"Tokyo Geek's Guide" For Otaku

For those of you who are otaku of different aspects of Japanese pop culture, there's a new book out called Tokyo Geek's Guide that should interest you.

According to GameSpew:

Tokyo in particular is a sprawling megacity filled with enough cool stuff that it can easily be overwhelming. It can be difficult for any fan from the west to figure out what and what not to do while making their first trip. Luckily, we’ve found the perfect companion for your would-be trip: Gianni Simone’s Tokyo Geek’s Guide. 

Now, to be clear, this is the sort of book you want to read before going to Japan, not while you’re there. It is, after all, jam-packed with enough information that it can feel like a trip in itself just by reading it – which is a good thing! Coming from the mouth of someone who has worked for Vogue Italia, The Japan Times, and CNN Travel, it’s an essential piece that I recommend for planning a trip. Just maybe not for those already there, mainly because of its extreme focus on Otaku culture which, hopefully shouldn’t be too much of a surprise given the book’s title.

Gianni Simone is a familiar name as he reviewed The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan for The Japan Times several years ago.

There is a Godzilla section (below) in the Tokyo Geek's Guide, by the way!

The Tokyo Geek's Guide will be available on Amazon August 11.

For more, go here.

Weekend Reflections

Memorial Day was a good laid-back day.  We spent almost half of it sleeping.  I had some sleep to catch up on, as I worked the graveyard shift in my "parachute" job Thursday night/Friday morning in Burbank and immediately had to go to Bakersfield from there for a mandatory settlement conference on a subrogation claim.

I was thinking about going to Riverside National Cemetery but was too tired to go and didn't feel like fighting traffic (or pay $4.30/gallon of gas).

However, we did treat ourselves to steak and crab legs for dinner (with ice cream for dessert).  Following dinner, we watched two rental movies: Dinner For Schmucks and Office Space.  Those were entertaining comedies.
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It is frustrating for someone who is willing, able and eager to work, but is having a hard time getting work.

Tony Isabella is a comic book writer and columnist who created Black Lightning for DC Comics.  He's a little older than me.  We're poles apart politically, but he's a real cool guy.  He currently has a write-up on The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan in the Comics Buyers' Guide (CBG).  He's also a Godzilla fan.

His writing career has hit the doldrums of late.  It is hard enough to get work past 50, and it is even harder to get writing gigs in comics at that age.  The comic book companies seem to think that 20-to-30-year olds are what the comics writing market seems to require.  I really have to doubt this as older writers have more life experiences to tap into for great writing.

Anyway, Tony could use some writing gigs.  I like helping out friends and he's one of them.  Today, he posted at his blog:

A couple friends/readers seem to think I won’t accept work-for-hire
jobs.  That’s simply not the case.  I’m open to almost anything as
long as its work I think I can do well...that pays a decent wage or
has other benefits to make up for low pay...that doesn’t violate my
moral code.  I do believe I can do my best work when the editor’s
hand is the lightest.

 If you are in need of a writer for a comic book (or whatever), kindly give Tony Isabella a shot!  You can reach him through his blog at http://tonyisabella.blogspot.com/.
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This has been a great weekend for The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.  On Sunday, it was reviewed by Gianni Simone in The Japan Times.  Thanks to Simone and The Japan Times!

Monster Japan Travel Guide Reviewed In Japan Times

The Japan Times Online now has the review of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan posted.

Here's an excerpt:

English-language literature on Godzilla and all the other monsters that followed is rather scarce, probably due to film company Toho's legal actions that in the past have successfully blocked the publication of a number of books. Among the titles worth mentioning, there are Stuart Galbraith IV's "Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo" (1998), Steve Ryfle's "Japan's Favorite Mon-star" (1998), and Peter H. Brothers' "Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men: The Fantastic Cinema of Ishiro Honda" (2009). Now Godzilla lover and writer Armand Vaquer has come up with a guidebook for all those fans who want to turn a trip to Japan into a pilgrimage to the places that were cinematically trashed by the Big G, Mothra, Gamera and their friends.

To see it, go here.

Japan Through The Monster's Eye

The Japan Times will be publishing a review of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan in tomorrow's Sunday edition.

The writer, Gianni Simone, was kind enough to send a .pdf version of the article.

Here it is (converted to .jpeg):

My thanks to Gianni Simone and the Japan Times.