This just in from poet, podcaster & radio DJ Patrick Widdess:

Subject: If you're in Cambridge DON'T listen to Headstand this Wednesday 9-11pm
 
"Greetings Listeners,

The next Headstand promises to be a great show with an interview and poetry from Melanie Challenger, recent artist in residence for the British Antarctic Survey and local Poet Nick Stibbs talking about the life and work of 13th Century poet, Rumi. All this and the usual eclectic mix of music and spoken word.
But if you"re in Cambridge switch off your radios and head to the Drama Studio on Covent Garden off Mill Road for an evening of performance poetry hosted by the Anglia Ruskin Literary Society. Headlined by renowned Carribean poet Jean 'Binta' Breeze, it'll also feature open mic from literary society members and music. It starts at 7pm.
From Thursday onwards you can listen back to the show on headstand.209radio.co.uk

Stay tuned,
Patrick"

Posted by Rob.

Tags:  NFTOS, Headstand, 209radio, Cambridge, England, poet, poetry, poem, music, show, spoken word, Rumi, Drama Studio, Covent Garden, Mill Road, Anglia Ruskin Literary Society, Jean 'Binta' Breeze, The Trenchparrots ?

What didn't I talk about on the show? You'll just have to listen.

Here are links to some of the things I mentioned

Curumin
Lila Downs
Reggie Watts
Headstand Radio

Posted by Alex.

Subscribe to Alex's solo podcast, Prapatang Living, on iTunes

Hans is cooking up a storm as a thunderstorm rolls in, meanwhile, in Auckland it's been raining off and on for days...

Photo from a mural in downtown Auckland. Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Bicicleteiros, Tour of Georgia, Sivstov, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Ivan Basso, Liquigas, Jorg Jaksche, AIGCP

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You may recall us mentioning Natsu's 2006 film Rudy Soup, and the opening party which I had the privilege of DJing for. Well, Natsu is back with another project, this one titled "Crazy Girl Sweet Broken Case." I don't know anything about it yet, but I'll find out as much as I can. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer!

Posted by Rob.

Tags: CRAZY, GIRL, SWEET, BROKEN, CASE, LOVE, MOVIE, TRAILER, INDIES, JAPAN, 失�, ゑ�り, 大山�, ��, �カスカジャン, テレパシー NATSU, eyllie, 映画, 予告編, 自転車, トマト, Tokyo, �京, film, independent, art

Another music nerd gadget to experiment with, this one is still in its infancy, and you can help program it! Just join the News From The Other Side Group on last.fm. At the moment, we only have 4 people signed up including Alex, Patrick, Raevin_Roth (a member of LearnJapanesePod forums) and myself. So far, Patrick doesn't have any music scrobbled, so it's really more like 3 people's music listening habits playing. In listening so far, I've heard music ranging from 80s New Wave to Latin to Japanese Anime theme music, and from Jack Kerouac to Jack Johnson. My favorite played so far was "Debrah" by Beck. It's really a mixed bag, but it could always use more seasoning, so sign up to add a dash of your favorite spice!

Posted by Rob.

This just in from DJ D-Mac in D.C.

Posted by Rob.

Tags: D-Mac, Faction Theory, Modernist Society, Washington D.C., event, documentary, a/k/a Tommy Chong, Neville C, Bourbon, 18th Street

NOT intended for decent folk. Sensitive viewers should FFWD through the "intermission" segment as it contains video footage of digital images of upper area wardrobe deficiencies. You have been warned.

As for you regular viewers, if you haven't watched every episode, 1 through 7, go do that first! Click on the Loop Line video folder and scroll to the bottom of the page!

Almost 2.5 years after the feat, the 8th and final episode of our JR Osaka Loop Line Tour is complete with flash intro by Alex and drum n'bass conclusion by Will Spin (JR Song).

At the end of the previous video, Alex and Rob were leaving Time Table Cafe, which is located under the tracks, between Momodani and Teradacho stations. This video starts at Teradacho Station and continues on to Tennoji Station, with a brief stop at Danyk's place. Danyk rode the Loop Line with Rob earlier in the year, but no video was taken, only photos, so a visit to his place was an appropriate way to commemorate that momentous occasion.

