New Ear Gear

At work I was recently relocated from a cubicle in the wide-open, communal area to a corner office that I share with two other people. The noisy, high-traffic nature of the corporate cube-farm was very conducive to the use of PC speakers for listening to music since it really never bothered anyone. This is not so for the quiet surroundings of my new office where music played over speakers, even at a low volume, would be bothersome to my office-mates.

In order to keep on listening to my tunes at work, I decided that I needed some new headphones. I knew that I wanted some phones that wouldn't mess up my hair, but also ones that I didn't have to push into my ear canals-- this meant getting a pair of street-style, or neckband headphones. After some online research I narrowed down my choice to two sets of phones: the Sennheiser PMX 100 and the Koss Porta Pro. Finally, the information I read about these two at Headroom helped me decide on the Sennheisers. I've been using my new Sennheiser PMX 100 headphones for nearly three days now and I think they're great!

THE GOOD
The PMX 100 phones have a terrific sound, with a full, juicy bass response and crisp, clear high-frequency sound. The midrange response, honestly, is not exactly weak, but, understandably, isn't nearly as solid as that of my Sony V-600s or my Sennheiser HD 212 Pros either. I think this is primarily due to the physical design of the headphones, and I was able to correct this very easily with a mid-range EQ adjustment in my iTunes. What's more is that these headphones are very good at delivering sound dynamics and modulations-- for fans of electronic music, this can result in quite an adventure!

Aside from sound, wearability is also an important factor in the quality of headphones. Since this is my first pair of street-style phones, I was concerned about this when I bought them. So far, I am extremely pleased with this very lightweight and comfortable set. The circular pads cover average-sized ears perfectly. The soft, foam padding on the PMX 100s is very "cushiony" without feeling heavy like a pair of pillows. The padding also allows enough air flow to prevent that annoying condition known as sweaty ears. The over-the-ear arms that make them street-style headphones are made of semi-firm but very flexible rubber and they're softer and more comfortable than I imagined.

THE BAD
I really have no complaints about the sound of my new Sennheiser PMX 100s; all negative points are extremely minor and are related to their physical design. The rubber, over-the-ear arms that hold the phones in place can become slightly uncomfortable, but this is only after 2+ hours of continuous use. Additionally, the neck band, that holds the two ear-pads against the ears, tends to rest right at the base of the neck. This is perfectly fine, but sitting in a forward position can sometimes cause the base of the neck or top of the back to push the phones forward. This isn't such a big deal, really, but can sometimes contribute to over-the-ear discomfort that I feel when approaching 2 to 2.5 hours of continuous use. Taking a short break seems to take care of this perfectly.

I got my new phones for only $40 including shipping charges from TigerDirect.com, and they arrived the next day after I ordered them (nice work, Tiger!). Overall, I would highly recommend the Sennheiser PMX 100 headphones to music lovers, audiophiles and otaku of all kinds!

Piana

I want to tell you all about one of my favourite singers-- Piana! Her name is Sasaki Naoko (佐佐木直子) and she lives in Morioka. She began her career in 1999 with the band Card Skepper and later did some vocal work with electronic artist, World's End Girlfriend.

Piana released her first solo release called Snow Bird in 2003 on Cubic Music Japan, and in the U.S. on the 12K Records sub-label, Happy. 2 years later she released her second full-length solo album, Ephemeral, also on Happy. In 2007 Sasaki moved to the Japanese label, Noble, and released her third full-length, Eternal Castle. Recently Piana has been focusing on concert tours and collaboration with other artists.

She is known for her sweet, gentle voice and bittersweet, heartbreaking, contemplative lyrics. Her music is a unique combination of J-pop and underground glitch electronica with a wonderful production quality and deeply emotional melodies. I was quite taken with her voice the first time I listened to Snow Bird, and became an instant fan.

When asked about her musical influences, Piana had this to say:
I am not really inspired from other music, I woud say more from novels, poetries, or movies. Haruki Murakami is the writer I get the most influence on my music. If I hadn’t have met his works, I might not have been able to come up with my music.

