Essentials/Blog

My wife and son went to NYC this weekend and I got left behind with some sort of bug. Poor me. But my wife, because she is freakin’ awesome, bought me this ULTRAMAN as a get well/we-missed-you gift. For the record, I am not some sort of crazed anime/Japanese B-Movie fan. However, I have the [...]

[Read more →]

Found these during a recent buying trip. Very cool and weird all at the same time.

[Read more →]

Howdy folks. We wanted to send a quick note to let you know that we are FINALLY back on-line. Thanks so much for your patience.
As our way of saying THANKS for not getting too grouchy about how long this took, we are offering FREE SHIPPING on your next order. Just use code - June1 - [...]

[Read more →]

By: Japan Times
Toyama-based artist Susumu Nishinaga has published a book of photos taken with a scanning electron microscope, offering images of nature unseen by the naked eye.
The 95 close-ups in the book “Micro Cosmos” include insects, flowers and shellfish.
The images show smooth graduation sequences and fine images of texture. The original images are in black [...]

[Read more →]

It’s About Freaking Time!

MONTPELIER, Vt. — The Vermont Legislature on Tuesday overrode Gov. Jim Douglas’s veto of a bill allowing gay couples to marry, mustering one more vote than needed to preserve the measure. The step makes Vermont the first state to allow same-sex marriage through legislative action instead of a court ruling. The law goes into effect Sept. [...]

[Read more →]

Yikes. This is not how I pictured the future of mind control. Kinda cool but also kinda creepy.
AP: Koji Sasahara
A Honda Motor Co. employee wears a headgear with codes attached during a demonstration of Honda’s new technology linking brain thoughts with robotics at the Japanese automaker’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, March 31, 2009. Honda [...]

[Read more →]

Finally! Our online part of Essentials Distribution has gone live. You can see a portion of it above and the rest by going to our page: ShopEssentials.net/Distribution. Our site shows all the comic book paper journals, ELPH’s Circus, pens, bento, stationery, and much more. If you are a retailer and want to place an order [...]

[Read more →]

The Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery will offer a variety of programs, exhibitions and tours to celebrate the 2009 National Cherry Blossom Festival, March 28 through April 12, in Washington, D.C.

Coinciding with the festival, the Sackler Gallery presents “The Tale of Shuten Doji,” March 21 through Sept. 20. Colorful illustrations [...]

[Read more →]

The Korea Times has an article on one of my favorite Japanese artists, Tadanori Yokoo. Apparently, Yokoo and Kawashima (also awesome):
are currently holding separate exhibitions in Seoul this month, offering a rare opportunity to examine the country’s pop art by artists from distinctly different generations.
Read the full article here.

[Read more →]

Thanks to AsianWeek for this article.
SAN FRANCISCO — The award-winning Nichi Bei Times, Northern California’s oldest Japanese American newspaper, is hosting the region’s first Tofu Dessert Competition and Festival — Sunday, March 22, 2 to 4 p.m. at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC), 1840 Sutter St. in San Francisco’s Japantown. [...]

[Read more →]