From there, it was back to Tennoji Station, then Shin-Imamiya, Imamiya and finally, back to where we started several hours earlier, Ashiharabashi Station!

If you enjoyed this unconventional tour of Osaka, then you may appreciate our other urban cycling saga shot in Tokyo, the Yamanote Line Tour, which we are still in the process of editing. Stay tuned to http://newsfromtheotherside.libsyn.com !

Tags: NFTOS, JR, Osaka, Loop Line, Alex Brooke, bicycle, Teradacho, Tennoji, Shin Imamiya, Ashiharabashi, Station, Bike Club, Danyk, Don't Panic, DJ, Tin's Hall, Japan, 大阪, 環状線, 寺田町, 天王寺, 新今宮, 電車, 駅, 自転車, 日本

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Just a reminder that we have videos on Revver (31 from Elgringo and 25 from hunyaga. Revver videos can be subscribed to directly or via iTunes. The video featured above is from the early days of the podcast, shot in Shibuya, Tokyo, on Japanese National Foundation Day, 11 February 2006.

Posted by Rob.

This one is from the end of 2006. We spent a couple days with the family by the sea, at Ise-shima in Mie Prefecture. Ukulele intro by Andrew.

Tags: NFTOS, Ise, shima, Mie, Japan, makikomo, Rob, sea, ocean, splash, wet, falling, rock, scrambling, jumping, soak, ukulele, 伊勢志摩, 三�県, 日本

Posted by Rob.

DOWNLOAD Charles' Binary Lullaby!

This just in from Charles-Éric Billard, who needs no introduction to NFTOS or those on the Osaka art-music scene:

"Soon will be Cloneliness's first SOLO LIVE SHOW in Japan : April 26th, from 20:00 to 22:00.

Cloneliness will perform home-made instruments including slitars, inflatable beetle toy, wooden house and various custom-made variations on the above. Some pre-recording samples will include drum work by JERRY GORDON and spoken poetry by RALPH FAMULARO. Please come and enjoy ABSTRACT ROCK! Between sets, there will be video projection of Clonelness music videos as well as the screening of recent animation work by DAIKI MURAKAMI.

  Here is the schedule for the evening :

20:00 first live set
20:30 video projection of video and animation work
21:00 second live set
21:30 open jam session

For the open jam session, feel free to bring any acoustic instrument you may want to play with people in the audience. electronic bleepers welcome if setting up can be done in less than 5 minutes.

Tickets are 2000 yen at the door, 1500 in advance. You can contact Soho (06-4394-7456) to reserve a seat.

Soho gallery is located on Sennichimae Suji, a short walk down the hill when you get off Tanimachi 9 chome Station exit 3.

For more information, or to see samples of previous works, see the website : charlou2006.blogspot.com or send an email to : charles_billard@hotmail.com "

Posted by Rob.

Stop and go animation from still photographs taken by a pinhole camera attached to a flatbed scanner. Actor creit to Samantha Schutte.

Postedy by Rob.

Tags: Noisivelvet.com

What started out as a Latin label in Japan with a monthly event, now has a compilation CD and a radio program! Apparently, this program is only available in Japan, but we'll see about that! More info coming soon, but for now please follow the link.

http://www.joqr.net/blog/uniquewhats/archives/2008/04/radio_samba_nov.html

Posted by Rob.

The Hell of the North is here once again. (official homepage) Back up police from Belgium and Holland have been called in to handle the festive fans from those countries, mostly conduction drunk diver checks. Friends of Paris-Roubaix societies have been maintaining cobblestone roads, and in one case even peeled back some asphalt to reveal well preserved cobbles.

Hans' pick is this year's Tour of Flanders winner, Stijn Devolder, while Rob goes with the safe bet, Fabian Cancellara. Hans says America's Hincapie will finish either 2nd or 3rd, and Rob predicts a 4th or 5th place finish. Follow the race live on CyclingNews.com or VeloNews.

Here's a link to our Roubaix wrap-up last year, and here are links to CyclingNews' preview and to the VeloNews Paris-Roubaix archives.

