides to get even by having a one night stand with a cute hunk from her office. But even before that evening is over, she witnesses her short-time lover get brutally killed – by her husband (who shows up unexpectedly)!

The twist? She is a police officer – and so is her murdered boy toy. To make matters worse, she is assigned by her boss to catch the so-called 'cop killer'.

Talk about skeletons in the closet! You'll find sex, betrayal and homicide in just one chapter! Unlike most guilt-ridden individuals with dirty secrets, this woman's shame is beyond consolation, especially when she finds out that her dead lover has a wife and 3 kids! Imagine her curse, her torment, her hell – how can she possibly hide the truth which she is entrusted to seek?

Yes, it does sound like a sordid tabloid tale, the stuff scandals are made of. Go ahead and borrow a copy – no need to buy something you'll finish in one sitting.

(Top, left) The Balzac Be@rbrick, with its signature skeleton design, is a 'secret' bear from Series 13. It was issued in collaboration with Balzac, the Japanese Horror Punk Band (left). While the group was inspired by The Misfits, it was named after the 1800s French novelist and playwright Honore de Balzac.

Info from www.misfitsrecords.com / Band pic from www.balzac308.com

bears, bricks & unwanted babies

A long time ago, a friend came to me to borrow some money. He said his girlfriend (who had been pregnant for only a month) had a miscarriage, and he was going to bring her to a hospital for a 'D and C' procedure. (In layman's terms, that meant a surgical clean-up of the uterus). I felt obliged to help him because he was a friend. And because his girl's condition could very well lead to a fatal infection.

It did cross my mind, however, that he was lying to me and was actually going to use the money for an abortion. Perhaps they were both scared shitless that their parents would find out she was pregnant.

Imagine my dilemma at the time: by lending him the money, would I be helping his girlfriend get immediate medical attention or would I be financing a pro-choice decision? In short, would I be saving a life or ending another?

Looking back, the song 'Brick' by Ben Folds Five (left) came to mind. It was an autobiographical song about how Folds and his girl had their unborn child aborted. In the end, they were left with an emptiness that even their love for one another couldn't fill. (Watch the YouTube video here.) The chorus went, 'She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly' over and over. How horrible it must have been – to be unable to swim back to the surface and gasp for air after a tragedy like that.

Did I lend my friend the money? Yes, I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

The BWWT 5 Brick Bearbrick is by Kam Tang (right), a London-based graphic designer and illustrator who has worked for many editorial publications such as The Guardian, Wired, Arena, and Wallpaper. He was also involved in advertising campaigns for Adidas, Nike and Sony. Recently, Tam's designs were applied to the commercial spaces of Quick restaurants (France), Burberry (Milan) and London's Design Museum.

(Ben Folds pic by Erin Russell at soundaffects.net / Info & Kam Tang pic from www.getitlouder.com)

stick your tongue out, be@rbrick!

The cheeky logo of the rock band Rolling Stones (left) became very famous, although the artist – not Andy Warhol, mind you – received a measly £50 for it.

His name is John Pasche, a British graphic designer and D&AD Awardee whose other works include: the poster for Roger Vadim's 'And God Created Woman'; cd designs for The Art of Noise and Sinead O'Connor; tour ads for David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, and The Who.

The logo first appeared in 1971, on the inner sleeve of the Rolling Stones album, Sticky Fingers.
Two years later, Pasche supposedly received £200 more, in recognition of the logo's great success. Of course, the band earned millions from it.

Well, they got the money but the honor belonged to Pasche. For him, I photographed my 2nd Rolling Stone Be@rbrick against the pages of Rolling Stone Magazine (above, right).

I love this logo, and how it has come a long way from 'racy t-shirt graphic' to 'classic pop icon'. It's solid proof that irreverence can earn you respect.

(Related Blog Entry: Be@rbrick was a Rolling Stone!)

(Info/logo: www.johnpasche.com, IP Review, Wikipedia)

bear & bird: separated at birth?

'You look like someone I know,' each of us has been told by a stranger we've just met. That would make us freeze for a split second, hoping to hear 'Brad', or 'Angelina' right after. In any case, the 'looka-alike' referred to certainly decided whether the new acquaintance would be an instant friend – or foe.

Uncanny look-alikes: (Below, left to right) The Yellow Flapper Be@rbrick and Tweety Bird.


(Below, left to right) The Yellow Flapper's designer, Hisashi of the Japanese rock group called Glay, and... Boy George!

I, with my shaved head, have been told that I looked like the 3-year old Puyi in Bernardo Bertolucci's epic movie, 'The Last Emperor'. Since he was only a child, I was unsure whether that was a compliment. But I took comfort in the fact that the 'older' Puyi was played by the handsome Chinese actor, John Lone. :-)

So much for uniqueness, individuality, and originality, etc. Somewhere in the world, there exist walking and talking imitations of ourselves – just as brilliant, just as beautiful. Think of us as a zillion precious hard drives; and God simply wanted back-up copies!

