Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
I was surprised to read this story from The Korea Times, since it’s usually big Korean mass-market clothing companies doing the knocking off, but Uniqlo got busted for being copy cats. Korean clothing company, Coevel caught Uniqlo in the act of copying their “Navajo” socks. It’s a pretty blatant rip-off, and while Navajo inspired designs aren’t particularly unique, the Uniqlo design looks like a direct pull from Coevel’s. The Southwest decor craze of the late 70s, and the pastel version of the late 80s, seems to be on the rise again. Even Shepard Fairey’s Obey Clothing came out with a series of “Navajo” clothes and accessories. Uniqlo issued a public apology on their Korean website, but there’s been no official statement about how the issue will be resolved, and the CEO of Coevel is readying her legal team. Too bad there aren’t any royalties for the Navajo Nation. Here are the socks in question: No mention of it on the You Thought We Wouldn’t Notice But We Did blog, but there are plenty of rip-offs to go around these days.
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While they are nearly gone, or at least dwindling, they’re alive and well in Japan – the place where people pay to download music, and where the Walkman was still available until recently. The term Galápagos effect is quite funny: “Japan has this Galápagos effect of holding on to some things they’re comfortable with,” said Jonathan Coopersmith, a technology historian who is writing a book on the machine’s rise and fall. “Elsewhere, the fax has gone the way of the dodo.” (NY Times – fax)
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Hurt Locker style bomb exploders are still finding WWII bombs in Japanese city centers. 160,000 tons of bombs were dropped in WWII, so plenty are hiding out under buildings built upon lots. It’s an interesting story. (Bloomberg – Hurt Locker)
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Women, yes women do the giving. Who likes you? You might find out on Valentine’s Day. Yet, one month later, dudes have White Day to reciprocate. Will they? (Dawn – Valentine’s in Japan)
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Although it’s challenging to say that anything at Coachella could be considered ground breaking (especially considering this year’s lineups of reunions vs. new discoveries) it seems that Hologram Tupac may have led the way for the future of K-pop. The Korea Times reports that SM Entertainment, home to some of today’s most popular idol groups, are seriously considering investing in holographic theatres that would offer “concerts” of their top acts. As their story points out, they had to use a hologram Tupac at Coachella, because he’s DEAD. According to The Korea Times, SM Entertainment has been wanting to do this for a while, and after they pulled off a successful holographic Girls Generation concert, their passion for 1980s futurism was re-ignited. Just imagine how AWESOME it would be to be able to pay to go to a holographic concert, watch the whole thing through your Galaxy s3 screen (wriggling through the crowd of people in front of you with their giant phones blocking your view) while you record the show to post on your tumblr on the subway ride back home to your parents house. The future is bright for groups like Girls Generation and steady hitter, BoA. At least they get to have boyfriends and be “themselves” in real life, unlike their J-pop counterparts, AKB48. GR Familia, Anne Ishii wrote a brilliant piece about the weirdness of AKB48′s idol reality. It’s like K-pop is Jem and the Holograms, and J-pop is the Misfits – seriously, like with the evil manager, and the orphanage, and the holograms, and the Misfits always having hard times but better outfits… Everything we thought was only a cartoon futuristic techno fantasy is our now.
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