Also, there was some sort of error when I created the Facebook event page, and so this is the correct one (if you receive a message about cancellation, that’s for the extra page it created).

I’m not a big fan of Japanese dramas in general, but there are the occasional series that I like to follow, usually something that my wife has been really enjoying. I would include Trick and Jikou Keisatsu in that bunch, and now Atami no Sousakan. Atami is a new Twin Peaks-ish mystery produced by the same crew behind Jikou Keisatsu, sharing the same black humor, and Jo Odagiri as a star, as well some of the supporting cast (it also includes Kill Bill’s Chiyaki Kuriyama). It’s pretty interesting so far (episode 4 just aired, of a planned 8) and my wife has been especially obsessing over it, to the point where she’s even examining screen grabs for clues or oddities (the images above show that a passport that has been issued in 2008 includes stamps for 2007). It airs Friday nights at 23:15 on TV Asahi.

Let me also thank everyone who entered the Graniph contest this past month. I’m currently compiling all the entries/artist suggestions we received (from comments, yes, but also through email and Twitter), and winners will be contacted soon. Please note that a new contest will start in September.

To be honest, I’ve never much liked summer. I don’t particularly like winter either. Me, I just don’t like extremes, autumn (my preference) and spring are my seasons, and so September can’t come quickly enough.

In the meantime, me and my wife both work in our sun room — which is the only room in our house with A/C — desk-to-desk, with usually at least one fan gently doing its thing. My dog Confiture pretty much sticks with us too, although he’ll occasionally go into his cage in the kitchen as the hard plastic bottom seems to be cool for him.

What does this mean in terms of productivity? Well, shit gets done, as it needs to be, but I’ve noticed that even just a short trek outside for a few errands drains me. Yes, I am the living embodiment of my family name.

Despite all this, I’m very happy to report that I’m back on the running kick, something I hadn’t seriously gotten back to since my back injury last year. Evenings are thankfully relatively cool, and so I tend to go out for a run around 22:00. Previously I always used the Runkeeper iPhone app to keep track of my runs, but this time I’ve been trying out Adidas’ new miCoach app, and I’m loving it. What I mostly like about it is that not only does it keep track of your performance, but it actually coaches you along the way, telling you what pace you should be following based on the running program you’ve picked, prompting you when you go too fast or too slow. So far so good, I did my four runs this past week, and I’m running better and longer than I ever have.

So here’s to getting through another two weeks or so of hardcore summer weather, and making the best out of it (i.e. doing my best to avoid it).

I just posted something about the new book Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential on SNOW Magazine, but wanted to mention it here too. It’s Brian Ashcraft’s follow-up to Arcade Mania, to which I contributed, and I can assure you that fans of AM will absolutely love Confidential too. It’s done in the same style and was edited by Andrew Lee, who had a hand in all of the recent “pop culture” guides from Kodansha International, including AM, The Otaku Encyclopedia, and Matt Alt’s Yokai Attack and Ninja Attack.

The book is now out everywhere — here are links to Amazon US and Amazon Japan. Oh, and the contributor of the book, Shoko Ueda? That’s Brian’s wife who, you know, was an actual schoolgirl, so you know it’s legit.

Here’s a little peek at Monday’s PauseTalk Vol. 43, courtesy of Martin Holtkamp. As I said before, we didn’t have a huge attendance (lower than recent editions), but it was still a fun evening. I unfortunately didn’t prepare an attendance sheet this time, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to list names. The next PauseTalk (Vol. 44) should happen September 6.

I’m a big fan of what Piers has been doing over the years at PSFK — both with the site, but also through the reports and talk events he organizes — and just wanted to give a heads-up to their latest project, a special report for Unicef on the future of health. As Piers tells it, it’s a “200 page report that not only describes the critical trends that are bringing healthcare to the many across the world but also has over 40 ideas for UNICEF based on the report from creative agencies like Wieden + Kennedy, Great Works, Cunning, Night Agency & Story Worldwide.”

And we’re off: The SNOW Magazine Cafe is now go at Cafe Pause, and runs until August 30. I just posted something on SNOW Magazine that details everything you can expect to find there. Sure, there’s all the magazine stuff (33 titles as part of the main exhibition, and then a large selection of zines, as well as special displays for Knee High Media and OK Fred), but I’m also pretty happy with what we (me and the staff at the cafe) came up with for the special menu. You will find the SNOW LASSI (Peach Lassi, 600 yen), the SNOW COCKTAIL (Malibu Rum and Milk, 700 yen), and the SNOW PUDDING (Annin Tofu and Tapioca, 500 yen).

The important thing to note is that the opening party is Monday night (August 2), from 19:00. There will be a short PauseTalk session at 20:00, but the event is definitely open to everyone, and so please join us even if you would normally not attend PauseTalk. Entry is free, and we’ll have a 500 yen drink menu, with all the event menu items available at that price as well.

I mentioned last week that I’d be a guest this week on game developer Grasshopper Manufacture’s podcast (Flower, Sun, & Podcast), and the episode (5) is now up and you can download it here (it should be on iTunes too). Check it out if you want to hear me ramble (and ramble) about mostly game-related topics.

Pictured, the Grasshopper conference room — complete with ping-pong table — where we recorded the episode. Big thanks to Grasshopper producer Esteban Salazar for inviting me on the show.

Really hope to see lots of you there, and I promise comfortably cool air conditioning — how’s that for a selling point?

I’m pretty sure I hate Craig Mod, and the reason is because he keeps writing awesome essays and is doing plenty of things — like starting a “publishing think tank” called PRE/POST — that make me jealous. You really do need to go read his latest journal entry, “Kickstartup,” which tells the story of how he used Kickstarter to successfully fund the new edition of Art Space Tokyo, sharing everything he learned from the process. And even though it’s long, don’t Instapaper it, because you’ll miss out on the beautiful layout.

Pictured, Art Space Tokyo covers drying, after they’ve been hand-printed.