Swimming In Qualia

steve jansen has recently completed two instrumental pieces to accompany a film exhibit by shoko ise to be opening soon in Japan. The tracks are 6 and 24 minutes in length.

STILL/ALIVE is the sixth in the annual series of exhibitions of work by contemporary photographers in Japan held by the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. In this year's exhibition, the focus is on contemporary lives and times and their expression in a group exhibition presenting the work of four artists, all in their thirties, who work in photography and video.

Artists: Shoko Ise / Jin Ohashi / Koki Tanaka / Toshihiro Yashiro

Venue : TOKYO METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY www.syabi.comr
Period : December 22, 2007 to February 20, 2008
Closed Day : Monday (Tuesday if Monday is a national holiday)
Venue : Exhibition Gallery, 2F
Admission : Adults 700 yen / College Students 600 yen / High School and Junior School Students, Over 65 500yen

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The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo Hotel

Tokyo’s all-new Midtown, a massive mixed-use development in Roppongi, has been big news lately — some third-world military coups and minor wars have come and gone more quietly, judging by newspaper and magazine column-inches. It’s already one of the high holy sites of Tokyo retail, including the first Richard James shop outside London, and the first Muji housewares store; and its entry in the hotel stakes is marked by nothing less than the city’s first Ritz-Carlton.

It’s not in a bad spot either, occupying the top floors of the Midtown Tower, currently the tallest building in town; there’s little use describing the views in any great detail, as there’s no way to do them justice in print. The interiors are a bit grown-up, a very subtly localized version of the classic Ritz-Carlton look, but it’s hard to even notice the furniture against the backdrop of the sprawling Tokyo cityscape.

The prevailing theme isn’t exactly one of understatement — the $16,000 diamond martini, with a Bulgari stone at the bottom, is a case in point — but the clean Eastern lines lend a certain calm to the experience. As with most of Tokyo’s top hotels, it’s at once a high-end business hotel and a sort of a fantasy weekend holiday destination; along with the copious business facilities you’ll find a full-service spa and a dedicated wedding planner — not to mention close proximity to quite a lot of the world’s best shopping.

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