Here is a lovely video of her track, なくしたもの (Something's Lost) from the album, Ephemeral.


Also from the album, Ephemeral, I am pleased to offer you this free download of "Early in Summer."

Links:
Piana's website
Last.fm
nippop.com

Kounterfeit Kotobukiya

When I arrived home yesterday I was excited to see a package waiting for me at my door! I knew from the shipping label that it was my Mirei-san figure that I had been awaiting for nearly 7 weeks. I could hardly wait to open to box!


When I got into my condo and started to open the packaging, I started getting a bit concerned-- a plain, white box?? Was this a used figure? Couldn't be-- the eBay auction I won said it was new! My concern turned into worry when I saw the cheap, styrofoam packing material inside the plain, white box. As soon as I saw inside I knew what had happened-- I had been duped. :-(

Inside the cheap, styrofoam packing was not Mirei-san but a *very* poorly-crafted counterfeit rip-off. Needless to say I was very disappointed and starting to feel angry. I was preparing to write a nasty, flame-job email to the eBay seller who "ripped me off." That was, of course, until I discovered something. The auction I won had very cleverly drawn me in with a description of the "Art of Shunya Yamashita Mirei-san," but never ONCE used the keyword, "Kotobukiya." The auction never mentioned the name of the manufacturer at all because of course it is NOT Kotobukiya but a very cheap imitation made by a rip-off artist in China.
Indeed, I had received exactly what I purchased, It was, in the end, my own fault for not examining the auction carefully. eBayers beware!! The Seller to watch out for is "qpick-tradezone." They specialise in these cheap, Chinese imitations and that explains why their prices are so damn good. I should have learned by now that if something seems to good to be true, that's because it is. Now I'm back on my quest for the real Mirei-san. The REAL Art of Shunya Yamashita expertly crafted and designed by Kotobukiya.

I cannot get enough of the Tactical Espionage Action!

Let me just say that I am extremely impressed with Metal Gear Solid 4! Honestly this has got to be one of the best games ever created. For me, the intensity and realism of the game-play has not yet been matched by any other game I know. MGS4 completely immerses players in the action of the game making it feel like a first-hand experience. Kojima Hideo did an absolutely amazing job creating this game, despite his own statements about his disappointment with the end result. The graphics, needless to say, are out of this world, thanks to the incredible talents of Shinkawa Yoji.

One of the elements of Metal Gear Solid 4 that make it different from others is the complex story line. Because of this, the game includes a few more cut scenes than usual, some of which are *quite* lengthy. Some gamers have expressed a preference to skip these and get back gaming, but I actually enjoy this aspect of the game since it really gets me involved in the plot and it's related history and character development.

Another quality that's unique to MGS4 are some of the unusual pieces of equipment that Snake carries with him on his missions. Some of them aid him in his incredibly creative approaches to stealth while others help provide comfort and reduce stress. He even has an Apple iPod!

All this and I still haven't even mentioned Snake's seemingly infinite possibilities for combining, re-combining and modifying his weapons. Very simply, Kojima thought of everything. Metal Gear Solid 4 has it all. It definitely deserves a TOP rating.

Link:
Wikipedia - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Major Kusanagi arrives!

Allow me to introduce Kusanagi Motoko (草薙 素子), the shrewd and skillful officer of the Public Safety Commission. We know her for her authoritative role as "The Major" in Shirō Masamune's (士郎 正宗) amazing cyberpunk manga / anime series, Ghost in the Shell (Kōkaku Kidōtai - 攻殻機動隊).

Major Kusanagi appears here, as she normally does on her missions with Chief Aramaki; her sexy cybernetic appearance rendered perfectly by Takahashi Tsuyoshi of Alter. I really like this figure a lot. I was thinking I might have some difficulty finding one since this is not one of Alter's newer creations, but there are still a few hanging around.

Whew! My collection is starting to grow rather sizeable!