We survived our first episode of morning radio, and the official podcast of morning project is back for a second episode! This episode we discuss the Nintendo DS Lite, SweetS breaking up, Goto Maki’s recent naughtiness, Yaguchi’s most recent scandal, J-drama “Iguana Musume,” and this week’s Oricon Top 10 singles.
Also, you can now actually subscribe to us! Hit up the official morning radio homepage for all of your subscription link needs.
About a billion years in the making, morning project’s very first podcast episode has now been released! Yes we have a long way to go, but it’s a fun start, and we hope in every episode to bring you fun and interesting news and info from the world of Asian entertainment and culture.
For our first episode, it’ll be a simple direct download. For our second, we hope to have a Libsyn account set up, full RSS feeding going on, and be available for subscriptions via the iTunes Music Store.
Check out our first episode, and let us know what you think!
Yesterday, the Pearl Pink version of the GameBoy SP was released in the United States by Nintendo. The U.S. Pearl Pink SP is one of the new generation of SPs, which now feature a brighter backlit screen. From my knowledge, this is the first time the pink SP has made it our way, as I don’t believe the older generation pink SP was ever released over here. Maybe the limited release of the pink DS over here showed Nintendo that there is a market for pink handhelds on our shores.
Mink - the 22 year old Korean-born pop star who now lives and sings in Japan - recently hit #2 on the U.S. “Hot 100″ singles chart devoted to dance and electronica, as well as the “Hot 200″ albums chart, thanks to the track “Glory of Life” from her debut album. I remember when I was in Japan last summer, I kept seeing these really cool Mink handheld fans, and I tried (but failed) to find out where they were handing them out.
For any of you out there waiting for a pink Nintendo DS but not wanting to import one, you might be wondering where the US pink DS bundle is exactly. It seems that while the teal bundle is available anywhere, the pink bundle is exclusive to Target and Toys R Us. So, if you want one, now you know where to go.
You may have read about her in morning mag 01, you may have read about her on morning scene, or you may have known about her already, but Kumiko Kato’s first official U.S. single has been released. “Thinking of You” contains four versions of the song, two in English, and two in Japanese. The CD is a measly $4, and if you order soon, shipping is even free. Go check out sounday and help support this great new J-pop artist!
All the kids are into the podcasting thing these day, so we decided hell, we need to be into this thing as well! So, I braved the waters of podcasting and produced a test episode - morning radio 00. Topics include Kumiko Kato’s new single, the Japanese iTunes Music Store, the upcoming morning mag issue 02, and Paranmaum. Check it out, and let us know what you think!
Over on Morning Scene, I have posted the first little bit of information pertaining to this weekend’s Canadian National Anime convention in Toronto (Ontario, Canada). The post includes a sneak peek picture, a short reaction, and a hint at Morning Magazine’s second issue.
Initial work on issue 02 has already begun, and our hope is that we can maybe have the issue done by the end of September. Planning is already underway on what kind of content we’re going to have in our second issue, and the look and feel of the magazine is getting some tweaking. I’m very happy about the changes that have been made so far to the layout, and I really hope that all of our readers are as well.
Another thing that I’d like to mention - and this isn’t at all certain yet - is that we are hoping to try at least some sort of print run for issue 02. It may be small, but we really want to get some real, tangible version of the magazine out there for people to check out. So, if you would be interested in a print copy of our second issue, keep that idea in the back of your mind, and keep checking back here for further updates on if it is going to happen or not.
This was the original means of my getting to Japan: Omaha -> Chicago -> Osaka
This was how I got to Japan: Omaha -> Denver -> San Francisco -> Tokyo -> Osaka
The “fun” started the moment I got to the airport in Omaha. They told me that there had been a change in plans, because of some delay with the plane going to Chicago, I think it was. Basically, we wouldn’t make it in time to get our connection. Most of the tickets had been fixed, but of course, mine wasn’t. Mine was fixed, and I headed off.