The book by Loco takes you on a journey from the streets of Brookly to Japan where he encounters racism in the US and abroad in Japan, and how racism can be found anywhere, even in one’s own heart.

I have not read the book as of yet (as I am waiting to get my hands on a paperback version), but the book has some nice reviews.

A brief description of the book on Amazon say’s,
“Hi! My Name is Loco and I am a Racist tells us in no uncertain terms that while racism continues to be demonized as a dark aberration that only “evil people,” ignorant fools, or people lacking compassion and common decency are subject to, then it will remain at large – hiding in plain sight, in our schools, offices, carpools, living rooms and sometimes even in the mirror.”

To buy the Kindle Version of “Hi! My Name is Loco and I am a Racist”, click here. To buy the paperback version, please click here.

For more information, please visit the official page for the book here.

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Earlier tonight Coca-Cola premiered the global ad for the “Move To The Beat” campaign in Britain, during the Brit Awards 2012.

The ad was created by Mother London, and features a song written by Mark Ronson & Katy B called “Anywhere in the World”.

During the advert features footage from festival which was held in the summer and footage of various athletes such as, Darius Knight and David Oliver.

The campaign itself was launched earlier this month (February 2012), including the Coca-Cola Beat Wall which gradually takes shape in this advert below.

In the video/advert you can see a wall (25m x 10m) come together by artists Hadley Ever, Sam Bates and Neil Edward with the use of about 250 litres o paint.

For more information about the “Move To The Beat” campaign, checkout this post about the Coca-cola campaign here on The Drum.

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For more pictures, visit his website here.

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The film is about Jiro Ono, who is an 85 year old sushi chef in Japan, with three Michelin stars under his belt. He owns a sushi restaurant called “Sukiyabashi Jiro”, located in Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo.

Jiro has been recognised as a “living national treasure” by the Japanese Government for his contribution to Japanese cuisine.

Jiro at his age say’s that he still has a lot to perfect in the art of making sushi, and his eldest son feels like he is unable to live up to his fathers abilities.

The restaurant itself visitors from all over the World, but has mixed reviews online from foreigners saying the service is slow, although other reviews differ.

The film is out on March the 9th, 2012.

Visit the official site of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, which is by Magnolia Pictures.

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Mister Donut launched donuts for Valentines Day a long time before Valentines Day arrived. The donuts come in a heart shape, and in many flavours and they look so tasty, as you can see below.

In Japan Valentines Day is usually the day when girls present love or courtesy chocolates to male counterparts, then on White Day the male who receives the chocolates has to decide what chocolates to give back. When finding out about this originally, when I visited Japan in March (during the time of White Day), I was told that guy’s have to work out how expensive the chocolate was and how much they received to decide if the girls liked the or not. This seems a bit confusing, but I would love to receive chocolates and donuts bought from Mister Donut from anyone .

Baskin Robbins 31 have a range of flavours and items for this Valentines Day, which look so nice.

They have a range of cute ice creams, as you can see above with the cute bear, rabbit and now panda ice cream. I tried the rabbit ice cream before, which was cute and tasty . I like the edition of cakes and the design of the packaging used for the ice creams in the bottom of the picture.

One more thing BB31 are offering, are the ice cream flavours with heart shapes in them.

Everything looks so nice above, I really wish I was in Japan for Valentines Day!

This post is a part of the J-Festa February 2012 blog carnival. To join in check out the guidelines.

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Copyright © Sapexport

This year is the 63rd annual Snow Festival, lasting till Sunday the 12th. Each Winter the festival attracts visitors from around the Japan and the rest of the World.

Hundreds of ice sculptures line the park in Sapporo called Odori Park, Susukino street and the Tsudome community dome. You can view a live camera feed here.

Pictures from the Sapporo Snow Festival

Although I hate the cold, I would love to visit this event one day.

For more information, please visit Snowfes and Sapexport

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The Japan Airlines (日本航空株式会社) logo was created in 1958 by Jerry Huff, the creative director of Botsford, Constantine and Gardner. The Japanese Airlines logo has evolved over the years, from the original logo in 1958 to the current logo in 2012.

The logo is pretty much how it was back in 1958, with the brand identity changing and developing from 1989 with the introduction of Landor Associates to JAL.

Via @issue

The 1989 – 2002 logo


Via @Logopedia

I myself prefer the logos from 1989 – 2002, with the 2002 being my favourite as it looks more modern.

The Tokyo office for Landor Associates worked with JAL to create the now logo which was announced on the 1st of April, 2011.

The name for the JAL livery is called the tsurumaru, which is of a Japanese red-crown crane with it’s wings extended, as if it is flying.

As JAL had been running since August of 1951, they had used other logos before 1958. The change came when they ordered some 747 aircraft, they decided to change the logo to be seen by the Worlwide market.

I was surprised to read that Landor Associates designed 300,000 specific items for JAL, which is a lot of items for a brand.

Sources:

Japan Airlines 747 picture by Ellywa on Wikipedia.

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A huge selection of food arrived from Japan, but this time more food, than snacks.

The snack was actually meant for my gf, but as I was trying some of the food which arrived, I thought I would take pictures to show everyone.

Sanritsu a nice pie, it tastes so nice and a bit weird too.

An interesting Tofu curry sauce.

I tried some of the Tofu curry, but I didn’t really like it myself as I still don’t like Tofu!

Breadcrumbs and Nori rice topping

The Japanese bread crumbs tasted so nice when used with Chicken.

A mixture of different crackers/snacks which included nori wrapped round. It tastes pretty nice, but if you hate nori (seaweed), then of course you won’t like it.

Miso Soup

A selection of different miso soups.

Rice Cake

Rice cake which you cook in the oven. Tastes pretty good.

Sauces

All three are so nice.

Different noodles

]

Ready to make Rice (gohan)

The mixtures of different food

We had so much Japanese snacks and foods to try, but i loved them all and I miss Japanese food!

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Many foreigners who visit Japan will most likely notice many people around them wearing these surgical masks, especially in Winter.

Many friends I have talked to have seen pictures of Japanese people wearing the masks, but they have no idea why.

On my first trip to Japan I noticed people wearing the masks, even in cars. I thought this was strange, and it would look completely out of place in a Western environment.

The masks are actually worn as a way to show consideration to others, to stop diseases spreading such as colds/flu etc. They are also worn in Taiwan.

During Spring/Summer many people wear the masks to try combat hay fever which is high with pollen from the Japanese Cedar Tree (杉 “Sugi”). When I was in Tokyo I noticed a woman driving a car with the mask on, which I thought was strange at the time as she was inside the car.

I learned that the masks, as mentioned previously are used to prevent colds which I saw when I visited Japan for the 2nd time.

You can find the masks in pictures like this above in shopping markets, and even some public toilet areas. In Japan the masks are called “Masuku (マスク)”.

I got used to people seeing them and trying one myself, I realised they seem pretty comfy and are useful to stop the spread of diseases.

The masks were also widely used during the outbreaks of the the SARS outbreak in Toronto, China, Vietnam and Hong Kong.

For more information about surgical masks, checkout this Wikipedia page.

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Prometheus

Prometheus Official Website

The Dark knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises Official Website by Warner Bros Ent

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