In other cycling news, Jan Ullrich has been forced to pay a 1 million euro fine for doping fraud which we've already discussed here ad nauseum.

Trek bicycles have severed ties with Greg LeMond whose brand of bike they distribute. LeMond has been very outspoken in the fight against doping, but probably should have been a bit more careful in taking on more current riders like Armstrong and Landis without some concrete evidence.

In addition to cycling, we mentioned the tui, a bird, and Tui, the New Zealand beer.

A recent Skype conversation we decided not to upload included the following cycling related topics: 92nd Ronde von Vlaanderen (a.k.a. Tour of Flanders) on CyclingNews.com and VeloNews.com, Rock Racing's bad boys are finally racing again, Alexi Grewal's essay on doping, Cyclingnews' April Fools' special edition and VeloNews' April Fools'.

The photo is from a friend who shall remain anonymous unless I hear from him otherwise. For now, let's just say he's someone who cycled all over Europe, and he's a fine artist who has participated in, and made a flyer for, a NFTOS art show.

Posted by Rob.

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Toto, we are not in Kanto anymore. No more Tokyo Panic Living until further notice!

Here's the poem I read by Patrick Widdess called "Slug":

I do not hear its single foot
slip beneath my bed,
turn dust into silver
and make a soggy doily
of last month’s gas bill.
But the morning sheds light
on its nocturnal wanderings
charted in dry mucus,
its glittering autograph
scrawled across yesterday’s paper.
I set mouse traps with lettuce leaves,
surround my bed with half-empty beer glasses,
scatter pellets like deadly confetti.
I sleep well for a week
then find a survivor;
inch long and mossy green,
relaxing by the radiator.
It’s then I notice the leafy odour,
and the sheepskin rug; tacky underfoot.
I dare not look beneath the bed
but lie awake, ear to the mattress
all night.
At dawn I start to drift
and sense the bed being lifted
on a thousand slithering backs,
doors sliding open, and the morning air;
cold and sharp against my cheek.

"Love is All Around" by the Troggs (and according to Patrick, it was covered by Wet! Wet! Wet! in the 90s as well).

Tags: NFTOS, psychotropic, Tropic of Capricorn, Henry Miller, Patrick Widdess, poet, headstand, 209radio.co.uk, Auckland, wwoofing, New Zealand, Otara Market, Coronation Street, Lost, Boston Legal, Sazae-san, Chibi Maruko, Sand, The Inspectors, The Earlybirds, Calamity Jam, The Troggs, Paris-Roubaix cycling classic

Posted by Rob.

Subscribe to Rob's Solo Podcasts on iTunes

KIX on friskyraido.com, 2 hours w/ Shawn Basik (Oasis Lounge) and Ian Handsley

Friday, 11 April in Auckland. All other times, Thursday, 10 April.

200 Auckland
700 Vancouver
1000 Montreal
1100 Halifax
1400 London
2300 Osaka

http://www.friskyradio.com

http://www.myspace.com/osakakix

Photo of Shawn Basik, probably taken from his own cell phone, at 9:00 a.m., on the way home from Oasis Lounge back in the day.

Posted by Rob.

This just in from Daniel Rosen in Tokyo. Daniel creates some pretty wild film projects, the first of which I saw at David Roy's Quick Flick World video extravaganza held last year at SuperDelux in Roppongi. Daniel writes:

"Hey people,

Long time no e-mail! I've been meaning to send out a "Happy New Year" e-mail and before I knew it it's April. How crazy is that? I guess the big news is that the Rinpa Eshidan DVD is finally coming out. And to mark the occasion we're doing a special exhibition opening and DVD pre-release party at Tokyo Artcomplex in Shinjuku on April 19. Details are below. http://www.geocities.jp/wtymd050/exhibition/upcoming/index.html
http://rinpaeshidan.jp/info/

The DVD will be on sale in the gallery for 2,500 yen. For those of you who can't make it and want to buy one, please send me your contact info (mailing address in Japan) and I will add you to a list so we can send you one later. Unfortunately we are not yet able to accept orders from abroad, but hopefully we'll have that sorted out by our official release date in June.

