Kasou Taishou TV Show

When it comes to performance art, it’s hard to believe how Japan has taken the concept further to create something that is incredibly entertaining on television. Kasou Taishou (Kinchan and Katori Shingo’s All Japan Costume Grand Prix) is a Japanese game show which encompasses a variety of solo artists and amateur groups to perform short skits live on stage. The show usually revolves around the idea of creating an illustion or faking cinematic special effects. It’s fun to view these performances; where at some points it leaves you without any clues how they could possibly put it together by using real people.

Based from Wikipedia, the technique is called stagehands (Kuroko) which serves the purpose as “running crew” and is often use in a traditional Kabuki theatre. They dress in black and move props, sets, or aiding in scene changes on stage.

Continue Reading »

Thai Commercial Spots

Many of us have seen a ton of commercials on TV. They can be funny, they can be stupid, and they can be well… a waste of TV air time. I ran into these commercial spots on Youtube a few days ago and I believe they came from Thailand.

Ad agencies over there seem to have this odd way of selling products on television. I thought a few of these spots turned out quite amusing, but they definitely got the message across the room. They are not terrible from my opinion; at least they have a different approach when it comes to advertisement. Haha!

If you have nothing else to do and is looking forward to killing a few minutes of your time, have a wonderful ride with these spots. They cracked me up!

Continue Reading »

Muramasa: The Demon Blade

How much longer do I have to wait for this? I want this game for my Wii console right now. By the look of the overall gameplay, I am speechless. Everything is hand drawn and developed by the team Vanillaware in Japan. It’s an RPG adventure where it will take the player back to its roots during the feudal age Japan to experience the Genroku era at the time of shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. There are two playable characters: Kisuke, an amnesia male ninja and Momohime, who’s a female ninja. The Wii release supposed to be due in June 2009 for North America.

I am a big fan of all of the classical side scroller games; pretty much anything you can think of like Contra, Castlevania, Metroid, Super Mario, Metal Slug, Mega Man, Ninja Gaiden, and so on. This game is a moving painting, slam-dunked with vibrant colors, and the unforgettable scroller game style that ought to bring us back to some good memories. I hope this title will deliver our expectations as to what the gameplay is presented to us.

Continue Reading »

Kurt Elling Jazz Concert

This would be my second concert throughout the year so far. My first concert was to go see Common & N.E.R.D live at the Cuthbert Amphitheater in Eugene Oregon; it was a great hip-hop concert that I have never experienced before. At a jazz concert, there’s hardly any pushing and shoving, but it is more of a friendly environment where you’ll see upper class people sipping wines and dressed up in their nice attires.

For Kurt Elling to have a gig here in Portland is a rare occasion. I’ve only known Kurt’s work on CDs and video clips on Youtube. When my little brother spotted an ad on the Portland Jazz Festival’s website, we couldn’t really deny this golden opportunity. We invited our friend Matt to join the night.

Continue Reading »