(Tweety pic from Wikipedia / Hisashi pic from mariflame.tripod.com / Boy George pic from 'Kissing to be Clever')

ink blots on bears

Unless you're psychologically disturbed, you don't need to take the Rorschach Test.

But maybe you'd want to. After all, the test mechanics sound fun enough to be a party game! Ten ambiguous ink blots will be shown to you in succession and you're supposed to say what each reminds you of. In the end, expert psychiatrists will determine whether you're nuts or normal.

While the test's validity came into question over time, it continued to be used in clinics and courts of law – e.g., to analyze victims of sexual abuse, to evaluate felons, and to decide which parent should be granted child custody. (I guess for some, taking this test would be no fun at all!)

A Rorschach inkblot is splattered on the face of the Pushead Silver Anniversary Be@rbrick (above, right). The designer, Pushead, a.k.a. Brian Schroeder, is a hardcore punk artist who fronted the band Septic Death and created record labels like Pusmort and Bacteria Sour. His band's CD covers were his artworks, most of which depicted death and skull imagery. [Hmm... did I hear... Rorschach test? :-)]

(Rorschach info from www.csicop.org / Ink blot pic from the Hermann Rorschach Archive & Museum / Pushead info from Wikipedia)

sargeant pepper's lonely hearts club bears

Every year, our company would go on a trip – a perk for employees who have done well. Last year, I was among the many who lobbied for (a second visit to) Hong Kong. Most of the guys at the office pointed out the relatively new Disneyland HK as the main attraction while I, on the other hand, had a hidden agenda – to buy Be@rbricks at the little toy shops in the busy Mongkok district! :-)

So Hong Kong it was. And Mongkok it was! I jostled through the thick crowds just to bring home the Beatles Be@rbricks you see above. It's a vibrantly designed set, with colors and details based on one of the most popular Beatles albums, Sargeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Notice how the military style outfits match the original Manuel Cuevas designs (below).

The said album is probably the most celebrated among the Beatles' incredible musical legacy. Aside from the title song, I also love the other hit songs from the album: the heady music trip, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds; the ode to friendship, With A Little Help From My Friends; and that amusing love song that I will continue to sing, with a smile and a passion, now and... When I'm Sixty-Four.

(Beatles pic from http: www.terra.com.br)

be@rbrick @ love

@ love.

If I were to make sense of that statement on the bear's chest (left), it would be this:

Being '@ love', to me, suggests an extrinsic geographical position: at the center of romance, but not necessarily being truly involved in it; being 'in love', however, describes an intrinsic feeling, heartfelt and genuine. In short, '@ love' may be the same as 'being in love with love', a condition that plagues most incurable romantics. Tell me what you think. :-)

The said Bear is one of two '07 Valentine Be@rbricks' that I acquired last February. I photographed it against the sheet music of 'Romance' Opus 44, No. 1 by Anton Rubinstein (right), Jewish/Russian pianist, composer and conductor born in 1829. As a pianist, Rubinstein was considered the closest rival of Hungarian Franz Liszt. Amongst Rubinstein's more famous works are the opera The Demon, his Piano Concerto No. 4, and his Symphony No. 2, entitled The Ocean.

He died in Peterhof in 1894, after years of suffering a heart disease. How heartbreaking!

(Rubinstein pic from Wikipedia.)

daft punk duo

Guy Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter are two Paris musicians who make up Daft Punk, one of the most successful movers of electronic music today. Their hits include club anthems such as 'Da Funk', 'One More Time', 'Technologic', and 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger'. They've earned three Grammy nominations, among them the 2006 Best Electronic Dance Album for 'Human After All'.

The robot helmets are an essential part of the Daft Punk image. The guys are almost never seen without them. (Hey, don't they just remind you of those robot mimes in the New York subways? The ones with blaring boom boxes?) In an interview, however, the duo admitted that it was partly to make up for their shyness. Shy robots? They're probably not related to the ones in Spielberg's 'The War of the Worlds'.

be@rbrick was a rolling stone!

The slick Rolling Stone Be@rbrick (above left) is named after Brian Jones (right), the founder and lead/rhythm guitarist of the English rock band. It's inspired by the 60s mod look which Brian, including his other bandmembers – Mick Jagger (above right), Keith Richards – sported in their early years.

Even today, designers such as Versace, Gucci, & Dior would include updated versions of this look in their menswear collections. To wear it well, however, it seems the cocaine-thin body is a must. :-p

(Jagger/Jones photos courtesy of Wikipedia)

bear bear bling bling

Rapper Li'l Wayne probably didn't realize how much the phrase "bling bling" would impact on the entire hiphop culture when he first used it in his 1998 track 'Millionaire Dream'. Now, it has even crossed over to the hip toy culture. Featured in the picture is Series 13's 'Skull' Be@rbrick, wearing a crown from a Bangkok bling vendor and real South African diamonds around its neck.

Bling bling
Every time I come around your city
Bling bling
Pinky ring worth about fifty
Bling bling
Every time I buy a new ride
Bling bling
Lorinsers on Yokahama tires
Bling bling

–Li'l Wayne (the dude on the right)
from the B.G. song 'Bling Bling'