Rinpa Eshidan: [en]
April 16 through May 3 at Art Complex in Shinjuku, Tokyo (closed Mondays) http://www.gallerycomplex.com/home/schedule/hall/rinpa_eshidan.html
Opening Party with Live Events on Saturday, April 19, 5:00pm to 9pm featuring music by DJs Miyoshi, Cut Lemonn, Super Samir and Fencer. At 7pm 'zycOs minus one with Cal Lyall and Keigo Iwami' will join Rinpa Eshidan for a special 'live art and music' set. Opening Party Admission:\1,000, includes wine courtesy of [yellow tail].

Hope to see you all there!

Cheers,

Daniel"
www.dhrosen.com

-------

皆様�

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���一番�ビッグ・ニューズ�輪派絵師団��よ�よDVDをリリース�る����ょ ������４月１９日��輪派絵師団展示会場�Tokyo ArtComplex��展覧会�オ プニング�DVDリリース・パーティー�行�れ��。詳細�次�よ���： http://www.geocities.jp/wtymd050/exhibition/upcoming/index.html
http://rinpaeshidan.jp/info/

＊DVDã?¯ç”»å»Šã?«ã?¦ï¼’，５ï¼?ï¼?円ã?§è²©å£²ã?—ã?¾ã?™ã?Œã€?会場ã?¾ã?§ã?Šè¶Šã?—ã?„ã?Ÿã? ã?‘ã?ªã?„æ–¹ã?¯ã€? ã?Šå??å‰?ã?¨é€?ã‚Šå…ˆã?®ä½?所を僕宛ã?«é€?ã?£ã?¦ä¸‹ã?•ã‚Œã?°ã€?後日郵é€?ã?•ã?›ã?¦é ‚ã??ã?“ã?¨ã?¯ã?§ã?„ã?¾ã?™ã€‚

輪派絵師団展 「en�

4月16日（水）�ら5月3日（土）（月曜日�休廊）
The Artcomplex Center of Tokyo（新宿）�� http://www.gallerycomplex.com/home/schedule/hall/rinpa_eshidan.html
4月19日（土）�オープニングイベント��輪派絵師団�よるライブペイント� スペシャル・ゲスト� よるライブ音楽を披露�る。(Music by DJs Miyoshi, Cut Lemonn, Super Samir, Fencer and live performance by 'zycOs minus one with Cal Lyall and Keigo Iwami.)
オープニングイベント入場料：1,000円,　[イエローテイル] ワイン付ã??。
皆様���場を�待����り���

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ダニエル・ローゼン
www.dhrosen.com

This just in from Joseph Baldwin (noisivelvet), jack-of-all-arts and regular NFTOS Art Show participant, who will be having his thesis exhibition 18-22 April.

"Please join me at the opening reception of the 2008 UIC School of Art and Design BFA Theses Exhibition on April 18 from 5:00-8:00 pm at CUPPA Hall on 400 South Peoria, Chicago, Il 60607 -- in the Great Space on the 5th floor. It really is a great space.

It is a great group of interdisciplinary artists work (that covers the course of two semesters, and 8 professors) and I'm very excited to be a part of it.

I realize a lot of you that I'm sending this to are in other cities, and likely won't be in Chicago at this time, but please send your good thoughts our way for a great show - and of course feel free to pass along the e-postcard.

I'll have a 5' cube with video installed inside of it and some small sculptures nearby. If you can't make it Friday night and would like me to join you another time, maybe over the weekend, please send me a note and I'll do my best to join you. The show is open from 11:00 to 5:00 through the 22nd.

Thanks!
Joe"

CONGRATULATIONS JOE!!

Posted by Rob.

Sorry, this one's out of sequence. We have one or two more Korea videos to upload though, before we start uploaded our new New Zealand ones!!

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Korea, Kansai, Airport, Incheon, KIX, ICN, makikomo, airplane, beer, tatting, whisky, niagara, 関西空港, 大阪, ソウル, 韓国, 日本

Subscribe to Rob's Solo Podcasts on iTunes

Although NFTOS started out focused on travel photography, culture and art, other topics got picked up along the way such as the 2002 World Cup, which was held in Korea & Japan, and my trip to the 2004 Tour de France, which coincidentally ignited my current obsession with collage as an art form.

