Ahoy, I'm Peter Tatara. In brief, I'm left-handed, a vegetarian, and my blood type is A. I work for the New York Comic Con and New York Anime Festival and have a cute girlfriend and a Space: Above & Beyond boxset. I'm generally a happy guy.
- Created By ptatara
Kinokuniya To Send A Fan To Japan!
Kinokuniya Bookstore (1073 Ave of the Americas) has got one heck of a holiday gift for you. A free trip to Japan. From now until December 19th, Kinokuniya Bookstore in NYC and American Airlines are raffling off one trip from anywhere in the continental USA to Tokyo. How do you enter? Just visit Kinokuniya Bookstore in Bryant Park to sign up.
The winner will be revealed at 5 PM on the 19th as part of the Kinokuniya and Samurai Beat Radio “J-Pop Christmas”. Begnning at 1 PM on the 19th, Samurai Beat Radio will be playing a selection of the top-rated J-Pop songs as picked by Tokyo FM. Fans will be able to vote for their favorites, with their picks broadcast on samuraibeatradio.com. And, as I just said, the J-Pop Christmas will come to a close with the drawing of the free trip to Tokyo… as well as a number of other prizes.
Any small print? The top prize is a single round trip coach class airfare to Japan, valid until August 31st, 2010. You don’t need to be present on the 19th to win, so enter any time you’re at Kinokuniya from now until then.
Also, when you hit up Kinokuniya, be sure to check out their Domo Christmas Tree. Oh yes, I said Domo Christmas Tree. Curious? Well, now you gotta go to Kinokuniya to get a glimpse for yourself!
Japanese Hot Pots Warm Your Soul!
Hot pots are the quintessential Japanese comfort food: simple, fast, and easy to prepare. Many Americans, though, have almost no point of reference for Japanese food beyond the local sushi bar, so cooking this cuisine can sometimes seem exotic and intimidating. Enter Japan Society along with chef Tadashi Ono of Matsuri restaurant and food journalist Harris Salat, the authors of Japanese Hot Pots: Comforting One-Pot Meals.
Ono-san and Salat are coming to Japan Society on December 8 to introduce and demystify the Japanese communal eating tradition for American home cooks with belly-warming dishes from all corners of Japan – with a presentation that includes both a book signing and food tasting. Want to learn more? Visit http://www.japansociety.org/event_detail?eid=64f6f3be
The event kicks off Tuesday, December 8 at 6:30 PM. Tickets are $18 for the general public and $15 for Japan Society members, seniors, and students. Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street, New York, NY.
Thanks to Shoshana for the tip!
Anime USA Masquerade Winners!
Earlier this year, the New York Anime Festival started the Yume Cosplay Prize -- a contest which awards two cosplayers a dream vacation to Tokyo, Japan. Yaya Han and Anna Raper won the first Yume Cosplay Prize (and will be traveling to the Tokyo Anime Fair in the Spring). Next year's Yume Cosplay Prize will be given out in the 2010 New York Anime Festival, but you don't need to wait until next Fall to enter.
See, NYAF and the Yume Cosplay Prize are working with conventions throughout the USA to hold regionals, with every regional winner winning a trip to NYC and guaranteed place in the NYAF Yume Cosplay Prize Masquerade. (You can find all the details at www.yumecosplay.com.) And, the South East regional for the 2010 Yume Cosplay Prize was just held at Anime USA this past weekend in Virginia.
Who took home the prize? Tiffany Tezna (white wings) and Cassandra May (metal wings). Tiffany and Cassandra call themselves the Cosplay Cupcakes, and they'll be bringing their brand of sugar-coated costumes to NYAF 2010 as they compete for a trip to Japan!
The grotesque underbelly of Japan's kawaii culture...
The grotesque underbelly of Japan's kawaii culture... That got your attention? Good, because that's the theme of an upcoming event at NYC's Japan Society. From December 3-5, Japan Society will present the world premiere of its commission to Bessie Award-winning American choreographer Jeremy Wade.
Titled "there is no end to more", the dance will take a playful and cynical look at Japanese kawaii culture -- from the infantile fluff of Hello Kitty to teenage doe-eyed love portrayed in anime -- exploring its ubiquitous influence on the world today using a bold and violent juxtaposition of movement, text, and animation.
Wade, who is based in Berlin, directs "there is no end to more", which features actor/dancer Jared Gradinger in collaboration with Brooklyn-based Japanese manga artist/illustrator Hiroki Otsuka, Berlin-based video artist Veith Michel, and musician Brendan Dougherty. The set was designed by architects Katja Mitte and Henning Ströh and text cowritten by Wade and visual artist/writer Marcos Rosales.
"there is no end to more" will be preformed December 3-5 at Japan Society (333 East 47th Street)...
Thursday, December 3, 7:30 PM
Friday, December 4, 7:30 PM — Post-Performance Discussion
Saturday, December 5, 7:30 PM
Tickets are $20 (or $15 for Japan Society members). For tickets and to learn more, visit http://www.japansociety.org/event_detail?eid=6aa0bf5.
ZAMZA Plays Webster Hall
Japanese Rock Band ZAMZA is releasing their first US CD -- Manga Rock -- and to celebrate, the band will be performing a special CD release show at The Studio at Webster Hall (125 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003) on Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 7:00 PM.
Bass player "Banshee Aliouxce" (Yoshihito Onda) and drummer "Kohta" (Kohta Igarashi) originally hail from the band Judy and Mary. Guitarist “Hiroki” (Hiroki Ito) and vocalist “Zinc White” (Jinsei Tsuji) are from the band Echoes. Zinc is also a well-respected movie director and an award-winning novelist.
Tickets for the show are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. The show is for those 19 and up. Please visit: www.websterhall.com/thestudio to purchase tickets. For more information on ZAMZA, visit www.myspace.com/zamzaus or www.zamza.us.
