The other day I did a battle with “Golgo”
the Center Chief of Pokemon Sunday!
(“Golgo the Center Chief” is one of the regular
personalities in Pokemon Sunday, a TV program.)

The scene will be broadcast in Pokemon Sunday on
October 14th (Sun).

How did it turn out???
The viewers have a chance to win presents too!!

Please check it out!!

(This episode was aired in 2007 and no longer
available.)

See ya!

I always liked music since I was a kid, and
I listen to a really wide variety of music
everyday.

In classical music, for example, Stravinsky
and Shostakovich.
I played the trombone in my high-school brass
band, but was not really into classical music.
But once I found Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring”
and “The Firebird” and Shostakovich’s
symphonies no. 5 and 7…
I became such an enthusiastic fan that I began
to collect their works, read their autobiographies,
and buy the scores.
They were really great. Wonderful. Cool.
Their works also taught me about composing music.

Of rock, Linkin Park and SlipKnoT.
They are just fabulous with their screaming
vocals, and their faces look cool too!
The way how they arrange their songs, with DJs
and guitars and percussions, is both powerful
and sophisticated.

Of techno, Underground and The Prodigy.
I have nothing but admiration for them.
They are cool and their beats just groove.
You can’t help but dance.
Also, I think there’s not many people who are
better at manipulating synthesizers.

Of club music, I prefer Gabba and music from Rotterdam.
They are noisy and more like hardcore.
They too make unbelievable sounds. Trashed sounds.
Distorted sounds. Impossible song structure.
Impossible speed.
It won’t be too much to say if I said their music
is made solely for the purpose of making people dance
and get stoned.
Wow… fantastic.

As I’ve written these words I realized that in the end
I always like things that’s “cool.”
Hmm… I think I got it.

See ya!

When you’re out of ideas, you might come
upon a new idea by focusing on some
topic and keep thinking about it.

When I was young I had a strong memory, so
I memorized a lot of things, but now…
I forget about things I said or did in a short
period of time.
So, when I come up with an idea…!!!
I’d say to myself ‘This is good!!!’ and
take a note of it immediately in my daytimer!

Because it’s a shame to lose a good idea…

I used to use my cell phone to keep note of
my ideas and send mail from the mobile to
my PC in the office… but that approach has
a limitation.

The limitation is… you can’t draw illustrations.
If you draw an image when you come up with an idea,
it will be much easier to develop it later.

That’s why now I’m using a daytimer.
It’s heavy but very handy.

See ya.

On September 29th (Sat), I went to
the International conference hall inside
Waseda University’s comprehensive academic information
center in Takadanobaba, Tokyo.

We received a society award (industrial art) from
Japan Information-Culturology Society.
It’s been more than 20 years since I last
received a testimonial, but it was as gratifying
as it was when I was young.

Then, I gave a 30-minute speech, entitled
‘The Information Culture Of Pokemon.’

I was nervous in front of many distinguished
scholars, but I felt it necessary to let them know
about Pokemon’s history and its position in today’s
society. So I started from there.
I talked about such topics as …
* Pokemon was originally a video game.
* In Pokemon, we’re striving to let players feel
real instead of presenting realistic visual images.
* The world of Pokemon is based on Japanese culture
but various other cultures are also added and mixed.
* Each Pokemon has its own individual information.
* Players raise their Pokemon from its infant level so
that it becomes more different from any other Pokemon.
* Looked from the informational viewpoint, almost
every Pokemon is different from others.
* At present, those Pokemon are being traded between
total strangers all over the Earth.
* In just one month in August, 1.4 million
people traded Pokemon all over the world.
* Information exchange between strangers around the
globe is probably the world’s first.
* By translating mail automatically, players are
experiencing cultural exchanges.
* Now we have a website called Pokemon GTS.

I tried to explain the act of trading worlds in
terms of information culture.

I talked about these topics using videos and
Power Point, and many attendees seem to be
interested both in video games and in Pokemon.
I’m really relieved. It was well worth my efforts!

The fact was that I was asked to give a speech
just two weeks ago, and I didn’t know whether
I could do it or not because there wasn’t much
time for preparation. But I said I’d do it because
I wanted to make more and more people understand
what video games are and what Pokemon is.

I’m glad to hear that my speech was received
very well.
It was a really good experience.

PS:
Professor Katagata, Professor Sakamoto of Miyagi
University, thank you very much!

Thank you!
See ya.