Although I haven't found many art enthusiasts who are interested in much in either sport, I've still continued to bring them up as they have been colorful international pageants since day one. Some of my earliest drawings as a child were of national flags, and as a teenager I designed many cycling jerseys complete with fictitious sponsors. The only other people I know who spent any part of their childhood doing this were my two brothers, both of whom raced bicycles with me as "juniors."

Hans and I still bring up cycling in conversation almost whenever we get a chance to chat on Skype. Being the Nixon I have become, much more of this gets recorded than ever gets uploaded. Sometimes it gets a bit "over the top," but we can't help that a lot of what has been in the news regarding doping in sport lately has been truly bizarre. The old timers are coming out of the woodwork and coming clean to varying degrees, the latest revelator none other than 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist, Reverend Alexi Grewal, a childhood hero of mine who I had a poster of on my wall.

Cycling and sport in general remain among our interests nonetheless, although I've definitely backed off the hero-worship, starting way back with the tainted Tour de France of 1988, which was to be outdone by the 1998 Tour, and both now pale in comparison to what has been reveled to on behind the scenes.

On the surface, there still is grace and beauty--the sight of 200 of the best riders in the world, colorfully clad, on their sleek machines, swishing down alpine roads in excess of 100 km/h, or mud splattered warriors pushing their bikes up steep & narrow cobblestones after being held up by a crash. What makes it even more exciting for us though, is that we raced against a few of these guys as kids.

The name "Bicicleteiros" was chosen both for originality and informality, as it is not the correct term for cyclists in any language we know of, rather we heard it coined mistakenly by a gasoline station attendant in the countryside of the state of São Paulo back in 1989 or so. At the time we used it only in derision, the same way "serious" cyclists in the US used the terms "Fred" or "bozo-tourist" for cyclists who lacked the commitment to (maintain the proper image of) the sport. I guess we sort of fall into that category now, so the name fits.

Stay tuned for our continued colorful commentary on this season's big races. Next up are the Tour of Flanders, Ghent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix!

Posted by Rob.

Tags: NFTOS, Bicicleteiros, Rob, El Gringo, Hans, O Irmão da Xuxa, cycling, ciclismo, sports, etc

Subscribe to Bicicleteiros on iTunes

We saw these guys play at one of the band member's birthday party last night.  The Inspectors (a.k.a. Sand) opened up, and they were followed by Calamity Jam.  I'd like to see all three bands live again sometime.

This afternoon we're going to catch Fat Freddy's Drop at Grey Lynn Park, for what I am told is the last official outdoor concert of the summer there.

Posted by Rob.

Makiko and I have been working in an eco-village in exchange for room and board for the past three weeks.  We've been doing a wide variety of farm chores, ecological activities, building and renovation.  In addition, we've been doing purely fun stuff like bottling beer, baking (using fruit we picked ourselves), kayaking and mountain bike riding.  If this sounds like your cup of tea, then check out this link:  http://www.wwoof.org 

Our adventure began with a boost three Saturdays ago with our Auckland homestay host driving us as far north as Warkworth, nearly halfway to the eco-village.  From there we almost immediately hitched a ride, but the driver was another foreigner who was lost and looking for the golf course.

A few minutes later, we got picked up by a couple who were headed to Kaiwaka for an anniversary party.  They took us right to our turn off, where we were fully intending to walk the rest of the way, but got another ride after about 200 meters.   At the entrance of the eco-village, one of the original founders spotted us and took us to the family we'd be staying with for the first five days.

In my next audio podcast, Makiko and I will tell you more about the wwoofing experience itself.  We've taken tons of photos and video, which I hope to upload little by little, once we're back in Auckland. 

Today we're just taking it easy, and there's a big birthday party tonight with at least 3 bands!  Of course, that means even more photos and videos to sift through once we get back to the big city.  

In the meantime, please stay tuned to our podcasts, as Alex and others keep us entertained and informed on what's going on in Tokyo and the rest of the world...

Posted by Rob.